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 Georgia OG Dylan Fairchild.
#53 DYLAN FAIRCHILD/OG GEORGIA – 6-5, 315 POUNDS. (RS JUNIOR)
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Dylan Fairchild | 6’5/315 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 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
– Big, powerful, and wide upper body frame
– Serious strength to rock people with his punches
– Great grip strength to latch and not let go easily
– Really good at hand fighting from his wrestling background
– Capable of absorbing and neutralizing contact from defensive linemen
– Sets a solid anchor against bull rushes
– Quick off the snap with initiating first contact
– Excels in double-team and combo blocks
– Able to execute climbs and pulls to hit his landmarks
– Very physical player who shows awesome effort in finishing blocks
– Squares up and mirrors well against rushers with his fluid movement and solid base
– Adept at deciphering and responding to line games and stunts
– No injury history, dependable player
– Still a relatively young player with lots of technical room to grow
THE BAD
– Can play too high out of his stance at times, which allows his chest to be maneuvered and caved
– Occasionally struggles with maintaining balance and positioning in sustained blocks
– Thrown off consistently by delayed rushers and blitzers
– Lacks consistency in utilizing length effectively
– Needs improved footwork to enhance block securing and lateral movement
– Hand carriage is too low and wide more than it should be
– Doesn’t have effective hand counters once guys get into his chest
– Difficulty with mobility is evident on pulls at times
– Takes inconsistent angles to run block out in space
– Technically more of a raw prospect that needs refinement from coaching and development
BIO:
– Born 5/8/2003 (21 years old) out of Cumming, GA
– 1,451 total snaps (1,315 LG, 134 RG)
– 179 special teams snaps (160 FG kick, 19 punt coverage)
– Appeared in 30 games with 23 starts in 4 years at Georgia
– No injuries
– Career: 14 pressures allowed (1 hit, 12 hurries), 1 sack allowed, 5 penalties
– 2024-25 season: 9 pressures allowed (1 hit, 7 hurries), 1 sack allowed, 4 penalties, PFF grades of 87.0 pass blocking (78.6 true pass set blocking), 71.8 run blocking(76.6 zone blocking, 59.0 gap blocking)
– 2025 Senior Bowl Invite
– 2024 Named to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List
– 2024 Second-Team AP All-American & All-SEC Teams
– 2024 Lombardi Award & Outland Trophy Watch List
– 2021 four-star prospect by 247 Sports in West Forsyth HS
– No. 5 OG prospect in the country
– 47-0 as a heavyweight wrestler during his junior season and won the state championship
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Dylan Fairchild is an experienced offensive guard on the Georgia Bulldogs team who played predominately left guard but did play right guard for limited snaps in the 2023 season when asked to. He’s a former high school wrestling state champion who plays football with significant hand-fighting prowess, big-time upper-body power, and functional athleticism. He was on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List for The Athletic in 2024. Although he has put up impressive performances in his two years as a starter, he still shows a lot of underdeveloped footwork and technique consistency to be a top-tier player right now. Fairchild does have the prototypical build, power, good length, and decent athleticism to show upward growth and a ceiling for his future.
As a pass protector, he shows a fast initial step. He has a broad frame and strong upper half to absorb, and honestly, it seems like he welcomes anyone who wants to meet him in a phone booth.
Fairchild is No. 53 for Georgia in all of the following clips:
He can anchor against bull rushes and uses his strong core and grappling to move defenders at will once he’s attached. Fairchild has very heavy hands and a powerful punch to pop guys at first contact with good strike timing. He also does a nice job resetting his hands if he doesn’t make first contact and has counter-swipes to eliminate long-arm and swim moves. Fairchild is able to pass on blocks or help his teammates when they need it.
He’s always looking for extra work and gives great effort down-to-down. He loves to drive guys into the ground and pancake them whenever possible.
The opposite end of that power is his difficulty in holding his anchor for a sustained period. He may need to get stronger in his lower half so he’s not driven backward as often as he is, even if he almost always does hold on just long enough.
With his labored footwork, he can struggle with delayed rushers and mirror the more athletic lineman and edge rushers to pick them up. I saw instances when watching him where he picked up stunts and twists well, though. He also tends to carry his hands low and wide, which creates too many opportunities for defenders to access his chest, and he tends to hug guys when he feels them slipping away. This makes it even more impressive that he’s only given up 1 sack and 14 pressures in the past two seasons. The sack was also due to him not picking up a blitz. It wasn’t even a one-on-one battle in the trenches.
As a run blocker, he comes off the snap, being very aggressive and strong with his hands. Fairchild often makes the first contact with quickness and frequently moves guys off the line of scrimmage. If he gets his hands on you, you’re most likely going for a ride.
He identifies good aiming points to win the leverage battle and drive them out of the play. When it comes to duo blocks, he can displace guys and get to the second level quickly. He can also pull and seal well for a guy his size. He has pretty good lateral agility to get moving on inside and outside zone running plays that Georgia runs a lot of.
When he does go up against stronger and bigger defensive linemen, there were times when he struggled to get off his blocks more. I would love to see him play up his mauler mentality more consistently in the running game. His inconsistent balance limits his effectiveness and ability to sustain blocks. He takes poor angles to second-level players and can’t mirror defenders in space.
CONCLUSION
Fairchild has the requisite size, length, power, and athleticism to be an eventual starter in the NFL. I think he could play either guard spot, but he shouldn’t be asked to play tackle because of his lack of mobility and lateral agility. He just doesn’t have the athletic traits to move with speedier guys and be on an island despite his physical stature. Ideally, he would take a redshirt year in his rookie season and develop behind a veteran guard before eventually finding his way into a starting role. He has to work on his hand carriage, strengthening his lower half, improving his footwork, and understanding how to pick up delayed rushers and blitzers better.
He’s still a younger lineman with an adequate amount of starts and the right tools to work with for an interior player to take a chance on. He plays a lot like Isaiah Adams did at Illinois when he was at left guard there in 2022. Where he’s at in his development and where he could be, the Steelers make a lot of sense for him as a potential day-3 pick to provide immediate guard depth for next year and potentially supplant Isaac Seumalo in 2026 if they decide to move on from him. Even if they don’t do that, Pittsburgh can always use interior offensive line depth, and Fairchild definitely would give them that.
Projection: Early-Mid Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.4 4th Round (Rotational Player)
Games Watched: at Alabama (2024), at Texas (2024), vs Kentucky (2023), vs. Florida State (2023)
