Patrick Paul NFL Draft Overview
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6’7” (Unofficial)
Weight: 333 Pounds
School: Houston
Patrick Paul 2024 NFL Draft Profile
About half a dozen offensive tackles fly off the board each year in the first round of the NFL Draft. This cycle is no different. Players like Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu will see themselves selected in the first round. What about players who are hopeful for day one, but are more likely to go early on day two? One of those is Patrick Paul, a towering offensive tackle from Houston. Paul has NFL bloodlines. His brother, Chris, was a seventh-round pick of the Washington Commanders in 2022.
#NFL Draft OT: Pass-Block Efficiency
99.7- Amarius Mims
99.1- Joe Alt
98.9- Patrick Paul
98.6- Olu Fashanu
98.2- Taliese Fuaga
98.2- Tyler Guyton
98.1- JC Latham
97.9- Troy Fautanu— Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) February 27, 2024
Houston tackle Patrick Paul is an incredibly imposing presence on the line of scrimmage. Standing at 6’7”, 333 pounds, Paul is one of the biggest players in the class. He routinely uses that size to overpower defenders in the run game. Where he struggles, is dealing with explosiveness and being an older rookie. Paul is fighting a numbers game in terms of getting into the first round. He is just one of many great tackle prospects in this class.
Strengths
- Incredible build in regards to height, weight, and arm length;
- Generates great power at the point of attack;
- Gets off the ball and fires out at the snap;
- Powerful finisher who sends defenders into the Earth;
- Understands blitz-pickup principles well;
- Young breakout age; has been starting since his Freshman year;
- Background in boxing shows up on film.
Weaknesses
- Not a fantastic mover; not much fluidity of motion;
- Occasionally overextends and gets grabby;
- Technique and balance on pass sets needs improvement;
- Plays a little tall at times, which is natural for his size;
- Older prospect, who stayed in college despite playing a lot early on.
Projection: Late first, early second-round pick
Best Fits: Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots
Bottom Line on Patrick Paul
Size is the name of the game on the offensive line. Houston tackle Patrick Paul has it in spades. Paul has the requisite size and strength to make the jump from the college level to the pros. He already proved it by jumping up a level in college. When Paul got to Houston, they were in the AAC. In his final season, Houston moved to the Big-12. Paul wound up first-team all Big-12.
Houston OT Patrick Paul's 1-on-1 reps pic.twitter.com/T3bx56omtE
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) January 30, 2024
Paul may find himself in the first round, but it feels unlikely. His lack of great movement skills will make him fall lower than the bigger-name tackles in this class. Pass rushers are getting more and more explosive each year, and Paul struggles to deal with explosiveness. Paul also stayed in school when he potentially could have declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. Some teams may take him off their board because of his age.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
