The Chicago Bears drafted Larry Borom, a right tackle from Missouri in the 2021 NFL draft. While many are excited about the pick, and that he brings needed depth to the room, it is now time to dig in and learn the true pros and cons of these picks.
What type of player are the Chicago Bears getting and what will he bring?
5. Larry Borom has played up and down the offensive line
While Borom spent his last year at right tackle, many in the NFL think he may project best to guard. The reality is that he is likely best served as a swing tackle. Nonetheless, you are looking at a player who has put in 1,394 snaps for the Missouri Tigers over three years.
Of those, 1,058 came at right tackle. That is 75% of the snaps. Still, he played 142 snaps at left tackle, per PFF. He played 132 at left guard, and 67 at right guard. Combined he has started 16 games at right tackle, 1 at left tackle, and 2 at left guard. His time at right guard was emergency only, but it shows that he was able to slide around the line, even mid-game to help out.
That is what the Bears covet. So, what position is Larry Borom? It does not matter, he is an offensive lineman.
4. Larry Borom has 2 Sacks allowed in his career
Over the course of his career, he has only allowed two sacks. In 2018, he played at left tackle exclusively for 52 snaps and did not allow a single pressure. In 2019, he bounced around a bit more.
With that, he allowed 15 hurries, four hits, and one sack. In 2020, he stuck at right tackle and was much more comfortable. He still allowed one sack, but only one other hit, and two other hurries.
Yes, the season was shortened by COVID, but he had 589 snaps in 2020 to 753 in 2019. Beyond that, his overall grade from PFF went from 61.5 in 2019 to 87 in 2020. It was clear he showed improvement, mainly in pass protection.
Of offensive tackles in this draft class, only Brady Christensen had a lower pressure allowed rate on a per-snap basis. That includes Teven Jenkins. Borom was a 1.29, and Teven Jenkins at 2.0% pressures allowed. That is less a knock on Jenkins, who only had one other draft-eligible tackle between he and Borom. It is more to say both ranked top five in pressures allowed last season.
3. Larry Borom Consensus rank
It does not matter now that he is drafted, but the Athletic has done a consensus ranking board that has looked at an average of most draft analysts’ big boards. This board has actually proven to be a bit more predictive than the draft order.
So, the Chicago Bears drafted Larry Borom 151st overall. The average big board had him rated 235th. He was also rated as the 23rd tackle in the draft. To be fair, most were off of the board.
However, Stone Forsythe, Tommy Doyle, Brenden Jamies, Jaylon Moore, and Alaric Jackson were rated higher but still on the board.
To be fair, Jackson went undrafted, but the rest went shortly after. Jaylon Moore went 155, Jamies went 159, Doyle went 161st, Forsythe went 208,
While the Bears needed to add offensive line depth, we will now be able to compare Borom to Moore, Doyle, and Forsythe, and find out which was the better option.
2. Athleticism
Larry Borom said that he played at 340 pounds while at Missouri. However, in preparation for the NFL draft, he lost nearly 20 pounds and got down 322. Check out the size and athleticism that Borom has below.
This is compared to other offensive guards from the combine.
It is worth noting that the comparison above for offensive guard because it does change when you compare him to tackles. The biggest difference is the length. We have discussed in the past that 33″ is a benchmark, but 34″ is where most tackles want to be so that they can rely on their reach.
Borom just clears 33″, which is good enough, but on the low end. Check out how he compares to tackles now.
Most does not change, but the length does. It becomes a weakness at tackle and a strength at guard.
Beyond that, you can see from vertical, broad, and 40 that he does have some explosion to him. However, while he can explode, he may be a bit slow to get there as shown in the lower 10-yard number. Once he gets weight behind him, he can really shoot out.
Lastly, you can see his issues in agility scores. This relates to his draft profile, where he has struggled with inside counters and quick feet where he has to shift his weight and redirect.
Overall, he is an above-average athlete. However, this does paint a picture of a guard profile. He can explode downhill and is not prone to speed and counters in the box of the inside. He obviously creates the length advantage as well.
1. Zone vs Gap
Matt Nagy has typically been a zone man, but over the last few weeks of the regular season, he moved to a more gap-heavy run blocking scheme. For what it is worth, Missouri ran about 65% zone blocking and was less of a gap blocking team.
However, Brandon Thorn, an excellent line expert notes that he believes that Borom would be better off in a power gap scheme. That comes down to his power and ability to square his man being a better trait than his foot speed and ability to pick up blockers at the next level.
That is fair, so it will be interesting to see which way Nagy goes. According to PFF, Borom had an 85 grade on zone blocking but had a 71 grade on gap blocking. This is with him at right tackle of course. So his projection may be at guard and it may be with him being better off in gap.
Still, the reality is that zone and gap, guard and tackle, Borom has a lot of versatility here. He has experience in each. He went in a similar tier as his peers, even if it was a bit higher than them.
Overall, Bears fans should not expect instant starter but should expect depth at guard and tackle with the upside to clean up his body and get better overall.