Juice Scruggs NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Houston Texans' IOL
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 301
HAND: 33 1/4"
ARM: 10 1/4"
WINGSPAN: 81 3/4
40-YARD DASH: 5.22
3-CONE: 7.75
SHUTTLE: 4.82
VERTICAL: 32"
BROAD: 8'6"
POSITIVES
— Sets a firm anchor; braces and absorbs force without ceding much ground
— Initiates contact with solid pad level and tight hands to work inside and underneath his target
— Keeps his feet churning through contact and strains to finish, using his body to shield and wall off defenders
— Excels on double-teams as the post and drive man to cover up and hold his ground with the needed jolt in his hands to bump and feed the defensive tackle
— Has the proven versatility, body type and strength to offer guard/center flexibility
NEGATIVES
— Struggles to adjust positioning and stay latched once stacked, leading to falling off of blocks late in the rep
— Sluggish redirect skills sap his ability to mirror and recover against late blitzes/loopers and counter moves
— Hot and cold strike timing on wider alignments that skilled hand-fighters can exploit to cross face
2022 STATISTICS
— 12 starts at center
— Team captain
NOTES
— Former 4-star interior offensive line recruit out of Cathedral Prep High School in Erie, Pennsylvania
— Missed the 2019 season because of a broken back suffered in a car accident
— 26 career starts: 17 at center and nine at RG
— Invited to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl
OVERALL
Frederick "Juice" Scruggs is a two-year starter with 26 career starts between center and right guard, including 13 starts at center inside Penn State's balanced offensive approach and multiple-run scheme in 2022. Scruggs has a thick, sturdy build with average arm length, adequate athletic ability and good play strength.
In the run game, Scruggs is stout and strong at the point of attack, with the needed pad level and a tight initial punch to establish leverage on base and double-team blocks. From there he plays with good effort and does a solid job running his feet to wall off and secure the first level. When Scruggs doesn't win the initial leverage battle and gets stacked, he struggles to regain control and close space on the defender, resulting in falling off of blocks late in the rep, which can lead to late-developing rush lanes getting slammed shut. Scruggs is below average on the move on climbs, lacking the reach or range to track down and latch on targets consistently, but he does take a calculated, square path to force them off of their spot.
Scruggs is a linear pass-protector who succeeds using his girth and play strength to take on force and quickly find his anchor. He will struggle landing his strike on wider alignments and has minimal burst or lateral quickness to plug lanes against late-developing blitzes and line games or recover against skilled, seasoned hand-fighters and counter moves.
Overall, Scruggs is a sturdy, strong and physical presence on the interior with the ability to hold the point, anchor and play firm against power. He shows below-average lateral quickness, recovery skills and strike timing against widely aligned, quality pass-rushers that cap his ceiling as a swing interior backup with potential spot-starter potential assuming his medical history checks out.
GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect/Round 5)
OVERALL RANK: 187
POSITION RANK: IOL17
PRO COMPARISON: Justin McCray
Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn
