As the NFL season winds down, FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL draft scouting reports before the combine in March. Here’s a look at Steve Avila.
Check out all of our 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports & Prospect Profiles 
2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Steve Avila (OG – Texas Christian University)
6’4″ – 330 lbs.
Background:
Redshirted in 2018 and played sparingly in 2019 before starting nine games in 2020: six at center, two at right tackle, and one at right guard (PFF credits this as a center start). Started eleven games at center in 2021 and played 66 snaps at right guard against Texas, then converted to left guard this past year and started fifteen games. Allowed just four career sacks, none this past year.
Positives:
Massive interior lineman who’s started for three seasons and has starting experience at every offensive line position besides left tackle. Has the snap-to-snap consistency and patient temperament teams look for. Capable of grinding down opponents in a phone booth. Generally plays within his frame and has solid grip strength to stay engaged through the whistle; very rarely looks like he’s lunging or getting overly aggressive. Has a solid understanding of positioning and ends snaps when he’s able to square up a defender. Hand placement looks good. Despite his size, has just enough juice to get out in space or pull and complicate things for second-level defenders; some thudding power when pulling across the formation. Has an outstanding anchor in pass protection to hold up against power. Gets good extension with his arms. Seeks out opponents to block when unopposed.
Negatives:
Had a solid senior season but didn’t grade out quite as well as in years past. Doesn’t carry his weight particularly well. More workmanlike than nasty temperamentally; gets the job done but doesn’t put people in the dirt as much as his size and strength would suggest. Lacks explosive power; slowly overwhelms with size instead of jolting opponents on contact. Feet often go dead on contact. Doesn’t have the most flexibility, so pad level tends to be slightly high. Lateral quickness to mirror is limited; struggles to maintain his form against speed, faring much better against traditional power-based approaches. Misses some opportunities to help when no one lines up across from him.
Summary:
Pretty much the prospect you’d expect given his experience and physical profile; a consistent, fundamentally-sound guard with incredible size and the lower-body strength to stonewall opponents foolish enough to try and power through him. Will be limited to gap/power schemes because of his athletic limitations, but could conceivably play anywhere on the interior and has experience at all three spots, traits which should help him hear his name called on the second day as a relatively known quantity.
Projection: Round 3
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