Green Bay Packers draft: The overrated and underwhelming Senior Bowl prospects
Conor McDermott
Conor McDermott (OT-UCLA): The second-team All-Pac12 selection is surprisingly nimble at 6-foot-8, 305 pounds, but can be considered nothing more than a project at the pro level given his deficiencies in strength and overall technique.
He continually struggled versus smaller rushers both in his senior season and in Saturday’s game, as evidenced by the 2nd-and-10 sack he surrendered to Derek Rivers in the third quarter.
On the play, the former basketball player underset when preparing to engage the oncoming defender and failed to properly square his shoulders allowing Rivers to get his outside shoulder and close in on the quarterback.
McDermott’s timing seemed to be off as well in that he wasn’t coming off the snap quickly enough.
The Tennessee-born right tackle must keep moving his feet to generate any force when locking up with opponents either as a run blocker or pass protector.
In addition, he has a tendency to be a leaner rather than a knee bender which leaves him susceptible to being thrown off balance.
Unfortunately, Mc Dermott did nothing to help or distinguish himself during Senior Bowl week and remains very much a work in progress.
His superior agility may get him drafted in the seventh round, but I can’t see him doing much better than that.