Emil Ekiyor Jr. 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Alabama IOL
Emil Ekiyor Jr., Alabama
6’3”, 325 pounds; RS SR
Just outside the top-100 overall recruits in 2018, Ekiyor played in 24 and started in 13 games heading into his junior year when he started all 15 games and helped Alabama finish top-six in terms of scoring offense (39.9). This past season, he became a first-team All-SEC selection by the AP and league coaches, once again being a full-time starter at right guard.
+ Features a powerful, compact build and has played about 2600 snaps in the SEC in the last three years
+ Wants to bring the pain in the run game, with a thick lower half and easy ability to create flexion in his joints
+ Routinely is able to center blocks and cover up big bodies
+ Lands that backside hand under the near arm-pit of D-tackles and rides them down the line when running zone his way
+ On the backside of wide zone runs, he can land that bucket step and bring his other leg across to cover ground and scoop nose-tackles effectively
+ Frequently utilized on different pulling assignments, where he unloads at contact in forceful fashion to create lanes
+ Just handles second-level defenders so effortlessly it seems like, whether he has to drive them on the move off combos or is used leading up the hole as a puller, where you never see his pads get rocked back, even if that guy sees it coming and can attack downhill
+ His reactionary skills to secure blocks in space are impressive for a man his size
+ Continues to drive his legs, turn bodies and put them on the ground, if he can – had a play against Auburn in 2021, where he was still driving his man almost ten yards downfield after his helmet had come off
+ Has the girth in his lower half to handle powerful interior rushers, while doing a good job when kicking his feet back to re-gain leverage and control pass-pro reps
+ When he gets his hands inside the frame of the guy across from him and sets the anchor, you see him completely deaden the rush – Can sling-shot blitzing linebackers, mugged up in the gap
+ Constantly looking to re-fit the hands, get the elbows in tight and find a tighter grip
+ Understands the depth of the pocket and when he can almost back-pedal to help out his tackle, if there’s no threat to the A-gap, often times bumping them past the QB when given the opportunity
+ When tasked with slide-protections, if there’s a defender in the opposite gap and no immediate threat towards where’s supposed to go, Ekiyor still makes sure to provide the help-hand and not allow somebody to just shoot upfield
+ If unassigned with a rusher, his head is on his swivel and his feet keep shuffling, with some violent strikes towards their rib-cage ready to dish out
+ Displays excellent awareness for secondary rushers and picks up wrap-around blitzers really well
+ Was asked to pull on play-action quite a bit, where he could either kick out guys attacking upfield or settle and pick up guys trying to read what’s going on
+ Didn’t allow a single sack of QB hits this past season and just eight hurries across 414 pass-blocking snaps
– Is a little late to come off combo-blocks at times and watches the backer shoot across his face as he’s still engaged with the down-lineman
– Too often has his head down and can allow defenders to slip off blocks in the run game
– Has that same kind of issue in pass-pro, where he would benefit from just latching his hands and not letting his shoulder shift beyond his toes
– Overly reliant on two-hand strikes, where he kind of gets his feet stuck in the ground and has to revert to recovery mode
– Could still work on the pacing and timing of his hands in that regard generally, to not see them get knocked away as often
I’ve been a big fan of Ekiyor for a couple of years now. Left tackle Tyler Steen was a steady presence for the Crimson Tide after transferring last season, but otherwise, the right guard position has been by far the most steady for them over that stretch. His natural leverage, power, and tenacity as a run-blocker stands out as soon as you put on the tape, and he’s been a highly effective pass-protector. During Senior Bowl week, he got the opportunity to play some center and I thought despite never having snapped the ball at Alabama, his ability to get that first step onto the ground and square up rushers instantly was very impressive. Plus, his strong base to anchor against bull rushes was on display throughout his practices. He has two nasty tendencies – not keeping his chin up generally and over-using two-handed punches in pass-pro. If he can iron those out, I think he can be a long-term plus starter probably at any of the three interior spots.
Grade: Late second round
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