Walter Rouse Could Be A Surprise Contributor To Minnesota's Offensive Line

Trades up the board in the first round meant that the Minnesota Vikings were light on picks early in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, they made a number of selections late on Day 3, starting with sixth-rounder Walter Rouse, a tackle out of Oklahoma.

Rouse is a fifth-year senior who started at Stanford, where he studied biomechanical engineering with hopes of becoming a surgeon after football. Rouse started at LT as a true freshman and for all four years before transferring to Oklahoma, where he hoped to improve his NFL draft stock. The strategy worked because Rouse is on the Vikings.

He has good size for a tackle, at 6'5 3/4" and 314 lbs. with 35 1/8" arms. Rouse's weight has also been relatively consistent. Stanford listed him at 318 lbs. in his final year, and Oklahoma had him at 323 lbs. Rouse has a well-built frame and looks the part of an NFL tackle. From a testing standpoint, he ended up measuring okay. He had strong jump scores, particularly for his size, an acceptable 40, and slightly lackluster agility drills that make sense given his profile.

That combined into a 7.87 RAS, just below the 8.0 threshold for an "Elite" score:

Rouse's dimensions suggest he's a little too big to move inside. Given that the Vikings have two high-level starters entrenched at the tackle positions, it's likely the team views him as a swing tackle. I went to the tape to find out what the team has in Rouse and was able to watch four games: Stanford and Oregon in 2022, and Texas and Kansas in 2023.

pass sets

Rouse has a stark difference in his pass sets in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he often showed a false step, which contributed to his failure to get good depth in his pass sets and led to some notable losses. The play against USC below is actually a win for Rouse but is a good example of the false step, where his inside foot moves first:

There are a number of examples of Rouse failing to get appropriate depth in the Oregon game, where he struggled:

[video width=1920" height="1080" mp4="https://zonecoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Depth-issue-example.mp4]

However, Rouse significantly improved his sets in 2023. He eliminated the false step and got significantly more depth and width with his kick step in 45 degree. Check out the rep below, where he executes a 45-degree set (note that his first step is diagonal to the line of scrimmage) and rides the rusher around the edge for a pancake:

He was able to consistently execute those sets well and won a number of reps against Texas before even making contact with a defender because he was in great position:

Rouse is most comfortable with his hands on the defender. That lends his game to the quick set, which he can use to shut down opponents, much the same way that Christian Darrisaw often does. This strategy is great during quick game, where the ball is almost certainly out before the defender can get there, as long as the tackle doesn't completely whiff.

In his jump sets, Rouse has a tendency he will need to clean up. He often leans forward into contact, which can cause him to end up off balance and enable the defender to quickly disengage. That can be alright for quick game, where the ball gets out before the defender wins matters, but it can create issues if the quarterback's initial option is unavailable.

See the play below for an example of Rouse leaning:

Rouse's pass sets are clean and ready for the NFL. His improvement in this area was a big part of the reason he went all of 2023 without allowing a sack and allowed only six pressures over that span, per PFF's charting.

Athleticism

From his testing, Rouse doesn't rank among the best athletes at his position, and that appears on tape. Rouse will occasionally have issues countering quickness from defenders as they make speedy lateral movements like inside moves. That notably improved in 2023, but he still lacks the high-level skill that a starting NFL tackle should have.

In the compilation below, Rouse loses to a nice swim move from an NFL-level player in Oregon's Brandon Dorlus. He also lets Kansas' Austin Booker get the inside on him as the quarterback climbs, which leads to a sack. There are also a couple of run-game losses that led to tackles.

There are ways to compensate for that lack of elite recovery, and Rouse flashed that ability in the Texas game. The play below is a good example of his technique and play strength to get his inside hand into his opponent's chest and stop the inside move. Pass protection is a delicate balance between protecting against outside and inside rushes. Hopefully, Rouse continues to improve in the NFL.

Rouse is also just athletic enough to make things work when put in a bad position. Check out this play, where he has to block a wide rusher with two opponents lined up outside of him:

Or this play where Rouse misses the snap count but recovers enough to save his QB from a hit:

In the run game, Rouse struggled to climb to the second level consistently to block opposing LBs off of double teams. Being able to do this consistently springs explosive runs, and the Vikings need to help him improve his aiming points for him to be able to cut those plays off at the NFL level.

Rouse was not often asked to get out on the move when blocking, probably partly because of his inconsistencies in the situations above. That doesn't mean he was incapable of blocking smaller defenders. There are a few examples of him successfully latching on below. He has the strength to win easily once he hits his target:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800695067772092445

Rouse also showed the ability to reach-block defenders despite limited situations where he was asked to do it, like on this run to the outside:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800704094316720631

Rouse also ended up on the ground often in 2022, which is a significant concern. There are various causes for this, but a lot of time, it was because he was trying to overextend past his frame. That seemed to be something he cleaned up in 2023. However, it will be important to monitor this in the NFL, as plays like the one below betray a lack of athleticism:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800705505444176110

While it's not high level, Rouse's athleticism is good enough to play in the NFL. His impressive size and length will be an asset. Tackles with extremely poor athletic testing have been able to overcome their deficiencies and find success due to their size. While Rouse lacks the tremendous size that players like Trent Brown and Orlando Brown Jr. have, he is significantly more athletic than those players tested, which could make up for that difference.

play strength

Rouse's best asset is his play strength, particularly his grip strength. Once he latches on to a defender, the player has a hard time disengaging from his block. He understands how to use good hand positioning and generally keeps his hands inside the opponent's frame, which will prevent holding calls.

The play below is a great example of Rouse's grip strength.

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800700672377291176

It's not just isolated instances. Rouse's grip strength shows up at a high level across his tape, as the compilation below shows:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800704084229406779

The potential for holding calls is a slight concern that arises from his tight grip. Some fans don't know the particular rules around holding. A lineman is allowed to grab an opponent's jersey inside his frame or may end up legally holding if a defender uses a rip move. However, Rouse will toe the line and can get a little grabby as the defender goes to disengage, like in the play below:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800701982795346149

Per Dane Brugler, Rouse was called for four holding penalties in 2023. Hopefully, he can clean that up in the NFL.

Rouse also shows a nice anchor, displaying good technique with the ability to move backward and reset his position to get a stronger base under him. He uses the space he created in his set to his advantage to stop rushes, like in the play below:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800706196439175510

Rouse can also bend his back and strain to hold up against bull rushes. Here is a compilation of some wins:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800708405218115666

Rouse's anchor is not perfect, though, and he can sometimes let opponents win the leverage battle and drive him back, like in the play below:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800707133060628613

Likewise, Rouse is able to generate some movement in the run game. However, he's not the dominant force that scouts drool over. Check out the compilation of plays below, particularly the pair where he knocks back a 330 lb. Oregon DT on inside blocks. Rouse has enough power to avoid losing ground and even generate some push, but it won't overwhelm defenders.

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800708990151860545

Overall, Rouse has good play strength, which should help offset some of his athletic deficiencies and hopefully allow him to succeed as an NFL tackle.

mental processing

From a mental perspective, Rouse seems to read the game well. In pass protection, he correctly identifies his assignment based on the protection call and is generally very good at recognizing and passing off stunts. The play below is a great example of Rouse's ability to quickly process and turn what he's seeing into action.

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800710785964154882

Here's a short compilation of some successes:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800711273874927882

Rouse generally identified the correct block in the run game. I mentioned that he had trouble hitting targets at the second level above, but that wasn't because he chose the wrong player to block. I did note one issue on a GT Counter play. Because Rouse was rarely asked to pull, this stands out as a notable miss. It could be a peculiarity due to the confusing nature of the read, but it's something to watch for if he's asked to do it in the pros.

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800714132616040465

Finally, I want to end with my favorite play from Rouse, which I believe shows a level head and significant composure in a pressure situation. Oklahoma was down with less than a minute remaining against Texas in the Red River Showdown, their biggest game of the year. Rouse faced a blitz where he had both an edge rusher and a corner coming at him, and knew he was on an island. He was able to split the difference and get a hand on both the edge and the corner while working backwards and gave his QB just enough time to find his receiver, who was wide open in the end zone due to the blitz. Awesome stuff:

https://twitter.com/FriesFootball/status/1800714933862346940

conclusion

Walter Rouse is a technically sound player who understands how to execute a variety of pass sets. His technique significantly improved from 2022 to 2023. Rouse has enough athleticism to get out and stop defenders around the edge with his length while also using his hands and grip strength to counter inside moves.

Rouse is not an elite athlete, and that may limit his upside against the quicker players in the NFL as he tries to protect against speed rushes and inside counters. Still, Rouse has enough movement to recover from an initial misstep and push most players past the quarterback. Rouse shows flashes of being able to target and block second-level defenders in the run game but needs to take better angles to do so consistently.

He has very good play strength, with a strong grip that prevents defenders from disengaging. Rouse needs to be careful to let go at the appropriate time to prevent holding penalties. He has a quality anchor that allows him to stop bull rushes and can use recovery steps to anchor after being in a bad initial position. His slightly inconsistent pad level can lead to some losses against bull rushes, a trait he needs to improve to prevent more consistent losses against better defenders. Rouse is able to generate modest, not great movement in the run game, and can drive back very large defenders with his size.

From a mental perspective, Rouse seems to understand the game at an advanced level, with pattern recognition on stunts and the ability to identify his assignment in the run game. Rouse may need to work on identifying who to block as a puller, with limited reps in that area. He seems to display a strong understanding of game situations and can improvise to adapt to how opponents are attacking him.

Due to his size, Rouse is likely a tackle-only player who projects as Minnesota's heir apparent to David Quessenberry as their swing tackle. Rouse has played exclusively on the left side in his career, so his ability to move to the right is an open question. However, he has the size, length, baseline athleticism, and technique to be a quality player at a very important position.