San Diego State offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill was a walk-on with the Aztecs, coming out of high school as a second-team all-state pick at center, and didn't earn a scholarship until before his junior year.
He had a great 2012 year where he broke out on the scout team and he played in 13 games in 2013 as a blocking tight end. He also showed off his athleticism with five receptions and a touchdown that year. He also earned All-Mountain West honors in 2015, starting all 14 games at tight end. His senior year he moved to tackle for his senior year and earn second-team All-Mountain West.
Positional ranking: 32 out of 94
Overall ranking: 470
Height/ Weight: 6’5” / 273 LBS
With Brunskill being under-sized there is some talk of him being moved to a blocking specific tight end and not a tackle in the NFL. Since he did play that role in college there is film on him playing that position.
Strengths: He is an athletic player for the position the footwork and also has the abilities get into the gaps on blocking. That athleticism allows him to get the advantage on that first step and get in a defenders face and he also has good feet. In high school he was a multi-sport star by playing volleyball, lacrosse and wrestling.
Advanced stats via Pro Football Focus:
Daniel Brunskill
Snaps | Pass Block Snaps | Run Block Snaps | Penalties | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Snaps | Pass Block Snaps | Run Block Snaps | Penalties | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries |
1989 | 403 | 1362 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
901 | 340 | 561 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
732 | 40 | 537 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
356 | 23 | 264 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Weaknesses: The obvious is that Brunskill needs to put on additional weight if he his going to play at the offensive tackle position, and even the tight end position. That lack of size hurts his lower body burst and he needs to fill out that frame to be a bit wider. That lack of width can make him a liability at a power or bull rush by a defender.
The bottom line: Teams like his athletic spot at tackle but he might not make an active roster as a rookie, but likely will need to spend a year on the practice squad to add bulk and get better.
Projected round: Likely an undrafted free agent