John Michael Schmitz 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Minnesota IOL

John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota

John Michael Schmitz: 6’4”, 320 pounds; RS SR

Just outside the top-1000 overall recruits back in 2017, John Michael Schmitz initially took a redshirt. He was then mainly used on special teams before becoming a part-time starter in year three. He started 19 games over the next two seasons. Schmitz was one of the most consistent centers in college football, earning All-Big Ten honorable mentions and second-team accolades. This past year, he improved to first-team, leading the way for Mohamid Ibrahim’s massive 1600-yard rushing season.

Positives:

+ Big center prospect, who fits well in a power-based rushing attack, thanks to his rugged playing style, but was highly successful in more of a zone-heavy scheme

+ John Michael Schmitz has his thumbs up and elbows tight as he shoots his arms through the target and creates momentum that way on defensive linemen

+ Has freaky grip strength to create that extra torque at the end, to give the ball-carrier a clear indication of where to go

+ Does a good job of eating up the space to D-tackles on down-blocks when his guards are tasked with pulling

+ Hooks D-tackles with the back-arm as works laterally down the line on zone concepts to negate quick penetration behind him and allow his guards to take away that gap

+ Showcases good timing while staying attached to the down-lineman with a help-hand as long as needed before peeling off once linebackers commit

+ On more vertical concepts, he also makes sure the down-linemen are secured before climbing to the second level, where he can take guys for a ride, who try to get over his blocks

+ However, John Michael Schmitz also moves well for that size, being able to execute reach-blocks and scoop up 2i/2-techniques, in order to allow his guards to work towards the backer on wide concepts, bringing his base all the way around and pinning them inside at times.

+ John Michael Schmitz puts in an effort to fly out in front of screen passes and look for work in space

+ Was the highest-graded center (and IOL overall) in college football in 2022 according to PFF (92.4)

+ Can land punches when defenders try to set up their moves, but also keeps them really tight to his chest, with hands that don’t detach typically

+ Does a great job of slowly giving ground and re-positioning his base against power rushers, whilst keeping elbows in-line with his shoulders

+ When guys try to take wider paths around him, he can take them way off track to give his quarterback clear space to step up into

+ Is ready to help out his guards once their rusher shows up in the A-gaps, but then also recognizes when there’s a delayed second-level rusher and he can just get a piece of them for his QB to get the ball out

+ John Michael Schmitz lands some knockout shots in that regard on guys late into those plays

+ Fluidly transitions on twists, with a strong punch to stymie the second man or ride them out of their lane

+ With how much play-action from the gun the Gophers use, John Michael Schmitz was regularly asked to sell the run and basically cover up bodies, which he does exceptionally well. You never really see any pressure up the middle because of him, along with him sticking to that down-lineman until the backer really shoots downhill

+ Generally, when he feels the defenders he’s tangled up with lose their balance, he takes the chance to push them down and land on top of them

+ Did get charged with two sacks this past season, but otherwise only gave up 11 additional pressures across 619 pass-blocking snaps

Negatives:

– Had a couple of crazy take-out blocks on guys beyond 10 yards down the field during Senior Bowl practices

– Has his issues when quick reactionary movement is required, such as adjusting to D-tackles slanting across his face

– If moved to guard, it may not be the most seamless fit for a wide zone-based rushing attack, if he has to basically reach-block penetrating three-techniques

– Not the most flight-of-foot to secure blocks in space and can be a little too aggressive with his initial angles

– Every once in a while, his feet can deaden just a little bit when he goes for two-handed punches. Players with strong push-pull maneuvers can yank him sideways momentarily.

John Michael Schmitz displays textbook technique with his hand-placement and footwork, along with tremendous strength in hands to take charge of defenders in the run-and-pass game. Senior Bowl week is typically not the setting for the interior O-lineman to stand out, but John Michael Schmitz did so in a major way. The vice grip hands, ability to frame rushers, and control reps allowed Schmitz to shut down several of the top interior pass-rushers in the country, along with opening up several big lanes behind him in the run game. For somebody of his size, a fit in more of a gap-scheme-based offense makes sense, but he has little experience as a puller and gets worse at securing blocks against second-level defenders the further distance he has to cover initially. Either way, I think he’s a rock-solid player, even though he may not be the greatest athlete, and is worthy of a late first-round pick.

Grade: Late first round

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