Alex Leatherwood

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Leatherwood is a prospect that’s had experience at both guard and offensive tackle. Containing a towering and filled-out frame in many areas, he has adequate strength as a run blocker as he’s able to attach and drive defenders out of desired areas. His aggressiveness is a key ingredient to success in the run game, as he can completely overpower targets that he’s able to square up and land his body cleanly on. As a pass protector, Leatherwood has a clean pass set that’s able to gain ground up the field in order to stymie rushers that simply attack him vertically. His issues come against wise rushers that have the flexibility to alter and change their thought processes mid-rep. Leatherwood has stiffness in his lower half that doesn’t allow him to match the quick movements from twitchy edge defenders, which forces him into performing panic techniques by lunging and placing all of his weight forward. While Leatherwood has a wealth of experience at offensive tackle, his better long-term outlook may be at guard because of the limitations in his lower body. Still, the team that drafts him should experiment with him at offensive tackle to test his development and consistency there, but his upside could be greater at guard where his room to operate is condensed—which can mask some of the deficiencies contained in his lower body.

Ideal Role: Starting right or left guard that first should be experimented with at right or left tackle.

Scheme Fit: Man/Gap/Power blocking scheme.

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Click here to read Leatherwood's full Premium 2021 NFL Draft player profile, which includes trait-by-trait analysis, prospect comparison, and player grades from the TDN Scouting Department.