• Position: Offensive Tackle
• College: Notre Dame
• Class: Junior
• Number: 76
• Drafted at: Round 1 Pick 5 (5th overall)
• Age when drafted: 21.15

RAS Score:

Production:

Games Watched:

• Clemson – 11.04.2023
• Ohio State – 09.23.2023

Positives:

His size just dominates the tape as it’s hard to see beyond that both literally and analytically, he can just hold off the pass rush with his long arms and he doesn’t have to ever reach full extension or pivot his hips to get further into his man. His footwork for a man of his size is outstanding, his first steps laterally or vertically gain so much ground without overstriding in fact his pass sets are often short as his length can just cut off the rusher’s angle before he can even get to the edge. His run game work is a bit less refined but he has the quick feet and length to open up gaps on his own, especially his B gap down blocks which are lethal, he can climb well from this position too. For someone only 2 years into playing the position he has great vision, timing and control when facing stunts, he exchanges smoothly without giving any space for one of the rushers to slip through. He absolutely demolishes anyone who plants their feet near him, he may use a push technique that’s not technically sound but with his long arms and power through his leg drive this sends big stout dudes flying, he uses rocker steps to generate power so this could be made even more potent when he learns proper technique. Alt doesn’t lose many reps overall, his natural movement skills combined with his size means he can get to a spot and just wall you off no matter what you try to do. Alt is physics-defyingly quick out of his stance when attacking the second level from a free release, his first few steps are so sudden that he can get his long arms inside the grip of his opponents before they have even figured out if it’s run or pass.

Negatives:

His hip height is tall even for a tall man and it leads to him not being able to anchor against power sets, this doesn’t result in him getting flattened because he has good balance but overall I do not like the position he puts himself in here. His footwork whilst quick and clean is nowhere near the technical level of his peers in this class, he needs to learn a proper pass set for under center drops and will need to learn how to get narrow and vertical quicker as right now he just turns his hips to the outside. His lack of experience shows when pulling as his play speed slows down as he is unsure where to block as a priority, he kept being asked to seal the inside which is a tough ask but he has got the hip speed to swing around and do this but his lack of momentum control takes him into contact too early sometimes leading to a narrow gap for his back to hit.

Overall Grade:

OT1 / Tier 1 / Round 1

Summary:

Alt is raw, unpolished and has areas of the game he needs to improve on but I’m betting every OL coach in the league would like to get their hands on his frame and athletic skill. The former tight end started at RT as a freshman then switched over to LT without a hiccup so his multifaceted movement skills haven’t been engrained meaning he can take on coaching very well still especially being so young. Alt has a freaky ability to cover ground and reach wide rush paths with ease and has the upper body strength to absorb contact even if his tall hip height and lack of natural knee bend costs him some leverage. I think he might struggle if he is asked on day one because NFL Edge rushers have so many more weapons to their pass rush arsenal and they might be able to set him up for failure with veteran moves. I do not expect this to last as he rarely got beat by the same move twice and his athletic upside may be the best of any offensive lineman over the past decade. His run game is good but not dominant, this is where he has much more room for growth. Overall I expected better tape for someone considered a consensus top 5 pick but you can easily see the projection to be a franchise LT, he will need work and time to develop the techniques to make him into a professional level tackle but by all accounts this won’t be a problem for a cerebral and willing player with exceptional ability.

System Fit:

Greg Roman was probably doing backflips in the draft room when he found out he was going to have a potentially elite long term right tackle for the first time in many years. In recent seasons he has had Morgan Moses, Daniel Faalele, Alejandro Villanueva and Orlando Brown to fill his Right Tackle role. This was a varied group in terms of skill sets but my view is Roman has been trying to find a long body with light feet that can both reach wide pass rushers and dominate iso blocks in the run game, he looked a bit uncoordinated on dynamic lateral move blocks but his down blocks with his length are deadly and a great tool to get the guards moving as he can cover their backside gaps with ease. The more tape I watched, the more I could see what Harbaugh and Roman saw in his potential that could unlock gap and power concepts that most Tackles could not enable by dominating inside and allowing his inside line-mates to fly outside and take on the lighter apex players of the modern game.

System Player Comp:

This one was tough as the Ravens have never had a player who fits what Joe Alt is now or what he can become. In fact his closest Mockdraftable comparative player was only an 80% match, that means no one has truly been like Alt since their records began in the early 2000s. His combination of raw ability, height, length and light feet are just not something you see especially in a player that is less than 3 years into playing Offensive Tackle. I can see similar thinking from Joe Hortiz in how the Ravens took Daniel Faalele in the 4th round, he was a raw, new to the position prospect who had the athletic profile to take a leap in the pros. However they are completely different players with Faalele being 60 lbs heavier and him being a powerful oversetter whereas Alt is a fluid short setter who plays light on his feet. The name that comes to mind when considering play style is Alejandro Villanueva, the former Pittsburg Steeler who made a veteran move to their AFC North rivals to finish his career in Baltimore. He was also a taller and slimmer build who was a better pass blocker than he was a run blocker in a similar profile to Alt. He actually switched sides when moving from his long standing left Tackle role in Pittsburg to the right hand side under Greg Roman. So in summary, this is a unicorn player profile that has been targeted to improve a position the offensive coordinator has previously struggled to find an elite player in.

Pick Assessment:

I have been public in saying that I did not want the Chargers to draft Joe Alt 5th overall so I will elaborate as to why. The value of OT1 in a historically good draft class is not as high as in a normal year and when you consider Alt is a guy who is still developing as well as learning a new side of the offensive line, it makes it a bit hard to swallow. Switching sides is really not easy, it is unlearning and rebuilding your muscle memory and according to every lineman that has ever done it, it should not be taken lightly. I believe in this coaching staff and this is clearly a vote for themselves but from a pure value perspective in a vacuum I am not a fan. However, in the beneficial clarity that an overall post draft evaluation affords me I can see that the combination of Alt and Ladd is a better situation to be in than Odunze and the tackles that were available at the top of the second round. Would Patrick Paul, Blake Fisher or Ross Rosengarten be able to create a pair of franchise tackles? Not likely, so this has to be seen as a win in terms of results. Future contract value should come into consideration too, elite Offensive Tackles never make it to the market and trading for them is expensive whereas wide receivers frequently want to move teams through discounted trade deals or monster free agent deals. This liquidity of the available talent should always be considered when drafting and Hortiz nailed this.