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Obinna Eze NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Tackle
- School: Texas Christian
- Current Year: RS Senior
- Height: 6'8"
- Weight: 334 pounds
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Obinna Eze Scouting Report
Obinna stands at around 6’8″, 334 pounds, with an impressive build. He has an extremely long, high-hipped frame with tremendous reach and a strong, densely-built base. His upper body is a bit leaner than his lower body, but Eze’s length affords him a great deal of natural leverage.
Eze has great quickness off the snap and the mobility to be a pulling blocker on running plays. He’s also flashed smooth lateral mobility and freedom heading into the second level. Furthermore, Eze has good corrective athleticism. He can engage inside, then shift to outside rushers as plays develop.
Eze’s size and athleticism combine to form an exciting mixture. As a pass protector, Eze turns his hips and directs defenders outside the pocket with his length. On running plays, his length — combined with steady leg drive when anchored and good lean as a blocker — amounts to tantalizing people-moving potential.
Eze’s hands impressed greatly in the tape that was watched. The TCU OT has shown he can combat counters with quick, efficient hands. He has awe-inspiring moments of focus and hand coordination when negating rushes, and he clearly has the capacity to use fast, forceful hands. Additionally, his length provides a great conduit with which he can generate artificial power.
Eze can stack hand motions and target weak points of defensive linemen. He keeps his elbows in as a pass protector to maximize potential energy and extension force. Given his natural leverage, properly executed extensions by Eze carry a ton of power. He also has the ability to attack, disengage, and stack blocks quickly in the open field.
Eze plays with solid knee bend, and he lowers his pad level well for his size. He also possesses the awareness to recognize extra rushers sneaking in.
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Areas for Improvement
For Eze, efficiency of motion might be the most pressing issue. While he’s a good athlete, he has some tightness in his hips at times, and he can also be stiff when changing directions. His footwork can be choppy when matching around the edge, and his weight transfers can be more smooth.
Eze’s positioning can improve as well. The TCU OT sometimes gets off-balance when working to seal off lateral lanes, and he sometimes extends before he has proper positioning. This causes him to lurch and make himself vulnerable. Eze can improve his footwork as a run blocker, and in general, he can gain better synergy between his upper and lower body.
Eze’s hands, while strong, can be inconsistent and uncoordinated. The TCU OT sometimes wraps his arms around defenders, and he doesn’t always get his hands under his opponent’s pads. He lets edge rushers’ hands get inside his torso too easily. His hands can strike more cleanly, as he’s streaky when trying to establish his anchor. His grip strength isn’t overwhelming, either. At this point, he doesn’t always properly channel his length and power, and that’ll be a problem at the next level.
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Obinna Eze Career at School
The Tigers knew they’d gotten a steal. Arriving at campus, Eze had a looming 6’7″, 279-pound frame. Even at that size, he had a stellar 5.22 40-yard dash and a 28.8-inch vertical. Eze’s upside was palpable, but he was still fairly new to the game. Thus, he redshirted his 2017 season and only played in six games in 2018, logging action at left tackle.
In 2019, Eze received his first full-time starting role at the collegiate level. By now, he was ready. Eze locked down the left side of the line for two full seasons, starting 14 games in 2019 and 11 in 2020. After the 2020 season, Eze chose to enter the transfer portal. Though thankful for his time in Memphis, he sought to further his development, and he zeroed in on TCU as the right place to accomplish that.
Historically, TCU has done well with athletic, tools-rich tackles. The expectation is that Eze will find similar success. Eze is already on the Senior Bowl watch list, and his progression over the course of 2019 and 2020 suggests that he’s still trending up.
Eze’s in an excellent spot with the Horned Frogs. He has a stable coaching staff, an experienced starting quarterback, and a lot of pass-protection reps coming his way. If he can continue to refine his efficiency of motion, positioning, and hands, he has the potential to be a Day 2 pick with starting upside, much like Niang before him.
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Obinna Eze NFL Draft Player Profile
Few offensive tackles have more riding on the 2021 season than Eze. With a strong year of development, Eze could become an early-round pick. For now, however, he’s likely an early-to-mid Day 3 prospect with upside. Eze is a great athlete with a long, imposing frame, but he needs to further refine his game and add more upper-body strength if possible.
There are great glimpses of hand usage in Eze’s film. The TCU OT no doubt knows how to defend against several kinds of rushes. He also has the strong base and lateral mobility to match rushers if needed. Over-arching consistency should be the goal for Eze in his lone season with the Horned Frogs. If he can effectively channel his lower and upper-body traits and take the next step, he could earn a starting opportunity early in the NFL.
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