Xavier Fulton Scouting Report

Xavier Fulton is an interesting prospect. He came to Illinois in 2004 as a defensive end. During his first two seasons, he appeared in 15 games with ten starts. After sitting out the 2006 season to recover from knee surgery, he made the switch to offensive tackle during spring practice the following season. Fulton took to the position quickly, and started all 13 games in 2007 at left tackle. He led the Fighting Illini in pancake blocks last season on his way to being voted Second Team All Big Ten by the coaches and media. Fulton has done a fantastic job of adapting to his new position in Illinois' complicated zone-read system. As the 2008 season progressed, Fulton continued to becomes more comfortable with the subtleties of his position. He is similar to 2008 first round pick Duane Brown in that he is a small zone blocking tackle, who is new to the position. Both were relatively inexperienced, but Fulton could be an even better prospect. He has tremendous speed and athleticism for an offensive lineman and loves to get out into the open field and lay hits on opposing linebackers in the run game. Fulton is still raw, so he occasionally doesn't pick up more complex blitzes and stunts. He does however, have the athleticism to recover on many of those plays. He is strong enough to withstand the bull rush of defensive ends, and quick enough to stay in front of speed rushers. His speed and size make him an ideal fit in a zone-blocking scheme. Fulton will need to show teams he has the strength to block elite ends in the NFL. Because he isn't a good fit for every team's system, he may not get drafted until the late third or early fourth round. Xavier Fulton had a productive NFL Combine. He ran a 5.04 second 40 yard dash which was one of the best times for a lineman. He also showed good technique during position drills and coaches are encouraged by the fact he's only been playing tackle for two seasons. Fulton is a perfect fit in a zone blocking scheme and should be taken by the mid third round of this years draft.