2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Cincinnati OG Luke Kandra

From now until the 2025 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, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Cincinnati OG Luke Kandra.

#67 LUKE KANDRA/OG CINCINNATI – 6045, 318 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)

 MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

– Prototypical size for a guard with big mitts for hands
– Very athletic, moving laterally in space as a zone run blocker
– Fast out of his stance at the snap
– Shows great effort and high motor throughout the game
– Consistent hand location to meet his targets
– Dictates contact on his own terms
– High football intelligence and awareness, identifies twists and stunts well
– Well-distributed weight to stay balanced through twists and turns
– Really good grip strength to latch
– Erasing second-level blocker in the open field
– Keeps feet moving through contact on running downs
– Pass protection mirroring
– Plays clean, just two penalties in four years of playing time between schools
– No injury history to note of and is a durable player

THE BAD

– Needs to continue getting stronger to play in man or gap schemes
– Lowers his eyes before contact and can whiff on blocking in space because of it
– Bends at the waist more than you’d like to see
– Plays with a high pad level at times in pass protection
– Lunges and overextends his arms to try and make first contact
– Lack of arm length can cause longer-limbed players to get into his shoulder pads quickly
– Missing the fundamentals and body control for extended block sustain
– Tends to overset B-gap rushers, leaving a soft inside shoulder
– Older prospect with 5 years of eligibility that is confined to a heavy zone-blocking scheme

BIO

– 2,053 total snaps (1,922 RG, 123 LG, 6 C)
– No special teams snaps
– Appeared in 45 games with 26 starts
– No known injuries
– Career: 30 pressures allowed (2 hits, 24 hurries), 2 sacks allowed, 2 penalties
– 2024-25 season: 8 pressures allowed (1 hit, 7 hurries), 0 sacks allowed, 1 penalty, PFF grades of 84.1 pass blocking (66.3 true pass set blocking), 74.3 run blocking (76.5 zone blocking, 64.2 gap blocking)
– Born in Cincinnati, OH out of Elder HS
– 2024 All-Big 12 First Team (team captain also)
– 2023 All-Big 12 First Team & AP All-America Third Team
– 2022 started two games for Louisville
– Started 24 straight games at Cincinnati, only giving up 1 sack
– Graduated with his MBA
– Recently got married
– Had a redshirt season in 2020 before appearing in 21 games in 2021-2022 for Louisville
– 2019 3-star recruit out of HS, according to 247Sports in Ohio
– Played OL & DT for the Elder football team
– State championship participant in shot put and discus events
– Also played basketball in high school

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Luke Kandra is a 5th year senior at the University of Cincinnati. He spent the first three years of collegiate football at Louisville, where he redshirted his 2020 season and played mainly as a backup for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In 2023, he followed his coach, Scott Satterfield, to Cincinnati to play football back in his hometown. Since arriving in Cincinnati, he has been a standout player, receiving First Team All-Big 12 and Third Team All-American honors in 2023. This year has been another step forward as he was named one of the captains for the Bearcats and most recently was awarded Second Team All-American honors.

Kandra stands out with an impressive build, showcasing the ideal size and weight for an interior offensive lineman. His combination of height and mass positions him as a formidable presence on the field. He presents as a well-balanced lineman who has greatly improved his pass-protection skills in the past two years to catch up with his impressive run-blocking abilities.

He is No. 67 for Cincinnati in all of the following clips:

He has great footwork in pass protection and can initiate contact with defenders early. He has a strong anchor and can sit on guys when they bullrush him. He also shows good mirroring skills, aligning his shoulders and hips with the man in front of him squarely. An area of concern for him, though, is he sometimes will be too eager to land the first blow instead of letting rushers show their hand first. Kandra can also overextend and lunge at times to set the tone for the rep. He is a high-level processor who can punch, slide, reset, and take on free rushers or twisting defensive linemen. His hands remain active when engaged to work against counters, but quicker, more nuanced pass rushers can get into Kandra’s frame quickly to control the rep.

He really excels as a run blocker despite his lack of play strength. Watching him work in zone concepts is a sight to behold. He can pull and work laterally well, getting to guys out on the perimeter and redirecting them away from the runner.

One of his most notable strengths is his exceptional mobility in space, which allows him to vertically and laterally engage defenders quickly to get to the second level. He shows quick feet and has a good balance so as not to end up on the ground often. When asked to play more in close quarters at the line of scrimmage, he carries his hands in a low and close carriage position when going straight ahead against linemen. He can also get stood up but usually can maintain his ground with his core strength.

However, this can get him into trouble because he lacks upper-body strength and leg drive. However, he really understands angles and body positioning and knows how to move guys where he wants them. Kandra has difficulty resetting once he’s off balance, though. He needs to do a better job sustaining blocks in the run game, as he will prematurely let go of guys at times, allowing them to get to the football. He consistently lands big blows on guys downfield when he gets to work in space.

CONCLUSION

Luke Kandra is an experienced guard who has excelled as a run and pass blocker the past two seasons. He offers exceptional athleticism and the ability to move fluidly in space. Because of his play strength, he will probably fit like a glove in a zone-blocking run scheme but would struggle more with man and gap concepts.

He bears resemblances to Dylan Parham when he was coming out of Memphis. I don’t know if Kandra can play center like Parham can, but he definitely has the tools to succeed if he can utilize his strengths as a guard. He has good body control, football intelligence, mirroring in pass protection, and lateral quickness to get to the perimeter and second level as a run blocker. Pittsburgh could be a potential fit for him with Arthur Smith’s system and what they ask of their guards right now.

Projection: Mid-Late Day 3
Depot Draft Grade – 7.3 4th Round (Rotational Player)
Games Watched: vs Pittsburgh (2024), at Iowa State (2024), vs Miami (Ohio) (2023), at Houston (2023)