Peter Skoronski arrived at Northwestern in 2020, anticipating to be taught from extremely rated teammate Rashawn Slater. As an alternative, he excelled when tasked with taking Slater’s place. In consequence, Skoronski enters the 2023 NFL Draft cycle with a weight of expectation upon him. Can the Northwestern OT stay as much as this early hype? Does Skoronski’s scouting report scream Day 1 choice, or is the rumor of a repeat Wildcat first-rounder a bit of untimely?
Peter Skoronski NFL draft profile
Inexperienced Bay Packers followers will already be acutely accustomed to Skoronski’s success. The Northwestern OT is the grandson of Packers Corridor of Fame enshrinee Bob Skoronski — the captain of a number of championship-winning Inexperienced Bay groups.
Success didn’t fall too removed from the household tree, with Peter boasting a profitable highschool profession for Maine South. Whereas enjoying each side of the ball, he tallied 173 pancakes in three seasons and earned All-State honors in each 2018 and 2019.
Initially a four-star recruit, Skoronski’s elevation to a five-star rating made him the very best offensive line dedication in Northwestern historical past. Selecting the Wildcats over Notre Dame, Penn State, and Michigan, Northwestern provided him the chance to play OT when many packages recruited him as an inside offensive line prospect.
With Slater opting out of the 2020 season, Skoronski began at left deal with as a real freshman. He led a unit that allowed simply 1.29 sacks per recreation. In consequence, Skoronski turned the primary Wildcats freshman to earn All-Huge Ten honors since 2017. Main the way in which for Evan Hull’s 1,000-plus-yard dashing season in 2021, the Northwestern OT earned first-team recognition as a sophomore. Returning as certainly one of CFB’s prime tackles, there’s vital consideration on — and expectation of — Skoronski within the 2023 NFL Draft.
- Place: Offensive Sort out
- College: Northwestern
- Present 12 months: Junior
- Peak/Weight: 6’4″, 315 kilos
Peter Skoronski scouting report
As talked about a number of occasions above, Skoronski has earned excessive acclaim early within the 2023 NFL Draft cycle. A two-year starter who admirably and comfortably stuffed the footwear of a departed teammate who’s already impressing within the NFL, it’s simple to get whipped up within the clamor to anoint the Wildcat the OT1 of the category. Activate the tape and you’ll see that there’s expertise there, and that’s the place we’ll begin his scouting report.
Skoronski’s strengths
Whereas Northwestern lists their OT at 6’4″ and 315 kilos, you’ll find a number of variations on Skoronski’s measurement with a easy google search. Reportedly, he ideas the scales underneath 300 kilos, which wouldn’t shock provided that he was 275 kilos in highschool. Whereas this may occasionally appear removed from a power, we’ll kick begin Skoronski’s scouting report with how his slender body advantages his recreation.
The potential 2023 NFL Draft prospect — he’s only a true junior in spite of everything — has an alluring athletic facet to his scouting report. Skoronski is explosive off the snap, routinely stepping into his move set with glorious timing. In the meantime, that explosion is obvious within the run recreation the place he’s typically noticeably the primary participant to make contact from both workforce. Moreover, he glides out to the second degree within the floor recreation with regularity.
Whereas his straight-line pace and explosion are spectacular, Skoronski {couples} this with spectacular agility and fast footwork. That is evident in a number of sides of the sport. The Northwestern OT strikes extremely nicely laterally, with the flexibility to journey the width of the sector shifting sideways, in addition to getting north and south. This additionally permits him to get into his move units with ease.
Moreover, Skoronski’s footwork permits him to reflect rushers in move safety. Final season, he was tasked with some troublesome assignments, together with David Ojabo. The Michigan man was simply one of the crucial athletic move rushers within the earlier NFL draft class, however the Northwestern OT matched his footwork and redirect with a excessive degree of consolation.
Go safety is arguably the higher aspect of Skoronski’s recreation relative to run blocking. Along with his spectacular footwork, the Northwestern OT routinely performs with good pad degree, which helps him manipulate his opponent. A former highschool shot-put standout, Skornoski showcases very good situational physique management. He’s additionally displayed good hand timing and placement, with the flexibility to rapidly reset and reposition his arms when required.
Moreover, Skoronski units with a large base. As soon as set, his anchor is formidable, with an extremely robust decrease physique that belies his slender stature. Even when his opponent will get into his chest plate and snaps his head again, his decrease half stays rooted. Watching him maintain his floor jogs my memory of the time I as soon as tried to maneuver a desk that was bolted into the ground.
Though move safety is the premier attribute of his early scouting report, Skoronski additionally provides worth within the floor recreation. The Northwestern OT typically takes good angles within the run recreation, serving to open up dashing lanes on the line of scrimmage. The stable decrease physique that helps anchor in move safety is available in use right here too, giving the working again time to use the outlet with most affect.
Bodily and technical parts of Skoronski’s scouting report are coupled with intangible facets. You don’t get courted by Notre Dame and Stanford, or land at Northwestern, with out possessing high-level intelligence. The 2023 NFL Draft prospect showcases his soccer IQ with the flexibility to diagnose stunts, twists, and delayed blitzes. In the meantime, he routinely seems to be for work and performs with a relentless aggressive toughness.
Skoronski’s areas of enchancment
As you possibly can see from the strengths part of his scouting report, there’s a lot to like about Skoronski as a 2023 NFL Draft OT prospect. Nonetheless, there are some legit areas for enchancment. In the meantime, there’s a noticeable concern because it pertains to his NFL projection. May these restrict his ceiling within the battle to be the OT1 of the category?
Though the Northwestern OT demonstrates spectacular decrease physique power, his recreation lacks an influence aspect to it. Within the video games studied, you hardly ever see Skoronski dominate an opponent to the purpose of ending him into the bottom. Now, offensive line play isn’t all violence and destruction, however this lack of energy limits his upside, significantly within the floor recreation. Likewise, he doesn’t seem to pack a robust punch on the level of assault.
Whereas he’s been ever current for Northwestern these previous two seasons, and an in depth search didn’t flip up any harm historical past, it’s value noting that Skoronski wears a knee brace on every leg. It’s prone to be nothing, and lots of offensive linemen put on a brace with out there being a critical medical motive, however it’s one thing to pay attention to.
The largest challenge for Skoronski’s NFL projection is his lack of measurement and size. This isn’t the standard “you need to have 33-inch arms to play deal with within the NFL” numbers-based argument. I don’t have an official quantity for the Northwestern OT’s arm or wingspan, however I don’t want one to see there are some points right here. Longer-armed move rushers routinely can get into his physique. There are a number of examples of Skoronski leaning to compensate for the dearth of size, as he struggled to execute attain blocks within the video games studied.
Present draft projection for Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski
Is the present NFL draft hype across the Northwestern OT warranted? Skoronski actually has many alluring qualities inside his scouting report. With one other robust season, he’s prone to proceed to raise his inventory and stay within the dialog as one of many prime offensive line prospects within the class.
Skoronski’s mixture of pass-protection skill, athletic excellence, soccer intelligence, and aggressive toughness make him an alluring prospect. If he can add energy to his recreation this fall, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him as a Day 1 candidate.
Including bulk and power — and not using a trade-off in his athletic functionality — might see Skoronski considered as a extra versatile and full offensive line prospect. Nonetheless, at current, the query marks over his size and energy may restrict his upside, and due to this fact, NFL draft potential.
