Zak Zinter scouting report: Exploring the Michigan interior offensive lineman's strengths and weaknesses

A four-star recruit in 2020, Zach Zinter immediately saw action in all six games of the Big Ten’s COVID-shortened season and started four at right guard. He started all but one of the 13 games the following season at that spot and was named second-team all-conference.

He improved that to consensus first-team last year at his usual place and then was awarded first-team All-American in 2023 when he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the regular season finale against Ohio State.

Zak Zinter scouting report

Run-blocking:

• Built to play guard with good thickness throughout his frame and an 81-inch wingspan
• Can turn and move three techniques horizontally to open up the front-side A-gap with relentless leg-drive
• Frequently can get under the armpit of defenders trying to shoot the gap on him and create lateral displacement
• Offers better short-area agility to get to the play-side shoulder of D-tackles on reach-blocks or designed rollouts
• Showcases the grip strength to torque D-linemen out of the lane before the ball gets there
• On combos with the center on a shade-nose, Zinter regularly whacks that defender into the opposite A-gap, so he can climb cleanly and avoid contact with the ball carrier on the first level
• Going behind Zinter in short-yardage situations is typically a good idea with the quick vertical push he can create
• Was heavily utilized as a puller, where he’ll hustle to get to his land-marks even on longer tracks and cover up bodies on the second level with his large frame as he drives through them
• Is looking to destroy smaller defenders when he pulls out to the corner, on sweep plays for example

Pass-protection:

• Tough to get around with his wide build and has the anchor strength to stand his ground against powerful interior rushers
• Patient in his approach, to not overset or over-react to the movement in front of him
• Consistently keeps his hands in tight and slowly bumps back to lock up defenders in close quarters
• Squares up linebackers with high-frequency footwork and hands at his hips until they’re actually in range
• Has above-average length for a guard to guide defenders past the quarterback if they do win up the B-gap initially it seems
• Dumps nearby rushers onto the turf if a linebacker over him drops out or a D-linemen slants away from him, freeing him up to do so
• Allowed just nine total pressures (two sacks) across 411 pass-blocking snaps in 2022, with no sacks and five hurries this past season (296 PB snaps)
• Wasn’t called for a single penalty on 649 snaps played last season

Weaknesses:

• Built fairly top-heavy without much explosiveness in his lower half
• Lacks great lateral mobility and may not be the cleanest fit for wide zone-based offenses, when he’s asked to take care of backside cut-offs
• Has his struggles with slanting D-linemen without the reactionary quicks to still latch and control and it’ll hinder his ability to recover when beaten in pass-pro as well
• Not the most natural bender at the hips, which is a tough pairing with his height on the interior, making it harder to find leverage points if he loses his balance initially
• Coming back from a broken tibia and fibula suffered in late November, probably costing him most if not his entire first NFL offseason

When you think of a rugged old-school guard, Zak Zinter is the picture that comes to mind. He’s a mauler on gap schemes, he was arguably the top puller in college football last season and when he puts those big mitts on you in pass-pro, it’s pretty much over.

If you don’t plug him into a wide zone-heavy offense and preferably more slide-protections, he can be a quality starter as soon as he’s back to full health. With his recovery, he’s likely getting pushed back at least one round. While not as drastic, he may end up being an excellent value selection similar to Andrew Vorhees out of USC last year, who may start at guard for the Ravens this season.

Grade: Early third round