Draft Profile: OT, AJ Acurie

all right so we moving on to the next rap prospect aj r curie what's going on everybody um this is my draft profile series where basically i just all i really do is take a look at the pro draft profile that uh that uh here on nfl.com on the players that we drafted this uh this past draft and kind of go ahead and get a somewhat somewhat of an idea of who they are and what these uh analysts think of them and then what my thoughts will be on them and what i feel like their role will be now and and in the future with the rams and what i believe uh the rams intend to do with them um just guessing you know just uh just just my two cents but uh you know i just think it's be kind of fun i um you know i think the draft class was pretty good i actually i actually like this draft class for the most part you know but um in this video we're going to be talking about uh the last pick i believe that they had aj are curie from michigan state uh he is a scene a redshirt senior uh 67308 big fella big fella offensive tackle from michigan state he's a spartan so i do do not think he knows brian allen but he and brian allen are from the same school you know part of the alum but okay he is uh the prospect grade is 5.60 and they believe he is a candidate for the bottom of the roster or practice squad and the rams picked him in round seven pick 40. okay let's go and let's let's try and see if we can't get to know him a little better our curie uh okay let's see our cure e okay so i got it okay did not see the field in his first two years in east lansing uh first red shirting in 2016 and then missing the entire next season due to injury the second team all ohio pick as a senior at olentangy liberty high school i think i got that right i can read a little bit so that's something it's progress was uh healthy enough to play in all 13 games of the 2018 campaign as a reserve and on special teams our curie was one of several spartan linemen missing action with injury in 2019 [Music] but managed to start five of seven games played at left tackle he stayed on the field to start all seven games in 2020 okay however in all 13 games in 2021 eight at right tackle five at left tackle okay so he has he has a little bit of experience he's played both positions you know the rams like to do that they like to when they draft her linemen they like linemen who are versatile who can move up and down the line which is which which for the most part i agree with you know there are times where the it hasn't worked out like when we moved joseph nobody the guard i think that was a mistake but i see why they did that and uh some players can do it and some players can't you know for the most part it's worked out so let's go ahead and get into the overview here he is a right tackle prospect with a good lean mass and a proportional frame ready to take on more weight he is a methodical mover positional blocker who was unlikely to generate much movement as a drive blocker timing and placement with his hands are a concern and cause inconsistencies in both phases of the game for him uh he is going to need to prove he can play both guard and ride tackle to improve his roster chances as a priority free agent okay all right let's go ahead and take a look at the strengths well-built proportional frame good lean mass okay play both tackle positions and might offer guard potential as well uh big hands are able to gather and cling to opponents okay good explosive explosiveness in the hips that's good it's good it's good it's good maintained maintain sight line good lord i couldn't see my screen there to second level targets on combo blocks adequate slide quickness in his in pass sets use hands to stay connected against inside counters okay uh his weaknesses he lacks explosiveness in the first contact he loses leverage at the point of attack it's one of the bad things of being tall you know that has a tendency to happen especially on the football field plays too tall when tracking targets in space slippery hand placement requires better aim reaches for rushers rather than popping them with his punch opponents find his frame with first hands opponents find his frame with first hands okay slow switching off blocks on twists susceptible to bull rush without better hand usage all right so he's he's got some stuff to work on he's a project which is no surprise for a pick in round seven um they will more than likely i don't think he'll make the roster that's my prediction but he i you know he's they're probably going to develop them the rams like to draft o-linemen and develop them for multiple years before they see any real action um you know which and it seemed to have worked out somewhat is for the most part are pretty alright you know i think he is definitely probably gonna go for the pr hit for the practice squad uh i could see him possibly if he's able to improve his game maybe replacing rob haven't signed when his contract is up though if he's gonna replace rob havenstein he's gonna have to get a lot better first but i feel like that's what the rams that's probably like the best case scenario that the rams are looking with him uh in my opinion but i just i feel like they're gonna put him on the back burner put him on the practice squad let the coaches have bradbury kinda you know coach them up a little bit you know just get it get them used to the pro level for the next season or two uh because we got elric jackson too who i thought played pretty well uh will probably take up a reserve tackle role on the roster uh next up nope boom so if if we're in the 13 personnel sets 12 personnel 12 13 personal sets i'd like to see no boom and uh alert jackson possibly possibly we'll have to see how they look at camp but uh remember he played in the baltimore ravens game and he looks pretty good so i think that's who's gonna take that extra tackle spot i think aj's gonna i i who knows the guy could surprise us in camp you know i hope he does it's a good problem to have but you know i i'm intrigued with aj uh i would like to see how he does you know just eight you just study study the playbook aj listen to your coaches you know stay in the weight room try to work on your craft on the things you're struggling with you know and just when training camp comes just go as hard as you can you know that's all you can do and then you know make it hard on the coaches make it hard on them and uh and we'll see what happens but yeah all right okay i think i think he is the potential to be a promising prospect in a year or two but uh but like i said you know when training camp comes around comes around we'll see all right that's gonna be it for now guys i will catch you guys on the next video and as always as always y'all it is a crazy life let me tell you go ramps