Joe Alt Draft Profile | Notre Dame, OT Scouting Report

Premier offensive tackle talent always goes at a premium in the NFL Draft, and the 2024 NFL Draft is on track to have several quality Round 1 targets. One of those players is Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, a blocker whose scouting report has already fueled preseason OT1 excitement.

Joe Alt Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 6’8″
• Weight: 315 pounds
• Position: Offensive Tackle
• School: Notre Dame
• Current Year: Junior

Football is an issue of legacy for the Alt family. John Alt was a first-round pick in the 1984 NFL Draft and embarked on a 13-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, a second-team All-Pro several times, and an inductee into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame.

Now, four decades after he was drafted, John’s son — Joe Alt — is on a similar path.

The younger Alt was a tight end in high school, but it was hardly a secret among college teams that he has dominant potential as an OT convert. He was a four-star recruit out of Minneapolis who committed to the Fighting Irish.

As a true freshman, Alt started the final eight games. Then, as a true sophomore in 2022, he was a 13-game starter and a first-team All-American.

Now in his first cycle of eligibility, Alt is on the forefront — not just of the college football landscape, but of the 2024 NFL Draft stage. He’s already receiving buzz as a potential early first-round pick. Does he have the scouting report to support those claims?

Joe Alt Scouting Report

Strengths

• Has a tall, lean frame that carries its mass extremely well, and has great overall length.
• Former TE with elite movement skills who can instantly close gaps with explosiveness.
• Able to effortlessly mirror rushers with short-area bursts and superb lateral mobility.
• Has instant lateral burst off the snap, as well as great range blocking in space.
• Channels length and burst into powerful knockback force, and can use hips to generate dominating torque.
• Hyper-elite flexibility amounts to rare leverage acquisition skills and bend for his size.
• Shows off extraordinary balance on recovery, keeping his base while closing ground.
• Flexibility, along with good baseline strength, allowing him to easily absorb power outputs.
• Can use snappy redirections to stay square and maintain equilibrium through reps.
• Able to use synergetic technique, a wide base, and tight hands to stymy rushers.
• Can successively extend, re-exert, and replace his hands while combatting rush moves.
• Can employ combative hands when battling anchors and has good spatial feel.
• Composed in his kick set and effortlessly widens off the snap to stabilize his base.
• Instinctive, high-IQ blocker in both phases with vision and quick reaction speed.
• Possesses good baseline physicality and tenacity; will finish plays with force.

Weaknesses

• Proportional length, while exceptional, may be a notch below the elite mark.
• Has an exceptional power profile but sometimes struggles to drive after contact.
• Sometimes lacks the strength to seal better-leveraged defenders blocking inside on runs.
• Doesn’t always show the core and grip strength to anchor defenders and assert control.
• Extraneous hand motion when matching can sap away at potential energy in punches.
• Can be over-reliant on two-hand extensions and could improve precision when fighting.
• Frantic feet can cause some instability when recollecting his base against power rushers.
• Sometimes halts his feet when moving upfield on zone blocks, causing lurches.
• Doesn’t quite have an elite physical edge or a mauling mentality.

Current Draft Projection and Summary

Early on in the 2024 NFL Draft cycle, Alt grades out as an early-to-mid Round 1 prospect and a top-15 player on my board. He’s a prospect with impact starter ability at the NFL level.

Although he’s only OT3 on my board behind Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and Alabama’s JC Latham, he’s an equally enthralling force on account of his rare upside.

MORE: Top OTs in the 2024 NFL Draft

The physical traits are where it starts with Alt. At 6’8″, 315 pounds, he has a towering frame with impressive length, and his tape shows off uncanny athleticism and recovery capacity at that size.

Alt is an extremely explosive and free-flowing athlete with unnatural foot speed and agility. He couples that with absurd flexibility and bend.

With his flexibility, Alt is not only able to recover ground and keep his balance with ease, he’s also able to effortlessly acquire leverage, align himself through reps, and absorb power by distributing his weight properly. Those physical traits already set an incredible foundation for a prospect who’s proven to be smooth and disciplined with his footwork, and very instinctive as a stunt protector and run blocker.

Alt does have room to keep filling out his frame and get closer to NFL-level strength. Additionally, being as young as he is, there are still aberrations with technique at times. But overall, Alt checks all the boxes as an early Round 1 target, with blue-chip positional and franchise left tackle upside at his ultimate ceiling.