You know how much we love versatile and smart offensive lineman and there are few guys that live up to the resume of this young man in that regard. Hunter Nourzad started his college career at Cornell where he started 20 consecutive games at right tackle and was first team all Ivy League and second team all America in 2021.
After receiving several offers from power five schools, norsat chose to play for Penn State where he played both guard and center in 2022. He took another leap in 2023 where he started all of the Nittany Lions games at center and earned an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl for his great play. Having played several positions along the offensive line he has great positional versatility and the size to play them at the pro level.
Nourzad measures in at 6-3 and 317lbs and has a solid wingspan in the 81st percentile. He didn’t run at the combine but his last measured 40 of 5.15 is more than adequate for the position. Scouts rave about his intelligence which is a key trait for offensive lineman and he plays the game with a controlled aggression.
The Raiders likely have their starters penciled in along most of the offensive line so at this point depth and competition is the name of the game and this point in the draft is the best time to address that. A player that can start at multiple positions is of great value and he could develop into a long term starter at any of those positions as well.