|
Positives: Has quick, nimble feet with good lower-body thickness, especially in his calves and hamstrings … Hard worker in his training program and, while he struggles to maintain his weight, he does play with good aggression and excellent quickness for an offensive guard prospect … He is a solid leader who actually made the other offensive linemen take extra time to watch game film with him … Has just an adequate kick slide, but works hard to get position and mirror the edge rusher's moves (did not allow any sacks in his final 10 games after adjusting to playing on the edge in 2007) … Still a work in progress in learning how to place his hands, but can shock and jolt a defender with his punch … Plays until the whistle … Showed much better hip snap as a senior than in the past, as he was more than able to swing his feet and reach the "three-technique" tackle … Has good field awareness, but will need time to digest a playbook … When he keeps his pads down (does so at the line, but will get too tall on the move), he attacks defenders with good explosion off the snap, showing the functional balance and lateral moves to execute short pulls (good zone blocker, but has to stop getting tall when running long distances) … Did a nice job as a senior when accelerating his feet to gain and maintain advantage, doing a good job as a reach blocker … Creates good pop, but is still more comfortable as a push-and-shove type when trying to create immediate movement … Has to be conscious of not getting his base too narrow, but when he keeps a wide base, he has the nastiness to stay on the defender until the finish … Has the lower-body strength to bump nose guards and tackles out of the hole as a drive blocker and even though he will sometimes make contact with his chest first, he is slowly developing the active hands needed to maul … Showed later in his senior year improvement when rolling his hips and hitting on the rise … Plays with good intensity and effort … Can generate enough pop working in space and showed better agility adjusting to second level defenders … When he locates the linebacker, he has good success locking on, sliding and finishing … Has a wide base in pass protection after some mechanical tinkering early in the 2007 season and, while he will sometimes stop at the top of his slide, he started using his hands more often in attempts to outmuscle … Has a big punch, but until the second half of the 2007, he was not confident using it … Has improved his foot quickness in his slide, and even though he is sometimes slow to recover inside, he will generally get good body position and maintain balance.
Negatives: Has natural strength, but shows just adequate muscle definition (smooth all over, lacking solid muscle tone) … Needs to sink his pads better, as he shows just marginal knee bend … Has had a series of shoulder problems (both left and right) and even though they have not caused any problems the last two years, further medical evaluation might be advisable … Has adequate learning ability and might struggle digesting a complicated playbook … Has struggled maintaining his weight above 300 pounds, but will need to add more bulk to his frame to compete at the next level … Best when working in combo with the center and tackles as an offensive guard than playing out on an island at tackle (base tends to get too narrow when he has to move laterally to seal along the edge) … His narrow base also affects his balance and running stride on long pulls (will cross his feet some) … Has improved as a senior, but needs to use his hands better to lock on and control (will use his body to lean into a defender rather than extend and reach block) … Has a tendency to stop his feet at the top of his kick slide in pass protection … Must also develop better hand placement, as he is slow to shoot and recoil them and is inconsistent to redirect his opponent when he locks on … Slow to recover when he loses containment blocking on the backside, allowing some inside penetration.
Compares To: JACOB BELL-St. Louis … Like Bell, Lee will be an undersized offensive guard at the next level, but his 2007 experience at tackle greatly helped him improve his pass protection skills. He showed much better hand usage as a senior and along with his quickness, he could be a nice fit for a ground-oriented team, as he has good explosion on short-area pulls and traps. He will always be on the light side, when it comes to his weight, but he has a very good work ethic. With patient coaching, a team like Kansas City could find a late-round answer for their offensive line woes.
|
