PROSPECT SUMMARY – QUINN MEINERZ

Quinn Meinerz is a well-developed player from the Division III ranks who’s appeared in 33 games for one of the more historic programs across the country. An exact guard body type, he plays just as strong as his frame indicates. Playing strictly left guard (based on 2019 film), he’s found a comfortable home on that side of the line. He's a below-average athlete, but he makes up for it with his knowledge of concepts and strength levels. Constantly showing Herculean-like strength against his surroundings, he’s been able to create and sustain high levels of production during his time as a starter. Despite his experience, Meinerz is an extremely raw prospect overall. A below-average athlete, there are often times where he will sacrifice his technique in order to use his strength to bully targets. Balance has also been a constant issue for him, as he makes frequent trips to the ground because of his eagerness to overwhelm the opposition at the point of attack. Proving to be much more comfortable in a man/gap/power scheme, he’s a blocker that is best suited in a downhill scheme that allows him to perform quick pulls and kick-out blocks frequently. A system that revolves around quickly getting a body on a body with lots of single blocks in order for him to exhibit his strength to impose on defenders would be ideal. Technical aspects and footwork of the position will need to be instructed to him as he was taught some unconventional techniques during his collegiate career that may not be as effective on the next level. He has a background as a wrestler while at Hartford Union High School (WI).

Ideal Role: Developmental guard that will need time on the practice squad to develop in hopes of eventually becoming a rosterable player by the tail end of his rookie contract.

Scheme Fit: Man/Gap/Power scheme.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Jordan Reid

Games watched: Concordia-Moorhead (2019), UW Stout (2019), St. Xavier (2019), UW Stevens Point (2019), UW Eau-Claire (2019)

Best Game Studied: Concordia-Moorhead (2019)

Worst Game Studied: St. Xavier (2019)

Competitive Toughness: He's an extremely high competitor that has outstandingly high notches of intensity. The control button on those notches will need to be configured as he can be way too excited on blocks. It's always easier to control physicality compared to attempting to install it into an offensive lineman’s game. Meinerz is the former, which could make the adjustment easier during the early stages of his NFL career.

Balance: Meinerz is a highly aggressive blocker that often faces balance issues because of his lack of control on the first and second level. Getting highly amped up to participate in blocks, he sacrifices his fundamentals and mechanics prior to the engagement point. This results in him frequently making random trips to the ground because of bad footing and/or lack of upper-body control into blocks. Starting out with a wider than normal stance puts more pressure on his athleticism and technique into blocks. His pre-snap stance could be something that a future position coach looks to alter.

Anchor Ability: He possesses a top-heavy build, but still has the strength in his lower half to sink his weight and use those parts as a buoy when rushers decide to attack the middle of his body. Because of his reputation and respect for his game, there weren’t many defenders that had the courage to attack his chest, but the small glimpses that were seen, Meinerz was able to successfully cancel them out because of his upper-body strength complemented by his lower-half anchor.

Lateral Mobility: A much better blocker in gap/power schemes, the Wisconsin-Whitewater offense staff taught a pull technique that forced him to open and shuffle by keeping his shoulder square to the line of scrimmage. It's a taught technique that helps him align targets, but also boost his accuracy with landing on his first and second level targets when pulling. The caveat is that the technique that he’s been taught won’t carry over onto the next level, as he will have to open, rip, and run when pulling, which will be an adjustment for him. On zone blocking concepts, Meinerz is calculated with his movements as he’s aggressive with securing the first level prior to climbing, but athletic linebackers have given him problems when forced to estimate their movements in order to block them.

Power at P.O.A.: Meinerz displays plenty of overwhelming power on both the first and second levels. When coming into contact with targets, it doesn’t take long to see how much his natural strength exceeds his surroundings. When matching his upper and lower body together, he’s able to drive block the opposition to exterior levels or completely out of the play. Meinerz plays with a mean streak that’s ideal at the position.

Hand Technique: Meinerz's hands are usually wide when punching and it results in him wrapping up matchups instead of placing his hands inside and driving his feet. His accuracy and technique with his hand placement will need to be altered as he could become an easy target for referees. An easy latcher and displays plenty of effort behind blocks, but he can get too fixated on the finishing portion and skip the steps prior to that point. The ingredients and want to behind blocks are already there, but the step-by-step process to get to the final state are missing key emphasis on a few in-between steps.

Football IQ: Meinerz is well seasoned in the scheme that he’s performed in over the past few seasons. As one of the veteran players up front, he seems to usually be in control and make sense of what’s happening in front of him.

Versatility: A guard-only body and blocker, he projects to play on either side of the line. While there’s no documented experience at center, there may be some teams that try him there because of his smarts, physicality, and athleticism levels.

Pass Sets: With experience in all types of protections, he plays from a crouched position and displays adequate bend in pass protection. There aren’t many plays where he takes a true set while in pass protection, as the team plays from wide split alignments. The wide splits create clear one-on-one matchups, but problems arise against stunts and blitz attempts. His set and balance have been consistent when involved in full- and half-slide protections, as well as when selling bootleg actions.

Flexibility: He shows flexibility in spurts, but Meinerz is a below-average athlete. He can be a bit out of whack at the point of attack as he’s a huge lunger into blocks and becomes really top heavy. He’s mostly an all-power blocker that can impose his will when he wants to, but because of his superiority to the competition, he can get away with some bad habits.