Blake Freeland is a promising offensive tackle prospect in the NFL with his dominant size and strength. He took over in 2019 as a true freshman, dropping his redshirt season to start the last seven games and played well enough never to look back. The only real concern I see with Freeland’s game is his lack of bend, which I’m not sure if that’s more of an attribute to his height or if it’s a situation where Freeland is stiff as an athlete. 

The transition that Blake undertook coming from high school as a quarterback and moving to offensive tackle is nothing short of phenomenal. He hasn’t been playing offensive tackle very long and still has a lot to learn. That being said, Freeland offers some upside moving forward, but it’s only so much. I think he can get better with his hands, but his fatal flaw is his lack of bend with his hulking size. 

Blake Freeland vs Thomas Incoom pic.twitter.com/YiRK2RL1CB

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) January 31, 2023

Freeland has stayed remarkably healthy his entire career. 

Blake Freeland’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (40)

Athleticism: 20 –

• Speed (6.5/10) – Doesn’t have great speed, but he’s suitable enough to pull or work to the boundary when he has to. 
• Lateral Quickness (7.5/10) – Good lateral quickness. Gets into position quickly and effectively. Can over-shift when trying to slide into protection. 

Strength/Power: 20 –

• Upper Body Strength (5/7) – Good upper body, flashes solid power on finishes. Still has room to add to his frame. 
• Lower Body Strength (5/7) – Has good lower body strength. Sets better than he drives, I think that has a lot to do with his leverage situation. 
• Brute Power (4/6) – Not particularly a brute in style, but has some good size and strength and can impose his will at times. 

Lineman Technique (45)

Anchor/Plant: 10 –

• Anchor Strength (3/5) – Strong anchor. Can shift and adjust again very quickly. Has a good lean that gives him some room to bend, although he doesn’t show much bend ability. Struggled to get low enough at the Senior Bowl at times. 
• Plant Recovery (3/5) – Struggles badly to recover. Earlier in his career, struggled to with getting grabby when beat. Now, he just struggles to re-anchor effectively. 

Hand Usage: 15 –

• Hand Placement (4.5/7) – Hand placement is good, not great. Wins reps sometimes but struggles to control higher end prospects. 
• Hand Strength (4/5) – Very solid hand strength. Shows a powerful stiff arm that is hard to get off. 
• Technique (2/3) – Will surrender handwork to more finessed defenders but overall is good. 

Pass Block: 10 –

• Strength (4.5/5) – Very strong and sturdy pass protector. Holds up very well as a left tackle. 
• Consistency (4/5)  – Very consistent as a pass blocker. Allowed just 2 sacks his entire career. 

Run Block: 10 –

• Strength (2.5/5) – Doesn’t have a lot of downhill strength, and I think it’s because he’s so tall and so long that he struggles to get low enough to win that leverage and push the defender back. 
• Consistency (2.5/5) – Can get downhill when he needs to. Mostly when he’s taking defenders by surprise. 

Persona (15)

Football IQ: 10 –

• College Transition (3.5/5) – BYU ran a heavy RPO offense between Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall. There are some elements that will translate over well, but it’s not a heavy pro-style offense. Mostly ran zone schemes, didn’t see a lot of gap or man schemes. 
• Understanding of Assignments (4/5) – Picks up on stunts and other twists well, moves seamlessly to take the proper assignment. 

Overall – (76.5) –