Zach Tom NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for Green Bay Packers' IOL
HEIGHT: 6'4 1/4"
WEIGHT: 304
HAND: 10 3/8"
ARM: 33 1/4"
WINGSPAN: 6'8 3/8"
40-YARD DASH: 4.94
3-CONE: 7.32
SHUTTLE: 4.47
VERTICAL: 33"
BROAD: 9'10"
POSITIVES
— Light on his feet with very good lateral quickness and loose hips to mirror, redirect, recover and stay attached to blocks through contact.
— Efficient use of independent hands in pass protection (including a refined bait-and-replace technique) to mix up the delivery of his strikes to disrupt the opponent's rushing plan.
— Consistently times the snap well to spring out of his stance and reach his set points square and on time.
— Shows solid hand placement and grip strength to latch inside the frame of defenders, maintain his clench, strain and sustain in the run game.
— Plays with good tempo and timing in the zone-run game to not chase movement across his face and knowing when to release off the first level to line up second-level targets.
NEGATIVES
— Doesn't generate much displacement due to marginal power and torque.
— Lean and slender build, lacking the sand, girth and play strength to hold ground against quality power rushers and run defenders.
— Gets pressed off blocks and walked back in his anchor too often.
— Played in a high-tempo, RPO-heavy offense with simple, redundant concepts that limited his window to finish blocks.
— Tends to have low hand carriage in his pass sets, which causes him to be tardy with his strike timing.
2021 STATISTICS
- 14 starts at left tackle.
- Played a team-high 1,205 snaps.
- First-team All-ACC selection.
NOTES
— Former 3-star offensive line recruit out of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
— Placed third in the state for shot put as a junior in 2015.
— Invited and accepted his invite to the 2022 Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas, where he took snaps at tackle and center.
— Winner of the 2021 Jim Tatum Award, given to the ACC's top senior student-athlete among the conference's football players. Was only the second football student-athlete to enroll in Wake Forest's MBA program.
— Made 37 career starts, with 23 at left tackle and 14 at center.
OVERALL
Tom is a three-year starter inside Wake Forest's RPO-heavy, zone-based run scheme with 37 career starts, including 23 at left tackle (2020 and 2021) and 14 (2018 and 2019) at center. He has a lean build with average arm length and adequate sand in his lower half.
Tom wins using his quickness, fluid redirect ability and impressive balance to recover from compromising positions to stay attached to blocks. He is an adept zone run-blocker who knows how to time and tempo his overtakes and releases on combo blocks, with the movement skills to intersect targets on the move.
Tom does a nice job consistently timing the snap and getting to his landmarks square and on time in pass protection, and his skillful hand usage baits rushers into showing their hand and executing their moves prematurely. He shows an effective inside strike to widen rushers with loose hips and good foot quickness to mirror and redirect against counter moves.
However, Tom's slender build and below-average play strength limits his ability to displace, uproot and generate torque in the run game and anchor against power as a pass-protector.
Overall, Tom has below-average play strength, power and anchoring ability, but he tested like an elite athlete at the combine with comparable play speed and movement skills on the field. He needs to continue to fill out his frame and show that he has enough physicality to stick as a starter, but he is a skillful player with proven positional versatility. That should help him earn a swing backup role, with starter potential down the road.
GRADE: 6.6 (Potential Role Player - Round 4)
OVERALL RANK: 142
POSITION RANK: IOL17
PRO COMPARISON: Mitch Morse-lite
Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn
