OT, UCLA
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 321 lbs
Class: Junior
As a four-star recruit and the No. 74 overall prospect in the 2019 class, Rhyan wasn’t short of offers. He committed to UCLA over offers from schools including Alabama and Notre Dame. Listed as a offensive guard coming out of high school, Rhyan has instead been employed as the Bruins’ left tackle ever since his true freshman season. His college career culminated in an impressive 2021 season that saw him voted a First Team All-Pac-12 member.
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Strengths
As a three year starter at UCLA, Rhyan offers plenty of experience along the offensive line. This has also allowed him to develop into a refined pass protector, with very good technique. His hand usage stands out on tape, with consistently excellent placement that allows him to steer blocks and control defenders. When combined with his good footwork and knee bend, Rhyan has the tools to succeed in pass protection.
In addition to his technique, Rhyan also offers really impressive play strength. His hands have plenty of pop on contact and allow him to get defenders off balance with ease. He also boasts one of the better anchors in this tackle class. He is excellent at defending against speed to power, with the ability to get low and keep a wide base. You rarely see him cede any ground even when matched up against bigger and stouter defensive linemen.
This play strength also shows up in the running game too. UCLA ran a very diverse rushing attack, giving Rhyan plenty of expoure to both zone and gap scheme runners. He is at his best running the latter, with the core strength necessary to displace defenders and open up running lanes for his backs. Rhyan was also excellent when asked to work combination blocks and shows the hip flexibility to flip and seal defenders on the backside of runs.
One of his other big strengths will be his positional flexibility. Rhyan has a tonne of experience playing as a tackle and could play there at the next level if required. That said, he may well be best suited to playing as a guard in the NFL. Rhyan’s play strength and anchor ability would be ideally suited to the interior and he has the hand technique to win battles against bigger linemen in confined spaces.
Weaknesses
The most obvious limitation to Rhyan’s game is his lack of length. He measured in with 32.4″ arms, which falls below the traditional offensive tackle threshold of 33″. This showed up on tape too. Rhyan struggled to deal with longer-limbed rushers and had a tendency to lean into blocks to compensate for his lack of length. This led to issues with his balance that smarter defenders were able to exploit.
The other worry with Rhyan is his average athletic profile. Whilst his short area quickness is good, he had issues setting against speed in pass protection. He was clearly conscious of this being an issue and it often resulted in him oversetting to compensate, leaving him vulnerable to inside counters. These issues should however be mitigated by a move inside to guard.
Bottom Line
Rhyan has the combination of refined hand usage and core strength you want in an offensive lineman. His three years as a starter in the Power Five is also invaluable. His lack of length and issues against speed rushers will limit his effectiveness as a tackle, but he has all of the traits to be good guard in the NFL.
Ideal role: Guard with tackle flexibility in a gap scheme offense
Round projection: 3rd round
