What separates Ikem Ekwonu from other undersized offensive tackles
A good note by Rob Rang, but does it matter?
Will the Seattle Seahawks have NC State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu high on their draft boards?
One thing that Rob Staton of SeahawksDraftBlog told us on the Seaside Joe podcast is that he sees Alabama’s Evan Neal and Ekwonu as guards at the next level. I believe it is imperative that the Seahawks do not draft a guard with their first round pick. You want a can’t miss guard? How about Chance Warmack?
It honestly doesn’t even matter that much to me if the outcome is Warmack or Quenton Nelson; Seattle must take shots at positions of great importance, one of which includes offensive tackle. Not guard.
Can Ikem Ekwonu play left tackle in the NFL?
At 6’4, 310 lbs, Ikem Ekwonu would be one of the smallest starting tackles in the NFL by height and weight. Last season, the only offensive tackles in the NFL who were under 6’5 and started at least eight games were La’El Collins, Duane Brown, Jonah Williams, Rashawn Slater, and Charles Leno, Jr.
Of those, Collins is 320, while Brown and Slater are listed at 315. Only Williams and Leno are listed under 310, but obviously we can’t confirm their actual weights. But it’s fair to say that the NFL has players like Jordan Mailata (365+) and players like Slater and Brown. There are ways to make up for size at offensive tackle.
But if Ekwonu is overpowered by the league’s ever-elusive and growing group of impressive edge rushers and has to slide in to become a road-runner at guard, that is an underwhelming return on a top-10 pick.
It doesn’t matter how much you love Ekwonu’s run blocking and aggressive attitude as an offensive lineman, teams can/do/will find great guards on day two and day three of the draft.
The Seahawks should only draft Ekwonu or Neal if they are confident that these players will be effective offensive tackles in the NFL, primarily on the left side because it is highly improbable that the next franchise quarterback will be a southpaw.
Dane Brugler referred to Ekwonu as an NFL tackle:
Rob sees him as a guard:
This guy says tackle:
Ikem Ekwonu himself says he wants to be a left tackle.
Brett Kollman thinks that Ekwonu can only be a “very good” tackle but a “great” guard.
Chad Forbes says he’s a guard, but admits he made that mistake with Slater in 2021.
But I’ll make it clear again—if you told me that the Seahawks could be guaranteed the next Quenton Nelson in this draft, I’d ask, “Well, can you give me a 80% chance at finding the next Russell Okung instead?”
Okung was nowhere near as good of a tackle as Nelson is as a guard, but Seattle shouldn’t be toying around with finding a Gabe Jackson replacement. The Seahawks need a Duane Brown replacement.
There is one reason to think that Ekwonu could be that guy: He would give the Seahawks wings.
Wingspan, that is.
There are more than 40 offensive linemen in this draft who are taller than Ekwonu, and roughly the same amount who weigh more than he does, but almost nobody in this class has longer arms than his 34” thing-grabbers.
Charles Cross has an 81” wingspan. Zion Johnson is at 82.5”. Abe Lucas is at 81.75” in wingspan. Evan Neal has an 83” wingspan. Trevor Penning, 82.8” wingspan. Bernard Raimann, 80.2”. Sean Rhyan is under 80”. Tyler Smith is just over 83” in wingspan.
Credit to Rob Rang, who mocked Ikem Ekwonu to the Seahawks for an NFL.com post on Sunday, as he noted that the NC State left tackle has a wingspan of 84.25”!
Despite being one of the shortest and lightest offensive linemen in this draft, Ekwonu does not have the wingspan and arm length issues that would follow someone like center Tyler Linderbaum (75.5” wingspan) or Michigan’s Andrew Stueber, who I profiled as a potential target later in the draft at 6’6, 325 lbs, but with a wingspan under 80”.
But interestingly, Rashawn Slater’s wingspan (80”) is hardly an advantage and yet he was one of the NFL’s best left tackles in 2021. Penei Sewell was only a hair longer in wingspan and arm length than Slater. La’El Collins is at 82”. Terron Armstead, another undersized tackle who wins, is barely over 81.5” in wingspan. The Falcons’ Jake Matthews is at 79.5” in wingspan. Denver’s Garret Bolles is just under 82”.
So is Ekwonu’s wingspan actually an advantage or something that makes up for him being 6’4, 310 lbs? If that is even something that he needs to make up for because clearly Slater, Armstead, Bolles, and Matthews have all managed to find ways to be more than effective as left tackles in the NFL despite not having the same size, arm length, and wingspan as most of their counterparts.
Perhaps the bigger concern would not be Ekwonu’s wingspan, but his underwhelming performances in agility testing at the NFL Scouting Combine: his 7.83 three-cone time and 4.73 20-yard short shuttle would set new “lows” for any offensive tackle drafted, signed, or traded for by the Seahawks under the coaching of Pete Carroll. Slater’s times in those drills last year: 7.48 and 4.45.
Bolles in 2017: 7.29 (fastest at the combine for OL that year) and 4.55 (second-fastest).
I’ve noticed that many fans only look at 40-yard dash time and consider that to be the only test of “athleticism”, so Ekwonu’s 4.93 seems impressive (though there were actually 12 OL to break 5.00 seconds this year, and doing so at 310 lbs is not that surprising), but his athleticism doesn’t match his intensity, his run-blocking, or his wingspan.
That doesn’t mean he can’t be a left tackle at the NFL level… so please do not start drafting up your angry letters asking why I’m so low on Ikem Ekwonu… it just means that the Seahawks have to be positive that he IS a left tackle at the NFL level. If he’s not, then the pick will underwhelm.
You touched on many points and counter points, something that would be nice to avoid at 9. You are right we do need a left tackle but if you take Ekwonu I think he will succeed. He has been Football small for his position all through college. The 40 time means very little for an offensive lineman. I think one thing it shows he has enough speed to get to the second level in run blocking. In pass blocking it really comes down to how well he can mirror his oppisite number. I don't think there is a drill that shows that. Most importantly he is or what I have read, tenacious.
Don't you think Lucas could be every bit as good, and you maybe able to pick him at 40. I think it's the offense he comes from that give people some worry. I read the Cougars averaged 25 run plays a game P/J would love that. Question I think this could lead us to going Offensive lineman at 9 and 40. Victoria Chris. PS if we did do this, you couldn't blame Russell Wilson for being a tiny bit confused. The answer lies in the large number he looks at every pay period. We would not have the number 9 pick. Also quickly John Schneider was asked if Wilson would sign an extension and Schneider said no. Russell deserves his money and I will always like him, and I hope he plays well for them, and in 2024 we beat them in the Super Bowl haha