The 2024 scouting combine is right around the corner, which means that it’s time to take a more critical and detailed look at this year’s draft prospects. With that in mind, we here at Touchdown Wire are doing as many thumbnail scouting reports as possible before the combine gets going on February 29. We will of course be doing more comprehensive reports before the draft, but here’s a good starting point.
We now turn our attention to Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt. In 2023, his third season as a starter with the Fighting Irish, the 6-foot-8, 322-pound Alt gave up one sack, two quarterback hits, and two quarterback hurries in 368 pass-blocking reps. He allowed no sacks, two quarterback hits, and six quarterback hurries in 406 pass-blocking reps, so the consistency as a pass-blocker is certainly there. And he’s more than capable of making things happen in the run game.
Alt brings Andrew Whitworth to mind — he doesn’t blow you away with his pure athleticism, but he does just about everything at a very high level, and that should transfer pretty easily to the NFL level.
PLUSES
— Keeps a wide base and strong fundamentals even when swerving to deal with speed rushers
— Mirrors well through the rep. He doesn’t need to over-extend to make up for wasted moves
— Fires out with a nasty demeanor; when he gets his arms out, a defender is in trouble more often than not
— Recovers well if he does lose the leverage battle
— Hits his targets at the second and third level
MINUSES
— Athletic to a point, but he needs to keep his technique letter-perfect or things can go south quickly
— Needs to avoid coming off the snap too upright; when he does, the usual stuff happens
— Can fall off blocks at times when he loses his feet from under him
— More of a short-area blocker than a true athletic marvel
Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
PLUSES
— Keeps a wide base and strong fundamentals even when swerving to deal with speed rushers
— Mirrors well through the rep. He doesn't need to over-extend to make up for wasted moves
— Fires out with a nasty demeanor; when he gets his arms out, a… pic.twitter.com/rNmbJ7LPyc— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 22, 2024
