From now until the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, 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 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Oklahoma OT Walter Rouse.
#75 WALTER ROUSE/OT OKLAHOMA – 6057, 313 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)
NFL Combine
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Walter Rouse | 6056/313 | 10 1/8″ | 35 1/8″ | 83 3/4″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
THE GOOD
– Good size for the position
– Excellent arm length and wingspan
– Pass protection was excellent this past season
– Big improvement as a run blocker at Oklahoma in technique and power
– Light, independent and well-timed strikes to establish first meaningful contact
– Fluid vertical and 45-degree pass sets to get to his landmark against wider alignments
– Solid core strength to absorb force on contact, give minimal ground
– Maintains good body control and posture through the block
– Length serves as an effective recovery tool to compensate for lower-half stiffness
– Gets to his run fits on angle-drive blocks on target and under control with good posture and his eyes up
– Lots of experience at the position and played well with RT snaps at the Shrine Bowl
– His feet are moving throughout the block
– Grip strength and the ability to clamp on to guys
– Shows a firm grasp of spacing, depth and timing to pass off guys and pick up stunts
– Initial quickness on kick-step to overtake on backside combinations
THE BAD
– Laborious when having to redirect and shift gears laterally
– Tends to wind-up and strike instead of shortening his distance with quick punches
– Loses positional leverage and doesn’t adjust well against effective stutters and hesitations
– Middling power to create sudden force on contact
– When drive blocking, pad level is too high to generate enough power
– Struggles against stronger bull rushes, which emphasizes his lack of lower body strength
– Doesn’t have the greatest foot quickness to get to his set points against speed rushers
– Average knee bend and can play too tall in his pass sets
BIO
– 3,400 snaps at LT in 5 years (4 years at Stanford University and 1 year at Oklahoma University)
– 52 starts and appeared in 53 games at LT
– Allowed a total of 76 pressures and 14 sacks
– 2024 Shrine Bowl attendee
– 2023 served as team captain
– 2023 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
– 2022 Pac-12 All-Academic Honor Roll
– 2021 Pac-12 All-Academic Honor Roll
– 2020 All Pac-12 Honorable Mention
– 2019 2nd-team freshman All-American by The Athletic
– Four-star prospect coming out of Sidwell Friends High School in Washington, D.C. by Rivals.com
– Was a two-time team captain as a junior and senior
– Nominated for 2019 Big 33 Game and 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year
– 2018 All-USA Today D.C. 1st Team and 2017 second-team
– Logged 60 tackles and three sacks as a senior on defense while registering 18 pancakes on offense
– Also competed in basketball and track (two-time basketball team captain and helped basketball team to 2017 conference title)
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Walter Rouse manned the left side of Oklahoma’s great offensive line this past season and was the left tackle for Stanford during the previous four years. Rouse’s game is primarily built around his natural power. He has a strong anchor and long arms to keep defenders away from his body and to redirect them well. Rouse has good strength and flexibility to seal defenders out of gaps as a run blocker without giving up much ground. Further, he generally maintains a wide base and seems to understand pad level, which enhances his strength. When Rouse initiates contact, he exhibits heavy hands and notable grip strength. He also demonstrates sufficient leg drive in pass protection.
Rouse excels as a run-blocker in a zone-heavy scheme because of his lateral movement skills, using efficient initial footwork with excellent length and strong hands to fit and tie up defenders with solid strain to sustain through contact. He doesn’t create much force on contact to drive defenders, but he plays long and can steer them away or down the line. He shows enough speed to be a functional move blocker on pull and leads, but he has some lower-half stiffness that shows up having to redirect on climbs that quick linebackers can exploit to work across his face.
Great seal and drive by Rouse here in the phone-booth situation at the goal line to completely take the defensive tackle out of the play.
He’s #75 in all of the following clips:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
Who wants to take a ride on the Rouse bus route? Probably not this edge rusher after this play.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
It brings joy and warmth to my heart to see a LT get out in space on a pin and pull to deal damage at the second level of a defense. You saw this a lot more at Oklahoma. There is a lot of upside to him in the run game.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
Rouse is a very adept pass-protector and shows great footwork in his pass sets to beat rushers to the spot. This is supplemented by his excellent length with well-timed, independent strikes to establish first meaningful contact and quick control. He has the core strength to brace, play long and maintain his posture through contact to keep defenders tied up once latched. He will get manipulated out of position by skilled rushers who know how to set up their moves with stutters and hesitations, creating soft edges that they can penetrate.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
His length comes in handy as an effective recovery tool to buy him time while his feet catch up.
Try to swing the gate on him when he switches over to the RT spot at the Shrine Bowl in a wide alignment, and he will use his length to move you right out of the club.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 12, 2024
CONCLUSION
Walter Rouse is an experienced leader at left tackle with the physical tools and skill set to compete for a swing tackle role right away before working his way into a starting lineup within his first contract. He could also play on the right side with his length and athleticism if he were to make the conversion. He would need to add lower body mass, though, as bull rushes and significant power can overwhelm him if guys get into his chest right away.
There are a lot of similarities to Carter Warren when he was coming out of the University of Pittsburgh (albeit not the injury concerns) when watching Rouse operate as a good pass protector that needs improvement in the run blocking department. Guys who have significant height and length for strengths that will probably need to be a swing tackle at first but could absolutely be a capable starter by the end of their first contract.
Projection: Early Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 7.5 – Rotational Player (4th Round)
Games Watched: at Texas (2023), at Northwestern (2023), at Arizona St. (2022), at Oregon (2022)
