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2024 OL Talk


nicfre2011

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1 hour ago, jebrick said:

Unless they have T-Rex arms, I think it is overblown.  It is more important that they can reset in pass protection, have the functional strength and leverage to move a big NT and have enough athleticism to make it to the 2nd level and block. 

The two best centers in the league have 32 inch arms

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4 hours ago, jebrick said:

Unless they have T-Rex arms, I think it is overblown.  It is more important that they can reset in pass protection, have the functional strength and leverage to move a big NT and have enough athleticism to make it to the 2nd level and block. 

Average center has 32.5 inch arms. 

I see most of the class have sub 32. 

Frazier seems to be the only center that's close to that threshold. 

Jackson powers Johnson has 31 and 1/8 inch arms.  He's 6 foot 3 330 but arm length helps inside

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2 minutes ago, LinderFournette said:

Average center has 32.5 inch arms. 

I see most of the class have sub 32. 

Frazier seems to be the only center that's close to that threshold. 

Jackson powers Johnson has 31 and 1/8 inch arms.  He's 6 foot 3 330 but arm length helps inside

Not T-Rex arms.  I stand by what I said.

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5 hours ago, LinderFournette said:

Average center has 32.5 inch arms. 

I see most of the class have sub 32. 

Frazier seems to be the only center that's close to that threshold. 

Jackson powers Johnson has 31 and 1/8 inch arms.  He's 6 foot 3 330 but arm length helps inside

I am seeing 32 and 1/8

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15 hours ago, LinderFournette said:

This class of centers arm lengths is bad. 

Only 1 I've seen that has average length is Frazier.

If there's one position on the OLine where i care the least about lackluster arm length, it's probably Center tbh.  Nice to have, but there have been so many good centers with shorter arms.  As long as it's not like egregiously stumpy, and they've got the right smarts and awareness, movement skills, and strong anchor to hold up...they'll probably be fine in the middle.

I also tend to care more about total "wingspan" over pure arm length.  Especially on the interior.  That's often pretty linear correlation with arm length, but it can make up small differences depending on their actual build and "functional width" or whatever.

 

It's not like asking someone to hold up on the edge as a Tackle without length.  Where they're going to be going snap after snap against guys who are going to have super long vines for arms and so much speed and space to deal with.  That can be a real problem.  With Centers, there's a lot of shorter-armed IDL these days anyway.  Biggest thing is just the vision/awareness to pick up those lengthy edge guys and blitzers, etc. when they come across them as they loop around and stunt everywhere.  An extra inch of arm length isn't gonna help a guy who is slow to recognize and redirect.

 

Just more of a preference and bonus, than a dealbreaker i think.  If i really like the player otherwise.

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What's the justification for arm length being a priority for interior OLmen?  Is it that if you're giving up 1/2" to 1" in arm length to a DT they can get their hands on you faster and gain leverage sooner?  Typically when interior linemen engage, they're already pretty close (well within 30") and have their arms bent, shortening that distance further.  So a 34" DL might have a different angle to his arms while a 32" C may have more extension at the elbows, but I wouldn't think that would matter that much.

When scouting players, I've never seen arm length as a huge priority at G/C as most of your play is in a phone booth and defenders aren't able to take advantage of open space where arm length would come into play.  Could it help in the open when you're getting to the second level or pulling around the edge on a screen or run play? Sure - and of course you don't want someone with "T-Rex" arms like mentioned above - but if they have 31+ I don't think teams really care.  Arm length tends to be a far higher priority at OT where you spend much more time in space and edge rushers can use that to their advantage.  

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17 minutes ago, MaddHatter said:

What's the justification for arm length being a priority for interior OLmen?  Is it that if you're giving up 1/2" to 1" in arm length to a DT they can get their hands on you faster and gain leverage sooner?  Typically when interior linemen engage, they're already pretty close (well within 30") and have their arms bent, shortening that distance further.  So a 34" DL might have a different angle to his arms while a 32" C may have more extension at the elbows, but I wouldn't think that would matter that much.

When scouting players, I've never seen arm length as a huge priority at G/C as most of your play is in a phone booth and defenders aren't able to take advantage of open space where arm length would come into play.  Could it help in the open when you're getting to the second level or pulling around the edge on a screen or run play? Sure - and of course you don't want someone with "T-Rex" arms like mentioned above - but if they have 31+ I don't think teams really care.  Arm length tends to be a far higher priority at OT where you spend much more time in space and edge rushers can use that to their advantage.  

I've seen plenty of centers get beat inside cuz of their lack of length(Garrett Bradbury for an example)

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5 hours ago, Scoundrel said:

Well he’s probably the heaviest… I don’t recall a center being 334 pre draft. 

I haven't seen one over 320 - all the heavy boys are 315-317 coming out of college including guys like Andre Gurode

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