Kadyn Proctor’s NFL combine measurements were exactly what the league needed to see

Kadyn Proctor spent three years starting at left tackle for the Crimson Tide, but the former five-star was never exactly the player Alabama needed. While his massive frame provided serious advantages, Proctor carried too much weight to consistently dominate in pass protection. 

Kalen DeBoer and Nick Saban, before him, needed a slimmed-down version of Proctor, and that’s what the NFL is after as he prepares for this spring’s draft. That’s also, conveniently, the player who showed up in Indianapolis this week for the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Proctor, who was listed at 6-foot-7 and 366 pounds in his final year at Alabama and admitted that at times he has touched 370 pounds through his Alabama career, weighed in at 352 pounds on Sunday.  

Can the NFL trust Kadyn Proctor’s NFL combine transformation?

Proctor addressed the weight concerns at the combine this week, saying, “Obviously, being 365, 370 (pounds) isn't a good weight for me to play at, so I figured that and understood that,” Proctor said. “But if any team gives me a weight, then I can go down and achieve that.”

Proctor also told reporters that, “I'm in the 350s. Anything under 355 right now, that feels really good to me,” Proctor said on Saturday. “That's where I've been in this in the midseason to through last season.”

That tracks with Proctor’s pass-blocking throughout the year. He allowed 5 pressures in Week 1, but was much better after he reportedly dipped under 360 for the first time in the year against Georgia in Week 5. 

His athletic prowess at his size has been well-documented before his 32.5-inch vertical and 5.21-second 40-yard dash at the combine, so his weigh-in was the most important aspect of the week, and should have him slightly creeping up draft boards. 

Oversized offensive tackles have historically struggled in pass protection in the NFL. Proctor carries those same concerns, but he moved well at 352 in Indy, and if he can maintain that weight, as he claims, he may not have to move inside to guard, as former first-round pick Mekhi Becton, who measured 6-foot-7 and 364 pounds at the 2020 NFL combine, had to. 

On the other hand, however, Proctor didn’t enter the season at his ideal size. That may have been a mistake, or a red flag about his work ethic. Then, once he did get under 360 pounds, Kalen DeBoer rewarded him by throwing him a pass. 

As fun as that story was in Alabama’s season, NFL teams may question why he needed additional motivation to reach the weight his team wanted him to be. And they may question whether or not he’ll still be 350 when he arrives at training camp this summer.