New England Patriots Rookie Profile: Justin Herron

Position: Offensive tackle
Age: 24
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
College: Wake Forest

Measurables

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 308 pounds
Arms: 33 1/2 inches
Hands: 8 7/8 inches

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 5.26 seconds
Bench press: 27 reps
Vertical jump: 33.0 inches
Broad jump: 105.0 inches
3-cone drill: 8.41 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.88

The New England Patriots scored some developmental talent in the sixth round when drafted Justin Herron.

During his time at Wake Forest, Herron logged a total of 3,502 snaps and seemed to have improved overall each year that he stepped foot on the football field. His pass blocking grades by PFF were as followed for the past four seasons he played: 63.7 (2015), 75.7 (2016), 84.6 (2017), 84.2 (2019). He suffered a torn ACL in 2018 and missed most of the season. Though Herron does not have great strength for an NFL offensive tackle, he has great hand technique, which is why last season he only allowed four total pressures on 552 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle.

Herron earned an overall PFF grade of 68.2 last season. Why? Well, it really has to do with his run-blocking. In 2019 he had a 58.1 run-blocking grade, which is well below the average vs. college qualifiers. That has to do with his play strength. His lower body isn't as powerful as it should be, and even though his hand technique is strong, his overall strength and lack of proper balance causes him to lose 1-on-1 battles at the line of scrimmage.

Here are all his PFF grades from last season:

Run-block: 58.1
Pass-block: 84.1
Zone: 58.4
Gap: 58.2
True pass sets: 85.5

As a player that has a lot to work on before he earns meaningful snaps in the NFL, Herron will be taking on a reserve role in New England. Though he played at left tackle while at Wake Forest, it wouldn't make sense for him to play there with the Patriots, as they already have Isaiah Wynn and second-year tackle Yodny Cajuste on that part of the depth chart. With Marcus Cannon at 32 years old and coming off one of his worst seasons to date, it would make sense to have Herron shift his talents to right tackle and sit behind Korey Cunningham on the depth chart. With some proper coaching, Herron could potentially take over for Cannon when he decides to retire, which looks to be right around the corner.