The Chicago Bears sent their coaching staff and big members of their front office to the Northwestern Pro Day. Considering they are now sitting with the ninth overall pick, there is a real chance that they could be considering drafting Peter Skoronski.
Most tape evaluators agree that he is one of the safest players on tape based on the tape. So, who are some NFL comparisons that fit him the best?
Best NFL Comparisons for Northwestern OL Peter Skoronski
The biggest thing that comes up with Skoronski is his arm length. Eric Winston is the only tackle in recent history to have arms as short as his and still find success in the NFL. There is a long list of players who are tackles in college, then become elite NFL guards despite the arm length.
Based on NFL Combine data going back to the year 2000, the following players check the boxes of having arm length under 33" as well as being 6'3" to 6'4", and 5.06 to 5.23 40-yard dash. The following players will have over 26" in vertical, over 100'" in broad, and over 20 reps on the bench. This would put them in the class of Peter Skoronski size and athletically.
We sorted them based on when they were drafted.
Zack Martin, Zion Johnson, Justin Pugh, Alex Mack, Cesar Ruiz, Ben Grubbs, Chris Snee, Ben Ijalana, Marshal Yanda, Josh Ezeudu, Shawn Lauvao, JC Tretter, Mark Glowinski, Corey Levin, and Ronald Leary.
The first thing that stands out is that none of them played tackle in the NFL. The other is that this an amazing list featuring two Hall of Fame players.
The first round picks are Martin, Johnson, Pugh, Mack, and Ruiz. Ruiz may be the only miss of the group, and the hits are huge. PFF compared Peter Skoronski to Justin Pugh, and NFL.com compared Skoronski to Zack Martin. Both of them played tackle in college and were first round picks in the NFL.
Marshal Yanda is another name on the list and also played tackle in college before becoming a possible Hall of Fame guard for the Baltimore Ravens.
If anything is interesting to note, it is that All of the first-round picks went n the 16-21 range, and not earlier. Some of that has to do with the reality that they are guards and not tackles. Would Skoronski have the same fall, and would he be a reach at pick nine? At the same time, would a lot of teams like to have Zack Martin again if they got to re-draft?