2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: USC OL Jonah Monheim

From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we hope to 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, Day 3 selections, or priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on USC offensive lineman Jonah Monheim.

No. 79 Jonah Monheim/OL USC – 6041, 302 pounds (Redshirt Senior)

MEASUREMENTS

The Good

– Solid athletic ability
– Gets out in space quickly and blocks effectively on screens
– Athleticism allows him to recover quickly
– Gets out of stance with good quickness as a puller
– Wins with good body positioning on gap runs
– Displays high IQ in identifying blitzers and picking up stunts
– Good hand positioning inside the defenders’ shoulders
– Makes good first contact with defenders, great squared shoulders
– Strong initial punch with hands
– Strong grip strength vs weaker defenders
– Offers good double-team help
– Good zone run blocker
– Improvement as year moves along

The Bad

– Short arms, gets exposed versus heavy-handed pass rushers and creates bad hand-fighting
– Average play strength
– Anchor needs to develop by gaining lower body strength
– High pad level
– Needs to hold blocks longer, can get beat as play develops
– Balance needs work; he loses feet often and ends up on the turf
– High pedigree pass rushers give him trouble with strong hand usage
– Lunges vs powerful defenders, gets swiped quickly and falls to the ground
– On the ground too often
– Can be fooled by stunts

Bio

– Started 46 games across 5 years, appearing at right tackle, left tackle, right guard, and most recently at center
– 2024: started at center, allowing 0 sacks, 2 QB hits and 14 hurries in 514 pass block snaps
– Named Third-Team All-Big Ten
– 2023: started all but one game at left tackle, allowing 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, and 13 hurries in 536 pass block snaps
– Named All-Pac 12 Second Team
– 2022: Started at right tackle and right guard, allowing 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, and 21 hurries in 608 pass block snaps
– Four-star prospect out of Moorpark High School in California
– Ranked the No. 13 offensive guard nationally and the No. 26 player in California
– Named a 2019 PrepStar All-American
– Earned Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll in 2021, 2022, and 2023
– Says he takes on new roles with poise and deep focus, ready to start wherever his team needs him

Tape Breakdown

Jonah Monheim is a veteran at USC and has shown his versatility over the years by starting at four different spots on the offensive line and doing so as a positive player. His short arms will ensure that he plays center in the NFL, and he showed good improvement as the year progressed. His athleticism is the best thing he possesses, shown on zone runs and blocking in space. I think he is best used in a primary zone system due to his explosiveness out of his stance, his ability to get to the second level, and his average play strength. However, his ability to block in a gap scheme is still positive, as he displays good body positioning and hand placement to contribute to a positive run play. Here, Monheim walls off Mason Graham, giving his running back an open gap to run through.

Monheim gets to his assignment quickly as a puller and makes strong initial contact, allowing the running back to make a read on the defender’s leverage. He works very well on screens by quickly getting out of his stance and attacking the second-level defender. On this play, it does not result in many yards, but you can see his athleticism in space.

While Monheim is a decent run blocker overall, he has some problems that continually show up on film. If he does not get an initial punch on his assignment, his short arms get exposed and swiped quickly on some reps, and others, he cannot hold his block for long enough, allowing the defender to shed him and make a play on the ball. His average play strength makes it so he does not drive anyone down the field; he catches the defender and tries to wall rather than display raw power. His weakness in holding blocks for long can limit explosive plays and allow powerful defenders to get rid of him.

Monheim shows some good flashes as a pass blocker, but he struggles in many situations. He provides good help on double teams and does a good job of identifying blitzers, but his contribution stops there. His play strength is already not great, but his high pad level attributes to a lot of quick knockbacks that disrupt the quarterback. As shown in this play, he gets bull-rushed by power rushers and can sometimes get rushed by a weaker defender.

He possesses below-average hand fighting because of his short arms, which gives handsy pass rushers a big advantage. His balance is a mess when the ball is snapped, and he ends up on the ground on more reps than he should. When facing high-pedigree pass rushers, he panics and lunges because he wants to make first contact, but they quickly swipe his short arms away and get to the quarterback. Mason Graham shows dominance on this rep by forcing the quarterback to scramble for an incompletion.

When a stunt comes his way, he is always the first contact point and gets blown back because of his weak base and high pad level, which gives the rusher a free route to the quarterback.

Conclusion

Jonah Monheim is a positive run blocker with some issues to work on, but his pass-blocking ability will not be enough to transcend him to be a positive starter in the NFL. He will have to stay at center because of his short arms but needs to work on his pad level, lower body strength, and balance issues to make an impact as a starter. He is best suited as a good backup who can come in and give some good reps or be a net-neutral starter when someone is injured. My comp for him is Robert Hainsey.

Projection: Early Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.1 – Fourth Round (Rotational Player)
Games Watched: vs USC (2024), at Michigan (2024), at Penn State (2024), vs Notre Dame (2024)