Liam Eichenberg is an offensive tackle from the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame in the last few years has been sort of an offensive line factory and many think that Eichenberg is the next great Notre Dame offensive lineman in line to be a great NFL player. Personally I think he has a lot of issues he needs to fix in the NFL, and I wouldn’t draft him high, but he still has quite a bit of upside.

Strengths: 

  • Powerful Hands

Liam Eichenberg really delivers some powerful punches when they land and you can tell they really affect the rush of an offensive lineman. Overall just has good functional strength. 

  • Great Job in Run Game

Eichenberg is much better in the run game than he is pass protection, and that’s because of how well Eichenberg is able to get to multiple people on the second level, and how good he is at taking the right angles to get to as many guys as possible.

  • Strong Anchor

Once Eichenberg anchors down it’s tough to go right through him with a bull rush and even the strongest edge rushers struggled with that. Even when he was beat he recovered extremely well.

Weaknesses: 

  • Easily Beat Off the Edge

One thing that was unfortunately really easy to notice watching Liam Eichenberg was how easy it was to beat him off the edge. His kick step doesn’t gain enough ground backward and he’s simply not very mobile which leads to him being beat off of the edge way too often, and it’s going to happen more in the NFL.

  • Hand Usage Needs a Lot of Work

Eichenberg delivers strong punches but he has just 32 inches arms and he doesn’t use them well. His placement is often predictable, and leads to his hands being swatted at times, and he punches late many times as well.

  • Footwork Needs Work

Eichenberg does a decent job with his first couple of steps but his third step in the kick step is really inconsistent and it’s a reason he gets beat off the edge so often. Once the play breaks down Eichenberg has horrendous footwork and it’s like he doesn’t know what to do if asked to block longer than expected.

Player Comp: Jake Matthews is my player comparison for Eichenberg and I think it works well as a reflection of play style and athletic ability. Both guys have similar frames with similar quickness issues but good mobility on the second level. Both guys get to multiple defenders in the run game and in pass protection they struggle with hand placement, short arms, and speed rushers off of the edge. A Jake Matthews type of player is probably Eichenberg’s ceiling at this point with all of the concerns he has being magnified, but both guys are very similar in play style and athletic ability.

Final Thoughts: Liam Eichenberg is a guy that I think is vastly overrated. He doesn’t have the traits to be a great tackle in the NFL, and he’s certainly not the guy I’d want to be my blindside blocker. For a guy who’s already 23 he has some major technical issues to fix and there isn’t enough athletic upside to justify taking him high. He also doesn’t quite have the qualities to kick into guard so if his short arms prevent him from being a good tackle he’s kind of useless. Overall I think he’s going to be eaten up by NFL pass rushers who will consistently be able to beat him off of the edge as well as exploit his bad hand placement that just leaves him vulnerable. Many have him around the Round 2 conversation and I think he’s a Round 4 player and I would not be drafting him early on in the draft. I guess a scheme fit would be the because they’ve done a good job developing tackles and they use the quick passing game which Eichenberg will be better in than a drop back system but again Eichenberg is not a guy I would see myself drafting that early, especially with better guys on the board there, because of how much lower I am on him than everyone else.