Missouri Tigers Football: Evan Boehm NFL Outlook

Missouri Tigers football alum Evan Boehm was drafted 128th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, so now the question is what will his NFL career be like?

Missouri Tigers football saw three players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The first player was their former center Evan Boehm who was drafted in the fourth round at number 128 by the Arizona Cardinals.

Boehm played Missouri Tigers football for four years, started at left guard his freshmen year in 2012 and then at center for the remainder of his Missouri Tigers football career from 2013 through 2015.

Boehm’s ability to play either guard spot or the center position is definitely one of his strengths.

This versatility will most likely have to wait at least one year to be put on display, though.

I say this because the Cardinals’ current starting guards, Mike Iupati and Evan Mathis are both top tier guards according to Pro Football Focus.

Iupati and Mathis were ranked 17th and 10th, respectively, among all guards last season by Pro Football Focus.

Considering there are 64 starting guards in the NFL, Iupati and Mathis are in the top 25 percent of guards in the league by Pro Football Focus metrics.

As a result, barring an earth shattering performance in training camp and the preseason, Boehm will most likely not look to compete for either starting guard spot this season.

This leads us to the starting center spot, where A.Q. Shipley had won the job by default prior to the 2016 NFL Draft.

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On March 23rd, one month before the draft, Bruce Arians, in response to whether Shipley would be the Cardinals’ first-team center, said, “He will right now.”

“We’ll start adding pieces and everybody’s competing,” Arians said.

“Nobody on our team has a job.”

Turn back the clock even further to December of 2015, and Arians’ view of Shipley appears more favorable.

“We drafted [Shipley] in Pittsburgh and then he went to Philly and Indy,” Arians said.

“Tough, smart guys, I like.”

“And he finds roles. He’s a damn-good center.”

“When he had to play guard for us, he did a hell of a job in Indy.”

“He has some position flexibility.”

Finally fast forward to May 7th when Arians had this to say about the competition at center.

“[Boehm will] come in and compete. There are no jobs handed out. Shipley is a good player. He’ll have to fight it out with him. It’s going to be a nice battle.” – Bruce Arians | Arizona Cardinals

“[Boehm will] come in and compete,” Arians said.

“There are no jobs handed out.

“Shipley is a good player.”

“He’ll have to fight it out with him.”

“It’s going to be a nice battle.”

In 2015, Shipley was given a grade of 73.6 by Pro Football Focus last season, which is good but not great.

This means that the center position can definitely stand to be upgraded.

The problem is, Shipley appears to be an effective pass blocker, while Boehm appears to struggle with pass protection.

Khaled Elsayed of Pro Football Focus determined that Shipley had the NFL’s sixth longest streak of snaps (485) without allowing a sack during the 2015 season.

Compare this to fellow Pro Football Focus writer Steve Palazzolo‘s assessment of Boehm’s pass blocking ability.

“Boehm struggled in pass protection, as his -7.9 grade ranked 57th among 63 qualifiers in the class.” – Steve Palazzolo | Pro Football Focus

“Boehm struggled in pass protection,” Palazzolo said.

“As his -7.9 grade ranked 57th among 63 qualifiers in the class.”

In addition, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss pointed out more statistics as proof of Shipley’s value.

“[Shipley] started the first four games of the 2014 season for the Indianapolis Colts,” Weinfuss said.

“Shipley was the third-ranked enter in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.”

“In Week 3 that season, he was ranked No. 1 by the site.”

From what has been proven thus far, Shipley appears to be the more complete center.

Regardless, the Cardinals could conceivably opt to start Boehm to get more of an advantage in the running game.

This strategy would appear to be unlikely to occur at the moment, though.

Football Outsiders ranked the Cardinals offensive line fifth in pass blocking and third in run blocking, when adjusting for statistical purity.

The addition of Mathis will likely improve the Cardinals run blocking enough to discourage a trade-off for Shipley’s pass protection.

Considering that the Cardinals will likely be confronted with the Carolina Panthers in the 2016 playoffs, the Cardinals will need as much pass protection as possible.

For the reasons I have stated above, I predict that Boehm will not be named a starter before the 2016 season.

Although this may initially sound discouraging, remember that Mathis will not be playing much longer and that Boehm will most likely be the Cardinals sixth best lineman.

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As a result, Boehm will have the chance to develop behind Mathis before becoming the starter.

In addition, Boehm may have the opportunity to hone and showcase versatility due to his role as the second best option at every position on the offensive line.

Despite the fact Boehm will not be the starter heading into next season, he will still receive valuable reps in 2016.

Plus, Boehm will be all but guaranteed a starting guard spot once Mathis moves on from the Cardinals and/or the NFL.

Boehm will not start in 2016, but his future is bright and will appear even brighter heading into the 2017 NFL season.

Do you think that Evan Boehm will be the starting center heading into the 2016 NFL season?

Do you think that Boehm will be groomed to be Evan Mathis’ replacement?

Next: Greatest Mizzou Receivers of All-Time

Find out Evan Boehm’s draft grade in this video.

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