Expert Opinion: C Frank Ragnow’s Profile
Arkansas Razorbacks center Frank Ragnow is projected to be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round of the upcoming draft. The 6’5” and 317 lbs. senior did not allow a sack in the 2,246 snaps he played. He did spend some of his time at Arkansas playing at guard before being moved to center.
As one of the top centers in the draft, Ragnow possesses good size and athleticism. In pass protection Ragnow is very sturdy and seldom gets pushed backwards by bull-rushers. One of the biggest strengths he has is that he is very good at snapping the ball. For a center, there is little else that is as important, because if you cannot snap the ball well, playing center becomes impossible.
In the run game, Ragnow does a good job keeping his feet moving which allows small holes to become much bigger. He does well on “pulls” and moving in space. He also has had success transitioning from one blocked defender to the next with no difficulty.
An area that Ragnow needs to improve is that he has difficulties picking up blitzers when coming on creative blitzes. In the NFL, defensive coordinators will exploit that as often as possible. Also he has a tendency to be beaten by defenders using stunts and swim moves due to a lack of discipline when maintaining his positioning. Ragnow will need good linemen next to him to reach his top potential.
Ragnow has drawn comparisons to Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Martin of the Houston Texans. All three rely on their athleticism as it is a big strength for them.
The interior part of the Browns offensive line is very good and very well paid. Center J.C. Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler are amongst the best group of interior linemen in the game. If the Browns were to draft Ragnow it would be to provide depth now and to be prepared for the future with an excellent player.
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