Eagles film: Breaking down what Alabama’s Tyler Steen brings to Jeff Stoutland’s offensive line room

At some point in the draft, with the increased emphasis of building a not only talented, but also deep offensive line room, you knew the Eagles were going to add another body along the offensive line room.

Isaac Seumalo departed in free agency, leaving a vacancy at the right guard spot, with left tackle Jordan Mailata, left guard Landon Dickerson, center Jason Kelce, and right tackle Lane Johnson filling the other four spots along the line.

Cam Jurgens, a 2022 second-round pick, was drafted to be Kelce’s heir at center, but could fill that vacancy. However, new addition Tyler Steen, who played defensive line early in his Vanderbilt career before switching to tackle, could compete for early snaps at right guard.

The Eagles spent a third-round pick on Steen, who spent time at the Senior Bowl playing tackle after transferring to Alabama for his final season. With his prowess moving defenders in the run game and recovery ability as a pass protector, could he earn early snaps as a rookie? Here’s a look at what Steen brings to Jeff Stoutland’s offensive line room.

» READ MORE: Scouting report: How does the Eagles’ 2023 NFL draft class stack up collectively?

After spending his first four collegiate seasons with the Commodores, Steen transferred to Alabama and earned the starting spot at left tackle. Moving to the Crimson Tide’s scheme allowed Steen to consistently work to root out defensive ends and outside linebackers, along with working double teams in zone schemes up to linebackers, where his athleticism and processing post-snap was allowed to shine.

The most noticeable aspect to Steen’s game is using his lower body torque and upper body strength to create movement, moving defenders against their will. Particularly on the perimeter, the 6-6, 321 pound Steen has the grip strength to move edge defenders out of the running back’s path. Below against Texas A&M, Steen attacks the defensive end’s inside shoulder, has his outside hand in the breastplate of the defender with his outside hand on the shoulder pad, locks out and uses that backward momentum the defender is playing with to turn him perpendicular to the sideline. This allows the running back to cut off the block and explode upfield for a big gain.

In addition to getting movement in one-on-one situations, Steen excels in chipping on double-team blocks, getting his eyes to the nearest second level defender, and positioning himself to either kick out linebackers, safeties, and corners or blocking their path with his body. Against Arkansas this season, he did the former, and it helped spring another big run that ended up being a touchdown.

With the defensive end at a 4i alignment, on the inside shoulder of Steen and the outside shoulder of his left guard, the Alabama tackle takes his initial reach block steps, knocks the defender back inside as he tries to combat his reach block while keeping his eyes downfield, springs off the block and seals the secondary player trying to make a tackle as the last line of defense, creating a massive hole.

Along with executing blocks in space and winning individual matchups, Steen brings an attitude playing on the offensive line. With every block, Steen is trying to drive his man into the ground. This dates back to his time with Vanderbilt, where in his matchup against Georgia, he did just that to future teammate Nolan Smith into the ground as the whistle was blowing. That mentality continued at Alabama, where he would work to get underneath the pad of edge defenders and use his strength to finish the block.

In separate occasions against Auburn and Arkansas, Steen used his grip strength and lower body torque to get defenders off balance, driving his legs and dumping them to finish off his blocks. He ensures his matchup has no way of getting in on the play.

» READ MORE: Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat writers weigh in on drafting Alabama guard Tyler Steen

The biggest reason Steen is a candidate for a positional move is his lack of length as a bookend tackle, possessing 32 3/4-inch arms. It shows up against longer-armed athletes, who can get into his chest before and control the rep before he gets his hands on them.

However, Steen is an intelligent pass protector who understands how to counteract the limitation, and it starts with how he attacks edge rushers and keeps them off balance. Sometimes, he will use a vertical set to force edge rushers to “run the hoop” around him. Other times, he uses a short set to cut off edge rusher’s space to operate through or around him. Most importantly, Steen is never completely out of a rep because of how quickly he can recover.

» READ MORE: Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat writers weigh in on drafting Alabama guard Tyler Steen

The best example of this came against Texas early in the 2022 season. After popping out of his stance below, Steen makes clean, initial contact at the apex of the pass rush, but the edge defender swipes his hands away and starts to work his counter move to try and win on an inside move. Instead of panicking, Steen shoots his hands back inside the breastplate of the defender, bringing his feet with him to shut off the inside move and stonewall the rusher. All of this happens within a second of momentarily losing his man, and Steen showcases how quickly he can reposition himself.

Having the “snatch-trap” maneuver in the tool box can counteract pass rushers who thrive on speed to power conversions pass rush moves. It’s a move Dawand Jones and Darnell Wright, both bigger right tackles, use to their advantage, and while Steen doesn’t use it nearly as much, it could come handy in a move to the interior.

In the Sugar Bowl against Kansas State and first-round edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Steen needed to be crafty and calculated to ensure he would keep Bryce Young adequately protected against the Wildcats. He invites Anudike-Uzomah upfield after quickly popping out of his stance, utilizing a vertical set, and anticipates that the Kansas State rusher will use speed-to-power to work through him. Showing patience, Steen uses the overeagerness and aggressiveness of Anudike-Uzomah to yank him down and effectively win the rep. Combining likely film study with tendencies of his matchup allowed him to showcase his ability to win with more than his strength or lower body power.

Active hands throughout a pass rush rep is another key to Steen’s success, mitigating not only speed to power moves, but also long arm bull rushes — a move he can expect to face in the NFL. Against Auburn’s Derick Hall, a 2023 second-round pick, Steen faced a player who loves to try and work through the chest of offensive linemen. Steen doesn’t have ideal length in a tackle, but because he works to replace his hands and sits in his anchor, Hall’s rush stalls out after a couple of steps in the play below.

» READ MORE: NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds: Eagles tackle Jalen Carter among favorites

Using a jump set in this particular rep, Steen quickly engages the Auburn pass rusher, who immediately attempts to use his long arm rush. Steen shoots his hand underneath the pads of Hall, using his lower body torque to stall the power rush, replacing his hands as Hall’s rush stalls and throws him out of the path to the quarterback. It’s an impressive combination of hand quickness and power to stop an otherwise dominant college pass rusher in Hall.

Overall, Steen has redeeming qualities, whether he moves to guard or remains playing tackle as he moves forward in his NFL career. Because he was put in so many unique situations with a laundry list of edge rusher archetypes, there won’t be many things that surprise him as he prepares to compete for a spot on a talented Eagles offensive line.

If he can clean up his balance issues, stemming from his wide base and play with a firmer outside foot when handling pass rushers, Steen can become a more complete lineman. The run-blocking ability and power he plays with to throw defensive linemen around will allow him to impress as a run blocker early on. With Stoutland’s track record of bringing out the best in his linemen, Steen could be a contributor to one of the best units in the NFL sooner than later.