From now until the 2021 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to showcase as many prospects as possible and examine both their strengths and weaknesses. Most of these profiles will feature individuals that the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely to have an interest in, while a few others will be top-ranked players. If there is a player you would like us to analyze, let us know in the comments below.
#72 Stone Forsythe / OT Florida – 6090 315
The Good
- Very good size and length
- Good foot work to slide and mirror in pass protection
- Strong punch and hand strength versus pass rushers
- Good core strength and anchors well versus power rushers
- Solid mobility and quickness in short area
- Solid push on base and down blocks
The Bad
- Size limits his ability to play low
- Rushers with very good bend and dip can give him difficulties
- Wide hands and forward lean leaves his chest open on some blocks
- Feet are too narrow on drive blocks
- Adequate change of direction on second level and space blocks
- Needs to lock on to run blocks and sustain better
Bio
- Career – 40 games, 28 starts
- 25 starts at left tackle, 3 starts at right tackle, played some guard as well in 2018
- 2019, 2020 – Named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
- Father, Ray, played offensive line at Kent State and UCF and played professionally with the Bengals in the NFL and played in NFL Europe and the Arena League
Tape Breakdown
Teams are always looking for tackles. Stone Forsythe was the blind side protector for Heisman candidate Kyle Trask and is battle tested playing in the SEC. He is a two year starter at left tackle and has also started games at right tackle and played some guard as well.
In the passing game, he plays with good balance and uses his length to his advantage. In his vertical set, he gets good depth with his kick slide has a good base and lateral slide to mirror rushers up the arc. He has a good punch and uses his hand well to reset to keep them inside. He uses his length to push rushers past the quarterback. In his quick sets he displays solid quickness, a good base and quick punch to attack defenders. He has good core strength and anchors well versus power rushers. He has good awareness on stunts and twists and good mental processing to pick up the late rusher as well as look for work when uncovered. On the right side, his comfort and footwork is not as good when shifting over mid game but if he prepared regularly to play right tackle he could handle it.
At Texas A&M, Forsythe (72) shows a good anchor against a speed to power rush.
Vs Georgia, he gets good depth and has good balance but watch the quick punch to the inside shoulder that halts the rushers advance.
Vs Georgia, balance and lateral slide with good hands helps him to stay square and control the inside pass rush.
Vs Alabama, a rep on the right side showing his versatility to play on both sides with core strength and good hand placement under the arms to hold off the rusher
As a run blocker, he gets solid push on down and base blocks and works hip to hip on double teams. He has solid quickness and lateral agility in the short area with solid hand placement on Zone blocks. He was used occasionally on fold, wham and pulling blocks and has solid mobility to be effective when he could line up his defender. He shows solid push and timing on combo blocks and on the second level he best when setting up quickly at a good angle to wall off defenders.
Vs Georgia, second level blocks can give him some trouble but he executes well here getting a good push to kick out the linebacker.
Vs Kentucky, here he is pulling to the right. He’ll never be able to get really low on his blocks but he is effective in squaring up the defender and keeping him out of the play
Vs Kentucky, good base and width with his feet and he locks on and sustains the block throughout the play.
Vs Oklahoma, here is down block from the right side with good hand placement and push on the defensive tackle.
Hard for him to get low being so tall and smaller speed rusher can dip around the edge. He is susceptible to inside moves especially in quick sets when the gets too wide with his initial step. Hands are too wide and he leans forward on quick sets leaving his chest open and allowing defenders to grab and yank him out of the way. Poor timing and execution on cut blocks. He has adequate agility and change of direction on screens. On drive blocks his feet are too narrow and it allows defenders to slip around him. Needs to show better hands strength to lock on and sustain blocks in the running game. Change of direction is marginal on the second level and aggressiveness can lead to misses.
At Texas A&M, he will attempt to drive block on the edge but his hands are wide and don’t lock on and his feet are too narrow and he gets yanked out of the way.
Vs Oklahoma, he opens up a little early and reaches forcing him to bend and he gets beat to the inside.
Overall, Forsythe is a better pass protector than run blocker. He has a good anchor, punch, hand placement and mental processing on pass plays and gets solid push on blocks, has solid short area quickness and agility along with solid timing to the second level. Areas to improve include countering inside moves, better execution on quick set, better sustain and keeping his feet/base wide on run blocks.
As I stated he is battle tested in the SEC and his experience playing on both sides makes him valuable. The NFL is passing league and he can handle himself well in pass protection. The Steelers have experience with 6’9” tackles and if they want to continue that Forsythe could be a good option. In year one he would fit nicely as a swing tackle in a Zone heavy offense and should be a starter in a year or two.
Projection: 4th round
Games Watched: 2020 – At Texas A&M, vs Georgia, vs Kentucky, vs Alabama, vs Oklahoma
