Top 10 interior offensive linemen in the 2019 NFL Draft

#4 Erik McCoy, Texas A&M

McCoy could be an excellent addition for an offense that is looking for an aggressive run-blocking center with experience as a three-year starter against top-tier competition

While not being the most highly recruited athlete coming out of High School, McCoy made most of the scholarship he got from Texas A&M. After redshirting his first year at College Station, he went on to start all 39 games with all but two of them coming at center.

He was part of an offensive line that called themselves the “Maroon Goons”, which was the engine for 219 yards and 5.3 yards per attempt in the ground game last season.

At 305 pounds, McCoy is powerful and athletic run-blocker with good girth and thickness throughout his frame. He gets a tight grip on defensive linemen and steers them through the whistle, staying linked to his initial landmarks of the defender.

He continues to ride his blocks down the line in the zone rushing attack and has a good feel for when to get to the second level to secure linebackers. As that angular blocker McCoy gets the arm underneath the side of the shoulder-pad to turn that defensive lineman.

If that guy in the gap stunts out of it, the 6’4” center quickly re-set and finds the next target and when there’s a blitzer coming in with speed, McCoy simply drives him that way to open a cutback lane for his back.

He is effective at sealing the backside and also has excellent footwork and loose hips to come around D-tackles in the A-gap and reach them, as well as playing the lead-blocking role on skip pulls pretty well.

McCoy has a strong base with wide thighs in pass protection to absorb bull-rushers and control them with hands inside the frame of his man. He plays with sticky hands and arms that reposition themselves constantly.

The three-year starter also displays active feet and feels counters coming from the defender in front of him. When somebody does get a step on him, McCoy turns and rides that guy away from his quarterback. He Is looking for work in protection when he doesn’t have a direct matchup.

Altogether he allowed just six total pressures on over 900 snaps last year. McCoy has a lot of experience getting out in front and putting hands on people in the screen game, where he shows crafty “releases” from his original, who he leads upfield and uses as an extra push to get on the move, before pushing another guy around in space.

Overall I think McCoy’s style of play is probably a little too grabby for NFL referees and he will have to learn his lesson early on. He also leans a little too far outside his frame in pass protection and with how wide his feet get he might be vulnerable to push-and-pull moves by savvy NFL defensive linemen.

I also thought he was a little late at picking up stunts at times and his head has to scan the defensive front a little better to avoid free rushers. His upside might be more limited than the guys ahead of him because he simply isn’t as athletic in space.

McCoy could be an excellent addition for an offense that is looking for an aggressive run-blocking center with experience as a three-year starter against top-tier competition in the SEC, who can more than hold his own his pass protection.

I thought he had a great Senior Bowl week, lining up against a multitude of bodies and excelling in team- as well as positional drills. Nothing about him physically will blow away scouts, but he is a rock-solid football player who has a good feel for the game.