Not a lot went proper for Northwestern soccer in 2022, however one of many vivid spots was the excellent play of offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, a projected top-15 choose within the 2023 NFL Draft. Incomes the best pass-blocking grade in all of faculty soccer by PFF (93.0), Skoronski received the Remington-Tempo Large Ten Offensive Lineman of the 12 months award, turning into the primary Northwestern participant to obtain that honor.
Skoronski will look to comply with within the steps of former Wildcat Rashawn Slater in turning into a first-round choose and growing right into a beginning NFL sort out, however how a lot upside does he present long-term?
2023 NFL Draft Choice
The Tennessee Titans chosen Peter Skoronski with the No. 11 total choose within the 2023 NFL Draft. For full protection of the Peter Skoronski choose, head over to Music Metropolis Miracles.
Causes to purchase in to Peter Skoronski
One of many first issues that jumps off the display to me with Skoronski is his nearly-impeccable footwork. His toes are by no means sluggish off the snap, and they’re at all times transferring in correlation along with his physique. On high of that, he shows a good looking kick slide that places him in good place in his cross units.
I additionally love how Skoronski makes use of his fingers. he’s correct touchdown his punches, and his hand placement is constant, permitting him to win the battle for leverage regardless of having a smaller body and solely common energy. As a run defender, Skoronski does an ideal job of retaining his pads low and sustaining good physique alignment.
One other sturdy facet of Skoronski’s sport is his quickness off the snap. He shows an ideal sense as to when the ball is being snapped, and he’s fast to sq. up as he goes into his cross units. Skoronski’s consciousness and psychological self-discipline can’t be ignored both, as he makes correct pre-snap assessments whereas not often being the reason for any pre-snap penalties or commotion.
Causes for concern with Peter Skoronski
There’s nothing in Skoronski’s sport that can’t be fastened, however nonetheless, there are nonetheless a pair tiny blemishes on his resume. Probably the most noticeable points come when confronted towards defenders with size. When he leaves his chest uncovered, he opens a door for longer defenders to get their fingers on him and drive him off his base. His shorter arms make it harder for him to maintain defenders away as they arrive across the edge, which is why some NFL scouts might even see him as a guard on the subsequent stage.
Peter Skoronski highlights
On this footage, you will note each the nice and the dangerous with Skoronski. As evidenced under, he does an ideal job locking onto opponents within the trenches, however his steadiness can get shifted when matched towards longer cross rushers. His matchup towards Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau was fairly presumably probably the most difficult of his profession.
2023 NFL Mix outcomes for Peter Skoronski
Skoronski’s testing numbers had been stable throughout the board in Indy, working a 5.16 40-yard sprint with a 1.75 10-yard cut up, leaping 34.5” within the vertical and 115” within the broad, and recording a 7.8 flat within the 3-cone drill. He additionally put up 30 reps on the bench. The largest query, nevertheless, was his arm size. At 6’4”, 313 kilos, Skoronski’s arms measured 32.25 inches, which is under the standard threshold for offensive tackles.
What others are saying
Here’s a portion of what ESPN’s Todd McShay mentioned about Skoronski in his newest mock draft:
Offensive tackles ideally have 34-inch size or extra. However he’s sudden, nearly at all times balanced in his set and highly effective. And the explosion confirmed up in his vertical (34.5 inches) and broad bounce (9-foot-7), each second-best amongst offensive linemen.
Here’s a portion of what Bradley Locker from Behind the Metal Curtain needed to say in his scouting report for Skoronski on the BTSC Large Board:
Skoronski can be within the dialog to be the No. 1 total choose if his body had been solely barely bigger. His approach is basically impeccable, meshing punches with a rock-solid anchor, nice hand placement and excellent leverage. Make no mistake about it: Skoronski is ridiculously sturdy, and if he will get his fingers on you, it’s awfully robust to wrestle free. Skoronski’s finest work might have come within the cross sport, the place he surrendered solely six pressures (!) and one sack all 12 months. Occasionally, Skoronski can wrestle with bull rushes and very fast strikes, however he secured the quarterback’s blindside at a really excessive charge. Within the run sport, too, Skoronski strikes our bodies, will get to the second stage and is shrewd.
To me, Skoronski can positively play sort out within the NFL, however even when groups contemplate him a guard, he’s probably a plug-and-play starter with the capability to be probably the greatest gamers on this 12 months’s crop.
Going solely off the tape, I see no motive why Skoronski can not stay at sort out within the NFL. Nonetheless, his promising projection at guard solely raises his ground as a prospect. If he can not deal with NFL athletes on the sting, he has sufficient athleticism and physicality to maneuver inside and nonetheless carve out a productive NFL profession.
