My scouting report on Matt Tennant

Overview: There is no real consensus on Matt Tennant. I've seen projections saying he will be drafted in the second round. I've read that he could fall into the fifth or sixth round. Which means he'll probably land in the third or fourth. The NFL.com rating only gave him a 2.4 (top prospects are rated 8+).

The knock on Tennat seems to be his size. He's a little tall to play center and a little lean to play other spots on the line. I've also heard some think that he didn't have a great senior year and that his stock is down. To counter that, there is the favorable reputation BC linemen have around the league. His predecessors have been so successful, that he is considered a safe pick for the middle rounds.

My take: I actually think Tennant's best year was his sophomore season. Snapping the ball to Matt Ryan can make anyone look good, but when watching the tapes, it was very impressive to see a new starter like Tennant play so well. He was really perfect for the zone blocking scheme and rarely made errors. His junior year was good with the exception of his snaps, which often went sailing. Last year under the new system, Tennant played well, but didn't dominate like I had hoped. While I think others were more at fault, I also wish Matt had directed traffic a little better in the disaster at Clemson.

While people are focused on Tennant's frame and size, I don't think it will be an issue. At the end of the day, he is big enough and has very good athleticism for his size (remember that TOB considered moving him to Tight End).

Prediction: With Pete Carroll in Seattle and Shanahan in DC, there are now six teams running the Gibbs' zone scheme and most of the other teams are using components. This increases Tennant's value. Even if his senior year wasn't what we had hoped, I think he will transition very well to the NFL and become a Pro Bowler like fellow BC Centers Damian Woody and Dan Koppen. As for who will draft him...the Atlanta Falcons went over every snap of Matt Ryan's senior year, which means they saw a lot of Matt Tennant. In the two years since he's done nothing to discourage their initial interest. My (hope) and guess is that the Matts get reunited when Atlanta drafts Tennant this weekend.