By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: The Tigers saw a massive loss of talent from their National Championship team of two years ago, but they continued to have some offensive line talent with Chasen Hines and Ed Ingram as their guard tandem. Hines had a good career at LSU and rotated into the game as a backup guard and center during the magical 2019 season. Hines became a starter in 2020 and manned the right guard position for the final two years of his career at LSU.
Hines was a steady and reliable pass protector for the Tigers. He has strong hands that rock defenders and often knock them off balance to slow them down. Those strong hands also help him to sustain blocks, although he could stand to improve his hand placement. Hines has good size and strength to stop bull rushes. His weight can be a problem, however, because when he gets heavy, his weight can extend over his toes and cause him to have problems in pass protection. Hines must stay on top of his weight and conditioning in the NFL to remain a functional pass protector.
Hines was a productive run blocker for the Tigers, who had a lot of success running behind him. He is powerful at the point of attack and has strong hands to rock back defenders. With his thick build and upper body, Hines can drive block and get a push. He does have some issues with bending at the waist at times, and that can limit his push in the ground game. Along with that issue, Hines can have issues with his weight and that leads to him lunging with his weight over his toes. Thus, he is a better fit as a power man blocker rather than a zone-based scheme.
Early in his NFL career, Hines could become a starting right guard, and he would be a good fit in a power man-blocking scheme. He could play center, but should drop more weight if is going to play in the middle of the line. Hines looks like he could be a mid-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and could develop into a starter after being a good value selection.
Player Comparison: Gabe Jackson. In some ways, Hines is a decent comparison to Jackson. They both are barrel-chested right guards who pack a punch in the ground game and can hold their own in pass protection. Jackson was third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, and Hines could go in the same range this year in the 2022 NFL Draft. Hines has the potential to turn into an NFL guard similar to Jackson.
RELATED LINKS:
2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
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