Pre-Season Scouting Report - Cedric Ogbuehi, OT Texas A&M

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Sep 21, 2013; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (70) against the SMU Mustangs at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M has been on an incredible run of producing NFL left tackles the past two seasons. First, Luke Joeckel went #2 overall in 2012 to Jacksonville. This past year, Jake Matthews went 6th overall to Atlanta. Now, Cedric Ogbuehi will slide to left tackle and have his opportunity to make his case as a top prospect and has a chance to be the third top 10 pick in a row at that position for the Aggies.

Ogbuehi could have done well if he declared last year, but he followed in the footsteps of Matthews, who stayed for his senior year to play left tackle and protect Johnny Manziel’s blind side. Now, Ogbuehi will get a year at left tackle and get to answer that question for NFL evaluators. Matthews was able to improve his game and go higher than he was expected to had he declared as a junior in a deeper draft. Ogbuehi avoided a stacked group of offensive linemen and has a shot to be the top one this year.

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Ogbuehi is a terrific pass protector because of his fantastic lateral agility, balance and how smooth he is able to operate. Additional strength would only help him there. As a run blocker, Ogbuehi is an effective positional blocker that really does a great job from the waist down and shields opponents from the play. More power would help him get a little more of a punch, but he is not weak.

Ogbuehi just seems to have a very methodical, logical approach and does not play with a ton of emotion. He could use a little more of a mean streak and look to dominate opponents, but he can do an effective job as it is. Ogbuehi has the frame to continue to fill out and be a more complete prospect that can really hammer out details of the game as opposed to learning it while showing NFL teams he will be perfectly capable of playing left tackle. Had he declared last year, Ogbuehi was likely a first round pick but could make himself into a top 10-15 pick this year with the chance of being the first tackle off the board.

Vitals & Build

Born April 25, 1992 (Will turn 23 right around the time of the 2015 NFL Draft)
6’5″ 300lbs (Listed)

Ogbuehi has a sleek, athletic build with little if any excess body fat. He is a little too thin at this point and needs to continue to add strength, particularly in his upper body. Ogbuehi has the frame to continue adding bulk and overall strength while maintaining his overall athleticism. More strength in his legs would likely help him sit a little more effectively in pass protection as well. Ogbuehi is in great shape and should only continue to get better with another season of development, giving him high potential going forward.

Athleticism

Ogbuehi’s athleticism and range are both outstanding. He has no problem sliding in pass protection and staying in a good position, rarely having to reach. As a run blocker, he has the ability to get to the second level and the Aggies have been comfortable enough to wrap with him and go from his right tackle spot all the way around and outside the left tackle. His speed, burst, and overall quickness are extremely impressive and more than enough to play tackle in the NFL.

Run Blocking

Ogbuehi wins largely in the running game with his feet. He gets in position, cuts off opponents with good angles and steers them away from the play. He can lack some functional strength here and while he is good in terms of executing what his assignment is, he tends to clock out as soon as he has knocked out his initial assignment.

This is a situation where Ogbuehi misses with his initial punch, but instead of looking to get to the second level and potentially finding another block, he has already moved onto the next play.

Ogbuehi does not show much of a killer instinct or mean streak and rarely finishes an opponent. Some added strength, especially in his upper body would help him, but this is something he needs to try to develop as a senior and really start punishing opponents and tire them out from picking themselves up off of the ground.

There are some times where he seems to get lost on what he should be looking to do and just sort of stops, occasionally without making a block. Most of these are situations he is not likely to be asked to do in the NFL but they would only make him more dangerous for the Aggies as a senior.

This is a situation where Ogbuehi just needs to pick a target, break down and hit them. He gets caught in between, ends up blocking no one and the play is blown up in the backfield.

Ogbuehi will sometimes end up drifting too high with his pad level and end up playing too tall when he is run blocking. At that point, he can be at risk of being knocked off balance and occasionally is put on the ground in the process. If he can get a little stronger in his seat and avoid needing to stand up to exert that extra bit of power, this should be all but erased as a senior.

Here is pass play and run play on back to back snaps, but Ogbuehi is thrown out of the way on the first one and crumpled on the second by Trey Flowers. This is where that lack of strength and drifting pad level becomes really obvious.

Although Ogbuehi is extremely effective when it comes to getting to the second level, he does not do a good job of landing that block. He needs to do a better job of breaking down and making sure he lands the block. There are some issues with indecisiveness, but largely he just ends up too tall and has trouble adjusting to hitting targets in space.

Pass Blocking

Ogbuehi has the ability to and mirror extremely well in pass protection. He is able to maintain his balance and keep his shoulders square to the target and keep them centered in front of him. Often times, Ogbuehi is able to beat the opponent to the spot, remain calm and patient in blocking them. As a result, he almost never has to reach out and lose his balance trying to make a block.

Ogbuehi keeps Dee Ford in front of him, keeps stopping from getting any momentum and has great body lean in the process, allowing him to maximize his strength. Fantastic job here.

Ogbuehi never gets overly stressed, panics or changes the pocket. The result is that Manziel gets around 5-6 seconds of protection before taking it down and scrambling up the middle.

In terms of recognizing blitzes and stunts, Ogbuehi does well when it comes to seeing what opponents are doing, suggesting he is extremely proficient when it comes to preparation in the film room. It is extremely rare that he just makes a bad read in pass protection and goes with the wrong target. It also allows him to adjust and take on multiple rushers in the same play.

Ogbuehi takes on the initial block, gets rid of it and adjusts outside to cut off the outside rush, recognizing the stunt quickly and reacting accordingly.

Ogbuehi is also patient when he is in space and will hold his water as a rusher will present himself. Blocking for a quarterback like Manziel forces an offensive lineman to remain disciplined and not overreact, because he was so mobile and improvised so much that even if Manziel were running away from him, he had the potential to bounce the play back and need him in his normal spot. The offensive line was predictable whereas the quarterback was not. Manziel used that to his advantage at times.

Technique

Ogbuehi’s technique is a work in progress. He knows what he needs to do, particularly when it comes to his hand placement and how he can control the opponent. The issue for Ogbuehi is that because his upper body strength is somewhat limited, he can have trouble keeping opponents out of his body. It gives opponents the ability to take control and shed him. This can make it more difficult for Ogbuehi to sustain and finish some of his blocks.

Footwork

In pass protection, Ogbuehi’s feet are fantastic. There is nothing he cannot do and he looks the part of a franchise left tackle. He makes it look easy and rarely has to make up ground, but does have the athleticism to recover should it come into play.

Ogbuehi is able to slide in pass protection almost effortlessly while maintaining his balance and position.

When it comes to the running game, Ogbuehi can get anywhere he wants on the field, but just needs to break down, sink his hips and block. Second level, pulling or kicking out, he can do it all, but then will handle like a rusty shopping cart at times. Athletically, he can do it all. He just needs to get down the technique and do it.

The clips were provided by DraftBreakdown.com

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Pre-Season Scouting Report – Cedric Ogbuehi, OT Texas A&M

By Peter Smith | Jul 3, 2014