With the 29th pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the New England Patriots select Tennessee-Chattanooga OL Cole Strange.
GRADE: D.
I’m not sure where the Patriots plan to play Strange. If they want him at guard, I’m not sure how well he fits the gap/power stuff that has been a mainstay for Bill Belichick’s team, and if they want him at center, I think Kentucky’s Luke Fortner would have been the better pick. Not that I’m questioning the football acumen of the greatest football coach I’ve ever seen… but this is a head-scratcher.
Height: 6’4 7/8″ (46th) Weight: 307 (34th)
40-Yard Dash: 5.03 seconds (90th)
10-Yard Split: 1.73 seconds (83rd)
Bench Press: 31 reps (86th)
Vertical Jump: 28 inches (51st)
Broad Jump: 120 inches (99th)
3-Cone Drill: 7.44 seconds (89th)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.5 seconds (90th)
Wingspan: 79 3/4 inches (35th)
Arm Length: 33 inches (27th)
Hand Size: 10 1/8 inches (61st)
Bio: A two-star defensive line recruit out of Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, Strange committed to Tennessee-Chattanooga before his senior season, then decided on Air Force, then switched back because he wanted to be closer to his family. A two-time Jacobs Blocking Award winner, given to the top offensive lineman in the Southern Conference, Strange also made First-Team All-American in 2021, and accepted an invitation to the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Stat to Know: In 582 pass-blocking snaps over four seasons, Strange allowed one sack, four quarterback hits, and four quarterback hurries. If you’re worried about strength of competition for a guy who faced off against Austin Peay and Wofford a lot of the time, consider that in 38 pass-blocking reps against Kentucky last season, he gave up no sacks, one quarterback hit, and no quarterback hurries. That Kentucky defensive line included Joshua Paschal, one of the more underrated prospects in the 2022 draft class (more on him in a few days).
Strengths: Strange has a good eye for twists, games, and blitzes — he keeps his head on a swivel and is perfectly capable of setting the edge to either side.
He’s accurate and focused when it’s time to get up to the second level and hit his target.
He’s active and agile with his feet.
Once he got to the Senior Bowl, Strange showed good movement skills, active hands, and a feisty demeanor at center.
Weaknesses: Strange’s Senior Bowl highlights show him getting bulled back at times, which also shows up on his tape. He is more an agile mover than a pure power pig. One NFC scouting director told NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein to watch Strange against South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw in 2018, and we can do that. Strange didn’t win a lot of power matches, but he did drop the hammer on this pass after it was released.
Conclusion: There are two modes of thought about players from smaller schools. You want to see them dominate “lesser” competition, but you also want to see like as like as much as possible against other NFL prospects. Strange checks both boxes as a prospect who looked especially conversant in games against opponents who had more talent, and in his time at the Senior Bowl.
NFL Comparison: J.C. Tretter. Selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, Tretter played all over the line for his first few seasons, but eventually became defined as a center, and a very good one. Strange has potential as a guard at the next level, but with his size, relative lack of power, intelligence, and agility, he might very well profile better as a center in the pros.