Premier offensive tackle talent always goes at a premium in the NFL Draft, and the 2024 NFL Draft is on track to have several quality Round 1 targets.
One of those players is Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, a blocker whose scouting report has him firmly in the OT1 conversation.
Joe Alt Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’8″
- Weight: 315 pounds
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- School: Notre Dame
- Current Year: Junior
Football is an issue of legacy for the Alt family. John Alt was a first-round pick in the 1984 NFL Draft and embarked on a 13-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, a second-team All-Pro several times, and an inductee into the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame.
Now, four decades after he was drafted, John’s son — Joe Alt — is on a similar path.
Joe Alt will be drafted by the ______________.pic.twitter.com/TVuixDZuha
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) March 3, 2024
The younger Alt was a tight end in high school, but it was hardly a secret among college teams that he had dominant potential as an OT convert. He was a four-star recruit out of Minneapolis who committed to the Fighting Irish.
MORE: Top OTs in the 2024 NFL Draft
As a true freshman, Alt started the final eight games. Then, as a true sophomore in 2022, he was a 13-game starter and a first-team All-American. In 2023, he was a consensus All-American and a dominating force on the left side.
In his first eligibility cycle, Alt is at the forefront of the college football landscape and the 2024 NFL Draft stage. He’s receiving buzz as not just an early first-round pick but one of the first non-QBs to be taken. Does he have the scouting report to support those claims?
Joe Alt Scouting Report
Strengths
- Has a tall, lean frame that carries its mass extremely well and has great overall length.
- Former TE with elite movement skills who can instantly close gaps with explosiveness.
- Able to effortlessly mirror rushers with short-area bursts and superb lateral mobility.
- Has instant lateral burst off the snap and great range blocking in space.
- Channels length, burst into powerful knockback force and can use hips to generate dominating torque.
- Hyper-elite flexibility amounts to rare leverage acquisition skills and bend for his size.
- Shows off extraordinary balance on recovery, keeping his base while closing ground.
- Flexibility and good baseline strength allow him to absorb power outputs easily.
- Can use snappy redirections to stay square and maintain equilibrium through reps.
- Able to use synergetic technique, a wide base, and tight hands to stymie rushers.
- Can successively extend, re-exert, and replace his hands while combatting rush moves.
- Can employ combative hands when battling anchors and has good spatial feel.
- Composed in his kick set and effortlessly widens off the snap to stabilize his base.
- Instinctive, high-IQ blocker in both phases with vision and quick reaction speed.
- Possesses great baseline physicality and tenacity; will finish plays with force.
Weaknesses
- Proportional length, while exceptional, maybe a notch below the elite mark.
- Has an exceptional power profile but sometimes struggles to drive after contact.
- Sometimes lacks the strength to seal better-leveraged defenders, blocking inside on runs.
- Doesn’t always show the core and grip strength to anchor defenders and assert control.
- When matching, extraneous hand motion can sap away potential energy in punches.
- Frantic feet occasionally cause some instability when recollecting his base versus power.
- Sometimes halts his feet when moving upfield on zone blocks, causing lurches.
- Doesn’t quite have an elite physical edge or a mauling mentality.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Joe Alt grades out as a top-five prospect on my 2024 NFL Draft board, and he’s my personal choice for OT1 over Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and Alabama’s JC Latham.
Heading into the season, Alt was my OT3. But in 2023, he showcased improved play strength and hand usage, hyper-elite mobility, and recovery athleticism. That’s all I needed to see to vault him up to OT1.
The physical traits are where it starts with Alt. At 6’8″, 315 pounds, he has a towering frame with impressive length, and his tape shows off uncanny athleticism and recovery capacity at that size.
Alt is an extremely explosive and free-flowing athlete with unnatural foot speed and agility. He couples that with absurd flexibility and bend.
With his flexibility, Alt is not only able to recover ground and keep his balance with ease, but he’s also able to acquire leverage effortlessly, align himself through reps, and absorb power by distributing his weight properly.
Those physical traits already set an incredible foundation for a prospect who’s proven to be smooth and disciplined with his footwork, combative and precise with his hands, and very instinctive as a stunt protector and run blocker.
2023 was an extremely promising step in the right direction for Alt, who got closer to true NFL-level strength and visibly improved his technique. With strength and hand usage no longer serving as concerns, Alt checks all the boxes to be a true blue-chip OT prospect and a franchise left tackle with an All-Pro ceiling.
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