HEIGHT: 6'8"

WEIGHT: 331

HAND: 9⅜"

ARM: 36¼"

WINGSPAN: 86¼"

40-YARD DASH: 5.13

3-CONE: 7.65

SHUTTLE:

VERTICAL: 29"

BROAD:

POSITIVES

— Excellent length with a tight clench and strong hands to tie up defenders once latched.

— Good athletic ability with the necessary quickness and agility to get to landmarks in pass protection and intersect targets on the move as a run-blocker.

— Casts a wide net with his length that helps him impede and slow down rushers who get to his edges.

— Good stopping power and strain in his anchor to promptly dissipate the bull rush.

— Brings an edgy, chippy play personality and finishes through the echo of the whistle.

NEGATIVES

— Upright playing style with an exposed chest and a propensity to hold defenders due to late, looping hand placement that results in his hands landing high and wide on target.

— Needs to do a better job of maximizing length and keeping defenders at his fingertips rather than allowing them access into his frame.

— Head dips into overextension on angle-drive/base blocks against post-snap movement across his face.

— Bad habit of drifting and oversetting on angled/45-degree sets, creating a soft inside shoulder against counter moves.

— Can get a little lazy at the top of the quarterback's drop, letting his pads rise before falling off late inside moves.

2023 STATISTICS

— 12 starts at left tackle

— Team captain

NOTES

— Born November 1, 2000

— 3-star tackle recruit in 2019 class, per 247Sports

— Moved from the defensive to offensive line as a senior in high school

— 44 career starts at left tackle

— Started the first two games of his redshirt freshman season in 2020 before missing the remainder of the season with a foot/ankle injury

— Older brother is Chris Paul, whom the Commanders selected in the seventh round in the 2022 NFL draft

— Preparing for the draft with Duke Manyweather in Frisco, Texas

OVERALL

Patrick Paul is a four-year starting left tackle inside Houston's RPO-heavy, balanced (53-47 run-pass split), zone-based run scheme with a tall, high-cut frame, excellent arm length and good athletic ability.

Paul shows good quickness out of his stance with a mixture of 45-degree/angle and vertical sets to get to his landmarks on time. He has the range to expand his set points and stay attached against high-side rushes, too.

Paul casts a wide net with his length, utilizing a circle punch to evade the cross-chop and has good stopping power in his anchor to strain and dissipate the bull rush. He also brings a tone-setting demeanor, consistently driving his feet through the whistle looking to bury opponents.

Paul gets into trouble against effective stutters and hesitations, drifting and oversetting, but he can at least slow down inside moves with his length. He needs to work on keeping his pads down at the top of the quarterback's drop to maintain leverage and prevent falling off blocks late in the rush.

Paul is an effective combo and climb zone run-blocker with the ability to feed the first-level defender over before intersecting and sealing off second-level targets. He can torque and initially kick out the frontside defensive end, but he quickly loses leverage in the second phase of the block due to persistently wide and high hand placement, negating his leverage and sustain ability. He also has a bad habit of either dipping his head into contact and/or peaking back to the ball on the front side of runs, resulting in too many quick sheds.

Overall, Paul still needs significant technique work to play with better leverage, control and sustain skills. But he has ideal length with starter-level athletic ability, play strength and a nasty demeanor that can be harnessed into a starting role within his first few seasons.

GRADE: 7.2 (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter — 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 63

POSITION RANK: OT7

PRO COMPARISON: Braxton Jones

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn

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