2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: OL Royce Newman, Ole Miss

OL ROYCE NEWMAN 

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 306 lbs.
Class: Senior (red shirt)
School: Ole Miss

A former three-star recruit out of Nashville, Illinois, who attended Nashville High School. He was the 347th ranked prospect in the 2016 recruiting cycle, according to 247 Sports.

He allowed only one sack in 416 pass-blocking reps in 2019 as a left guard. Played tackle in 2020 for Lane Kiffin and significantly improved his run blocking, and looked sprier.

Traits

A very versatile lineman who has started several games at right tackle and left guard while also taking snaps at right guard. Newman has a wide frame with good height but sub-par arm length (32 ¼”) while also having sub-nine-inch hands, which shows on tape. Newman looked quicker in his senior season at tackle than he did in 2019 as a guard.

He possesses adequate overall athletic ability for an offensive lineman; is a bit stiff in the lower half, and his change of direction when he has to unlock his hips is below average for an NFL player. Is quick out of stance and doesn’t waste much time there. Solid overall foot speed and short-area quickness. I wish he would lower his pad level and center of gravity to improve his balance.

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Can block down well. He drives his feet through targets and finishes with excellent competitive toughness when he gets to that point. Weak hands and lack of pop make it difficult for him to control the point of attack with his hands--he has to rely on positioning and his wide frame more than his upper body strength and grip strength.

Lack of domination with his hands will be an issue; fitting hands won’t be his best trait. Showed a solid ability to kick and pull into space. He gets caught lunging at times and should attempt to refrain from racing. He uses his frame well to seal the edge as a tackle. Ensures he has a superior position before he closes width when sealing the edge.

He doesn’t have the quickest feet in pass protection. His sets aren’t bad--utilizes good angles--but he may need to overcompensate against speed. Punch isn’t there to control the point of attack, but he can mirror solidly and adapt to counters at a solid rate too. His anchor is good, and he does a solid job resetting his hips to unlock extra power to hold or drive, despite his higher center of gravity.

Overall, Newman is an adequate run blocker who may lack the length and upper body strength to play tackle in the NFL. However, he has experience at guard (is very versatile), understands how to leverage angles, and his lower body strength is solid. He will be a developmental swing lineman whose upside is capped unless his hand pop/usage improves. 

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