From now until the 2024 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Clemson C Will Putnam.
#56 WILL PUTNAM/OC CLEMSON – 6-4, 301 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Will Putnam | 6044/301 | 9 3/8″ | 31″ | 75 1/2″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 5.45 | 1.81 | 4.70 | 7.88 | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 8’4″ | 24″ | 28 |
*Pro Day Figures
THE GOOD
– Upper body strength to take on double teams
– Likes to stick on guys and carry defensive tackles up to the second level
– Great patience at the line of scrimmage on inside zone
– Doesn’t lunge out at defensive tackles, instead he reacts to their movement
– Locates well at the second level
– Has good size for a center with a well-proportioned frame
– Uses wide base in both run game and pass protection for balance
– Possesses good core strength and body control both in his movements and through contact
– Allows defenders to declare a side and then traps them on that side and secures the block
– Pad level usually on point
– Plays the game with intelligence and an understanding of angles and timing
– Uses timing over athleticism to get best results on combo blocks
– Keeps head back and arms extended in pass protection
– Hand placement is solid and maintains feel for his target
– Has a strong commitment to strength and conditioning
THE BAD
– Plays a more finesse-based game over power
– Doesn’t generate much push against quality strength across from him
– Has below-average explosiveness and agility out of his stance
– Angles and technique work have to be just right or secure blocks will be a challenge
– Average to below-average quickness off snap
– Is not at his best when asked to work in open spaces
– Reactive movement could use work against counter moves in pass pro
– Struggles with big, strong nose tackles who come with the power and force to move him
BIO
– Born 08/13/2000 (23 years old)
– 3,564 snaps in 5 years (1,958 at OC; 1,604 at RG)
– 49 starts and appeared in 60 games
– Allowed a total of 46 pressures and 7 sacks
– 2023 Voted by his teammates as a permanent team captain
– Two-time ACC Honor Roll selection (2019-20)
– Three-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree (2020, 2022-23)
– Four-star guard prospect coming out of Plant High School in Florida by Rivals.com
– Selected to US Army All-American game in San Antonio
– Father was in the U.S. Army for 30 years, including 24 with the Green Berets
– High school team captain who played both guard and defensive tackle
– Competed in state heavyweight tournament as a freshman in 2016 and was the Florida state champion as a heavyweight in 2018 with a 25-0 record for the season
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Putnam is a four-year starter inside Clemson’s zone-based run scheme with 49 career starts at center, making all the line calls and setting protections since his freshman season in 2018.
He has a smaller stature with middling girth and arm length, but is a proficient, skilled run-blocker who plays with good leverage, pad level and balance. He has adequate explosiveness out of his stance and shows good hand strike accuracy. He shows an impressive understanding of how to work combo blocks with his guards, knowing how to fit on interior run-defenders to cover them up, overtake and release up to the second level. He has solid quickness to reach shades and strains through contact consistently, running his feet and reworking his hands to stay attached and finish when defenders attempt to disengage.
Putnam is #56 in all of the following clips:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
He is an adept zone run blocker with solid initial quickness, pad level and use of hands to reach, cut-off and scoop shades, plus combo/climb with his guards to the second level. He does a good job re-leveraging his hands back inside the frame of defenders to stay attached to blocks. His feet seem to always be moving and he gives consistent effort from snap to whistle to finish blocks. Putnam really relies on great technique from his strike timing, upper body power and grip strength to win the battle at the snap. You can really see his wrestling background come into play because his understanding of leverage, striking accuracy and sustaining gives him an advantage.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
Putnam has always shown a high football IQ and processing skills to sort through games, stunts and blitzes. He has consistently been on the All-ACC academic lists, so his intelligence comes into play with making all the calls since his freshman year. He plays with good balance and alertness in protection to slide, mirror and stay attached to movement across his face.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
A glaring issue with Putnam that you see with bigger defensive tackles (0-1 techs especially) is his lack of lower body mass and power. Deone Walker (Kentucky DT) gave him all kinds of problems in their 2023 bowl game. To be fair, he also gave almost everyone issues, but Putnam especially got exposed with his ability to anchor and losing awareness, which is something you can’t do with a serious disruptor in the A gap. He is “light in the pants” with middling power to jar, torque and uproot bigger defenders when needed. His anchoring is fine until he faces someone with serious power or size to overmatch his great upper body strength. He looks to have below-average arm length that, combined with being undersized, limits his ability to gain control and create displacement on nose tackles that win his chest.
This will likely pigeonhole him as a zone-only scheme fit unless he develops these areas more. He also has an erratic hit rate at the second level because of inconsistent angles and average movement skills. You can really see his slow, choppy feet when he has to get out and show his range. Putnam does have lateral quickness, but he’s better when he can get a head of steam on pin-n-pulls or inside zone runs.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 18, 2024
CONCLUSION
Overall, Putnam is a proficient zone run-blocker with a good football IQ to quarterback the pre-snap phase of the game. He lacks scheme or position versatility because of his lack of size and lower body power, but his makeup and understanding of leverage is worth drafting for a backup role in a zone scheme. He bears a lot of similarities to Michal Menet when he was coming out of Penn State in 2021.
Both are physical, intelligent and technically adept guys with lots of good experience at the center position but have severe athletic and length limitations. He could be someone Pittsburgh looks at as an undrafted free agent with upside to back up and be a spot starter if need be at center or guard, down the road.
Projection: UDFA (Undrafted Free Agent)
Depot Draft Grade: 6.0 – Undrafted Free Agent (Priority Free Agent)
Games Watched: at Kentucky (2023), vs Georgia Tech (2023), vs Tennessee (2022), vs Miami (2022)
