Can Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie be the top FCS prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft? His scouting report helps explain the hype.
The Bulldogs’ blocker’s 2023 season was unfortunately cut short, but Amegadjie has already produced enough tape to tantalize NFL evaluators.
Kiran Amegadjie’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5 3/8″
- Weight: 323 pounds
- Length: 36 1/8″
- Wingspan: 85 1/2″
- Hand: 9 5/8″
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- School: Yale
- Current Year: Senior
The 2024 NFL Draft OT class is well-documented as having potentially a dozen future starters. Joe Alt, Olu Fashanu, Troy Fautanu, JC Latham, Taliese Fuaga, and Amarius Mims are known commodities at the top. Others like Jordan Morgan, Tyler Guyton, Graham Barton, Kingsley Suamataia, and Patrick Paul also factor in.
But there’s one early-round OT prospect who doesn’t always get his due — being an FCS product — and that’s Yale’s Amegadjie.
Amegadjie started every game for Yale at right guard in 2021 before moving to left tackle and locking down the blindside in 2022. He reprised his role as left tackle in 2023 but saw his season end prematurely in October after suffering a torn quad.
Remember the name Kiran Amegadjie.
The @yalefootball OL could be the first FCS prospect off the board in the draft. 👀#ThisIsYale | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/1KogJtOt8i
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365)
The hope was that Amegadjie would have been able to produce more tape, but when he was on the field for Yale, he was dominant. He was a first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2022, and he never allowed a sack at tackle.
Amegadjie looked exactly the way you want early-round prospects to look at the FCS level. He was a tier above his opponents, and his physical profile should help him draw plenty of interest in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Amegadjie’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Nimble, fleet-footed, high-energy vertical mover with elite first-step explosiveness.
- Has a massive frame with excellent universal frame density and 99th-percentile length.
- Burst, length, and frame density amount to quantifiably elite raw power capacity.
- Can slab opponents and knock them off-balance with menacing full extensions.
- Able to plow defenders out of gaps and move them at will with explosive leg drive.
- Ruthlessly torques through power exertions and caves in his side of the line.
- Flashes rare balance on recovery and can snap back into proper positioning.
- Hip flexibility allows for impressive alignment malleability, enabling him to seal blocks.
- Has exceptional corrective foot speed and can widen his base to absorb power rushes.
- Has shown he can tempo and quicken his feet to match while maintaining a strong base.
- Improved in 2023 at getting proper depth on his kick and ripping his arm into position.
- Can nullify his opponent’s wrists, latch, and anchor with core to suffocate power rushes.
- Can recognize and react to delayed blitzes after first pinning interior rushers.
- Verified mauler who relishes the chance to bury opponents when they give up leverage.
- Was a full-time starter at right guard in 2021 and has projected positional versatility.
Weaknesses
- Despite footwork improvements, still prone to false steps out of his stance at times.
- Still growing with his independent hand usage, placement, and load efficiency.
- Occasionally bends at the waist and lurches when attempting to seal off his side.
- Sometimes leans too far over his center of gravity when extending, giving away space.
- Sometimes drifts too far upright when playing as a pulling blocker, impacting drive.
- Grip strength isn’t nullifying, as rushers can squirm free on second and third attempts.
- Can be a bit more anticipatory processing run blocking angles at the second level.
- Overall play strength against superior levels of competition is relatively untested.
- Missed most of 2023 with a season-ending quad injury that required surgery.
- Can be prone to occasional false starts.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Amegadjie grades out as a top-75 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s one of many offensive tackle prospects in the early-round conversation, and he could be one of the first FCS prospects selected.
Amegadjie is still relatively raw from a technical standpoint, but he has one of the highest ceilings in not just the 2024 NFL Draft OT class but the offensive line class as a whole — a class that’s already fully stocked with talented athletes and impactful two-phase blockers.
At 6’5″, 323 pounds, with arms over 36″, Amegadjie has an uncommon power profile. And on top of his size and length, he’s a high-level athlete with searing explosiveness, impressive short-area energy, flexibility, and range as a pulling and moving blocker.
As a hand-fighter, Amegadjie is still growing. His placement can still be inconsistent, and he’s still figuring out how to efficiently use the levers at his disposal. But in a small 2023 sample, his footwork, hip leveraging, and upper-lower synergy looked improved, and his mauler mentality makes him a domineering threat at multiple levels.
Amegadjie’s quad injury prevented him from showing off his skills during the offseason, but at the same time, he’s on his way to a full recovery after surgery.
MORE: When Is the 2024 NFL Draft?
As a bonus, Amegadjie also has experience at guard, in addition to tackle. Thus, teams will be able to play him wherever they see fit to maximize his skills. He may need a slightly longer developmental runway, but he can be a road-grader on the interior or a suffocating blindside blocker down the road.
Amegadjie might best serve as a versatile depth piece early on in his career. But at his peak, with more operational development, he has the elite athleticism, power, and physicality to support a ceiling as an impact starter in the NFL at either tackle or guard.
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