NFL Draft Profile: Hayden Howerton, Interior Offensive Lineman, SMU Mustangs
#75
Pos: OG
Ht: 6030
Wt: 300
Hand: L 968
Arm: 3248
Wing: 7800
DOB: 2/11/1999
Hometown: Katy, TX
High School: Katy
Hayden Howerton
SMU Mustangs
One-liner:
A strong and physical offensive lineman, who also displays great athleticism. He has a very powerful base and is very difficult to drive back.
Pros:
Very strong and powerful. For being a power-first kind of player he is surprisingly athletic and has great hip flexibility. Excellent run blocker, he is quick off the line and can pave a huge lane for running backs to go through. He is a powerful player, so even if he is only able to chip a defender, it is usually enough to make an impact. He is a good mover for someone his size and is able to work upfield very well. He also has a great pull step and is able to move across the line fluidly. His offense ran many play-action off of counters and he was always able to get into position in time to pass block. Good at pass protection when he is one on one with a defender and is nearly impossible to bull rush. Incredibly stout at the point of attack and really excels at protecting the A gap. Versatile, he can play all three interior line positions.
Cons:
Doesn’t have the best feet, he will sometimes stop his feet on first contact and will lose momentum and balance because of that. He struggles with mirroring techniques and isn’t always quick enough to recover and make the block. Though he is good at moving across the line when it comes to stationery lateral agility he struggles. This comes back to not having quick feet, it’s those quick back and forth movements that give him trouble. Another aspect of pass protection he has difficulties with is picking up blitzes and stunts. He just doesn’t have the reaction time to effectively pick them up. He can become overwhelmed against blitz-heavy defenses and will get very off balance. When this happens he loses his power base and will become easy to get put on the ground.
Summary:
This is a stout and physical presence in the interior of an offensive line. Very versatile as he played all three positions in the interior. He is a road grader of a run blocker, powerful at the point of attack and extremely difficult to get past. He is quick off the line and has great hip flexibility to seal running lanes. He is athletic and can move upfield and across the line easily. Has a great pull step and is accurate when finding his target. He is a good pass blocker, who is nearly impossible to bull rush. His wide frame allows him to cover entire gaps, but he can lose sight of blitzes and stunts. He doesn’t have the best feet and stops them upon first contact, which stops his momentum and gets him beat. Heavy blitzing teams overwhelm him and he begins to become very unbalanced. He gets top-heavy when this happens and is easy to knock on the ground. Very comparable to Cleveland’s guard Wyatt Teller, because like Teller he will be a mid to late-round draft pick and will be a much better player if he is in a run-heavy offense.
Background:
Born in Katy Texas, he played his high school ball at Katy High School and became a three-star recruit. As a freshman at SMU, he started six games and played in twelve games. He became a permanent starter as a sophomore and played every game at center. This was also the first of four consecutive years on the AAC All-Academic Team. He was on the Rimington Award Watch List the next year and was awarded with the SMU Sport Performance Leadership Departmental Distinction Award. He was named Second-Team All-AAC and First-Team All-Texas College Team in 2020. His final season saw even more accolades as he won the Senior Class Award, was Second-Team All-American and All-AAC, as well as being invited to the East-West Shrine Game and College Gridiron Showcase.
Grade:
6th Round
