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.
#54 Carson Green/OT Texas A&M — 6061, 320 lbs.
The Good
– Good size and plus length (34 1/2″ arms) and big hands (10 3/8″), has the look of an NFL OT
– Above average run blocker, unlocks hips and drives feet to create movement up front and has size to engulf and overwhelm defenders, especially smaller DEs/OLBs
– Runs his feet and finishes blocks from start to finish of games
– Good hand fighter, capable of re-punching in pass protection, fights hard and rarely is out-leveraged
– Plays half-man in pass pro well most of the time, uses length to seal speed rushers while sitting inside on inside rushes and counters
– Strength to anchor in pass protection against bull and power rushes
– Shows knee bend in pass protection
– Smart player, good eyes and you can tell he’s reading/process pre-snap and off the snap, handles picking up stunts smoothly
– Effective cut blocker
– Excellent starting experience
– Regarded as a team leader
The Bad
– Not a tremendous athlete, a bit stiff overall
– Will struggle with inside rushes/counters when he sets too far outside
– Struggles hitting a moving target on second level blocks, too often overextends and whiffs and has trouble changing directions mid-play
– Most, if not all, time came in one spot (right tackle)
Bio
– 40 career starts, most if not all at right tackle for the Aggies
– Team captain for final seven games of 2020
– Named second team All-SEC tackle as a senior
– Three-star prospect out of H.S., chose A&M over Houston and SMU
Tape Breakdown
I wanted to get with Green for my final 2021 NFL Draft player profile because he is someone who met with the Steelers, talking with new assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan. Green, like so many of the linemen we’ve profiled before and ones the Steelers appear to have interest in, is strong and physical. He’s not quite the mauler the way a Teven Jenkins is, but he isn’t far off and he looks to finish his blocks. He showed the same effort at the end of a blowout win over South Carolina than he did at the start of it.
Green has great length and more importantly, uses his hands well. He’s able to punch and re-punch in pass protection, making up for a lack of great lateral movement.
He attacks half-man well. You don’t want to attack a defender down the middle of his body because he can win inside/outside. Green sits inside to protect against inside moves — most of the time — and uses his length to seal the edge, as displayed here.
But when he oversets too wide, he’s prone to getting beat inside. Watch him lose on this spin move here.
Green struggles in space hitting a moving target at the second level. Here are a couple examples.
Some have speculated Green could move to guard, and I think he’d be a good fit there once he gets used to playing a new position. He has the strength, size, and smarts to stick at tackle or at least be a rotational/depth guy there. Probably one of those “could be a decent tackle or an above average guard” discussions. Green’s game won’t wow anyone, but he got the job done in college, and I think he can translate that to the NFL. An Adam Snyder-type of player, a guard/tackle who hung around in the NFL for quite some time but was nowhere close to an all-star.
Projection: Early-Mid Day 3
Games Watched: vs. South Carolina, vs. Tennessee, vs. North Carolina
