Nebraska C Cam Jurgens
6-foot-3
304 pounds
Yahoo Sports’ 2022 NFL draft grade
5.69 — possible third- or fourth-rounder; contributor potential
TL;DR scouting report
Former tight end offers exciting athletic traits at center, plus surprising length and toughness, but he can play a bit out of control at times
The skinny
A 4-star Rivals recruit as an athlete in the Class of 2018, Jurgens committed to the Huskers as a sophomore in high school and stuck with it after Mike Riley was fired and replaced by new head coach Scott Frost. Jurgens cross-trained at tight end and center as a freshman in 2018, playing in one game before an injury ended his season.
Jurgens won the starting center job in 2019, playing in all 12 games, before joining the Huskers’ track team that winter. He started seven of eight games in 2020, missing the Northwestern game with injury, and then started all 12 contests in 2021. Jurgens declared early for the 2022 NFL draft.
Nebraska center Cam Jurgens is an elite athlete for his position. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Upside
Elite athletic profile for the position — top-tier testing across the board
Surprising length in spite of height — 33 3/8-inch arms, 80-inch wingspan, 10-inch hands
Flies out of his stance and gets on his horse
Leads the way on pulls and screens and reaches second level in a jiffy
Creative offense can open up playbook with rare center movement skill
Great lateral quickness to recover and pick up line games
Offers surprising power and had good battles with burlier nose tackles
Strong hands to latch onto defenders and take them for a ride
Lower-body explosiveness fuels his run blocking
High-energy performer with good stamina
Incremental gains as a pass protector with each season
Achieves good knee bend and appears quite flexible
Started 31 of 32 games after switching to center (having never played it before)
Good situational awareness and football IQ — handled calls up front
Gives maximum effort every time out —…