Kitt O’Brien, C/RG (#77)
With Tyler Larsen not playing, Kitt O’Brien got the majority of the second team snaps at center – and also got some snaps at right guard as well – while it would be far too early to say that he might have surpassed Larsen, his performance against the Bills was encouraging enough that this should be a legitimate conversation if Larsen’s injuries linger. In the running game, he could do with bending his knees more in order to improve the amount of push he is able to generate:
However, he showed good hand placement, allowing him to control blocks effectively to open running lanes without having to drive the defender backwards:
And given that he was also tasked with snapping the ball, being able to get an arm up and under into the frame of the defender, as he does here, is no easy task:
What was especially encouraging was how he was able to be effective in executing the play as well as just his block, such as on the following play where rather than trying to drive his defender into the next dimension and risking losing control of the block, he instead shows the awareness and control to instead use the defender’s momentum to guide him wide of the play:
And while he isn’t the same athlete as Matt Paradis, he also demonstrated value as a pulling blocker, such as here – where he is able to get outside the play and wall off an outside rushing lane:
But he could improve at how he looks to work to the second level – he has a tendency to let his arms to get outside his frame when doing so, and while he was sometimes still able to secure the block:
It did limit the consistency with which he was able to do so:
He also had some really nice reps in pass protection, again showing good hand usage which allowed him to control blocks effectively:
Though he did look vulnerable to contact immediately after the snap, and he needs to work on being able to get his hands in front of his frame more quickly after snapping the ball – by not doing so, he makes himself vulnerable to power rushers:
And as with his run blocking, his inconsistent knee bend did lead to him getting driven off-balance at times, which is likely to make him vulnerable to getting bull-rushed:
However, the most significant issue with his play in the passing game was more to do with the mental side of the game. A couple of times, he looked to focus too much on making a big hit when helping onto the guard, whereas he would have done better to focus more on controlling the defender rather than trying to shove him to the floor:
This showed up in particular on stunts, where he occasionally put himself out of position to deal with the looping edge rusher by trying to hunt a big hit on the interior defender:
While at other times, he seemed to lack awareness of exactly what his protection responsibility was:
And the knee bend inconsistencies also created some leverage issues when trying to block defenders coming in at an angle:
While he only saw a few meaningful snaps at guard right at the end of the game, his play here was very similar to at center, showing good hand usage:
But with his inconsistent knee bend creating some leverage issues:
There are definitely things for O’Brien to work on, some of which will be easier to fix than others, but on the whole he looked really quite impressive against the Bills and should be expected to get extended playing time in practice and through Week 4 as he looks to push for a roster spot. Based on his play against the Bills, however, he should be seen less as an outside bet and more of a fringe contender in this regard – certainly he’ll be in the mix for a practice squad spot.
Up Next: The Left Guard Of The Future?
