Liam Eichenberg 2021 Draft Overview
Position: Offensive tackle
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 306 pounds
Arm Length: 32 3/8”
School: Notre Dame
Pro Day Performance
Vertical Jump: 26.5”
Bench Press: 33 reps
3-Cone: 7.53 seconds
20-yard Shuttle: 4.57 seconds
Liam Eichenberg 2021 NFL Draft Profile
Liam Eichenberg hails from Cleveland, Ohio and attended nationally renowned St. Ignatius High School. He was a dominant player from the moment he stepped on the practice field as a freshman. By the time he graduated, he was rated as a four-star recruit and the number seven offensive tackle in the entire class. As a true freshman in 2016 he was primarily a scout team player, as the coaching staff elected to redshirt him. In 2017, as a redshirt freshman, he saw action in five games as a “swing” tackle at both offensive tackle spots.
The 2018 season was when he was able to break into the starting lineup. He started all 13 games at left tackle as a redshirt sophomore and only allowed three sacks in 939 total offensive snaps. In 2019, Eichenberg took another step towards being an elite offensive tackle. He once again started all 13 games and finished the season with the highest overall blocking grade on the offensive line. He played 845 total snaps and did not allow a single sack. In what ended up being a weird season for everyone is 2020, he started all 12 games and was name ACC and Co-ACC offensive lineman of the week multiple times. He was also named First Team All-ACC, as well as winning the Jacobs Blocking Award which is given to the ACC’s top blocker.
Liam Eichenberg is one of the more tantalizing offensive tackles in the 2021 NFL Draft. He shows elite NFL traits and he should not have any problem carrying those over to the pro game. He is an insane athlete for his size. His 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drill times were better than Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills, and Andrew Thomas.
He is the best run blocker of the offensive tackles this year, due to his motor, hand placement, and elite leg drive. He has shown that he has the short-area quickness and hand placement to play in zone blocking schemes, as well as the strength and lateral speed to play in gap blocking schemes.
The major area of concern with Eichenberg is pass blocking. He’s not necessarily a bad pass blocker, but he has a few technical issues that need to be corrected. He sometimes throws his initial punch too high which makes it easier for defensive lineman to counter and dip under. He also needs to do a better job of sitting in his pass set and letting the defender come to him. As you watch film, you sometimes see him lunge at the defender with two hands. Speed rushers in the NFL are going to be able rip right past him if he lunges, and chop both of his hands away in one quick motion. He needs to do a better job of using “independent hands” in pass protection. Using that technique makes it much easier for an offensive lineman to counter a pass rush move. Eichenberg’s ability to recover quickly in pass protection due to his athleticism is what saved him in some instances at Notre Dame.
Strengths
- Extremely athletic
- Elite run blocker
- High football IQ
- Three-year starter at Notre Dame and learned behind Ronnie Stanley
- Great hand placement in the run game
- Great speed and timing out of his stance, always the first offensive lineman off of the ball
- Diverts and steers defensive lineman away from the running back as a run blocker
- Above average lateral quickness, does a great job of mirroring and staying in front of pass rushers
- Uses great blocking angles on both first and second level defenders in the run game
- Plays with a “nasty” streak, always looking to block more than one person on each play
- Delivers a powerful initial strike to defenders
Weaknesses
- Technical issues with his pass blocking
- High hands can easily be countered by pass rushers
- Lunges at defenders
- Sometimes plays too high as a pass blocker
NFL Comparison: Andrew Whitworth
Projection: Second round
Bottom Line On Liam Eichenberg
Eichenberg is an NFL ready left tackle that has the ability to come in and start right away. As long as he can remain coachable and fix some of the minor technical issues that he has as a pass blocker, he should become a multi-year starter in the NFL.
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