Next up in our scouting report series for potential Tennessee Titans draft targets is one of my personal favorites, Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski.
Skoronski is not only considered the most NFL-ready offensive lineman in the entire draft, but he also happens to be the grandson of five-time NFL champion, Bob Skoronski, an offensive lineman for the Packers’ championship teams of the 60s.
Despite all of this, Skoronski is one of the more polarizing prospects in the class. There is no denying that he is one of the most talented players regardless of position, but trying to figure out where he’s best suited to maximize his skill set to the fullest is where the debate really begins.
This article is going to cover both sides of the tackle versus guard debate by discussing and showing examples of the good and the bad.
Before we get started, it’s important to note that the majority of the clips that were chosen were specifically picked due to the level of competition Skoronski was facing.
Outside of the very first one, each rep shown below was against either former first-round pass-rusher George Karlafatis (Purdue), or eventual first-rounder Lukas Van Ness (Iowa).
Also, a quick reminder that all of the grades and individual rankings that are included are my own opinions after spending the last few months studying each of these individuals.
Let’s not wait any longer and take a closer look at one of the top offensive linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Measurables
- Height: 6’4’’
- Weight: 313 pounds
- Hand size: 10″
- Arm length: 32 ¼”
- 40-time: 5.16
- Relative Athletic Score (OT): 9.28
- Relative Athletic Score (OG): 9.88
College Accolades
- Unanimous All-American (2022)
- Big 10- OL of the Year (2022)
- 2X First-Team All-Big 10 (2021-2022)
- Second-Team All-Big 10 (2020)
2022 Stats
- Passing-block snaps: 474
- Run-block Snaps: 407
- Hurries allowed: Three
- QB hits allowed: Two
- Sacks allowed: One
Grades, Projection and Ranks
- Overall Grade: 91.4 (Blue Chip)
- Ceiling Projection: Top 10 Pick
- Floor Projection: Mid-First Round
- Position Rank: OT2/OG1
- Consensus Rank: OT2/OG1
Reasons to Buy In
- Textbook technician who gives himself a chance to win every rep despite his physical limitations on the blindside.
- Cerebral blocker who possesses a genuine understanding of angles and leverages and uses it to his advantage.
- Plays with a wide base, disciplined pad level, strong hands, and does a nice job of remaining balanced throughout contact.
- Is hard to beat due to his consistent ability to time the snap count and his usage of different pass sets.
- Explodes out of his stance and beats defenders to the junction point more often than not using his quick and nimble footwork.
- Athletically-fluid and scheme-versatile OL who would excel in any run-blocking scheme.
- Had the highest pass-blocking grade in the country (93.0), and the second-lowest pressure rate in all of college football (1.3%).
Areas of Concern
- Has sub-33-inch arms and will likely have to kick inside or risk being exposed against savvier professional defenders who have the obvious length advantage.
- If he’s going to remain at left tackle, he has to be technically sound on every rep or risk being beaten like a drum.
- He doesn’t have the ideal length to compensate for when he’s late off the snap count and has the potential for some disastrous reps.
- Would severely benefit from improving his overall functional strength.
- Will need to develop a consistent counter against longer NFL defenders who are going able to get their hands on him first.
- Does a good job staying attached when anchoring, but he can still be driven back into a QB’s lap by physically superior opponents.
- Possesses a much higher ceiling at OG than at OT.
Fit with Titans (and guard vs. tackle debate)
Peter Skoronski is probably the safest pick to make among all of the offensive line prospects in the 2023 NFL draft.
The Northwestern product has very little bust potential as a whole. Chances are he will either become a high-caliber left tackle or an All-Pro-caliber guard.
The obvious length concerns are valid when it comes to playing left tackle, but the All-American lineman is so fundamentally sound and smart that he can overcompensate for a lot of his physical limitations.
Unfortunately, his sub-33-inch arm length would be rare by today’s standards for a left tackle (ninth percentile). For comparison, Paris Johnson Jr.’s arm length came in at OVER 36 inches at the combine.
This isn’t to say that Skoronski couldn’t become a top-tier tackle (there are always anomalies), but there isn’t nearly as much of a risk on the interior for someone with his fundamentally-sound skill set and athletic profile.
Regardless of where he plays, Skoronski is a true technician upfront and is the type of prospect who will instantly make your offensive line better upon his arrival.
At worst, he probably kicks inside and turns into a top-10 guard in the NFL the second he trots out there.
One of his biggest knocks is wondering how we will do in pass protection against lengthier defenders.
However, what a lot of that criticism fails to leave out is how Skor consistently explodes out of his stance after timing the snap count in order to beat the defender to the junction point (JP).
For context, the junction point is the area on the field where the tackle and defender are trying to get to so they can put themselves in a position to win the rep.
For a tackle, it’s getting to the JP and preventing the defender from turning the corner. For a defender, it’s trying to get to that point on the field where they can turn the corner and get to the quarterback.
I would confidently say at least 85 percent of the time Skoronski gets there first, and at that point, you’re going to have to deal with him.
Regardless of how long a defender is in comparison to Skoronski, that’s not going to be an easy rep to win once he’s won the initial leverage battle.
Once they realize they aren’t going around him, defenders usually resort to trying to go through him, but he is more than capable of anchoring down without completely collapsing the pocket.
Now, if you catch him on the occasional rep where he’s not in sync with the snap count and is a touch late from the rest of the offense, he can easily get beaten.
At that point, he’s playing catch up and he doesn’t have the length to bail himself out, so he goes into desperation mode and loses everything that makes him special.
The disappointing reality of it all is if Skoronski is going to stay at left tackle, he has to be technically sound on every rep or else he’ll be at risk of getting exposed on any given play.
The major concerns with him come when he allows defenders to get their hands inside his chest.
It doesn’t happen too often, but he can have some real disastrous looking reps when he is late with his hands and allows defenders to fully extend into his body.
This is why many believe he would be much better playing on the interior where he won’t be exposed to the long-armed defenders as often as he would when playing on an island.
If Skor came out strictly as a guard after having at least one full season on tape, he would probably be the highest-ranked guard prospect since Quenton Nelson.
Needless to say, that’s not the type of prospect you walk away from just because the data says he may not work at tackle.
In reality, maybe he won’t. But I’m not going to let a bunch of short-armed tackles that I’m willing to bet weren’t half the technician Skoronski was dictating my opinion on the guy.
Should the Titans be fortunate enough to have the Northwestern legend on the board when they pick, I have a hard time believing they won’t strongly consider it.
Skoronski could either be given the benefit of the doubt on the blindside until proven otherwise, or he could kick inside now that Tennessee signed Andre Dillard.
Either way, his addition to an underwhelming offensive line would be widely welcomed by many Titans fans.
You can consider it a good problem to have if the Titans are trying to figure out where they want to utilize Skoronski’s skill set this fall.
Check out Shaun Calderon's other scouting reports!
