Film Review: Jamaree Salyer is a Perplexing Prospect
The average NFL offensive lineman is just over 6'5 1/4" inches, weighing in around 320 pounds, they are easily the largest collection of individuals at the NFL level.
Tackles can stretch up to 6'8 but rarely range below the league average in terms of height. Another key measurable for an offensive tackle is arm length, the longer the arms the more separation created upon contact and extension.
Which makes a 6'4, 330-pound offensive lineman like Jamaree Salyer that's made career starts at both guard and tackle a perplexing study.
He doesn't quite possess the physical measurables to meet the thresholds for successful tackles at the NFL level, yet his pros and con's as a player tend to lend themselves more towards a successful career as a tackle.
Let's show you why.
Pros
Footwork
Offensive line play is about three things; hips, feet, and hands. In that order.
If I am exceptional at either of those three categories as an offensive lineman, I can win a lot more reps than I lose. Salyer wins with footwork on the overwhelming majority of his reps. They are quick, they are light, and yet somehow still maintaining violence.
Take this rep for example:
Salyer has three feet in the ground before the Alabama defender has taken one step. Then the feet continuously drive, never becoming stagnant while also maintaining a proper relationship with one another. It's his inability to remain latched on with the defender that creates the disengagement between the two.
Salyer is what is known as a vertical pass setter as a left tackle, as you will see below.
His back foot, or "kick foot" is virtually directly behind him. This is a technique used to consistently stymy the speed rush of a defensive lineman. The only thing is, your front foot, or "post foot" MUST remain at a 90-degree angle for as long as possible. Watch as Salyer fights to keep that post foot closed while kick-sliding backward. This type of flawless technique wins the rep.
Horizontally Gifted
Salyer has special redirection skills as a tackle prospect. He's not exactly known for his north and south movement patterns, but rather excels when he's allowed to use his athletic ability within the box. In other words, his ability to mirror defensive linemen in pass protection is unmatched in this draft class.
Cons
Even in the clips we've shown you so far in the article, you'll notice Salyer is what we classify as a "waist bender." In other words, he's always bending at the waist, and not at the knees and the ankles. This causes him to have a propensity to become a leaner. Having his head and chest overexposed, causing him to fall on his face.
Conclusion:
Salyer's tape leaves questions in the run game, yet shows signs of an elite pass protector at the tackle position despite the deficiencies in terms of length. So, in other words, he's not a good enough run blocker to be a guard in the NFL at this moment, and his length leaves questions about his ability to remain elite as a pass-protecting tackle.
Salyer very well could spend the first few years in the NFL doing the same thing he did his first two seasons in Athens, trying to figure out where he needs to play. The conclusion in Athens was 25+ starts at tackle, both right and left. The conclusion in the NFL will likely be a combination of starts at a variety of positions.
Which very well could be Salyer's best overall trait. He's versatile. He can play all five positions, and in a sport where rosters are only traveling 7 or 8 offensive linemen, that's highly valuable to any franchise.
