Alabama Game Week Scouting Report: Ole Miss Tackle Nick Broeker

BamaCentral and NFL Draft Bible team up to profile key players Alabama will face this season, who have a chance to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

SI.com

What can we say, the guy is a gamer. 

In 2019, when Broeker arrived on campus as an early enrollee, the Rebels were looking for help on the offensive line. He played in 12 games as a true freshman at left tackle in route to some Freshman All-American accolades, and allowed only one sack in over 200 pass block snaps.

"There were a couple time I shocked myself, just looking back and realizing what I was able to do last year as an 18-year-old," Broeker told The Grove Report. "The older guys did a great job bringing me along (last year), which made things a lot easier for me."

He's now the key to the line. 

Nick Broeker

Jersey: No. 64
Position: Offensive tackle
Height: 6-4
Weight: 305
DOB: 10/7/00
Draft eligible: 2022
Hometown: Springfield, Illinois
High School: Sacred Heart-Griffin

Pros

A very good athlete in short areas, Broeker has twitch to him to get out of his stance quickly. He possesses the required step frequency and gets lateral on inside counters or in the run game. Managing to stay low with knee bend, Broeker wins the leverage battle and prevents rushers from getting under his pads. He finds moderate success as a down blocker on combo blocks, opening the occasional running lane. Getting under defenders, Broeker is a finisher who uproots opponents late. Solid hips allow him to turn his pads.

Cons

Lacking functional strength, he gets pushed around by heavy-handed defenders, twisting his upper body. Broeker does not have the arm length, causing him to get outreached. He often leans and falls off of blocks when defenders break the contact point. Lackluster length and strength as well as wide hands make him a power rush target as he does not anchor consistently. Broeker hangs on for too long instead of resetting his hands and power stepping to counter lateral movement. Indecisiveness and early timing cause him to miss with his punch in pass protection. He is not comfortable locating targets at the second level. His hands are often deconstructed easily, lacking heaviness. Broeker fails to recognize stunts.

Summary

Athletic tackle in short areas who wins the leverage battle. Broeker lacks length and strength, making him a power rush target. He falls off of blocks and shows early and indecisive hands. Broeker projects as a developmental guard for a zone team to use his athleticism in the run game. He does not have the length to play tackle [at the next level] and needs to improve in a number of areas technically and physically to be ready for starting action. 

Grades

6.1 (current value/7.5 potential value)

BamaCentral Analysis 

To disrupt Matt Corral, Broeker is one of the guys Alabama needs to go through. The matchup against Chris Allen would have been interesting to watch, but the Crimson Tide linebacker is out for year with an injury. Instead Drew Sanders will see a lot of him, but don't be surprised to see Will Anderson Jr. line up on that side and try to beat him off the edge. Broeker yielded just two sacks in 432 pass blocks in 202. Phil Steele had him listed as a preseason fourth-team All-American, and second-team All-SEC. 

BamaCentral will profile two different Ole Miss players each day this week the Crimson Tide prepares to host the Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Also check out NFL Draft Bible for more evaluations.

Matt Corral 

Sam Williams