Earl Bostick Jr. NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Dallas Cowboys' UDFA OT

HEIGHT: 6'6"

WEIGHT: 309

HAND: 34 ⅛"

ARM: 9 ½"

WINGSPAN: 80 ¾"

40-YARD DASH: 5.05

3-CONE: 7.60

SHUTTLE: 4.63

VERTICAL: 31"

BROAD: 9'3"

POSITIVES

— Solid athletic ability with fluid movement skills to get to landmarks quickly and on time as a puller, on climbs and in pass-protection

— Casts a wide net with his length that can trap and engulf rushers at the point

— Flashes the necessary power to wash down and laterally displace interior run-defenders on down blocks and double-team feeds

— Has another gear late in the rep to uncork and displace defenders

— Capable of hooking the frontside end on wide zone runs

NEGATIVES

— Plays in a gimmicky offense with wide splits, extensive RPOs/play-action with few true drop-backs

— Upright, high playing style with marginal pad level and anchoring ability

— Has a predictable, simplistic approach with his hands in pass-protection. Needs to refine and diversify his plan of attack

— Soft inside shoulder in protection leaves him vulnerable to inside counters and moves across his face

— Slow to sort out line games, stunts and blitzes leads to losing spacing, depth and levels for easy penetration

2022 STATISTICS

— 13 starts at left tackle

NOTES

— Former 2-star tackle prospect out of Barnwell High School in South Carolina

— Played defensive end and tight end during his high school career. Also lettered in basketball and track

— Transitioned to the offensive line full-time during the 2019 season and became a starter in 2020

— 36 career starts (29 consecutive) split between LT (27), RT (five) and TE (four)

— Four time Big 12 Academic All-American first- or second-team selection

— Played for eight different position coaches in six seasons at Kansas

— Invited to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl

— Turns 25 years old on December 31

OVERALL

Earl Bostick Jr. is a three-year starter inside Kansas' run-first, play-action/RPO heavy offense that is heavily reliant on packaged plays, motion and misdirection. Bostick amassed 36 career starts (29 consecutive) under eight different position coaches after moving from tight end to the offensive line in 2019. He started 13 games at left tackle in 2022 and will turn 25 years old in December. Bostick has a well-rounded dispersion of weight and athletic build with good length and solid movement skills.

Bostick has good fluidity on the move as a puller and on climbs to connect and intersect smaller targets with flashes of power on down and double-team blocks to create lateral displacement, but he has an upright playing style with a rudimentary understanding of how to fit on blocks, playing short and negating his length too often. This leads to quick, clean losses across his face and penetration on kick-out and backside cut-off blocks.

In pass protection, Bostick has the frame, length and quickness to get to his spot and engulf rushers with the range to expand his landmarks and protect the corner against high-side rushes. His main issues come from an overly simplistic approach using his hands and a bad habit of standing straight up with poor pad level that saps his anchoring ability and leads to quick losses across his face. Bostick also struggles to maintain depth and spacing on basis line games and stunts, getting knocked off levels too easily. While offering glimpses of competency on an island, he was heavily protected by the scheme and rarely challenged, clouding his projection to the next level.

Overall, Bostick is an older, unrefined tackle prospect but is relatively new to the offensive line with enough size, athletic ability and flashes of power to warrant a dart throw at the tail end of the draft or as a priority free agent with potential to improve his leverage and technique under the right line coach in the NFL and carve out a backup role down the road.

GRADE: 5.7 (Backup or Draftable/Rounds 6-7)

OVERALL RANK: 227

POSITION RANK: OT15

PRO COMPARISON: Elijah Wilkinson

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn