Patrick Paul, OT Houston: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Paul was a three-star recruit from Jersey Village High School in Houston, Texas in the class of 2019

Houston left tackle Patrick Paul has the size and arm length to be a high-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, his tape doesn’t match his measurables. Paul projects as a mid-Day 3 selection.

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Patrick Paul, OT Houston: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year redshirt junior left tackle from Houston, Texas

Background: Paul was a three-star recruit from Jersey Village High School in Houston, Texas in the class of 2019. He also previously played for Cypress Creek High School in Houston, Texas. Paul was the No. 2,131 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,898 for On3.com. He was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 72 grade out of 100. Paul helped Jersey Village attain an 8-0 district record and 10-2 overall record as a senior. He amassed 45 pancake blocks and earned 17-6A All-District honors in his final high school season. Paul began playing along the offensive line in 2018 after previously working on the defensive line. He also competed in track and field, finishing fourth all-time on Jersey Village’s list in discus and sixth in shot put. Paul’s brother, Chris Paul, was an offensive lineman at Tulsa who the Washington Commanders selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed six games in 2020 with a season-ending torn ligament in his foot and sprained ankle  

Awards: 2021 First Team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC), 2022 First Team All-AAC

Pros: Appears to have elite arm length, room to add mass to his frame, already appears to have good weight and muscle distribution in his core and upper body, impressive clamp strength, upper body and core strength to clamp and manipulate defenders, getting better at attacking the defender’s hands and arms, strength to cave in the defensive line, nasty demeanor in the run game, willing to clamp, torque, and finish defenders in the run game, easily seals or displaces defenders in the run game, plays through (and sometimes after) the whistle

Cons: Committed 18 penalties in the past two years, high hipped, lean lower half, not fast or sudden, limited agility and speed, limited change of direction skills, relies too much on upper body strength, limited lateral agility to mirror twitchy pass rushers, stressed vertically up the arc, allows pressures up the B-gap because of poor mirroring skills, needs to do a better job protecting his inside shoulder, gives up natural leverage, waist bender, gets top heavy and lunges into contact, footwork appears slow and segmented, anchor and lower half are still developing, walked back to the QB by bull rushes, pad level gets too high to drop anchor, allows defenders into his chest, takes a lot of long-arm moves to the chest, hand placement is low and wide, needs to refit his hands more often to maintain his block, poor awareness to QB scrambling leads to holding calls, struggles to mirror defenders at the second level, whiffs on blocks because he ducks his head

Overview: Paul was a team captain for the Cougars in 2022 and elected to return for his fifth season. He appears to have elite arm length and room to add mass to his frame, although he already has good weight and muscle distribution in his core and upper body. Paul’s impressive clamp and core strength allow him to sustain blocks and manipulate or torque defenders. He’s getting better at attacking the defender’s hands and arms in pass protection to neutralize pass rush moves. Paul has the strength to cave in the defensive line and plays with a nasty demeanor in the run game. He’ll wrench defenders out of rushing lanes and finish them to the ground. The all-conference tackle easily seals defenders in the run game and frequently creates displacement. Paul plays through the whistle. The Texas native’s body hasn’t completely filled out yet. His lower half is lean, which is problematic considering his high-hipped frame. Paul isn’t a fast or sudden athlete, and he plays with limited agility and change of direction skills. He relies heavily on his upper body to do the heavy lifting but neglects his footwork. Paul lacks the lateral agility to mirror twitchy pass rushers and is stressed vertically by explosive defenders. His footwork appears slow and segmented. Paul allows pressures up the B-gap because he can’t mirror defenders that redirect to attack his inside shoulder. The former three-star recruit gives up natural leverage and bends at the waist. His anchor is still a work in progress as bull rushes gradually walk the massive tackle back to the quarterback. Paul’s hand usage is subpar. Despite his long arms, the left tackle frequently allows defenders into his chest because of wide and low hand placement. Paul needs to be more assertive with his hands and refit them when his initial fit misses the mark. He sometimes plays top heavy in the run game and lunges into contact with his head down, which leads to him whiffing on blocks. Paul struggles to mirror defenders at the second level. He committed 18 penalties in the past two years.

Overall, Paul is a physically gifted left tackle with excellent length and an enticing frame, but he lacks the footwork and technical development in his hand usage to justify a top 100 selection. Development is the key word for Paul. He has most of the physical traits NFL teams look for in tackle prospects. Teams will be more critical of him if he doesn’t show development soon considering his status as a fifth-year player.

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

Round Projection: Fifth Round

Size: 6'7", 315 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 03-29-23