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Duncan’s Scouting Report: Cody Ford

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Draft season is here! I’m not sure about you but I love the NFL Draft just as much, if not more than, the actual NFL season. Whether it’s regaining a sense of hope or just simply watching the best players that college football has to offer and seeing how they fit your favorite team. I personally love most watching the players part and evaluating how they project as an NFL player. It’s a fun challenge and can be very rewarding when a player you liked ends up becoming a good/great player as well as a learning experience when a player doesn’t pan out.

This report will be the first of many scouting reports of prospects entering the 2019 NFL Draft. The plan is to have a report done each week leading up to the Draft. To kick things off, I start with Oklahoma’s Cody Ford!

Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma

Measurements

(Measurements from College Bio, Will be updated after official NFL Combine Measurements)

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 338

Effort

If you’re looking for a powerful, versatile, and high effort offensive lineman in the Draft, look no further than Cody Ford. The young man plays with a huge chip on his shoulders and plays hard every play. When I’m watching an offensive lineman, the very first thing I look for is effort and whether they finish their blocks. Ford easily checks that box for me. Here’s some examples:

Ford plays through the whistle on this play. Does this have a big effect on the play? No, not really. But when it comes to effort as a player, you either have it…or you don’t. You can’t teach effort.
He’s a wrecker. Watch him as he leads on this screen pass. Engages with his man full speed and drives him into the opposing team’s sideline taking out a referee in the process. This play is also a good example of the attitude he plays with as you can see him jawing at the guy he blocked as he walks away. Hard not to like.
Here he is against Alabama, the best defensive front in college football. It wasn’t a perfect game by him or the rest of the Oklahoma Offensive Line but this play is another example of the effort and physicality that Ford plays with.

Pass Protection

The best trait that Ford shows as a pass protector, especially at Right Tackle, is patience. Instead of making the first move, he is very good at being patient and reacting to what the pass rusher does.

Great example here. Ford does a great job of maintaining a half-man relationship with the pass rusher. Notice how he keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and has a slight lean to the inside. This cuts off the inside rush lane from the pass rusher. Ford then waits for the pass rusher to make his move before engaging. The only criticism I have on this play, and he does have this habit, is the lack of a punch and hand placement. You want to see a strong hand stike to knock the pass rusher off his track. Ford grabs at his man and rides him out.

Ford plays with a good base and anchors well against the power rushers, but can he handle the speed rushers? The short answer is yes, but don’t take my word for it!

Being a tackle you have to be able to handle the speed rush. Ford does a really nice job of gaining depth on his kick step here while maintaining the half-man relationship. Many people will tell you that Ford projects better at Guard in the NFL. That may be true but I believe that he can get the job done at Tackle as well.
One last highlight of Ford at Right Tackle for you to enjoy. Ford is uber physical and enjoys dominating his man. This poor defensive tackle had no chance against this down-block by Ford. I would like to see that kind of punch in pass pro, however.

As mentioned above, Ford projects best as an interior offensive lineman. Luckily Ford has played in the interior before. In 2017 before bumping out to Right Tackle in 2018, Ford played Left Guard for Oklahoma. Ford is best when he can can get his hands on his man. Once he does, it’s over. He’s got a very strong grip and locks his man down. This attribute translates best to Guard.

Great hands here by Ford. Works an initial punch and then works his hands as his man tries to spin back inside. He locks his hands inside and drives his man out of the play. Effort!
Another rep of him showing good hand usage. He slides towards the defensive tackle, feels the spin outside, and adjusts quickly by punching the defensive tackle in the back. I would like to see him get his head out more instead of leaning forward at the waist.

Conclusion

Ford is a dominant offensive lineman with a killer attitude and the effort he plays with is unmatched in this draft class. The flaws I would point out are:

  • Average foot speed
  • Angles when pulling. Will on occasion miss his block due to pulling into his lane too wide. Needs to pull tighter.
  • Hand strikes at Right Tackle. Deliver a punch instead of putting your hands on him.
  • 2nd Level Blocking. Ford tends to position block when climbing to the 2nd level instead of going through them, also sometimes struggles at maintaining his block against linebackers. Taking better angles will help.

Ford is the best offensive lineman in the draft not named Jonah Williams. His versatility, physicality, play-strength, and high motor all equal a high quality prospect. I see a future Pro Bowler and maybe even All-Pro Guard in him. His demeanor and attitude shows me a player that wants to be great and will do everything in his power to show the man lined up across from him that he is.

Round Projection: Top 10-15

Pro Comparison: Andrus Peat

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