College: Arkansas

Ht: 6'5"

Wt: 312

An experienced starter in one of the toughest conferences in college football, Swanson will come to the NFL as a starter-ready product from Arkansas. What is his ceiling? Does Swanson have what it takes to be a top-tier interior lineman at the next level? If so, where does he fit in best? 

Here is our scouting report on the 2014 NFL draft prospect. 

Strengths

Level of Competition: Swanson continually dominated against elite competition in the SEC. Some may point to struggles during Senior Bowl week against fellow 2014 draft prospects, but there is a lot that goes into play there. He was engaged with more athletic interior linemen then what he's going to see as an interior offensive lineman, which is something to definitely focus on moving forward. Where that might be a weakness, he has the ability to build more strength above the waist. You simply cannot deny the success that Swanson had in college because of one lackluster practice week at an All-Star event. 

Build: At 6'5" and 312 pounds, Swanson has the build of an offensive tackle from the center position. He has tremendous lower-body strength and will not lose at the point of contact when he engages with solid technique. That's going to be huge when going up against defenders in the run game moving forward. 

Hand Usage: Swanson possesses violent hands at the point of contact. This enables him to fight off those who utilize the same technique on defense and throw them off the point. That could be huge in both the run and passing game moving forward. 

Drives Through the Play: While Swanson struggles getting to the second level in his blocks, he will drive through his initial defender and beat him consistently at the line. Not a solid down-hill blocker in the run game, but more of a mauler at the original point of contact. 

Technique: You will not see Swanson get too high at contact. He combines solid hand usage with an ability to maintain low on his blocks. If Swanson improves his upper-body strength, he could be a dominating center at the next level. 

Weaknesses

Upper-Body Build: As to where Swanson boasts a strong lower-body build, he's not too strong on top. In fact, a vast majority of his strength is located below the hips. The Arkansas product will have to hit the weight room early in his career if he wants to be considered a true all-around physical beast. 

Engaging Athletic Defenders: Swanson tends to struggle more with athletic defenders and linebackers. He acts as somewhat of a revolving door along the interior of the line when faces with a blitz from linebackers. Some of this is recognition, which can be fixed. Some of this is simply his lack of lateral movement, which could be a major issues in the NFL. 

NFL Comparison: Stefen Wisniewski, Oakland Raiders 

Swanson could be a decent fit as a zone-blocking center. Where he might not have the lateral quickness at the point of contact, he's able to pull on a regular basis. With that said, I don't view him as a scheme-specific interior lineman. Instead, he seems to be able to go into any scheme outside of the power-running offenses we see in San Francisco and have success. That's what draw me to Wiz in comparison. Their strengths and weaknesses are pretty similar as well. 

Draft Outlook 

Swanson has long been considered the top center prospect in this draft, but that gap has closed to an extent with a tremendous postseason performance from Colorado State's Weston Richburg. Swanson is eDraft's No. 1 center and 54th-ranked overall player in the draft. That's about where you can expect him to go...maybe towards the back end of Round 2. 

Best Fits

Because center is one of the few positions where there is only one starter on the offensive side of the ball, it's pretty difficult to come to a conclusion as it relates to where Swanson might fit in best. 

In looking at some of the worst performances from centers last season, it gets even more interesting. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Peter Konz was the lowest-ranked center in the NFL last year. With that said, the Atlanta Falcons spend a high-round pick in him back in 2012. There is no reason to believe that they will go in another direction, let alone spend another high-round pick on the same position. 

The Indianapolis Colts and their power-running scheme doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense either, despite their struggles at center. Instead, I am going to look at the Arizona Cardinals, who have Lyle Sendlein manning that position, as a possible fit. If Swanson somehow finds it to Round 3, I would be surprised to see the Cardinals pick him up.