OT-Nick Zakelj-Fordham, 6th Round 2022 Draft

Another offensive lineman to throw into the mix.

Nick Zakelj was a four-year starter at left tackle for Fordham and confirmed his skill set with a strong showing in 2021 against Nebraska and earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl. Zakelj is a tenacious run blocker that generates notable power and creates movement. He has a firm anchor in pass protection and his overall hand technique is strong in terms of timing, placement, and the compactness of his strikes. His hands can work independently and his overall package of size, power, aggressiveness, and hand usage makes him appealing. With that said, he has to clean up his weight distribution issues to avoid leaning and getting top-heavy. He also needs to embrace a transition to guard, where my concerns about his ability to reach set points, frame pass rushers, and elongate their path to the quarterback are reduced. His footwork in pass protection is choppy, which is a bad combination for how he distributes his weight. His lateral mobility is modest, which makes hitting backside cut-offs a challenge. Zakelj is a worthwhile developmental option that will benefit from the jump in competition but there will be a curve ahead of him to change positions and develop his footwork.

Thats all I read, I know nothing about the kid.

Swing tackle

niners be like HYDRA. lose one starting guard, and two inferior ones pop up in it's place

Another guy who projects better at guard

Its the big slow.

Solid pick though. Position of desperate need.

Originally posted by BP22:
niners be like HYDRA. lose one starting guard, and two inferior ones pop up in it's place

Originally posted by BP22:
niners be like HYDRA. lose one starting guard, and two inferior ones pop up in it's place

Lol

Originally posted by BP22:
niners be like HYDRA. lose one starting guard, and two inferior ones pop up in it's place

Originally posted by Ensatsu:
Another guy who projects better at guard

I'm seeing the G projection. 6'6" seems a little tall for G, but what do I know? Hopefully he makes an impact as a 6th rounder. Nothing wrong with drafting O-Line anytime though.

Did I miss something on Mack announcing his retirement? Been reading Brunskill moving to C, thus no returning starting Guards on our team, thus these 2 picks to battle last years two picks for the starting and reserve guard spots.

Originally posted by Young2Rice:
Its the big slow.

Solid pick though. Position of desperate need.

He has "elite" speed according to RAS whatever that means.

Originally posted by Howlett49:

Originally posted by BP22:
niners be like HYDRA. lose one starting guard, and two inferior ones pop up in it's place

Originally posted by Ensatsu:
Another guy who projects better at guard

I'm seeing the G projection. 6'6" seems a little tall for G, but what do I know? Hopefully he makes an impact as a 6th rounder. Nothing wrong with drafting O-Line anytime though.

To be fair, boone was 2 inches taller and played in a system that needed even more leverage... and he's probably been the best guard we've had in a decade. LT wasnt bad but wasnt all that spectacular either.

Well.... interesting

Top 20 RAS out of the 1000 or so guards since the 80s.

would be cool to see who the other 20 guards are ahead of him.