C — Frank Ragnow 7.68
Scout- Blake Hymel
College: Arkansas
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 312 lbs
40-Time: N/A
Bench Press: 26
Arm Length: 33 1/8"
Athleticism
Q.A.B. 7.50 Ragnow has decent athletic ability for both the center and guard position. He has decent feet, when he’s moving them.
Flexibility 7.50 He has good flexibility, and bends backward to negate the defender’s strength.
C.O.D. 7.00 He needs to improve his change of direction, he can do it well sometimes, but other times he stops moving his feet.
Explosion 8.25 Ragnow has great explosion, especially in short yardage situations. He launches off the ball and gets good movement on the defensive line.
Versatility 8.50 He does have good versatility, as he can play both center or guard without losing much value. He played both positions in college.
Run Blocking
In-Line 8.25 Ragnow’s bread and butter is his in-line blocking. He’s very good at keeping pressure away from the quarterback, or using his explosion to turn defenders away from the running hole.
Movement off L.O.S. 8.25 Ragnow does a good job of getting movement. In short yardage situations, he launches off the ball very quickly and attacks the defender’s legs, pushing them backwards and to the ground.
Reach Block 7.00 He needs to improve his reach block, he doesn’t move his feet, and this causes him to lunge at the defender rather than having a solid base.
Pull & Block Outside 7.50 He can pull and does a very good job of blocking in space. He’s serviceable here, but could improve if he was able to improve his speed
Adjust In Space 7.50 He can pick up a block, then move on and pick up a second block. He needs to improve in adjusting and re-setting as he sometimes forgets to keep moving his feet.
Use of Hands 7.50 He has good, strong hands, but needs to get them inside more often.
Pass Blocking
Quick Set 8.00 He sets very quickly after the snap. He does have good footwork when he keeps them moving.
Protect Corner 6.00 He doesn’t have the speed to protect the corner as a tackle would. He’s best suited inside at the guard or center position.
Footwork/Redirect & Slide 7.00 He slides well to pick up double teams.
Anchor/Reset Ability 7.50 He is a bit susceptible to strong bull-rush type defenders but handles other defenders very well. He needs to get better at resetting his feet. It doesn’t seem to be an athletic limitation, as much as a mental one.
Handle Games/Stunts 8.00 He recognizes blitzes and stunts well, but has trouble getting there in time sometimes. With that said, He’s allowed only one pressure in 255 pass blocking snaps. He didn’t allow a sack in over 2,600+ snaps.
Hands/Punch 7.50 He sometimes lunges with his punch, coming off-center. He needs to improve on keeping a square base, and punching from that.
Competitiveness
Toughness 7.00 He’s not as violent of a blocker as you’d like to see.
Consistency/Motor 8.25 Ragnow is a very consistent center and guard. Before his ankle injury, he only missed 43 offensive snaps since becoming a starter in 2015. He has a good motor and does a great job of running down field and picking up additional blocks.
Production 8.5 He graded out as the best offensive lineman in FBS through PFF. He graded as the best run-blocking center in college.
Intelligence
Instincts 8.00 Ragnow has good instincts and can recognize stunts well. You can see this in his ability to get in front of screen plays and picking up 2nd blocks in the 2nd level of a defense.
Learn/Retain 7.00 He has some mental errors, usually with his footwork. He’ll either stop moving them or forget to reset his feet. He needs to do a better job of paying attention to his feet.
Teamwork 8.25 He’s a leader of the team and was a captain for the team in 2017. He could have gone to the NFL after his junior season but decided to stay in college another year.
Strengths
Ragnow has good size and strength for the NFL. He has extensive experience playing both center and guard in college. He’s a leader in the locker room. He allowed no sacks from when he started in 2015 to when he was injured in 2017. He has serviceable speed and can pull when asked to.
Weaknesses
Ragnow had a season-ending ankle injury in 2017. He forgets to move his feet far too often, making him late to pick up stunts. He needs to get better at re-setting in pass protection. He doesn’t stay square when the play breaks down and sometimes lunges at defender rather than playing with good technique.
Big Picture
Ragnow is a 4-year player, 3-year starter at Arkansas. He played center in 2014, moved to right guard in 2015 before moving back to center in 2016 and 2017. He’s a very versatile and dependable player. Before his injury in 2017, he only missed 43 snaps in his 2.5 years of starting. He gets very good movement in short yardage situations and is fast off the snap. He has room to improve and could turn into a top-10 NFL center. As he is now, he will be a long-time serviceable center that can bring some leadership to an offensive line. Due to this, and his versatility, I have him graded as a late 1st round talent.
