It just so happens that my Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in dire need of a right guard, so it was with great interest that I started watching Laken Tomlinson's film.
I watched Tomlinson play against Kansas, Miami, Pittsburgh and Arizona State, over at Draft Breakdown. Those represented the third, fifth, eighth and 13th games of Duke's season, respectively.
The first thing I noticed about him was he has some power to him. He was able to drive just about every guy he faced off the ball repeatedly during those four games. He didn't always have great hand placement and he didn't bring his feet with him at times, which made it too easy for some defensive linemen to shed him, but that initial pop on his blocks was consistent. For whatever reason most teams like to run the football to their right side, so you need a dude like Tomlinson at guard who can knock people off the ball and let the running backs get busy.
I would have liked to have seen him stay a little more on-balance all/most of the time, but after watching him in four games I don't think a lack of athleticism is his problem. I just think Tomlinson isn't always a knee bender, which forces him to bend at the waist instead which in turn gets him overextended going forward and not able to adjust laterally to a change of direction by the defender.
That's fixable, but he is going to have to put in the work because bending your knees play after play takes effort. The easiest way to spot a tired offensive or defensive lineman is to watch and see who is playing low and who isn't. Once you get tired you better have your technique ingrained or you will stop doing things like bending your knees during the play. They don't say "low man wins" just for shits and giggles, and Tomlinson is going to have to learn to play lower more consistently.
I have to admit that he still managed to make the overwhelming majority of his blocks. And wasn't out there playing paddy cake either. Y'all know how I love an offensive lineman that likes to finish off his blocks. Tomlinson was trying to fold cats up like lawn chairs. Hell, after watching him against Arizona State in the bowl game he had me feigning for IHOP with all them damn pancakes he was handing out.
Listen, this one kickout block he made where he had to pull down the line ... WOOO SHIT!!! You won't see better block than that, and I don't give a damn whose film you put on! And whoever No. 32 is for Arizona State, he just has to go home and be a family man after that.
While he got the worst of it, that guy can take heart in knowing he was just one of Tomlinson's many pancake victims. I'll tell you this much, if he comes off and blocks somebody they had better try to shed him quickly because they'll soon find themselves staring up at the clouds if they don't.
To be honest, that aggressiveness probably also contributed to him being off balance at times. That was evident on several attempts at blocks on the second level of the defense. He tried so hard to run people over that he often appeared unable to slow down enough to make contact with the linebackers and safeties that tried to avoid him. The good news is that he usually made them avoid him in the opposite direction from where the ball was supposed to be.
I have concerns that when he tries to do that at the next level, he'll have a much harder time trying to keep his man from making the tackle. Again, it's fixable, but still a legit concern.
As for Tomlinson's pass protection, I didn't really get to see him in a lot of one-on-one situations in those four games. He was decent when he did, but even with pass blocking he was still a little too aggressive and not enough of a knee bender. He would lean forward too far and get beat with counter moves. I didn't see him give up a sack one-on-one in four games, mind you, but I did see him get beat a handful of times.
The ease with which he passed off pass rush games and blitz pickups with the rest of his offensive line stood out to me. That can be a mental as well as physical part of the game because he has to know and recognize that the person he is blocking initially may not be the guy he ultimately ends up blocking. His aggressiveness paid off in those instances because he would get enough push on the first guy that he would prevent any penetration which then gave him time to react to the other player looping around to his gap. I've seen NFL guards who weren't nearly as proficient at that.
Duke didn't throw very many screens, but one of them against Pitt stood out for me. Tomlinson had to get out in front of the screen and throw a block on what appeared to be a safety. He did a great job getting on him and staying on him whilst basically assaulting him. I was wondering if he would be athletic and patient enough to make a block in space like that and he showed me that he definitely is. If he can get to where he plays under control on regular plays, as he did on that screen pass, then he is going to be cooking with charcoal in the NFL.
It's still an "if" at this stage, though.
I saw some flaws in Tomlinson's game, but he is still a very good player. He also has the kind of on-field mindset I covet. You can never have too many mean, nasty, powerful offensive linemen, especially when those guys are also blessed athletically. I won't be mad at that at all if my Bucs end up picking him with their first pick in the second round. I can't think of a much stronger endorsement from me than that.