What OT Braeden Daniels brings to the Washington Commanders
Taking a closer look at the Commanders’ fourth round pick and how he might fit in Washington
The Washington Commanders selected Utah offensive lineman Braeden Daniels in the fourth round of the NFL Draft last weekend. Daniels played all over the line at Utah, spending time at both right and left tackle as well as kicking inside to guard. At the combine, Daniels measured in at 6-foot-4, 298 pounds with 33-inch arms. Some analysts feel that he may well end up at guard in the NFL but Ron Rivera explained after the draft that the team is going to give him every chance to develop and succeed at tackle first before going down that route.
When watching Daniels, you can see reasons why some see him as a guard but also why the Commanders want to give him a shot at tackle first. On one hand, there are some footwork issues that could potentially be masked a little bit playing on the inside instead of the edge and he certainly lacks some bulk and length. However, I’d argue with his athletic profile, he has the potential to make up for a lot of his issues with his foot quickness and overall athletic ability, which if his technique improves, could lead to a very good tackle prospect in the future.
In my eyes, he’s exactly the type of high upside prospect you want to be drafting on the third day of the draft with a chance to develop into a good player down the road. Let’s take a closer look at his game to see exactly what that upside is.
Run Blocking
In the run game, Daniels’ athleticism shines through as a zone blocker or on schemes that ask him to pull to the perimeter. He’s an excellent mover that can cover ground quickly and pick up blocks in space at the second level.
On this play, Utah runs a crack toss scheme to the left. They have a tight end and a receiver aligned tight to the left side of the formation and their job is to block down and crack the defensive end and linebacker, pinning them inside. This in turn allows Daniels to pull from his left tackle spot and work to the edge as the lead blocker for the running back. Now the other blocks make this play a bit murky overall, but keep your focus on Daniels. He does a terrific job pulling to the edge quickly and picking up a defensive back in space, shoving him out to the sideline and washing him completely out of the play.
That type of athleticism can be seen regularly from Daniels in the run game.
Here, Daniels is on the back side of a zone run. The intent here is to have Daniels help the left guard secure the block of the defensive tackle before peeling off and climbing to the second level. Off the snap, Daniels shows his athleticism again, making up ground quickly and engaging with the defensive tackle almost before the guard does. Because he’s able to accelerate and reach the block so quickly, Daniels is able to generate momentum and power as he approaches the block and he unloads it all on the poor defender, who is shoved down the line and nearly falls over. Daniels then looks to engage with the linebacker, but he peels off to chase down the quarterback keeping the ball on a run to the edge.
Being so athletic not only allows Daniels to reach blocks that others can’t, he’s also able to then take that momentum and put it to good use. He routinely generates movement on zone runs, especially on the back side of zone runs, by executing blocks like these and shoving defensive tackles down the line to create cutback lanes. However, while Daniels can generate power from his momentum, he doesn’t necessarily have the core strength to sustain blocks.
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