Where Dakota Dozier Wins
Dozier, an offensive tackle in college, is an ideal guard prospect because of his brute strength. He was able to get consistent movement off the ball and simply swallowed linebackers up at the point of attack. He is a tenacious drive blocker at the line of scrimmage who always looks to finish blocks, and at the second level he can use his wide frame and fluidity to seal off linebackers from the run. Dozier is pretty flexible in his lower half, and is able to keep balance and movement through contact while playing with better leverage than I anticipated.
In pass protection, Dozier shows good patience with his sets and generally takes good angles to the edge. He delivers a devastating punch to defensive ends and is consistent with his hand placement. He does a good job of keeping his feet under him and anchoring against bull rushes, which translates well to guard.
Where Dakota Dozier Needs To Improve
Dozier, like Billy Turner, strikes me as a guy whose main issues really stem from playing OT and can be diminished when slid inside to guard. At tackle he does a good job with outside sets and inside moves off the line, but he does not have the lateral quickness or agile ability to adjust to counters or inside moves. He needs to play in a phone booth.
Dozier also needs to play with better overall technique and discipline at the next level. At Furman, he too often was over-reliant on his sheer strength and power. You often saw him toss opponents to the ground (wrestling style!) which 1) would clearly result in a flag in the NFL and 2) he will unlikely be able to even perform this type of practice as effectively in the NFL as he did against his small-school competition.
Overall Impression
To me, Dozier simply can't play tackle in the NFL, but if slated at guard, most of his flaws are greatly diminished. He has the tools and physicality to succeed in the right situation.
Grade: 6.75, Day 2