Cowboys 2021 draft positional rankings: Offensive Tackle

5 – Liam Eichenberg

Depending on who you ask, there are people who think Notre Dame Tackle Liam Eichenberg looks like your prototypical left tackle. Others will tell you that he is strictly a right tackle so needless to say I spent the most time on this prospect than most.

There were times where his footwork is graceful for a six-foot-six 300-pound lineman but were also times where he abandoned his technique. The fact that he is coming from what has been a lineman factory as of late might make some people more comfortable selecting him even though he has workable flaws.

Eichenberg is graceful with his footwork but so is his punch which is not a good thing. The player simply needs to get stronger. After my film work on the guy, he is more of a get-in-the-way blocker at this point.

His pass set and technique are NFL ready but he tends to catch his defender rather than punch his defender back. I have no doubt that after a full NFL offseason he can gain the required functional strength to combat the bull rush.

Eichenberg does a great job against smaller quicker defenders making me feel like he could come in and start for a team that employs a heavy pass game.

His run blocking needs refinement also as his get-in-the-way method is fine but he won’t consistently push his defender back from the line of scrimmage. Functional strength is where this prospect is going to struggle. Teams that employ a heavy zone-blocking scheme would be an ideal fit.

If the Dallas Cowboys were to select Eichenberg his role would almost immediately be labeled as the swing tackle with a promised future. Depending on where they draft him, it would almost immediately shine a spotlight on current left tackle Tyron Smith.

I believe Eichenberg is strictly a left tackle at this point that wouldn’t offer any immediate position flex. This move would raise eyebrows and create an unnecessary headline.

Eichenberg reminds me of fellow Golden Domer Mike McGlinchey of the San Francisco Forty-Niners. McGlinchey was able to transition to the right side after gaining much-needed NFL strength.

Liam Eichenberg should be selected late first round to middle second-round player. There is no doubt Eichenberg will be one of the top fifty players selected on draft day.