Houston Texans Draft Prospect: Jonah Savaiinaea

NFL scouts receives a commission to uncover the subsequent rising star, however these king-makers additionally maintain the ability to tank a participant’s draft inventory. Their present goal is the topic of our article at present.

At 6’4”, 340 kilos, there aren’t many prospects constructed like Arizona’s offensive deal with Jonah Savaiinaea.

Jonah Savaiinaea is a really intriguing OL prospect at 6-5 336 lbs however can play OT & OG

He pops off immediately as an distinctive move blocker and on account of his means to play all around the line, he appears very in tune with DL stunts

He may wrestle with elite pace off the sting… https://t.co/bPokZSsoxV pic.twitter.com/0BL3lLDm2n

— Brad (@Graham_SFN) January 23, 2025

These draft scouts have been initially and keenly drawn to Savaiinaea’s versatility and expertise. Savaiinaea performed proper guard as a freshman, performed each proper guard and proper deal with his sophomore yr, and in 2024 break up time at each deal with spots. He’s simply probably the most position-versatile participant within the class… the query is the place to place him?

Sadly, scouts have soured on Savaiinaea’s movie and potential. Footwork inconsistencies and pad stage considerations are probably the most broadly emphasised faults. His fall from a perennial first spherical prospect to mid-day two choose has been among the many most drastic corrections of the draft season.

As a consequence of his immense dimension and motion expertise, the NFL has pegged him as a guard. That call and the rise of different film-based prospects reminiscent of Josh Conerly Jr. and Armand Membou have weighed down his draft inventory.

Savaiinaea nonetheless possesses the identical dimension, energy, and potential as he did earlier than the draft course of began and NFL.com’s Draft Profile of Savaiinaea particulars such traits:

NFL.com’s Draft Profile: Strengths

Dense body with glorious thickness by means of limbs.

Affected person with fingers however fires them with timing and accuracy.

Makes use of posture and core to regulate rushers as soon as he’s locked in.

House-eating body can be robust to beat shortly inside.

In a position to shove angle blocks round with upper-body energy.

Does a pleasant job of discovering and becoming up second-level targets.

BATTLE RED ANALYSIS:

His move safety wants reliable ironing out… primarily on account of always switching positions all through faculty. Watch his movie above; his footwork is place agnostic quite than refined and nuanced. It’s like fixing the issue “fitting a square peg into a round hole” by merely discovering a sufficiently small sq. peg to work in any spherical gap.

Within the run recreation and display screen recreation, he hits extra for contact quite than hit to maneuver individuals. A basic lack of hand utilization diminishes the ability he generates. It is a case of “always being the biggest guy”, which gained’t be true within the NFL. If a staff can train him to reach on the level of contact and latch on, he’ll be a direct starter.

THE COMPARISON:

Whereas completely different dimension and physique composition, Savaiinaea jogs my memory of San Francisco 49ers standout rookie Dominic Puni. Puni fell within the draft from a primary to a 3rd spherical choose pretty shortly within the draft course of. The 49ers moved him inside to protect and he was the sixth rated guard within the NFL in keeping with PFF. Neither Puni nor Savaiinaea are recognized for his or her footwork, however each know learn how to use their physique to their benefit. What Savaiinaea must study that Puni was in a position to undertake was higher use of his size to direct the power of contact and maintain blocks.

THE FIT:

The NFL believes that Savaiinaea’s elite dimension, potential play energy, and creating footwork recommend his profession can be finest suited to a transfer to proper guard. Touchdown with Houston would imply he can sit behind RG Shaq Mason to start 2025 and grow to be the beginning guard long run. Locking Savaiinaea into one place will assist crystalize his approach and hone his footwork.

He’ll excel in blocking conditions the place he can mix with Tytus Howard or Blake Fisher and be much less susceptible to hurry getting round him. His vast physique will power larger defensive tackles to work by means of his body and he can lean into his weight quite than battle to maintain up with faster defenders. Whereas it’s unclear what run scheme Houston will incorporate with new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, Savaiinaea gives a high-upside run blocking power to develop inside a veteran offensive line.

Anticipated Draft Vary: Mid-round three

If he’s accessible within the third spherical, the Houston Texans can be hard-pressed to discover a extra appropriate, long-term answer for the offensive line within the second day of the draft.