Kiran Amegadjie, OT, Yale (Senior)

Rayane M

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Strengths :

Nice strength
Good mobility
Nice ability to Leverage
Good vision

Weaknesses :

Extremely Raw
Footwork
Hands placement
Imbalance

OT Kiran Amegadjie

While the Yale prospect is buzzing thanks to his undeniable physical qualities, I have to admit that Im not as enthusiastic as some about his potential.
To me, he's still extremely raw and I'm afraid that a franchise will pick him far too high

5th rnd value🏗 pic.twitter.com/TFLnabTZt7
— Rayane M (@RayaneScout) March 18, 2024

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Kiran Amegadjie is a player who required much more work than I anticipated, as I struggled to see the points that excite many media outlets, scouts, and draft followers. Indeed, Kiran is often viewed as a huge untapped potential, and that's what I wanted to confirm during my study of the player. But what did I see? That's what we're going to find out right now.

One thing that stood out to me right away is that Kiran seems to possess a good pushing force in his engagements. This strength often follows a strong initial impact on his blocks. However, it's important to be cautious about this point when considering the level of competition he faced during his college career in the Ivy League, which is significantly lower than what he will encounter in the NFL. Without disrespecting Yale or other Ivy League teams, it must be acknowledged that this conference doesn't produce as many players ready for the professional level compared to other conferences.

Another aspect of Amegadjie that may be very appealing to modern scouts is his good mobility. It's not uncommon to see Kiran quickly move to the second level, which could suggest good athleticism. Additionally, what I appreciated about him is that he doesn't just rush into his blocks blindly. He often manages to take a good angle to be well positioned to block the intended defender.

Despite his good height, Kiran does a good job with his Leverage, often attempting to play low, although he still frequently loses his power angle by standing up too quickly during reps.

Finally, I noted in Amegadjie a good recognition of the various blitzes he faced. He has a fairly good field vision and often picks up threats well when facing Stunts. The one thing that bothers me is that Kiran is still too Raw on quite a few technical aspects, which prevents him from fully capitalizing on his vision, because while Kiran often recognizes the play well and does his best to act on it, he doesn't always succeed because he lacks the technical proficiency to do so.

And let's talk about all these little flaws, they all stem from the same issue: Kiran Amegadjie is still extremely Raw, and I don't use the word "extremely" lightly. From a technical standpoint, there's a lot to be done with him, whether it's foundational or form work, the development that needs to be done with him is monumental, and I struggle to see a coaching staff capable of accomplishing it.

On these famous technical points we already have his Footwork which is completely lost. It's simple, as soon as Kiran faces opposition in a match situation, everything goes haywire. For instance, in his movement during a play, there are times when he doesn't even take proper offensive lineman steps but instead just runs like any other player on the field, which is not acceptable at this level or for aspiring to play in the NFL. Another example of poor Footwork When he's already engaged in a block, he almost always stops moving his legs. Now, let's take the example of pass protection. When he finds himself in situations of Slide protection. (That is, when the offensive line slides left or right in pass protection according to the called play), his steps are too timid, he gains little ground, and he makes multiple unnecessary small steps. In situations of Kick and Slide (the most classic pass protection scheme where the offensive line retreats to form a pocket around the quarterback), once again, his steps are too small, he gains too little ground, and he also struggles with weight transfer and balance. He sometimes finds his feet completely flat while moving back on his heels in this situation.

Beyond his Footwork, The use of hands will also be an area for Kiran to work on as it is currently average and quite inconsistent. Hand placement, in particular, will need to be reviewed because even against weak opposition, it is not uncommon to see Amegadjie place his hands too high, potentially leading to penalties by contacting defenders' facemasks, or place them too far outside, resulting in avoidable penalties. Once again, it is worth noting that Kiran has a long way to go, and the Yale coaching staff is not known for being exceptional in terms of player development.

A new technical point that strongly displeases me about Amegadjie, but also about many other offensive linemen, is that Kiran constantly plays off-balance, constantly! It's quite remarkable to see that Kiran has not been able to improve in this area throughout the season and that he still easily loses balance towards the end of the season. He may really struggle in the pros if he doesn't improve in this area because he will face much more powerful players who are also much more impressive athletes, but above all with a level of technique and game intelligence of a completely different caliber. By maintaining this extremely unbalanced aspect on the majority of his reps, Kiran puts himself in a disadvantageous position because the players he will face from now on will be more than capable of taking advantage of this constant imbalance.

To conclude on the case of Kiran Amegadjie, I think we are slowly but surely heading towards a short-term development project. At the moment, it's difficult for me to see him as a player capable of assuming the role of a starter in the NFL, whether it be at tackle or guard. If I mention a transition, it's not arbitrary, and I think you may have also considered this question yourself while reading his strengths and weaknesses. The question therefore arises, given his player profile, and if I have been considering it while studying his tapes, it's only natural to see more and more people contemplating a potential transition for Kiran as the draft approaches.
Between the positions of guard and tackle, the tackle position is probably the one that requires the most technical cleanliness to truly dominate, and it's precisely this point where Kiran falls short the most. So, it's up to you to decide which position would be most promising to develop Kiran if your franchise selects him next April.

From my perspective, unlike many others, I am therefore mixed on Kiran Amegadjie and what he will be able to bring to a franchise because when we summarize a little bit of what we've just seen, we find ourselves with a 23-year-old project player who, at the moment, is far from ready in terms of the technical skills demanded by the NFL. So, we have a rotational player who is likely to require an enormous amount of work to imagine him being at the level of a solid starter one day. So, as you can understand, I am personally moderately enthusiastic, and contrary to what I have seen here and there regarding his value (I have seen him go in certain mock drafts in the late first round although most scouts tend to place him in day 2), I would not select him before the 5th round considering the technical work required.

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Kiran Amegadjie, OT, Yale (Senior)

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