'You Better Buck Up': Why Falcons Believe OL Jovaughn Gwyn Can Beat 7th-Round Status
The odds have been stacked against Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn.
The South Carolina alum stands 6-2, 297 pounds and with 31 3/4-inch arms - all of which puts him in the bottom-10 percentile of all interior offensive linemen measured at the NFL Combine since 1999, per MockDraftable.
Beyond his size, Gwyn carries the weight of being a seventh-round pick, where only a relatively small number of selections ultimately hang around the league for a long time.
Consider further that Gwyn, 24, strictly played guard for the Gamecocks in-season but saw most of his action at center during Falcons minicamp, and the mountain to make it only becomes steeper.
But look inside the walls of Falcons headquarters and try to find someone who shares the same thought process - on the topic of odds, it's unlikely you'll find anybody.
It starts at the top with coach Arthur Smith, who first met Gwyn at the South Carolina Coaches Clinic and walked away impressed. One glance at Gwyn's off-field accomplishments and it's easy to see why.
Across five years in Columbia, Gwyn was named to the fall academic season four times, a notion of his commitment in the classroom during the season. He was twice anointed team captain and won awards for both strength and conditioning and toughness.
Add in the on-field resume Gwyn compiled - second-team All-SEC this past season, 47 consecutive starts at right guard and a Reese's Senior Bowl participant - and the profile of a steady presence comes to light.
Or, in other words, Gwyn's a safe bet ... at least with what he'll provide to the organization insane and out.
"He's a productive guy," Smith said. "He was a leader in that building, a leader on that line. There's nothing fake about him. Obviously a little undersized, but you talk about a guy that you consistently see finish over and over again ... that's a guy that, you know exactly what you're bringing into this building."
And so, the Falcons opted to select Gwyn at No. 225 with the intention of giving him a chance to play center in addition to guard, as his body type and intellect project favorably to do both.
For Gwyn, it's a new experience, but the overall minicamp adventure was rather straightforward - the schedule was a lot like fall camp at South Carolina, he said.
The biggest problem Gwyn had was trying to find things in his new building, but the move from guard to center hasn't proved too much to handle, even with the variety of nuances between the two positions.
"Playing guard, I really don't have to make as many calls, things like that," Gwyn said. "I wait for the mike point, and then from there, I make my calls. From the center, you have to make the mike point and calls from there, so that's the little difference - just more thinking."
There's a strong belief that Gwyn is well-equipped to handle "more thinking," stemming from his pre- and post snap intellect. Falcons offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford has praised Gwyn's reactive skills and composure in space, among other things.
Ledford's experience with Gwyn far out-dates Smith's, as he tried to recruit the Charlotte, North Carolina native out of high school ... but "whiffed," as Smith joked.
Now five years later, Ledford gets the chance to coach Gwyn - and he's quite excited to do so, in large part because of the competitive nature that's being brought to the offensive line room.
"I think you see a very tenacious player," Ledford said. "I think you see a player that really plays hard, he really gets after it. He's a guy that's going to give you everything that he has."
The Falcons' staff, be it coaches or front office personnel, have used many of the same words and phrases to describe Gwyn - tenacious, plays hard, gets after it, and seemingly any other synonyms for hyper-competitive.
And really, that's the way Gwyn has to play, and a big part of the reason he's made it to the sport's highest level - he consistently plays considerably bigger than he is.
Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot feel they've built a strong culture and entered this offseason seeking to strengthen it, which is done by adding players who fit a collective vision regardless of the price or draft slot.
And with Gwyn, the Falcons feel as if they accomplished exactly that - just ask vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith, who spoke highly of his physicality and intangibles, two key elements of that aforementioned culture.
“Measureable-wise, he’s shorter, (has) shorter arms, (but) that dude is mean and he’s nasty,” Smith said. “He’s coming at you, so you better buck up. That’s how he’s wired - he’s got to make up for some things that people think are limitations and we all knock him for, but that kid, we’re excited to see Jovaughn.”
Atlanta received a glimpse of Gwyn last week at minicamp, where he and second-round left guard Matthew Bergeron formed a potent duo centered around communication. The two "got closer and closer," per Bergeron, and are poised to grow together in the coming months.
Naturally, there will be growing pains as each learns the playbook but having a sounding board for one another is highly beneficial - or "great," in Bergeron's words.
The outside expectations for the two are far different, as one would expect with a 187-pick gap between selection. Bergeron will enter his rookie year as the favorite to start at left guard; Gwyn, conversely, finds himself on the roster bubble.
But that's not how he's looking at. There's no additional chip on his shoulder or intrinsic motivation stemming from being passed over some 224 times.
Instead, Gwyn's looking from within, firmly focused on proving he belongs in the NFL regardless of the number on his draft card.
"No matter where they drafted me," Gwyn said, "I'm going to come in here and still work and do what I'm supposed to do. ... Whatever they want to play, I'm just willing to do whatever."
But really, Gwyn's trying to do what he's not supposed to do - outperform accusations that he's too small and can't fight his way onto the roster.
And what the Falcons truly want is exactly that - for Gwyn to beat the odds, from his size to draft position and everything in between ... and if there's one thing Atlanta's believes, it's to not bet against the mean, nasty, and leadership-filled underdog.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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