2021 NFL Draft: 5 players who have boosted their stock the most
2. Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
Throughout the 2020 offseason, it was looking like it might be Penei Sewell and then perhaps no one else in the first-round discussion at the offensive tackle position.
Christian Darrisaw — and others — have changed the conversation.
Darrisaw was known for his run blocking prowess coming into the 2020 season, but he has been a brick wall in pass protection as well.
Darrisaw went from a day two possibility for teams looking to get a tackle with some upside to a day one selection with top 15-20 aspirations, maybe even higher depending on how well he tests athletically.
The game appears to have slowed down for Darrisaw, especially in pass protection. He had already proven to be light on his feet and tremendous as a run blocker, but his pass protection improvement has generated him a ton of buzz in the NFL Draft community and the analytics people are in love with his game.
Highest-graded Power 5 OTs since 2014:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 13, 2020
1 Christian Darrisaw, VA Tech (2020) - 95.8
1 Penei Sewell, Oregon (19) - 95.8
3 Jack Conklin, MSU (15) - 94.6
4 Cody Whitehair, KSU (15) - 94.3 pic.twitter.com/NLIHcCPLbs
Even as subjective as grades can be, that is very high praise for a player like Darrisaw to have the highest grade of any player at the tackle position in the last seven seasons.