Alabama guard Tyler Booker was a no-doubt first-round prospect early into the NFL Draft process this offseason for ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and plenty of other mock drafters.
In his first mock draft of the season, Kiper had Booker landing with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 16, highlighting how the lineman might be the purest guard in the 2025 draft class.
Alabama, G, Tyler Booker
HT: 6045
WT: 321
Hand: 11
Arm: 34 1/2
Wing: 83 1/2
A massive human. pic.twitter.com/ac7cS2Wk7R
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) March 2, 2025
It wasn’t hard to see why when looking at the 6-foot-5, 321-pounder’s college resume that includes multiple All-SEC nods, leadership and physicality.
But after a poor NFL Draft Combine showing — highlighted by a one of the slowest 40-yard dashes (5.38 seconds) and 10-yard splits (1.96 seconds) among offensive linemen — the thinking he’s a first-round lock is no longer the case for Kiper.
“To run like he did, as slow as he did, the (10-yard split and 40-yard dash times) are going to be pushing him down a bit. To run like he did raises red flags. … There’s a big difference in college and pros and you’re running times like that,” Kiper told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Wednesday.
“Tyler Booker now becomes more of a second-round pick and at that point, becomes a nice choice. But these things do affect, because you’re still going from college to pros. These numbers are important. You have to be within a range when you’re these prospects and when you’re out of this range, you become an outlier. Teams don’t like to draft outliers in the first couple of rounds.”
Tyler Booker’s poor NFL Draft Combine could be Cardinals’ gain
It’s no secret the Cardinals need to beef up the interior of the offensive line in Year 3 under the current regime after putting a lot of their resources into the defensive side of the ball early on this free agency.
They’ve brought back Evan Brown and added Jake Curhan on a one-year deal, but could still use another reinforcement or two, especially with multi-year starter Will Hernandez still a free agent.
With Booker being viewed as a potential Day 2 pick, the Cardinals could very easily use their No. 16 pick on another position of need or trade the pick altogether before coming back around and landing a potential building block in Booker.
Because while his combine measurements were iffy, his tape is not.
“As a player, when you watch him, he’s one of the most solid and safe picks,” Kiper said. “You know what you’re getting. Telephone booth guy who will just maul you inside.”
And if his tape isn’t enough to convince NFL scouts, his take on the game probably will.
“I just love the aggressiveness and the tenacity of the game of football,” Booker told reporters during the NFL Draft Combine. “It’s legal assault out there. I love football, because the brand of football I play, I make guys not love football anymore.
“I do that every down by really just giving them my all and letting them know I’m not going to let up. The thing I love the most about football is taking the love away from other people.”
“It’s legal assault out there… I make guys not love football anymore.”
Alabama’s Tyler Booker describes his playing style to reporters at the NFL Combine: pic.twitter.com/Dm9bLT8xDc
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) March 1, 2025