NFL DRAFT 2018: AUSTIN CORBETT

The NFL draft is just days away, and by this point each player has been analyzed, scrutinized, and romanticized by every NFL guru from Kalamazoo to Calcutta. We here at pigskinpress.com turn once again to our director of scouting Nathan Cooper to help us look deeper into the draft at some guys from the group of five that may be a real steal on draft day!

Austin Corbett College: Nevada

Guard

Year: 5SR

Jersey: #73

Hometown: Sparks, NV

Games Scouted: 2017 #2 Toledo, #4 @ Washington State, #9 @ Boise State, #12 UNLV,

Senior Bowl Practices (Live), Senior Bowl (Live) 2017 Stats: 12 GP, 12 Starts Career Stats: 49 GP, 49 Starts All-Star Game: Senior Bowl

Background/Notes

Started all 49 games at Left Tackle
2017 First Team All-MWC (Coaches)
2016 Second Team All-MWC (Coaches)
2015 Honorable Mention All-MWC (Coaches)
Lettered in wrestling, basketball and track in high school, and was a First Team All-State selection for shot put

Character – A

Has spent time reading to and visiting children at the local children’s hospital
He runs drills at elementary schools and sets up drives to college food, clothes, shoes and more to donate to various charities around Reno
3x Team Captain (2015, 2016, 2017)

Medical – B

2014 – Missed game against Washington State due to an ankle injury
Had a partial ACL tear in his sophomore year of high school and a torn meniscus his junior year

Strengths

Very good awareness
Good anchor ability
Very good strength and power
Violent hands/punch

Weaknesses

Struggles with balance at the POA
Pad level gets high at times
Not under control getting to the 2nd level

Summary

Corbett projects as a Right Guard in the NFL with the ability and versatility to back-up at every other position. At Nevada, he started all 49 of his games at Left Tackle, but got some work at other positions during the Senior Bowl and ultimately projects best as a Right Guard. He is a former walk-on in Reno who just got married in the summer of 2017 and became a 3-time Captain for the Wolfpack. He shows good reactive athleticism and competes with great toughness on every single play. In the run game, he is a mauler at the POA. He is very strong and shows it in his play at the POA. He doesn’t get pushed back far into the backfield and is able to create a new LOS by driving defenders. He shows good range and short-area quickness getting to the 2nd level, but struggles to stay balanced at the POA. In the pass game, Corbett is a solid blocker all-around. He shows very good awareness and instincts and does an outstanding job with combo blocks, passing on a defender and taking on a new one with quickness and ease. He shows the ability to anchor with strength and not get pushed back too deep into the backfield. He possesses incredibly violent hands with a strong punch and does a great job chopping defenders’ arms off of him once they get engaged. His pad level will get high at times and he will lose balance, but does a good job recovering. He also will lunge and bend at the waist on occasion, allowing defenders to slip by to the quarterback. In addition, he needs to be more consistent being violent in his cut blocks and go through the defender instead of just diving in his way. He should come in right away and compete for a starting spot on the offensive line, at least being a versatile depth player year one. By year two, expect him to cement himself into a starting position, most likely at Right Guard.

NFL Comparison: Brian Winters, Jets (3rd Round, 2013) Corbett and Winters have similar builds and took a similar path to the NFL. Both players finished their college careers starting at Left Tackle, but figure to move inside to Guard. They also were successful wrestlers in high school. They finish plays with effectiveness and combo block extremely well, but lack some balance at the POA on occasion.

Grade: 6.6 (Mid 2nd Round)

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