BYU offensive sort out Blake Freeland is predicted to be a mid-round choice within the 2023 NFL draft. George Frey, Related Press
Two years in the past, former BYU offensive sort out Brady Christensen was a third-round NFL draft decide, heading to the Carolina Panthers with the seventieth general decide within the 2021 draft.
May Blake Freeland observe an analogous path?
We’ll discover out quickly, with the 2023 NFL draft taking place on the finish of this week in Kansas Metropolis — Spherical 1 takes place Thursday, Rounds 2-3 on Friday and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday.
The 6-foot-8, 302-pound Freeland is rated by many draft consultants as an early Day 3 prospect — going within the fourth or fifth rounds — whereas others see him as presumably sneaking into the second or third spherical.
Whereas Freeland’s touchdown spot within the draft brings all kinds of opinions from nationwide consultants, there’s one factor they'll agree on: the Herriman Excessive product had himself a superb NFL mix.
Right here’s a have a look at what some consultants should say about Freeland forward of this yr’s draft:
How did Blake Freeland’s NFL mix expertise impression his draft inventory?
In the course of the NFL mix in early March, Freeland’s 37-inch vertical bounce was the very best mark for an offensive lineman on the occasion since not less than 2003. Freeland additionally recorded a 10-foot broad bounce, a 4.98-second 40 and a 7.46-second three-cone time.
NFL.com’s Chad Reuter stated his inventory went up by advantage of that efficiency.
“Freeland remains to be filling out his 6-7 7/8, 302-pound body. He actually jumped into the highlight by recording a 37-inch vertical bounce, the very best mark for a mix offensive lineman since not less than 2003. He additionally posted a 10-foot broad bounce, ran a 4.98-second 40 with a superb 1.68-second 10-yard cut up and recorded a pleasant 7.46-second three-cone time,” Reuter wrote.
“Freeland’s work in on-field drills was a bit uneven, together with his agility shining by means of at instances however his slender base inflicting points when he was requested to cowl floor in move safety drills. He doesn't appear like a top-50 decide to me, however the athleticism he confirmed off on Sunday ought to land him a spot afterward Day 2 of the draft.”
The place does Blake Freeland rank amongst offensive sort out prospects?
The uncertainty of the place Freeland will finally be taken within the draft is mirrored in the place he lands on a number of nationwide rankings of the offensive sort out group on this yr’s draft.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Freeland because the Thirteenth-best offensive sort out prospect on this yr’s class and a fifth-round expertise, calling him somebody who “has a formidable athletic background for his dimension and remains to be determining the way to unlock his pure presents.”
On its large board, ESPN lists Freeland because the ninth-best offensive sort out prospect and No. 72 general on this yr’s class. “He partitions off defensive linemen, is an efficient combo blocking as much as the second stage and blocks to the echo of the whistle,” Steve Muench wrote.
Bleacher Report’s scouting division charges Freeland because the No. 11 offensive sort out prospect on this yr’s draft and grades him as a Spherical 6 or Spherical 7 decide.
“Freeland is an skilled however largely untested sort out prospect who's a useful zone run-blocker with a big body and a few eye-popping testing numbers, however he has sluggish footwork in pass-protection with middling leverage or energy that can make it tough to carve out greater than a backup position within the NFL,” Bleacher Report wrote.
Probably the most optimistic evaluation of Freeland got here from Landing Wire’s Doug Farrar, who charges Freeland the fifth-best offensive sort out heading into the draft.
“The extent to which Freeland has developed his method and athletic potential might need him as an early-to-middle Day 2 decide. The extent to which NFL groups are scared off by his relative lack of bodily dominance may complicate that equation,” Farrar wrote.
“The excellent news is that when you may have a participant with 92nd percentile top and twelfth percentile weight for his place, the first repair is apparent, and I don’t assume Freeland’s motion talents will likely be negatively affected by a further 15-20 kilos. He’s a little bit of a venture in that regard, however the upside, and the prevailing tape, can have some NFL staff betting with enthusiasm on what he may very well be.”
May Blake Freeland be chosen on Day 2 of the draft?
Whereas Freeland may simply fall into the ultimate day of the draft earlier than being chosen, his athleticism — mixed together with his mix efficiency — have some consultants believing he may slide into Day 2 of the draft, a bit forward of the place the consensus is on his draft place.
Michael Renner pegged Freeland as a Day 2 match for the San Francisco 49ers.
“Freeland is among the most athletic tackles of all time, and he even set the mix report for offensive linemen with a 37-inch vertical. That athleticism performed in a zone scheme at BYU, the place he earned an 87.9 run-blocking grade,” Renner wrote for Professional Soccer Focus.
“He’s nonetheless a venture in move safety with severe play energy issues, however that will trigger him to fall proper into the 49ers’ lap on the finish of the third spherical.”
Professional Soccer Community’s Cam Mellor was a bit extra bullish, tabbing Freeland — a prospect he known as “an athletic monster of a person” — for the New York Jets within the second spherical.
“The Jets gladly accepted two picks from Denver to accrue extra our bodies on this NFL draft, grabbing an athletic monster of a person at left sort out: Blake Freeland,” Mellor wrote in his newest mock draft.