OL JonDarius Morgan (UAB)
6’4 320lbs # 69
Adding as much depth at O-line is never a bad move. The Patriots brought in JonDarius Morgan before the draft to compete for that depth role on the 53-man roster. Morgan Transferred from South Carolina to UAB. Has Flexibility to play tackle but will most likely contribute on the inside at guard. Morgan's measurements and 40 time conducted at his pro day were 35 3/8 inch arms, 10 3/8 “ hands, 82 3/4 wingspan, and a 5.38 40-yard dash.
Morgan from Birmingham, AL played high school football at Huffman where he was recognized as a 3-star recruit and received first-team All-State honors. He had received numerous offers which ultimately came down to Georgia Tech and South Carolina. He graduated high school early and ultimately chose South Carolina and was able to join the program that winter to get a jump on familiarizing himself with their program. The decision to go to SC came with intentions of seeing action in the SEC and competing against some of the best defensive prospects in college football. He was a redshirt freshman and received the 2021-2022 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll but was not ready to see the field. After his redshirt, he primarily served as the team's 6th offensive lineman getting snaps at guard and tackle but only appeared in 8 games. As South Carolina was adding more recruits, and with the limited opportunities in front of Morgan, he decided to transfer back home to Alabama and play for UAB.
At UAB he was primarily featured on their O-line, appearing in 24 games where he initially started and struggled at left tackle before making the move to the inside at RG where he showed significant improvement and the right spot for him to succeed. Morgan aimed to get all-conference honors his final year at UAB, but while not succeed in receiving the nomination he still had his best performance excelling as a run and pass blocker, allowing only 11 pressures and 0 sacks as he came into his own at RG. In his final year He showcased good pad level, anchor ability, being able to handle a variety of blocking assignments, double teams, and awareness against stunts, quick enough to get to the second level off run blocks, and mirrored defenders well in pass protection.
For where I see the best fit for Morgan is to keep him on the inside, I’d also look to keep him primarily at RG. Building off the year he had and being depth behind Michael Onwenu whom he also shares somewhat of a similar size profile to. Similarly to Onwenu the ability to jump to tackle in a pinch is an option, they both are wide-frame, stout big-body linemen, and both handle run and pass well. With Onwenu being in the final year of his deal, and though we have guards currently on the roster that could look to claim that second-team guard spot, Rizy, Caedan Wallace, even first-round pick Caleb Lomu currently serving as the 6th offensive lineman. I think Morgan’s best shot is to build off last year's performance at RG and fight to own that spot. I can’t say for sure how he will handle competition at our level but the foundation is there, he looks the most natural playing RG, he has the skill set to build off, he has the makeup teams look for in linemen, and he is worth further development. If he can continue to focus on his hand technique and look to primarily improve that area and do so consistently I think that can show he belongs. We will see how he performs when pads come on, look for consistency against our defense, and find out if he’s the right guy backing up Big Mike.
Best of luck JonDarius Morgan!