Tyler Chukuyem

Physical Profile

Prototype left tackle length and frame at 6-6, 290-293, carrying weight cleanly enough that a 25-30 pound college addition projects without compromising his movement. Weight-room testing supports the athletic read at the bottom half — 500-pound squat, 425 deadlift, 295 clean — with the clean number in particular pointing to real hip explosion and rate of force rather than just grinder strength. The 3.5-second short shuttle is a legitimate number for a 290-pound tackle and shows up on tape as redirect ability in his kick slide. The outlier is a 265-pound bench at 290 body weight: that is below the SEC line for upper-body pressing strength and is the single measurable most predictive of the anchor and punch-strength issues he'll face against college power rushers.

Play Style

Pass-protection-first tackle who wins on length, patience and a fluid kick slide rather than on power. On film he sets with good depth, keeps his outside shoulder square to the rusher and uses his arms to stack and steer edge players past the pocket — the reps that generated the 'dominant in pass pro' evaluations. In the run game he is a driver more than a displacer right now: he engages, leans and works his feet, and the finish shows up (he'll put people on the ground when he gets his hands inside), but the initial leverage is high and the block too often becomes a push rather than a movement. Tendencies to correct: setting slightly upright out of his stance, and reaching for the defender's frame instead of firing his hands to the breastplate. Effort and finish are consistent — the technical floor is not.

Strengths

• Pass-set fluidity for the size — smooth, unhurried kick slide with the hip flexibility to mirror speed off the edge, and enough short-area quickness (3.5 shuttle) to recover on inside counters rather than getting beat clean through the B gap
• Initiates contact rather than catching — a consistent tape trait, and the one evaluators kept flagging. He seeks the collision, plays through the whistle and finishes blocks to the ground rather than disengaging at the point of leverage loss
• Frame and length are the real currency: a 6-6 build with room for 25-30 more pounds means he can add mass without a position change, which is why the developmental services graded him up while the film-first grade stayed lower
• Recruiting-profile durability — held the commitment through an August Georgia offer and a post-coaching-change UNC official visit, then early-enrolled in January. That's a maturity and process signal that matters for a player whose value is entirely in year-3-and-4 development

Areas to Improve

• Upper-body and anchor strength. The 265-pound bench at 290 body weight is the tell — he will lose the initial punch exchange against SEC power rushers and get walked into the pocket on long-arm and bull-rush reps until he adds functional pressing strength and grip
• Pad level and hand placement. At 6-6 he plays tall by default; his hands land wide and late on run reps, which lets defenders into his frame and turns wins into stalemates. Consistent first-hit accuracy and a lower strike point are the technical gates on his playing time
• Run-blocking body control in space — climbing to the second level and fitting moving targets is markedly rougher than his pass sets. Overextends on reach blocks and loses the linebacker when the target crosses his face
• Competition-level adjustment. Georgia 6A is real football, but he was a size mismatch in most reps; he has not yet been asked to win with technique when the physical advantage disappears, which is every rep in the SEC

College Projection

Redshirt-and-develop, with an accelerated on-ramp because he enrolled in January 2026 and has already banked a spring. Realistic timeline: burn the redshirt or play limited jumbo/goal-line snaps in 2026 while adding 20-25 pounds and rebuilding hand technique; compete for the swing-tackle role in 2027; realistic first starting opportunity is 2028 at right tackle, with a left tackle move if the pass-set athleticism carries as the mass goes on. A kick inside to guard is the fallback if the anchor never catches up to the length — his hips and finish would play at guard, and Florida has the OL room depth to allow that patience. Anyone projecting him as a 2026 or 2027 starter is reading the Rivals ranking, not the film.

NFL Outlook

Late-Day-3 to priority-free-agent trajectory as it stands, with genuine Day 2 upside if the strength development hits — the profile of a redshirt-junior or senior riser rather than an early declare. The bet is straightforward: 6-6 tackles who can slide, bend and finish are always drafted if they get functionally strong, and his lower-body testing says the athletic base is there. The gate is upper-body power and hand technique; if he is still getting long-armed into the pocket as a redshirt sophomore, he is a career backup swing tackle. Note that the 247Sports grade (3-star, No. 40 OT) is the more sober read here and should temper the NFL projection the 4-star services imply.

Best Fit

A program with an established, patient offensive line development pipeline and enough veteran depth that he is not forced onto the field in year one or two — which is exactly why Florida, with Rob Sale's room and four OL signees in the class, was the right landing spot even through the staff turnover. Schematically he fits a pass-heavy pro-spread that lets him live in his kick slide, paired with an outside/wide-zone run scheme that rewards his shuttle-quickness and reach ability rather than a downhill gap-and-power system that would expose his current anchor and pad level. He needs a position coach who prioritizes hand-strike mechanics and a strength staff that treats upper-body pressing as the primary project.