Top 10 offensive tackles in the 2021 NFL Draft

#3 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Christian Darrisaw (Virginia Tech)

6’ 5”, 310 pounds; SR

Christian Darrisaw

Surprisingly just a three-star recruit coming from a military academy, Christian Darrisaw started 25 of the 26 games through his first two years with the Hokies at a pretty high level.

However, his continuous improvement saw a rapid peak past season, as he rose up to be a first-team All-ACC selection at left tackle, despite missing a couple of contests. He is now entering the 2021 NFL Draft pretty much as a top three prospect at the position.

What stands out right away with Darrisaw are his great length and easy movement skills. He displays tremendous quickness and hip mobility to hinge-block or scoop up three-technique on the backside of zone run plays because of the way he can put his body in between the defender and the ball.

Darrisaw can ride the linebacker on his side while on the move to create a huge cutback lane. On the front side of those wide zone plays, he has the agility to reach the edge defender. He can also seamlessly transition into a drive-block if he can’t quite seal the man, doing so with great torque of the inside pad to get him to the outside edge and then run his legs.

In the vertical rushing attacks, he can move those B-gap defenders out of their fits while rolling his hips through contact and when he combos off that, he can literally toss smaller bodies around. He was even asked to pull a few times on their sweep plays, in combination with the tight-end blocking down on the D-end or wrap around to the play-side backer on power plays.

I like the way he gathers himself in space, which is also apparent in the screen game. When you watch his tape, the way he covers up bodies and shields those guys from the ball is apparent.

In the pass game, Darrisaw is tough to get around, He has the foot speed and quick-twitch athleticism to counter speedier rushers, and I have yet to see anybody who is able to go through his chest.

Darrisaw packs a good punch and forces edge defenders to run the loop. Especially against wide nine alignments, his balance and patience can really shine. And he does not panic at all when he has to pick up DBs blitzing off the edge, giving them nowhere to go.

I’ve seen Darrisaw completely neutralize the guys across from him for a series on multiple occasions. They don’t even try any maneuvers anymore because of the way he can force them to go through him. He is such a tight grip that he does not let them get away. And when he is asked to cut block rushers on the edge in the quick-game, he does a nice job of inviting them upfield and then working across the body to take them off their feet.

Darrisaw was the highest-graded offensive tackle in college football, as rated by PFF, last season. He allowed no hits on the quarterback and had just six pressures overall. That included six games where he allowed zero QB pressure.

Christian Darrisaw didn’t have a ton of actual dropback pass-sets in 2019, in particular. He didn’t have a true kick set, as he just guided rushers around the edge with shuffle steps. He has now added some short kicks but could still benefit from refining that, as he will go up against some speed-rushers.

If that doesn't prove to be enough, he will have to gain vertical depth on actual kicks. He is often a tick late in identifying twists and picking up the guy looping over from the inside. Darrisaw also gets a little wide with his base at times, and his inside foot travels too far back in the pass game, which doesn’t allow him to post well against inside counters.

On the wide zone plays, he gets a little too aggressive at times trying to reach-blocks with the end-man on the line, as h allows that guy to shoot up the B-gap quickly. And overall, when his job is done, he does not necessarily look for extra work.

While I don’t think Darrisaw has the same level of tenacity or technique that Slater has, there is an argument to be made for him being a higher upside selection.

His athletic traits are probably second only to Oregon’s Penei Sewell regarding what you want your left tackle to look like physically when he starts to move. While he didn’t face a ton of great edge rushers in the ACC, all I really have to look at is the Miami game, where Jaelan Phillips was wreaking havoc from the opposite side and Darrisaw pretty much shut down Quincy Roche.

Considering he can still improve his pass-sets quite a bit, he could have a successful NFL career,