Kyler Schott Scouting Report: 2022 NFL Draft Prospect
University of Iowa, OL, #64
Measurements
Height 6’0″- 6’2″?
Weight 296 lbs.
40 time: 5.15 (estimate)
Kyler Schott NFL Draft Profile
Kyler Schott came to Iowa as a walk-on in 2017. He unsurprisingly took a redshirt that season as true freshman rarely get playing time at Iowa. In 2018, he got in during garbage time against Northern Illinois. Then everything changed for Schott in 2019. Iowa’s offensive line was filled with unknowns and then hit with injuries. In came Kyler Schott, and the entire Hawkeye community cheered. Well, not at first. At first, it was despair as we were starting a sophomore walk-on who wasn’t even six feet tall. But then he played, and he played hard. In the run game he was looking to push his defender through the back of the endzone on every play. When he got hurt later in the year, true despair did hit Hawkeye fans as we started to miss our walk-on starter. Iowa’s offense took a significant step back without him.
He received a scholarship and was the established starter heading into 2020 and 2021. Unfortunately, injuries made his playing time inconsistent. He was able to establish himself as the starter as Iowa found their best five lineman at the end of the season. Still, he never seemed to fully regain the magic of 2019. So I wanted to take a look at his play in 2021 to see whether he was still a bull in a china shop, just without the walk-on storyline to make it stand out.
Kyler Schott Strengths
Run Blocking
Kyler Schott’s strength is the run game.
Here is where he can assert his dominance. When he can be the aggressor and get his hands inside, he can move just about anybody. His low center of gravity means he can usually find leverage and with his strength, he can move very large men out of the way. He’s a consistent mover in the run game, and I have no doubt he can translate that to the NFL.
Kyler Schott Weaknesses
Awareness
One of the more surprising things I noticed when strictly watching the offensive line is how poorly they seemed to communicate. Usually, Iowa has a line that may not be the most physically gifted, but is always in sync with each other. That was not the case this past season.
Schott has to stay with that block. The left tackle has to account for #17 on the outside, which means that Schott’s primary focus is the man in front of him. Everyone else on the blitz is accounted for with a blocker, even if they aren’t blocked well. It works out fine as every other Penn State defender gets there earlier, but this was a major issue for the offensive line. I don’t think this is a major issue for Schott as Iowa was dealing with inexperience, as well as rotating different lineman in through most of the season. He’s no Tyler Linderbaum.
Pass Blocking
Pass blocking is where Schott is going to struggle the most. His build creates certain deficiencies and he is going to have to be nearly perfect with technique to overcome those.
Schott gets bullied with the bull rush. This is where being a shorter guy, who likely possesses short arms, is going to affect him. It’s just too easy for the defender to get his arms on Schott and start pushing him back. If Schott doesn’t time his punch right, NFL defenders are going to have a field day collapsing the pocket.
Kyler Schott Conclusion
Kyler Schott was a very fun player to watch in college. A walk-on who becomes a steamrolling starter is a story anybody can get behind. Adding to the legend, the man has great hair. He’s listed at 6’2″ on the Iowa website, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he came in much closer to 6’0″. Unfortunately, that’s the issue. His size is going to make him below average in pass protection in a passing league. He can steamroll guys in the run game, but unless you are one of the few teams that actually depend on the run (only seven teams ran more than 45% of the time this past season, only the Eagles ran over 50%), his liabilities likely overshadow his strengths.
Kyler Schott Draft Stock
I see him as a possible day 3 pick, but one that is depended on as a reserve instead of an NFL starter. Mr. Big Schott has been doubted before, so I hope he can prove the world wrong again.
Kyler Schott NFL Comparison
Tejan Koroma
