Tag: Jonah Savaiinaea

Broncos scouts are zeroing in on these college football teams

Broncos scouts have been paying close attention to Oregon and Washington games this fall. Here are the prospects to know from those schools.

Going into this weekend’s slate of college football games, the Denver Broncos have spent more time scouting the Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats than any other college football programs.

That’s according to NFL draft pundit John Vogel, who reported last week that Denver scouts have attended three Oregon games and three Wildcats games this fall. Broncos general manager George Paton also attended the Washington Huskies game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in September.

The most notable prospect among the four colleges mentioned is Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, the top receiver in the 2025 class. The Wildcats’ offense also features offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea.

Oregon has a host of prospects who could interest Denver’s staff, including receivers Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart, offensive tackles Josh Conerly and Ajani Cornelius, defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Jordan Burch, and running back Jordan James.

Washington’s prospects of note include running back Jonah Coleman, safety Kamren Fabiculanan and receiver Giles Jackson. Meanwhile, the Rutgers’ offense features offensive tackle Hollin Pierce and running back Kyle Monangai.

With Broncos scouts and executives checking in on those programs, the above players will be worth monitoring this fall. The 2025 NFl draft will be held in Green Bay from April 24-26. Denver holds seven picks.

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Bucs fans should tune into Kansas State-Arizona on Friday night

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are preparing for the Detroit Lions on Sunday for their Week 2 matchup, but that doesn’t mean everyone is.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are preparing for the Detroit Lions on Sunday for their Week 2 matchup, but that doesn’t mean everyone is. The scouting departments for all 32 NFL teams are already well into their scouting for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Two players that Bucs fans should have some fun watching are playing on Friday night when Arizona faces off against Kansas State in a ranked matchup in college football. The wo players Bucs fans would watch for are wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea.

McMillan has been getting mocked to the Bucs early into the season and Savaiinaea is an offensive line prospect the team could use on the interior.

McMillan has a similar build and play style to Mike Evans so Bucs fans should find extra joy out of watching him. He kicked off the 2024 season for Arizona with a recording breaking performance that saw him record over 300 receiving yards. He could serve a fun replacement for Chris Godwin alongside Evans and Jalen McMillan if the team moves on.

Guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson had a rough go of it on Sunday against the Commanders. Savaiinaea has the size and power to be a fun option for the team on day two of the NFL draft as they look to build the interior.

2025 NFL Draft first impression: Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Arizona

2025 NFL Draft first impression of Arizona Wildcats offensive tackle Jonah Savaiinaea ahead of the 2024 college season

Arizona had a first-round offensive tackle in the 2024 NFL Draft in Jordan Morgan. The Wildcats have another tackle hoping to rise to that level for the 2025 NFL Draft in Jonah Savaiinaea, and he’s got enough potential to work with that it’s a feasible projection.

Savaiinaea played right tackle in 2023 after moving outside from right guard in 2022. At 6-foot-5 and 330 listed pounds, the Hawaiian native progressed into playing tackle on the opposite side of Morgan, which frequently led to some disadvantageous matchups for his inexperience.

Heading into the 2024 season, a time when Arizona is now a member of the Big 12, Savaiinaea can grow into a more polished tackle prospect. The frame, the length and the athleticism to emerge as one of the best tackles.

The biggest positive standout trait for Savaiinaea is how well he moves off the snap for a man of his size. His kick step and balance are very impressive and consistently quick. Savaiinaea keeps his hands ready to react to pass rushing attacks to either shoulder, and he jabs well enough to parry and buy time for his feet to square up the rusher.

He’s very good pulling across the formation as a run blocker. Quickness, vision, strength while engaging in space–it’s all there for Savaiinaea. He generally down blocks well, though he can approach the interior a little too tall. There is proper leg drive and decent foot frequency in run blocking, engaging his lower-body power nicely even if his hands are too high on the chest or shoulder of the defender.

The high hands and taller posture are definitely things for Savaiinaea to work on ahead of any NFL discussion. They’re coachable, but they also need to be coached. There is also a tendency to overset to his outside and allow quicker rushers to cross him and win through his inside shoulder. His recovery footwork isn’t dynamic enough to get away with that very often.

A lot of what ails Savaiinaea as a tackle prospect is that he often looks like a guard playing tackle…which he was in 2023. As was the case with his old Wildcats mate Morgan, some NFL teams and analysts are going to prefer him playing inside. A strong 2024 with better pad level, more consistent hand placement and overall consistency can elevate Savaiinaea into the late-first range Morgan rose into, but right now he looks more like a player who would have gone in the early part of Day 3 in the last draft.

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