Micah Pettus, Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Pettus was a three-star recruit from James Clemens High School in Madison, Ala. in the class of 2021

Ole Miss right tackle Micah Pettus has a long way to go, but his physical profile and flashes could drive interest in him as a top 100 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Pettus needs to be more consistent with his technique and do a better job of playing to his size.

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Micah Pettus, OT Ole Miss: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior right tackle from Madison, Ala.

Background: Pettus was a three-star recruit from James Clemens High School in Madison, Ala. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 1,249 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,240 for On3.com. Pettus was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 74 grade out of 100. He amassed 75 pancake blocks as a junior and 116 as a senior. Pettus, who served as a team captain in 2020, didn’t allow a sack or hurry in his entire high school career. He earned First Team All-State honors in 2020 from MaxPreps. Pettus was born on Dec. 14, 2002.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed final four games of the 2023 season after breaking a bone in his foot in practice

Awards: 2022 Third Team Freshman All-American (College Football Network)

Pros: Massive and thick frame, arms will check NFL boxes, long arms to lock out edge rushers, large area of influence as a blocker, flashes of an explosive first step, length, size, and mobility allow him to carry pass rushers up and around the pocket, buries defenders at the top of the arc, quick hands when establishing clamp, absorbs bull rushes with a wide base, matches power with power when he’s prepared for bull rushes, too big for many of LSU’s pass rushers to battle (2023), developing counters for long-arm moves, snatch trap, redirects to take away B-gap rushes, got better at recognizing stunts as 2023 season progressed, Jaxson Dart’s scrambling and pocket management made his life difficult some games, drives defenders out of plays on down blocks, flows laterally well in the run game, hand usage beginning to help establish leverage in the running game, latch and drive really showed up vs. Auburn (2023), effective cut blocking

Cons: Penalized 19 times over the past two seasons, a little high-hipped, arm length is good but might not be great, sometimes he’s outreached, pad level causes some leverage concerns, allows access to his chest too easily, hands don’t channel ideal power, base becomes too narrow in pass pro, feet slow going into contact in pass pro making him vulnerable to explosive rushers, inconsistent foot speed up the arc, outside foot during his slide sometimes comes too far forward and messes with his balance, struggles to halt momentum and redirect near the top of the arc, lacks high level agility to recover when beaten late in games, needs to recognize bull rush and drop anchor sooner, put on skates too often for a man his size, drawn forward and out of his pass set, occasionally fooled by stunts and blitzes, defeated by Chris Braswell cross-chop (2023), lacks a mean streak in the run game, doesn’t hold run blocks long enough, lunges into blocks in the run game, not a bad athlete but some lumbering in open space, poor job finding second level defenders to block

Overview: Pettus has a massive and thick frame with arms that should check NFL boxes (even if they aren’t elite). His arms are long enough to lock out some edge rushers and end reps quickly, but there are examples of him being outreached. Pettus shows signs of an explosive first step but it’s not consistent. He has the combination of length, size, and mobility to carry pass rushers up and around the pocket, but some explosive rushers test his foot speed. The Alabama native has a bad habit of slowing his feet down going into contact, which makes him vulnerable to explosive rushers. His outside foot occasionally comes too far forward during his slide. This leads to him losing his ideal balance and not being able to anchor at the point of contact. Pettus struggles to halt his momentum and redirect back inside once he nears the top of the arc. The massive right tackle doesn’t have the high level agility to redirect and recover quickly when he’s fatigued late in games. Pettus enjoys delivering a powerful downward swipe near the top of the arc, which causes edge rushers to lose their balance and allows Pettus to bury them. The former three-star recruit establishes a firm clamp with quick hands. When he’s prepared to handle a bull rush, he absorbs the defender’s rush with a wide base and matches power with power. However, his base is often too narrow in pass protection and leaves him unprepared for bull rushes. He tries to drop his anchor too late and ends up on skates more often than normal for a lineman with his size and natural power. Pettus is a little high-hipped and sometimes plays with a high pad level. He allows easy access to his chest and doesn’t channel ideal power through his hands, which further complicates his struggles against power rushes. Pettus is developing counters for long-arm moves and already has a polished snatch trap. He improved at recognizing stunts in 2023 and does a good job redirecting to take away B-gap rushes early in plays. It’s reasonable to believe his protection numbers would look better with a quarterback who scrambled less and was more proficient at managing the pocket than Jaxson Dart. Pettus is guilty of occasionally being baited forward and out of his pass set and being fooled by stunts and blitzes. As a run blocker, he drives defenders out of plays on down blocks and flows laterally well on outside runs. This past season, he began perfecting his use of hand placement to establish leverage on defenders in the run game. Pettus lacks a mean streak in the run game and doesn’t sustain his blocks for long enough. He lunges into some blocks and struggles to find second level defenders in space. Pettus’ 19 penalties over the past two seasons reflect how raw he is as a prospect.

Overall, Pettus is a massive right tackle with an ideal frame and flashes of high-end play that could warrant a top 50 pick. Unfortunately, many aspects of his game are inconsistent and prevent him from reaching his full physical potential. Pettus must do a better job playing to his size. An NFL team with a proven track record of developing linemen should jump at the chance to draft Pettus.

Role & Scheme Fit: Right tackle in an inside zone scheme

Round Projection: Mid Third to Early Fourth Round

Size: 6'7", 360 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 04-04-24