NFL Draft Preview 2022: UCLA Football Offensive Lineman Sean Rhyan
The NFL Draft is taking place in Las Vegas this weekend, and a handful of Bruins are set to hear their names called.
While there aren't any projected first round picks coming out of UCLA football this year, there are 14 players waiting in the pool. The Bruins have had six players picked in the past three NFL Drafts combined, and they could have that many fly off the board in 2022 alone.
All Bruins is breaking down scouting reports, stats and predictions for the biggest names who could go the highest, with offensive lineman Sean Rhyan next on the slate.
Stats
2019: 12 GP, 869 snaps, 6 QBH allowed, 1 sack allowed (USA Today/The Athletic/PFF Freshman All-American)
2020: 7 GP, 536 snaps, 3 QBH allowed, 0 sacks allowed
2021: 12 GP, 862 snaps, 3 QBH allowed, 1 sack allowed (All-Pac-12 First Team)
Measurements
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 321 pounds
Arms: 32 3/8 inches
Hands: 11 1/8 inches
40-Yard Dash: 5.25 seconds
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches
Broad Jump: 110 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.55 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.81 seconds
What The Experts Are Saying
Dane Brugler, The Athletic: "Overall, Rhyan is strong and balanced in both the run game and passing game, but he must play with quicker hands/feet and more efficient weight distribution for him to make it. He does his best work in short areas, projecting as a guard with NFL starting potential in either a power or zone scheme."
Lance Zierlien, NFL.com: "Three-year starter with the potential to offer team options at either tackle or guard. Rhyan has good size and plays with fairly explosive short-area movements, helping him establish early success getting into run-blocking fits. He's fundamentally sound as a run blocker but a fear of getting beat by speed might play into issues over-setting and giving away too many pressures from inside moves and counters. He has the hand usage, bend and build to transition to guard. Plus, his pass protection experience at tackle combined with dual-position roster flexibility should add to his draft standing and improve his chances of becoming an eventual starter."
Cory McCann Ezring, Sports Illustrated: "An NFL-ready prospect whose athleticism and technique should allow him to find the field early, Rhyan has first-round potential. That said, the gifted blocker must address certain issues in his game. Rhyan should start early in the league and has high-level starter potential."
Tony Pauline, Pro Football Network: "Rhyan flashed on the scene as a freshman and showed promise, yet he never elevated his game. He possesses an upside and looks as though he would be a good fit in a zone-blocking system despite his athletic testing numbers. I’d like to see Rhyan improve his strength at the point of attack and feel he is a solid developmental prospect who should be drafted in the late rounds."
Brandon Thorn, Bleacher Report: "Overall, Rhyan is a high-level developmental prospect with a diverse athletic background and the build and play strength of a potential role player at guard in the NFL. He'll need to move inside as a pro and refine his technique there to help mitigate his below-average athletic ability and length to stick on a roster long term."
Natalie Miller, USA Today: "Rhyan is an experienced offensive lineman who excels in run fits and short-area bursts who could be an ideal starting guard in a zone blocking scheme, or as a right tackle in a run-heavy attack. Rhyan’s experience at tackle and his multi-position flexibility will help his draft stock, and gives teams a reason to go after him as a possible starter in multiple schemes. Regardless of where he lines up, Rhyan should come off the board sometime on Day 2."
Rankings
The Athletic: OG 7, No. 94 overall
Sports Illustrated: LT 10, No. 72 overall
CBS Sports: OL 19, No. 87 overall
Sporting News: OL 14, No. 77 overall
Bleacher Report: IOL 20, No. 169 overall
Prediction
From a height and weight standpoint – and looking at his overall consistency and production in Westwood – Rhyan is a pure left tackle. His less-than-ideal wingspan has certain scouts questioning his positional fit at the next level, though, leading many to believe he's better off on the interior in the NFL.
As a result, where Rhyan ranks is going to vary on a team-to-team basis, since one team may have him as a guard, another at tackle and another as a hybrid, presumably with a lack of a consensus even among the organizations that are in agreement on his position. What Rhyan has going for him is his strong pass protection fundamentals, his key status in UCLA's high-powered run offense the past three years and the fact that he didn't miss a single start in his 31-game collegiate career.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a team that could use a right tackle and a right guard, with Storm Norton and Brenden Jaimes currently holding down those starting spots. If the Chargers don't address those needs at No. 17 overall, they could use their third-rounder to pick up someone like Rhyan who could slide into either spot.
Rhyan could be a day one starter for the New England Patriots, who currently have career practice squad player James Ferentz in line to be their No. 1 left guard after trading Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the offseason. Tackles Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn are both injury prone with limited backups, so Rhyan could be a fit there in the third round as well.
The Las Vegas Raiders could scoop Rhyan up at No. 86, and they surely wouldn't pass on the Bruin if he's on the board when they're on the clock in the fourth. If Rhyan were to go to Sin City, he would suddenly be part of the same offensive line that already boasts former UCLA standouts Kolton Miller and Andre James at left tackle and center, respectively.
But staying home in Los Angeles would be a win-win for the Chargers and Rhyan, who could get back to blocking for Joshua Kelley and another former Pac-12 standout in Justin Herbert.
Sean Rhyan: Los Angeles Chargers, No. 79 overall (Round 3)
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