Offensive Linemen in the 2025 Draft Who Can Help the Commanders’ Running Game

Maulers, road graders and intriguing late round sleepers to rebuild the trenches

Tropical Cyclone Alfred failed to live up to the hype, so I am back earlier than expected, under an intact roof, to continue the series on building a championship level running game in Washington.

The previous editions have examined:

The variability of the RB rushing attack

Whether the RBs were limited by the run blocking

Which parts of the OL provided the cleanest running lanes, and

Running backs who can help on Day 3 of the draft.

The penultimate installment takes a look at draft prospects who could help to improve the Commanders’ run blocking, which looked great against weak run defenses, but struggled to open lanes for the running backs against stronger teams.

The linemen profiled here were selected for their exceptional run blocking abilities, or exceptional traits giving them the potential to develop into outstanding run blockers. While the emphasis is on run blocking, I excluded players who are liabilities in pass protection or lack the potential to develop that part of their game to starting level. There are quite a few other OL who make sense for the Commanders in this draft who weren’t included because they were not particularly special at run blocking.

Players are listed in order of their consensus rankings, using The Athletic’s Consensus Big Board for players in the top 100, and the Mock Draft Database Consensus Big Board for Day 3 prospects.

Player stats include Relative Athletic Score (RAS), Combine testing numbers when available, and PFF run blocking grades for 2024. Commanders’ meeting data was sourced from the Hogs Haven pre-draft visit tracker.

I included prospects who should be available on each day of the draft, starting with one who is likely to be gone well before the Commanders are on the clock in the first round, right through to one who might be still be available after the draft.

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Unlikely to Be Available at 29

Armand Membou, RT, Junior, Missouri

6-4, 332 lbs, 33.5” arms

RAS 9.89 | 4.91 sec 40 | 1.74 sec 10-yd | 34” vertical | 9’7” broad | 31 bench

Consensus Rank: 19

PFF grade: 87.6

Commanders Meeting: none announced

Membou is one of the biggest risers in this year’s draft. Post-combine, some analysts have him just outside the top 10. Despite being a little short of prototypical height for the position, he more than makes up for it with elite athleticism, play strength and body control. What’s more, the third year starter is only 20 years old and is still growing.

Membou uses awesome power and clean technique to displace run defenders at the line and has the range to get downfield and make blocks in space. He blocks with aggression and looks to finish defenders. He has elite potential as a run blocker. He is also strong in pass protection, although it’s possible that he could be vulnerable to long-armed pass rushers at the NFL level.

Membou is a young, developing player who already shows elite traits in both blocking phases. He looks to be a starting RT, with All-Pro upside, despite suggestions that his lack of length might force him to play guard. He upgrades the run blocking on the right side of the Commanders’ line from a weakness to a major strength.

The only ways that he drops to the Commanders at 29 are teams projecting him to guard, or unexpected character or medical issues. Even so, his elite potential might justify a pick in the teens or early 20s.

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Early Round Prospects

Donovan Jackson, G, Senior, Ohio State

6-4, 315 lbs, 33.5” arms

Testing numbers unavailable

Consensus Rank: 32

PFF grade: 70.2

Commanders Meeting: none announced

Jackson has a prototypical thick bodied frame for a guard and plays with power and leg drive to generate movement at the point of attack. He is a fluid mover with athleticism to excel on pulls and outside zone blocks. He hits with power and finishes blocks with attitude. He plays with the nasty streak teams look for in an interior defender.

Jackson performed surprisingly well at left tackle when the Buckeyes lost their starter in 2024. However, he profiles as an early starter with high upside at guard in the NFL. He gives the Commanders flexibility to cover the right guard position, as Sam Cosmi recovers from injury, and eventually pushes Nick Allegretti for a starting position. It wouldn’t be crazy to give him a shot at OT, either. He was that good when he stood in for an injured Josh Simmons.

Tate Ratledge, G, 5^th Year Senior, Georgia

6-6, 308, 32” arms

RAS 9.98 | 4.97 sec 40 | 1.72 sec 10-yd | 32” vertical | 9’5” broad | 7.38 sec 3-cone

Consensus Rank: 85

PFF grade: 74.7

Commanders Meetings: none announced

Ratledge is a mullet-wearing mauler from Rome, Georgia. Ratledge was one of the winners of the NFL combine, but don’t let the freakish testing numbers fool you. He plays with a brawler’s attitude and meets defenders with violence. Ratledge uses leg drive and plus play strength to move defenders off the point of attack and open wide running lanes, with strong hands to sustain blocks. Despite the combative mentality, he shows good patience in finding targets at the second level. Ratledge is a nasty finisher and seeks to put defenders on the ground.

Off the field, he is an entirely different person:

Anthony Belton, RT, Senior, NC State

6-6, 336 lbs, 34” arms

RAS 8.08 | 5.26 sec 40 | 1.82 sec 10-yd | 29.5” vertical | 8’11” broad | 7.77 sec 3-cone

Consensus Rank: 99

PFF grade: 69.4

Commanders Meeting: Senior Bowl

Belton won’t be a day 1 upgrade for an NFL team’s rushing attack, because he has work to do on his pass protection. When he’s ready to play, NFL run defenses will be on notice. By most accounts, he is the most powerful run blocker in the draft class. His highlight clips are almost comical, as he grinds interior defenders into the turf and ragdolls defensive ends and linebackers who get in his way.

Belton played four years at LT for NC State. He is a massive obstacle for edge rushers to navigate, with the length and play strength to compensate for his modest footspeed. For the NFL, he projects as a developmental RT prospect with the tools to eventually develop into a quality starter. In the short term, he upgrades the Commanders’ jumbo package in short yardage situations and might be an option at guard while Sam Cosmi is rehabbing.

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Day 3 Prospects

Hollin Pierce, OT, Senior, Rutgers

6-8, 341 lbs, 36” arms

Testing numbers unavailable

Consensus Rank: 152

PFF grade: 83.5

Commanders Meeting: East-West Shrine

Pierce was recently profiled by Hogs Haven’s gavalon55. He is another big body with developmental upside for the Commanders’ trenches who should be available on the third day of the draft.

Pierce started his first two years at RT for the Scarlet Knights, then moved to LT for his junior and senior seasons. Pierce uses his rare length, quality hand placement, good leg drive and play strength to widen gaps at the line and clear running lanes. He could struggle to handle athletic, speed rushers early in his development. His ability to develop into a quality starting OT will depend on whether Bobby Johnson can coach him up to use his Kraken-tentacle arms and exceptional length to compensate for any deficiencies in footspeed and body control.

His consensus projection falls in the gap between the Commanders’ Day 2 and Day 3 picks. He likely becomes an option if Adam Peters adds another pick in the 4^th or 5^th round.

Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Joshua Gray, OL, Redshirt Senior, Oregon State

6-5, 299 lbs, 31 3/8” arms

RAS 9.50 | 5.04 sec 40 | 1.73 10-yd split | 31” vertical

Consensus Rank: 195

PFF grade: 74.6

Commanders Meeting: East-West Shrine

Gray was one of my top late-round sleeper picks for the Commanders until his standout performance at the Combine let the cat out of the bag. Gray is a COVID-era, redshirt senior who started four seasons at LT for the Beavs before switching to left guard in his final year. Gray is likely to stay on the interior in the NFL, and was listed at center for the East-West Shrine game and worked out with the guards at the Combine.

Despite weighing in a shade under 300 lbs, Gray was a powerful run blocker in college and set a strong anchor against the bull rush in pass protection. He is an aggressive run blocker, using a quick punch and powerful hands to engage and bully defenders. His athleticism makes him an asset on pulling blocks and allows him to reach defenders at the second level. He is a toolsy prospect, with the versatility to fit any run blocking scheme. Although he may need to bulk up to become a regular contributor in gap and power looks at the NFL level.

Gray improves the Commanders depth pipeline at iOL, with the potential to boost the run blocking at center or left guard in time, and the versatility to fill in at OT in emergencies.

Logan Brown, OT, Redshirt Senior, Kansas

6-6, 311 lbs, 34” arms

RAS 9.45 | 5.18 sec 40 | 1.75 sec 10-yd split | 32” vertical | 9’3” broad | 4.51 sec shuttle

Consensus Rank: 223

PFF Grade: 82.2

Commanders Meeting: Senior Bowl

With the word out on Gray, Logan Brown becomes the ultimate OL sleeper prospect whom the Commanders must draft in the later rounds. The former Jayhawk has prototypical measurables for an NFL left tackle and the athletic upside that gets Adam Peters’ attention on Day 3 of the draft. Why, you ask, would such a promising talent be ranked so low?

Brown struggled with shoulder and biceps injuries at Wisconsin, before transferring to Kansas where he only started one year at right tackle. His limited starting experience makes him a traits-based project for the NFL. He tested in the elite range for his size in explosiveness drills at the Combine and displayed good speed combined with very good agility.

In his final season at RT, Brown was a dominant run blocker in the Jayhawks RPO-heavy, zone/gap hybrid offensive scheme. He showed the athleticism to reach zone blocking targets and made forceful contact with powerful grip to move and control defenders. His loose hips and leg drive give him the ability to shift power to sustain and finish blocks.

Brown plays too upright and needs to correct some bad habits in pass protection. His flaws should be coachable, and his tools give him upside to eventually develop into a quality starting OT. I can’t think of a better use of a late 6^th or 7^th round pick in this draft class.

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Late Rounds/UDFA

Thomas Perry, iOL, Senior, Middlebury

6-2, 311 lbs, 31 5/8” arms

Consensus Rank: 277

Commanders Meeting: East-West Shrine

If Logan Brown is the ultimate sleeper, Thomas Perry is the dark horse.

He has one of the best back stories in the draft class, which makes interesting reading if you have a subscription to The Athletic. If not, the highlights are: he was a state champion wrestler and broke with the family tradition of becoming a star student athlete at Brown University, opting instead to attend Middlebury College in Vermont. He graduated with a double degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, to go with several weight class records in power lifting. He is quite possibly the strongest prospect in the draft class, with personal bests of 505 lbs on the bench with 28 reps at 250 lbs, a 575 lb squat (2 reps), a side squat of 450 lbs for multiple reps, and a 715 lb dead lift.

Evaluating DIII prospects is a problem because of strength of competition. Perry trained with OL guru Duke Manyweather to prepare for the draft. He grabbed scouts’ attention as a standout at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he held his own against Power Four prospects. That performance earned him meetings with the Commanders and other teams.

In Shrine Bowl practices and the game, he was explosive off the line of scrimmage, with great twitch and bend and quick, agile feet. He showed quickness and agility on pulling blocks with stunning power at the point of attack, with leg drive and grip strength to generate movement and sustain blocks. He played with the desired nasty streak, and impressed as an elite finisher.

Perry is a few inches short of prototypical height for a center, but compensates with exceptional power, athleticism, technique and smarts. He projects as a developmental iOL prospect with the physical tools and mentality to earn his way onto an NFL roster. Is he the next DIII standout to follow the footsteps of Ali Marpet and Quinn Meinerz to NFL success? Adam Peters might think its worth a seventh round pick to find out, and he might even be able to sign Perry after the draft. Perry instantly pushes Michael Deiter for the backup position, and who knows how far he can go.

Sadly, all the film clips from the Shrine Bowl are pass pro reps, but he looked good there too:

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