2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Alabama OT JC Latham

From now until the 2024 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day Three selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Alabama OT JC Latham.

#65 JC Latham, OT, Alabama (JUNIOR) – 6-6, 342 POUNDS

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

— Enormous blocker with the size, strength, and power you desire
— Thick build makes it difficult to move off his spot
— Can absorb bull rushes and stop pass rushers in their tracks
— Uses size and strength to displace defenders as a run blocker
— Has the explosiveness to jolt defenders back on contact
— Plays with heavy hands and will torque defenders away with a strong punch
— Effective at washing defenders down the line of scrimmage to create wide running lanes
— Aggressive finisher who will run his opposition into the turf
— Plays steady in pass protection as he sets the depth of the pocket
— Does a good job making pass rushers run the arc and sealing them off from the pocket
— Has the footwork to mirror pass rushers laterally
— Will hit and replace in pass protection with his hands, resetting to maintain his blocks
— Plays with a fair amount of nasty both as a pass blocker as well as a run blocker
— 25 career starts at right tackle in the SEC

THE BAD

— Isn’t the most fluid athlete out in space
— Lacks dynamic quickness when it comes to his kick step setting the depth of the pocket
— Could stand to lose some weight to improve athleticism
— Has a tendency to lunge into blocks, dropping his head and shooting his hands
— Will get his hands behind a defender’s shoulder pads, potentially leading to holding calls
— Needs to work on spatial awareness as he looks for work when initially freed up
— Could stand to maintain blocks longer on extended plays

BIO

— Junior prospect from Oak Creek, WI
— The nation’s top-ranked offensive lineman by all major outlets coming out of high school
— Selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game
— Helped Catholic Memorial in a state championship as a sophomore before transferring to IMG Academy for his final two years of high school
— Committed to Alabama and saw action in 14 games as a reserve with 104 snaps played at guard and tackle
— Started all 13 games in 2022 at right tackle and allowed two sacks, 11 pressures, two quarterback hits, and committed 10 penalties on the year
— Started all 13 games this season at right tackle in 2023 and allowed just two sacks in 408 pass sets
— Has 41 recorded knockdown blocks across 813 snaps the last two seasons
— Second team All-American (2023), All-SEC First Team (2023)

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Coming out of high school, many expected OT JC Latham to cement his status as a future first-round pick early on in his college career at Alabama. After all, the former unanimous five-star prospect and IMG Academy alum was the most sought-after offensive line prospect in his recruiting class, having the NFL-ready frame as well as the skill set to develop into a bookend tackle in the league for years to come. After seeing the field part-time as a reserve in 2021, Latham made the jump into the starting lineup as a sophomore and didn’t look back, starting 25 games at right tackle, where he would go on to earn All-American and All-SEC honors in 2023.

When you pop in the tape on Latham, you see a gigantic human being that was bred to play on the offensive line. The 6-6, 360-pounder can be a road grader as a run blocker, using his combination of size, strength, and power to displace defenders with ease on the ground. As you can see in the clips below, he uses his mass and leg drive to push defenders off their spot while displaying the finish to take them to the ground for the pancake block.

Latham displays that same aggressiveness as a run blocker in pass protection, looking to use an opponent’s weight and momentum against him when given the chance. Watch these two clips of Latham literally tossing defenders from Texas and Arkansas out of the club, getting an inside hand on the defender’s chest to control their torso, and then pushing through their chest to swing them down to the ground for the physical finish.

While a bigger blocker, Latham displays good footwork in pass protection, setting the depth of the pocket and making defenders run the arc of the pocket around the quarterback. Here’s a good example against the Razorbacks where we see Latham come out of his stance in a good kick slide to set the depth of the pocket with hands at the ready. He lands his punch on the edge rusher and escorts him up to the top of the arc, allowing QB Jalen Milroe to escape and pick up a few yards on the ground with his legs.

Latham plays with active feet as a pass protector, doing a good job of mirroring pass rushers from side to side and stopping counter rushes. Take a look at this rep where Latham catches the outside linebacker trying to come across his face inside, sliding his feet to the left, then back to the right to kindly escort the defender away from the play as Milroe looks to pass.

One of Latham’s main issues that pops up on tape is his tendency to drop his head and lunge into blocks. Given his size and height, it takes a considerable amount of detail regarding his technique to stay upright and attack blocks properly to avoid whiffs when he lunges into his opponent. Here are a couple of examples against Texas with Latham lunging into his block and dropping his head, leading to the defender quickly disengaging on the first rep and a complete miss by Latham on the second rep. The ball was going away from Latham’s side on both clips, but you still like to see better execution to keep the backside defender from getting in on the play.

There are also moments on tape where you see Latham in position to pick up a defender in pass protection, but he ends up going the full rep without making a concerted effort to get a body on a man. Here’s one example where Texas has two defenders rush on either side of Latham as he drops back into pass protection. He doesn’t pick up the edge rusher, who ends up looping around to the inside and gets the sack on Milroe. Latham could have either aggressively attacked the edge rusher as he dropped back in pass protection or picked up the interior pass rusher to allow the guard to pick up the edge rusher looping around inside to keep him from getting to the quarterback.

CONCLUSION

JC Latham is a rock-solid prospect who has plenty of positive traits on tape, as well as the starting experience in the SEC to make for a plug-and-play right tackle at the next level. He needs to continue to work on fine-tuning his technique regarding his hand placement and playing with proper leverage, but he’s shown to be a consistent pass protector against top-end competition while also excelling as a run blocker in Alabama’s rushing attack, excelling in a gap/power system where he should flourish at the next level.

He may not have the same freaky athleticism, but Latham does share plenty of similarities to Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs, who also was a battle-tested right tackle coming out of Iowa who also had a thick, dense frame that was made for plowing big holes in the running game. Like Latham, Wirfs was a capable pass protector for his big body, having the footwork to set the pocket and mirror pass rushers as a steady presence on the offensive line.

Wirfs was drafted in the top half of the first round, and Latham should expect the same result should he test respectably at the NFL Combine. The Pittsburgh Steelers could use a long-term solution at tackle to pair with Broderick Jones for the long haul, and Latham would give another SEC offensive tackle that could slide right into right tackle, allowing Jones to go to his more natural spot on the left side. Latham is this draft’s best pure right tackle prospect, and pairing him with Jones would give Pittsburgh its bookend tackles to boost the running game and improve the unit’s pass protection for the next half-decade.

Projection: Day One
Depot Draft Grade: 8.8 – Year One Quality Starter (First Round)
Games Watched: vs. Georgia (2023), vs. Arkansas (2023), vs. Texas (2023)