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Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon (Junior)

Picture of Rayane M

Rayane M

The 2025 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and despite an initial impression that this year's class might lack talent, The Trick Play team has once again delved into the tapes to bring you scouting reports on the players who will soon wear the jerseys of your favorite franchises.

From Quarterback to Safety, including the trenches where Offensive Linemen and Defensive Linemen engage in a relentless battle, Rayane and Valentin will walk you through the new faces of this 2025 draft class while everyone is excited about the coming NFL Draft


Strengths :

  • Explosive takeoff
  • Mobile
  • Good hand placement
  • Good pass blocker
  • Great Footwork
  • Balance
  • Age

 

Weaknesses :

  • Not really dominant
  • Mediocre anchor ability
  • Anticipate sometimes a little too much
  • Doesn't have a nasty side
  • Size
  • Leverage
  • Tends to extend his arms too much

TTProfil

 
As one of the key pieces of Oregon’s very solid Offensive Line, Josh Conerly Jr. quickly earned a spot on my watch list. And while he’s a player with plenty of talent, there are still a few things that left me unsure about the value I’d place on him ahead of the draft. Let’s take a closer look.
 
To begin with what makes Josh Conerly strong, we must obviously mention his overall mobility. Indeed, Josh is a really explosive player, especially coming out of his Stance. His Takeoff is extremely quick, and Josh is very explosive on his first steps. In running situations, this means he is able to quickly engage with his opponent.
Continuing with this first point regarding mobility, Conerly moves well; he is quite agile, which is relatively rare among OLs. This will undoubtedly make offensive coordinators who favor Spread schemes and are fond of zone runs or RPOs very happy, as they are always looking for mobile OLs.
 
Josh also has good hand placement and often aims to target a specific part of his opponent's body to avoid having to fight against the entire person, instead focusing on half of the opponent.
To make it easier to understand, imagine a person in front of you who is split vertically down the middle. You now have a right half and a left half. Well, Conerly will choose to target, for example, the right shoulder, so that he only has to fight on the right side, using the imbalance of power to his advantage by concentrating all his force on that half of the body.
It may seem a bit unclear in writing, but it's quite simple when explained visually. In any case, seeing Josh effectively use this technique is a strong point in his ability to place his hands in the right spot and, most importantly, take advantage of the opportunities it provides him.
 
To be completely honest with you, this paragraph underwent quite a few revisions between the first draft and the final version you’ll see because, despite Josh’s very good level in pass protection, I still felt it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, I didn’t feel like I was giving Josh's strong performance the credit it deserved. So, I thought adding a little extra word might help.
Because, in this case, aside from his good mobility, if there’s one area where Josh Conerly excels, it’s in pass protection situations. He rarely gets caught off guard, and while Josh may not physically dominate his opponent, that doesn’t mean the opponent can beat Conerly. However, as we’ll see in the weaknesses section, Josh will need to work on certain areas.
That being said, it’s a great point in his favor, especially since, as I mentioned earlier, not everything is perfect technically in this area of the game, which suggests that Josh could still really improve.
 
Conerly is also very good with his footwork. While I could have mentioned it earlier among the first strengths discussed, given the level of play shown, I felt it was important to emphasize it a bit more as it's truly one of his biggest strengths.
If there's one point to highlight about his footwork, it would definitely be the fact that Josh almost never stops having active legs, in all situations, whether it's pass or run. Similarly, he rarely makes mistakes on his first steps, which are extremely important for properly engaging the block. After this initial contact, his legs quickly reactivate, allowing him to effectively direct his block.
It's really very good and should continue to be so once he's in the pros. I can't wait to see what he'll be able to show on some drills at the combine.
 
In terms of balance, it's fair to say that Josh has good overall balance, and it's rare to see him caught off guard on this point. Of course, it can still happen when he puts too much or not enough weight on a specific point, and the defender manages to capitalize on the opportunity to take advantage of Josh, as was the case during the Senior Bowl when Josh was overwhelmed in the one-on-one drill against Mike Green. However, in general, Josh is rarely caught off balance.
 
Finally, among Conerly's positive points, there is of course his age. Josh has just turned 21. He will enter the NFL at a young age and will only be 22 by midseason in his rookie year. For some coaches/GM, this is a major factor in deciding which player to select at a certain position, and I have no doubt that Josh's young age, coupled with his strong performances and potential for development, will weigh heavily in determining his final value.
It's time to move on to the things that make Josh's game cringe.
I briefly touched on this among several of his strengths, but there is one point that bothers me about Conerly. The lack of dominance he can sometimes show, and this is quite evident. Josh lacks power, and it shows both in pass protection situations, where he is sometimes put in danger by powerful and explosive EDGE rushers, like the rep at the Senior Bowl against Mike Green, but it's also noticeable in run blocking situations, where he sometimes struggles to overpower his opponent, leaving a small opportunity for the defender to still make a play.
To stay on run-blocking situations, the gaps that Josh creates are actually the result of his good footwork, not raw strength or power. His excellent footwork allows him, inch by inch, to create a gap through which the ball carrier can slip through.
As we all know, the difference in size, power and technique between CFB and NFL players is sometimes monstrous, so this lack of dominance bothers me about his projection in the pros.
 
Similarly, his ability to anchor himself to the ground is really poor. This ties back to his lack of physical power, as Josh struggles to use this technique effectively. Perhaps this is why we constantly see him keeping his legs active even in pass protection situations, while many other offensive linemen choose the easier option of relying heavily on this technique, often creating deficits in their footwork.
Is it due to a lack of power in the upper/lower body, or a lack of weight, or technique or overall balance?
I can't answer that for sure, but the fact is that Conerly is currently unable to effectively engage with the block and anchor himself to the ground without risking getting beaten. This is a point that will absolutely need to be worked on, especially considering the tendency of NFL OL coaches to want their players to use this technique in certain game situations.
 
I'd also quickly add that Josh doesn't have that Nasty side that I love so much about OL and DT.
So like every year and on every article I repeat myself, this particular point is very personal and I know that some people don't attach as much importance to it, but for me it remains an important point to note.
 
Josh will also need to be careful not to overanticipate the movements of the EDGE defenders in Pass Pro. Since Conerly's game relies heavily on his mobility and excellent footwork, he tends to lean on these traits and can sometimes overanticipate the defender's next move. Whether it's at the snap or during the play, Conerly occasionally puts himself in a tough spot by taking one small step too far in a direction. The direct consequence of this extra step is that it gives the defender an opportunity to easily threaten Josh by abruptly changing direction.
I’ve seen Conerly threatened several times this season because of this, both on his inside and outside. That being said, I made sure to write "threatened" and not "beaten," because so far, Josh has always managed to recover from his mistake without it having any impact on his offense, thanks in large part to his footwork and good hand placement, which allow him to quickly recover in most situations.
 
Conerly's size could also impact his draft stock, as he has been listed by Oregon at 6'4 and 315lbs. This is both small and light (of course, relatively speaking, for an average human, that's a solid build) for his overall evaluation.
You know me by now, as strong as he is, at 6'4, it's a no for the Tackle position, which would push him to the Guard position. And here, it's his 315lbs that worry me because, as we just mentioned, Conerly is already not the most powerful player in the class, and even less the most violent. He would now be facing DTs who, while less explosive than EDGE rushers, are much more powerful.
We’ll need to see how things unfold because, given his young age, he can still develop physically, whether it's in terms of height, weight, but especially strength and power.
 
Conerly will also need to make an effort to play lower than he currently does. While he manages to stay fairly low for now, it’s more because he’s only 6'4" rather than maintaining an optimal power angle throughout the play.
He could gain in power and dominance if he worked more on his leverage to maintain an optimal power angle, which would allow him to use it to dominate his opponents.
 
Finally, the last point Josh will need to work on is not extending his arms too much when engaging in blocks. While his hand technique is indeed good, it's not uncommon for defenders to manage to swat Josh's hands away before the block is even fully engaged.
The issue lies in Conerly's tendency to extend his arms when engaging the defender. While this can be very useful in pass protection, it's much less necessary when blocking a player in a running situation. I believe Josh would benefit a lot from not extending his arms as much—not necessarily from using them less, but from making it more difficult for defenders to swat his hands away.

 

 

In conclusion, Josh Conerly Jr. is a player with tremendous potential, but in my opinion, he is still somewhat raw. The promise is there, but there's still work to be done. While it's promising and quite clean at the moment, there is a real lack of domination for a position that is built around that. I emphasize this point because it's not about the player's style. For comparison, a player like Joe Alt, who also focuses on technical and clean blocks, still exuded a certain level of domination. Not physical, but technical. You could tell Alt was never in danger and dominated his rep completely. That’s not a sensation you get with Conerly, at least not yet.

Next comes the question of his build and positioning, which could really have a significant impact on his draft value. Especially since, at the moment, I’m struggling to see more in Conerly than a solid player in the future; I don’t get the feeling of having a future Pro Bowler in front of me—not yet, at least. He still lacks those big flashes that would leave you in awe when watching his tapes. Having said that, I think there's definitely something to be done with a little development.
Regarding his build, the 6’5 has seemingly been confirmed at the Combine, which will allow the team’s staff to decide his positioning. Based on what he showed all season at the Tackle position, the potential is certainly there, but looking at his skillset, moving him to the Guard position could also be a good idea, depending on the system played. In any case, whether Tackle or Guard, Josh Conerly will still need work to develop into a top player. The potential is there, but nothing guarantees that Josh will be a solid Day One starter.

For these reasons, I can see him being selected on the second day of the draft. While in practice, I lean more toward a selection early in the third round, his age and the promises he shows in pass protection as well as his athletic abilities could push a franchise to take a chance on him as early as the second round. This is even more likely if there is a rush on offensive linemen, which tends to happen every year.
If in my opinion it would be a little high, I would have no problem understanding that a franchise would not want to take the risk of passing him up and would choose to select him in the 2nd round..
Tier 3 and a valid projection on a Day 2 pick for Josh Conerly Jr.

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