2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: IOL Quinn Meinerz, Wisconsin-Whitewater
IOL QUINN MEINERZ
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 320 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Wisconsin-Whitewater
A Division III product that won everyone over the NFL world at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He might be best suited for a downhill, power-gap scheme, which meshes well with what the Giants offense did in 2020. Tested excellently at his pro day:
Those explosive numbers, and speed at all levels, combined with his size and large hands, are very impressive for any prospects, but especially one that’s making the jump from a small school like Wisconsin-Whitewater.
He dominated at the lower level of competition and has now played himself into day two conversations, thanks to his work at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. He has the potential to be a year one starter, but there may be early issues; he has a lot of potential as a developmental player who could be a good starter by year two.
Traits
Very good size at 6’2, 320 pounds, and has big ten plus inch hands to go along with 33” arms. It's somewhat hard to glean his traits from his Division III film at Wisconsin-Whitewater since he was so much more physically advanced than kids who have no shot of playing in the NFL, but Meinerz showed so much promise at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Showed a lot of strength at the point of attack in the one on one drills, was thick to contact in team drills, and did well in combo situations, hit the backside of ACE blocks better than I expected, climbed to the second level when he needed to, and did the same on the front side of ACE blocks.
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He played with excellent leverage and grip strength, gets that inside hand in tight, and limits defenders space while driving his legs through targets and showing impressive functional and core strength. I think it’s important to note that Meinerz hadn’t played football since 2019 due to COVID-19, yet he was able to show up big against SEC, BIG-10, and other Power-5 players.
Meinerz played guard in college and lined up at center during the Senior Bowl, where he showed interior positional versatility. He also does well to latch that post hand and steer defenders in the run game and the passing game, if necessary.
He has the posterior strength to anchor down against the bull-rush, re-sink his hips, adjust his hands as needed to defenders counters--I don’t have many worries about his ability to pass protect. However, early in the Senior Bowl, he did seem to struggle with immediate power, but he quickly adjusted to the counters.
Overall, Meinerz looks to be following the steps of Ali Marpet as a small school Senior Bowl player who skyrockets up the boards because of that week in Mobile. Meinerz's effectiveness that week speaks to his football character and preparation ability.
He was a wrestler in college who had to cut weight, but since there was no wrestling in 2020, he was able to keep his playing weight and adjust to that lifestyle. He should be a day two pick, and I would welcome him on the New York Giants.
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