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Pros: Has good size and strength, especially for a center. He can block a NT 1 on 1, though he won’t always win the battle. However being able to win a battle with a NT 1 on 1 at all is rare for a center, so it is impressive that he can do it. He seems to have a pretty good stance and seems to be a natural knee bender, and uses his arms and hands well to engage the defender. He plays with good leverage regularly and has good mobility to get out of his stance, wall off a defender or get to the second level to engage a linebacker. He can drive block a defensive tackle effectively and in pass protection he regularly does a good job of picking up blitzes or stunts and rarely, if ever, misses an assignment. Not to mention he does a good job of recovering and anchoring to stop a bull-rush before the pocket is collapsed. He rarely is off target with his snaps in shotgun, and I may not have seen a truly “bad” snap in my time watching him. Has a nice mean streak and will block through the whistle, and even occasionally get a shove or two in after the whistle has been blown. I love to see that nasty streak, especially in offensive lineman.

Cons: Will play high at times and sometimes will get bull-rushed into the pocket by a NT when he has to handle them 1 on 1. He doesn’t look exceedingly good in space or outside on screens and at times will struggle to find someone to block when in space. He is very good at snapping to the shotgun, but I am unsure how he is snapping to a QB when under center. In the few instances I have seen him snap to Tebow under center he has done it without error, but it is still worth consideration that he has limited experience doing this. I have also rarely seen him make offensive line calls to adjust protection in the face of blitz packages, etc. That makes me wonder if he is mentally capable of doing so, though it seems he would be considering the fact that he rarely misses an assignment or blitz pick-up. But it is, again, worth contemplating. Will occasionally get shoves in after the play is over which could draw penalties in the NFL, but it’s not a major concern.

Overall: Pouncey projects well to the Center position in my opinion. He is strong enough to block NT’s 1 on 1 at times which is extremely rare for a center, making him a rare commodity at the position. He has the strength and mobility to be able to move to guard if necessary which makes him more valuable. He should be capable of making offensive line calls in the NFL, but if not he should be able to slide over to one of the guard positions. He makes good snaps to his QB in shotgun and seems to do the same under center, and he is an effective pass blocker and run blocker. He could use some technique work and fundamental development, but he is fairly fundamentally sound, especially for a junior declaring a year early.

Projection: Top 25-30: Pouncey is a rare center prospect and is worthy of a 1st round pick. He is strong enough to block strong defensive tackle prospects 1 on 1, which is very rare for a center. Any number of teams could use a center like that who can drive block effectively and be an effective pass blocker. Pouncey could anchor an offensive line for a decade, and that is worthy of a 1st round selection, potentially as high as the top 20.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 4.0
PASS BLOCKING: 4.0
RUN BLOCKING: 4.0
FOOTWORK: 3.5
TECHNIQUE: 3.5
MOBILITY: 3.5
MEAN STREAK: 4.0

MAURKICE POUNCEY
6-5/304
Florida Junior
40: 5.25

PROS: Has good strength and gets leverage as a run blocker. Has pop off the snap, gets position and shows potential as a drive blocker. Locks on to defender, and does a nice job finishing his blocks showing good mean streak. Has good footwork in pass protection and does a nice job adjusting to stunts. Has a good hand punch and gets his hands up quickly to initiate contact. Is athletic and able to get out in space and block on screens.
CONS: Can get pushed back into the pocket at times as he's not always able to anchor. Is a waist-bender and will overextend at times. Will miss his punch at times and could improve his hand speed. Misses some assignments when blocking on the second level. Shotgun snaps can be low at times, which is odd considering how much their offense exclusively works there.
OVERVIEW: A strong, athletic center that has uncommon size and ability as a run blocker. Started 28 straight games at center for Florida the past two years, but started 11 games as a right guard as a freshman. Has the ability and potential to play at a high level at either guard or center on the next level.
NFL FORECAST: One could make comparisons to Alex Mack when it comes to Pouncey. Although I think Pouncey is stronger and a better run blocker. I think Mack is a bit more polished in his technique. But their athleticism is negligible. Pouncey is one of those rare centers that can handle himself on an island. He's going to have some trouble against big, physical nose tackles, but he'll do a lot better against them than most centers do. He's not a great pile mover as a center, but he really doesn't have to be. And that's why I don't think it would be a mistake for a team to move him to guard, where his ability to move the pile and his strength in pass protection may be better served because he wouldn't be asked to use it a lot at the center position. I definitely think he has the potential to be a top center at the next level, although I do think Alex Mack was better a year ago because he's more polished. If he was to move to guard, I'd love him to add another 5-10 pounds of muscle. The transition to center will probably be a bit quicker, but I think he's a good enough prospect to be able to start right away as a guard, although it may take him a year longer to start to live up to his potential. I'm not confident he woudl be an elite guard, but capable of being a good one. It would be easy to compare him to Andre Gurode as a center, although I think he's more athletic than Gurode, and should be able to impact much quicker than Gurode did at center, who didn't develop into the center we know him today until his fifth season.
ATL FORECAST: Pouncey would be a good option to play at the center position down the road. He could take over for McClure in 2011 or whenever McClure decides to hang it up. BUt his more immediate impact would likely be as a challenger for one of the guard positions. He can push Blalock at left guard, although I'm not sure he would win the starting job at the outset. But as a rookie, at the very least he should become the team's top reserve blocker, and if he hasn't done so by the end of his rookie year would be a starter by the beginning of 2011. His addition would likely mean the Falcons could afford to lose either Blalock (to free agency) or McClure (to retirement) in 2011.
VALUE: Pouncey is a nice first round pick, but I'd probably target him in between pick No. 25 and No. 32.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 4.0
PASS BLOCKING: 3.5
RUN BLOCKING: 4.5
FOOTWORK: 4.0
TECHNIQUE: 3.0
MOBILITY: 3.5
MEAN STREAK: 4.0