2016 NFL Draft: Notre Dame Left Tackle Ronnie Stanley

Physical stature

Height: 6'6"

Arm Length: 35 5/8"

Weight: 312 lbs

Hands: 10 5/8"

Pro Day results (Courtesy of NFL.com)

Short Shuttle: 4.68 seconds

3-cone: 7.96 seconds

Bench: 24 reps of 225 lbs

Combine Results

40 yard dash: 5.2 seconds

3 cone drill: 8.03 seconds

20 yard shuttle: 4.9 seconds

Season Recap

Ronnie Stanley surprised Notre Dame fans around this time last year by saying that he was going to come back for his senior year at Notre Dame. The very talented team that was coming back and pre-season expectations for contending for a national championship were just to much for the product from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. Stanley started all 13 games last year and anchored down the left side of the line at the LT spot for an offensive line that paved the way for 2,703 rushing yards. It was a very nice, and much needed, surprise, as Notre Dame would need a dominate LT to protect the blind side of DeShone Kizer, a redshirt freshman that started for the majority of the season, despite not expecting to see any playing time last spring. Stanley had one year of eligibility remaining, yet it was pretty much known from his announcement to return last year that this would be his final season as a Golden Domer.

Projections:

NFL.com

Charles Davis: Ravens (#6 overall)

Bucky Brooks: New York Giants (#10 overall)

Daniel Jeremiah: New York Giants (#10 overall)

Lance Zierlein: New York Giants (#10 overall)

CBS Sports

Rob Rang: Ravens (#6 overall)

Dane Brugler: New York Giants (#10 overall)

Pete Prisco: Chicago Bears (#11 overall)

Will Brinson: San Francisco 49ers (#7 overall)

Jared Dubin: Chicago Bears (#11 overall)

Sports Illustrated

Chris Burke: Chicago Bears (#11 overall)

For the most part, the general consensus for Ronnie Stanley is that he'll either end up in Chicago or New York. I'm going to put my projection in New York, as I find it hard to believe that he'll fall out of the top 10, but then again, I'm no draft analyst. There were talks as early as this time last year (roughly around when Stanley announced he'll return to ND), that he could go number one overall/be the first LT off the board. However, it seems that likely won't happen, as Ole Miss' Laremy Tunsil is increasingly being viewed as the number one pick. It makes a lot of sense, as Tennessee will be looking to protect their young QB for years to come. That still might not come true, as Robert Nkemdiche says that Tunsil was present during that incident down in Atlanta.

Strengths

Pass Protection

Scouts really like Stanley's size and frame. With long arms and "heavy" hands, he uses his quick hands to get in the pass rusher and help control the flow of the play. Stanley is very fluid in getting in his stance and protects the edge very well. His size and quickness help him "mirror" and speed rushers in space. Scouts also like how Stanley is very fundamentally sound. He plays on the balls of his feet while keeping a good bend in his knees to display lateral agility that helps him against pass rushers. One of the subtler perks about Stanley, in the moments where he does get beaten off the edge, he doesn't he doesn't panic or lose control, he simply resets and gets back into position.

Run Blocking

Stanley uses his size and sheer determination in the run game to drive defenders off of the ball in a short yardage play, and uses his speed to get in to blocking defenders on the second level. He also is able to pull and move out in to space to block moving targets.

Mental Makeup/Development

Stanley shows great awareness and keeps his head moving, looking for any defenders in pursuit to help block as well. He is very technically sound. He uses his hands to stun defenders, but isn't too aggressive and shows patience that a lot of blockers don't learn for years. He knows how to use blocking angles, and will use arm-bars and will run with defenders while blocking them.

Weaknesses

Not surprisingly, there aren't too many weaknesses that scouts point out about Stanley. A couple of things that scouts notice is that he will play too high sometimes and needs to lower his anchor to improve his blocking. Is still developing his many skillsets. If a bull-rusher gets the advantage and pushes Stanley back early, he gives up too much ground and needs to learn to reset his feet. Again, some pretty nit-picky things, and none of this is really all that rare that needs worked on from all OL coming in to the league.

Player Comparisons

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