NFL Draft Profile: Cade Mays, Offensive Line, Tennessee Volunteers
#68
Pos: OL
Ht: 6050
Wt: 311
Hand: 1000
Arm: 3418
Wing: N/A
40: 5.24
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: 7.57
Shuttle: 4.71
Vert: 26
Broad: 806
DOB: _/_/_
Eligible: 2022
Knoxville, TN
Knoxville Catholic High School
Cade Mayes
Tennessee Volunteers
Pros:
Offensive lineman with good size and length who has started multiple games at right tackle and right guard including one at left tackle. Mays displays good foot speed and straight-line quickness in short areas. He can seal defensive ends on power runs. When already engaged with defenders, Mays usually maintains balance. In pass protection, he is quick out of his stance and patient in quick sets.
Cons:
Being very stiff, Mays plays with below-average knee bend and is often over his toes, getting disengaged from easily. His lack of leverage and core strength allows defenders to pull him effectively. Mays lunges and whiffs against quick defensive linemen in the run game. He struggles to locate on wide zone blocks and misses at the second level because of his stiffness. Despite his length, wide hands mean that he frequently gets his chest attacked and stood up. In pass protection, this makes him a consistent power rush target. A lack of flexibility and lateral agility often results in Mays oversetting and allowing inside lanes, which he can’t close. Getting a narrow base in vertical sets severely hurt his stability. Mays possesses poor grip strength and below-average force behind his strike, failing to impose physicality and finishing on combo blocks. He is not always on the same page with his teammates against stunts.
Summary:
Versatile offensive lineman with good size and poor agility. Mays is very stiff, often playing with compromised leverage and a narrow base. He gets his chest attacked and struggles to mirror. Mays projects as a camp offensive lineman who can take snaps at right tackle or guard depending on what is needed. His stiffness prevents him from pass protecting at tackle and he is too upright to be rosterable as a guard.
Background:
Born on April 26th, 1999, Cade Mays attended Knoxville Catholic High School, playing tackle there for his entire tenure. Knoxville Catholic High School is a top-25 rated school in Tennessee, suggesting that Mays faced top competition. He was a menace throughout his high school career, earning multiple accolades. Those accomplishments include being chosen for the 2018 U.S. Army All American Bowl and being selected for the USA Today 2017 All-USA First Team. Mays was rated a five-star prospect in the 2018 class, per the 247Sports Composite. He received numerous offers from top-tier programs, eventually committing to Georgia. Mays had an impact immediately, starting in seven games as a freshman. As a sophomore, he started in eleven games and saw playing time at every position on the offensive line. Surprisingly, Mays entered the transfer portal after his sophomore campaign, committing to Tennessee. Much speculation surrounded his transfer, and after a difficult battle with the NCAA to receiver an eligibility waiver, Mays was allowed to play for Tennessee in 2019. It’s noteworthy that his father, Kevin Mays, was once an offensive lineman for the Volunteers. His younger brother Cooper is also a sophomore offensive lineman for Tennessee. Mays continued to play exceedingly well in his last two collegiate seasons, earning multiple SEC weekly honors. He played in 42 games and made 35 starts over his college career, with a majority of those starts coming at right guard or right tackle. Given Mays’ pedigree, recruitment profile, experience against top competition, and positional versatility, he is expected to be taken in the first two days of the 2022 NFL draft.
One-Liner:
Versatile offensive lineman with good size and poor agility. Mays is too stiff to pass protect at tackle and too upright at guard.
Grades:
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
5.2/5.4
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