Alex Leatherwood

Leatherwood has the requisite size and length for an offensive tackle in the NFL, but he's about as much of a project as you're going to find. He shows great pop out of his stance, but once that happens, he struggles immensely in pass protection. His footwork is unbalanced and leaves him vulnerable to inside pass rush moves and his hand placement has no purpose. He's constantly grabbing on the outside of the defender's jersey and trying to bring them in close to his body. In run blocking, he's just as lost. He's constantly climbing to the second level and has no plan on who he's supposed to be blocking. He's often left whiffing and struggling with positioning. Routinely throughout the Missouri game, he's blocking the wrong side of the defender and opening up the running lane that he's supposed to be shielding. He has tremendous length and the upside is there, but he needs to learn how to utilize it correctly. He's often extending both arms at the same time and trying to just keep an edge rusher at arms length rather than keeping his hands tight into his body and extending when he needs to. Struggles from time to time when he faces a bigger edge defender and can get driven backwards. This could be due to his poor footwork rather than true balance issues though. Sloppy hand technique that will get him in trouble immediately in the NFL. Could be one of the most penalized offensive lineman in the NFL with his hand technique and his tendency to grab. Good athlete. Able to get out in space well and carries his size extremely well. Shows potential in this area. Difficult to evaluate toughness, but does end up on the ground way more than I'd like to see in an offensive tackle. Solid anchor ability, but will need to improve on this at the next level if he was struggling against Missouri and Notre Dame EDGE players. Overall, Leatherwood has the tools that offensive line coaches are going to want to get their hands on and try to mold him, but he shouldn't be viewed as a safe bet. He's a project player that has the potential to be good down the line, but he needs to refine a lot of areas in his game before that becomes a reality.

Alex Leatherwood selected No. 17 by Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have selected OL Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Fantasy Impact

Leatherwood wasn't necessarily expected to be taken in Round 1, but the Raiders are known to take their guys. Additionally, they wanted to continue bolstering their offensive line. Leatherwood has some positional versatility along the O-line, and he'll aim to boost Vegas' running game in 2021.