Jamaree Salyer was a five-star recruit from Georgia who stayed in his home state and played for the Bulldogs. Salyer got onto the field as a freshman and has been a piece of the Georgia offensive line for four seasons. Now, he enters the 2022 NFL draft. Should the Chicago Bears have interest?
Jamaree Salyer’s athletic profile and statistics
Jamaree Salyer has been a reserve lineman at all five offensive line spots. He has played for Georgia as a reserve since his freshman year. Salyer has 21 career starts, including 18 at left tackle, 2 at right tackle, and one start at left guard.
Thanks to Mockdraftable we are able to see how Jamaree Salyer compares to offensive linemen from past NFL combine performances.
Unfortunately, one of the issues with Jamaree Salyer being on a Georgia team that made a long run to the NCAA championship is that now he is spending the offseason getting healthy, while many of his peers have been off for a month or so longer than him and were able to work out.
Still, we see that Salyer is short and thick but also has adequate length.
Strengths that Jamaree Salyer can translate to the NFL
The short and wide frame of Jamaree Salyer is notable and speaks to his playing style. Some lineman can be compared to a fridge, and that is Salyer. He is tough to move, especially when he plants his feet and forms a strong base.
Salyer plays with an edge and has a punch that defenders feel with pain. He springs out of his stance in run blocking and is a power player who takes out everything in his way downhill. Toughness, strength, and an understanding of hand usage are a great base to build off of.
Questions with Jamaree Salyer’s translation to the NFL
Georgia is a power-running team, and they do not need a quick-footed pass protector to be their offensive tackle. So, Salyer is certainly more likely to be a guard in the NFL, but because Georgia wanted a punishing run blocker on their edge, they had Salyer out there.
Salyer does not have the quick feet and bends in pass protection to get away with taking on elite athletes on the edge. He has a few starts at guard, but most of what you see from Salyer will be projecting his size and strength and assuming his movements will look smoother on the interior.
NFL comparison for Jamaree Salyer
The best NFL comparison for Jamaree Salyer is Damien Lewis, a current guard for the Seattle Seahawks. Lewis played guard in college, but the two can share the fact that when Lewis played for LSU his team won a championship and with Salyer on Georgia, the same happened.
The two have similar builds, in that thick squatty stance. Lewis also plays the guard position in a manner that you would expect to see from Salyer. He wins with his hands, he wins with toughness and physicality and he wins as a power run blocker.
Lewis was a mid-round pick who jumped right into the starting lineup and saw no issues. The upside is not immense, but a tough run blocker who does his job in the middle is all that you need.
Should the Chicago Bears draft Jamaree Salyer?
According to Grinding the Mocks, Jamaree Salyer often goes outside the top 50, but inside the top 100. The Chicago Bears pick at 71st overall, which is when they would have to decide on Salyer. Would he be a fit?
On paper, he makes plenty of sense. The Bears want tough, positionless linemen as well as leaders who can recreate the room. Salyer is the type of personality you want to build around, and his physicality in the run game could set a tone.
The big issue with him comes from Georgia running a power scheme while the Bears are going to be more zone-heavy. Had Salyer tested we could see how quick his movement skills are, but they were not on display nearly as much at Georgia.
There is a fit, and personality-wise he makes sense, but there is enough projection into how he would work in this scheme to make it a questionable pick for the Chicago Bears.