Personal Background

• Attended Woodinville High School in Woodinville, Washington
• Father taught him the game utilizing an old electric football game
• Didn’t start playing football until 8th grade, joined because he thought it would make him cool
• Father Mitch was a walk-on from 1983-1986 for the Cougars; played outside linebacker.
• Grew up a Cougars fan
• Signed with Washington State over Idaho, Portland State, and Eastern Washington

Athletic Background

• High school
  • Two-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals, and Scout.com
• College
  • All Pac-12 First Team
  • Earned five ‘Bone Awards’ in his Senior year, given to the top offensive lineman each week

Injury History

None

Production

• Redshirt Senior
• 42 FBS games; started in 39
  • Started at left tackle in final three seasons
  • Named best pass blocking offensive lineman in the nation in 2018
    • Allowed only one sack, three QB hits, and 11 QB hurries in 693 pass blocking snaps, per PFF

Film Reviewed

• 2019 Senior Bowl
• 2018
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Oregon
  • Oregon State
  • Stanford
  • Utah
  • Wyoming
• 2017
  • Michigan State (Holiday Bowl)

Measurables

• Year – Senior
• Height – 6407
• Weight – 310 pounds
• Arms – 34 inches
• Wingspan – 8108
• Hands– 9 5/8 inches

Strengths

• Angular build but very proportional
  • Built similar to a guard — stout, and moves fluidly like one, too.
• Improved stance from junior to senior year
  • Much more aggressive, staggered, better bend in knees, which played into his natural explosiveness
• Explosive and supremely efficient movements
• Run game
  • Able to get positional leverage in the run game
  • Moves well laterally on zone runs, which creates issues for defensive linemen trying to maintain their gap integrity
  • Engages quickly, making reads for running backs on zone runs easy
  • Balanced scoops and climbs to the second level
  • Fluent in tackle pulls; can skip pull, covers ground in a hurry, stays tight to the line of scrimmage, adjusts to moving targets well enough to get a piece of second-level defenders.
  • Once engaged, feet and body move with the defender

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever talked trash to opposing [defensive] lineman, I’ve had things chirped at me before but I just don’t say anything and then they shut up by themselves.”

• Pass Game
  • Very quick in his kick slide, smooth, connected, balanced
    • His pass pro game starts from the feet up
    • Prototype mirror offensive lineman — great feet
    • Every pass pro rep looks the same; consistent
    • Primarily a vertical pass setter, and a very good one at that
      • Admittedly used more of a variety his senior year and looked comfortable executing new techniques

Washington State LT Andre Dillard
*Father's advice
*Hand usage improvements from Jr. to Sr. year
*More traditional pass sets
*What he's working on in the run game (3 point stance, footwork)@RussNFLDraft @ErikJTurner #ManFree pic.twitter.com/AUibPbQOg0

— Cover 1 (@Cover1) January 23, 2019

• Protects the edge with the best of them; has the feet to meet speed rushers at the junction point
• In-tune to pass rusher; understands his opponent, their strength, and what to expect
  • Approached each rusher with a different plan
  • Quickly finds counter to pass rusher
  • Power steps with a purpose to protect interior gap or to help interior offensive linemen when edge rusher drops into coverage
  • Always patient, square, processes stunts and twists quickly
    • Mirrors the ‘penetrator,’ hands him off to teammate and receives ‘looper’ smoothly; locks on and mirrors the entire rep
• Improved hand usage from junior to senior year
  • Flashed hands to get defenders to declare pass rush plan; ‘fakies’ changed the rusher’s line to the QB, often cutting inside, where Dillard could get his hands on him, essentially winning before the rusher was ready
  • Top-three snatch-trap or chop guy in this class; added it to the arsenal coming into his senior year to combat long armers and power rushers
  • When aggressive with a one-handed punch, times it and places very well, but still learning the nuances of independent hand usage

Weaknesses

• Could easily add another 5-10 pounds to his frame
• 34-inch arms, but length not used enough
• Left wanting to see more fire and nastiness out of him
• Not a finisher
• When in space, struggles to process next move based on defenders in pursuit, especially on WR screens
• Run game
  • Didn’t play in an offense that ran the ball often
    • Physicality lacking, more of a finesse blocker
    • Running game not a priority, so overall technique is shoddy
    • Bad footwork on combo blocks, galloping in out of control, overstepping the half-man relationship, causing the combination block to be ineffective
  • Not a physical drive blocker, no leg drive
  • Trouble staying engaged in all run game concepts
    • Average to below average grip strength
    • Defenders with length and power can land an initial blow to inside shoulder to disrupt run blocking concept
  • As a puller, struggled to read whether he should ‘kick out’ defender or ‘log’ him inside
    • Slow approach to defenders when asked to pull; doesn’t ‘run through’ blocks. Creates issues for running back’s read of leverage.
• Passing game
  • Admitted to only vertical setting and two-handed punches coming into Senior year, so he’s still very raw in jump and angle sets and the techniques that come with them.
    • This was extremely evident in the Senior Bowl
  • Hand usage still very raw; needs to develop better strike points and placement, especially because his chest is often exposed.
    • His punches landed on the rusher’s face mask far too often.
  • Asked to predominantly vertical set, ‘hug’ and mirror, so hands can arrive late and wide
  • Chest is consistently exposed and the root of all of his anchor issues. This is widely known by opposing pass rushers and the reason they use long arm or bull rushes.
  • Anchor concerns are valid but were not tested often in that department on film. Did show up at the Senior Bowl.
    • Refitting hands when in anchor recovery is nearly non-existent
    • Susceptible to push-pull moves because he overcompensates when attempting to anchor vs. power. As a result, he can be thrown off-balance.

Overall

Dillard is a natural athlete whose feet are going to be the basis for his entire game. He fires out of his stance whether he is run blocking or kick-sliding. Each movement is direct, serves a purpose, and is made to look easy. His quick feet and movement skills will be an asset on zone runs, as he can get defensive linemen ‘running’ horizontally, making run gap integrity difficult for the entire defense. But he also exhibits smooth scoop-and-climb abilities after the snap or post-combo blocks. But where he is going to make his money, and why he will go early in the draft, has to do with his mirror abilities in pass protection. I am sure we will see it during the combine drills, but his feet, balance, and overall fluidity will help any passing offense. Whether he is executing a vertical set or the less used angle or jump sets at Washington State, his kick slide was very consistent. Very rarely on film was he beaten out wide, which is a testament to his footwork, but also to his football intelligence. Dillard is cognizant of situations or fronts that signify a stunt or twist is coming. He smoothly receives and delivers the rushers in those situations. The Washington product improved his hand usage from junior to senior year, which gave him an added set of tools in his toolbox. He routinely flashed his hands to force defenders to change their plan, and when they did, he knew how to neutralize that counter. Dillard also exhibited the ability to counter moves with snatch-traps, which was critical, as rushers routinely went to long arm and power moves versus the fleet-footed tackle.

Most of Dillard’s struggles are in the run game, mainly because it wasn’t a priority in the Cougars’ offense. Most of their practice time was dedicated to perfecting the Mike Leach Air-Raid offense, so his technique suffered. Dillard said that much in our interview with him. He likely just needs more reps firing out of a three-point stance and executing run game footwork, hand placement, and finishing. While he has the athleticism and length to be a force in the run or pass game, he rarely uses it as a tool. He struggles to stay engaged in the run game and use his 34-inch arms to win the initial hand placement. This leaves a bullseye on his chest that rushers love to exploit. You didn’t see it often on film because of the level of pass rushers he faced, but we saw it firsthand down a the Senior Bowl. In 1-on-1s, rushers routinely went to long arms, stab-chops, or push-pull moves because Dillard didn’t use his length. Once into his body, they were able to power through, throw him off-balance, or transition to a secondary move en route to the QB.

Overall, I have a first-round grade on Dillard. I believe his athleticism, specifically his feet, balance, and ability to mirror, will be talked about near the top of this tackle class.  He has shown that he is raw in some areas but that he can improve in those areas. NFL coaching will allow him to improve quickly. He will excel early in his career in a zone run blocking system to maximize his athletic ability and a passing system that utilizes lots of angle and jump sets. This will allow him to meet the rusher immediately, lock on, and use his feet to shield his quarterback.

Film:

*Mandatory Photo Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports