NFL Draft Profile: Matthew Bergeron, Offensive Lineman, Syracuse Orange
In this story:
Matthew Bergeron
Syracuse Orange
#60
Pos: OT
Ht: 6047
Wt: 318
Hand: 0948
Arm: 3368
Wing: 8238
40: 5.20
DOB: 2/26/2000
Hometown: Victoriaville, Quebec, CAN
High School: Cegep de Thetford
Eligibility: 2023
One-Liners
One of the safest prospects in the draft, Bergeron projects as a long-term starting tackle or guard at the next level.
Evaluation:
A four-year starter in the ACC, Bergeron has experience at both left and right tackle. At the next level, his game would also translate well inside at guard. Through all the experience Bergeron has, he has developed a real sense of control out on the field. In both the pass and run game, Bergeron plays with great balance and he does a great job reacting to counter moves. In pass protection, Bergeron rarely lunges, staying square throughout the entirety of each rep. Bergeron plays with excellent pad level and he can sit down and anchor at the point of attack in pass protection. Power rushers struggled to bullrush Bergeron with consistency. His core strength and grip strength also stood out in the passing game. When Bergeron gets a hold of pass rushers, he is able to latch onto them and sustain his blocks. In the run game, Bergeron is very explosive on reach blocks and when asked to move to the second level. Bergeron’s balance and control are on full display on the move. He is able to find defenders at the second level and seal them off, creating running lanes for ball carriers. His strength shows up in the run game. Bergeron was never driven backward at the second level and he was able to finish back seven defenders with consistency. In terms of areas to improve, Bergeron needs to clean up his kick slide. Whenever he had negative reps in pass protection, they were mostly because he took false steps off the snap, forcing him to be reactive instead of proactive. Bergeron is a solid athlete but against faster pass rushers, they were able to beat him when his footwork was off. For the most part Bergeron played with a good pad level but at times, he’d play too high, taking away his power. Those were the few reps where power rushers could beat him. Bergeron needs to keep his hands in tighter. His hands were too wide on film too often, which will lead to penalties at the next level. They improved from his junior to senior film but still need to get better to avoid penalties. He makes up for it in other areas but Bergeron is a little bit of a waist bender. It won’t be a major issue but showed up a few times on film. Overall, Bergeron is a very safe prospect and many of the areas he needs to improve on are fixable. He can play guard or tackle but he is best suited as a plug-and-play starting left tackle as a rookie.
Grade:
2nd Round
Background:
Born February 26th, 2000, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Annie Bergeron, Matthew K. Bergeron was a groundbreaking football player at Cégep de Thetford High School. During his pre-collegiate career, the talented tackle was named Thetford’s Athlete of the Year. He was also the football team’s MVP twice. In 2016, he made the Spalding Cup All-Star team. In 2017, he was named a member of the Team Quebec roster for the Canada Cup. Bergeron paved the way for a Thetford rushing attack that put up over 250 yards per game. The 2018 RSEQ Second Division Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Line Player of the Year was the first football player in Thetford history to receive an NCAA DI football scholarship. Bergeron was also a PrepStar All-Region selection. After an impressive high school career, Bergeron was named the 952nd-overall recruit in his class by 247Sports Composite Rankings. The same outlet listed him as the 80th-best tackle that year and the second-ranked player from Canada in 2019. 247Sports top Canadian prospect from Bergeron’s class, Geoff Cantin-Arku, also accepted a scholarship to play at Syracuse and is a contributing middle linebacker for the Orange. Bergeron made an immediate impact in his freshman year. He appeared in all 12 games and started five at right tackle. In 2019, the Canadian played 425 offensive snaps and put up 20 knockdown blocks. He played every snap in four of his five starts. A testament to his excellence, the Orange averaged over 61 more rushing yards per game with Bergeron on the field than it did without him. The Quebec native was named to Pro Football Focus’s All-Freshman Second Team. In 2020, Bergeron started all 11 of Syracuse’s games; he played the first three at right tackle before transitioning to left tackle for the final eight contests of the season. In 2021, the standout lineman has helped lead the way for a dynamic Syracuse rushing attack. Bergeron has two brothers and one sister. He is majoring in social work.
