Player Profile: Dakota Dozier

Height:  6'4
Weight:  313
School:  Furman
Position: Offensive Tackle
Ranking:  #10 Guard
Projection:  4th or 5th Round

Strengths
-Experienced.  Four year starter with 44 career starts
-Ideal size (6'4 313) for an offensive guard or center.
-Uses his hands and length (33 7/8") to keep defenders off his body
-Shows good hand placement that allows him lock onto defenders
-Displays good quickness (1.78 10 second) to fire out of his stance.
-Able to get to the second level and pull in the run game
-Does a good job of blocking space
-Good agility which allows him to slide quickly to wall off defenders
-Stout at the point of attack with a good anchor.
-Uses strong hands and good placement to lock down defenders once he makes contact
-Has experience playing tackle in college
-Good motor.  Always blocking till the whistle

Weaknesses
-Lacks the strength (23 reps) to move defenders off their spot in the run game
-Shorter arms forces the move inside to guard
-Was a tackle in college.  Can he move inside to guard?
-Struggles to get deep on kick step which allows speed rushers to get past him
-Becomes off balance when having to do an extended slide
-Doesn't hit with much authority.  Lacks a strong punch
-Lacks a killer instinct or nasty streak you like out of lineman
-Will get beat by quick moves inside or outside
-More of a grabber than a puncher

Summary
To some people when they see an undersized college tackle their immediate thought is to slide them inside to guard.  That's not the case here.  When I see Dakota Dozier play, he looks like a guard playing tackle.  Now that's not a bad thing.  Dozier was Furman's best offensive lineman last year and most teams will put their best lineman at left tackle.  Dozier does well when blocking the defender in front of him whether it's moving forward in the run game or when a defender is coming at him in pass protection.  When he struggles it's because he has move laterally for more than a step in either direction.  Then he gets off balance and will lung or grab.  By moving inside to guard he won't be asked to kick step or shuffle much.  Dozier is also a good athlete and has shown the ability to pull and get out into space.  Dozier isn't an overpowering blocker, but should be able to fit into any blocking scheme.  However with his athleticism and the ability to make blocks in the second level, Dozier would be a good fit in a zone blocking scheme.  Add in that Dozier could even slide into center that and that would increase his stock with teams.  Look for him to go somewhere in the 4th round area to a zone blocking team like Seattle, Dallas, and Denver could all be possibilities.