The Trench Warfare 2023 NFL Draft Film Room - Episode 4 featuring TCU LG Steve Avila

Photo via Tyler Wise

Welcome everyone to the fourth edition of the 2023 NFL Draft film room series where I sit down with OL prospects in the upcoming draft class. The intent is to shine a light on each player’s story and skill-set while watching their college film together. The focus will be on the best competition they faced to best assess the strengths of their game and what they can rely on during their pro careers. 

We will discuss technique, scheme, dive into opponents and take you inside their preparation leading up to the game and how they processed information in real time. During our talks, players often share unique anecdotes and stories from the game and their careers that you can only find here on Trench Warfare.

So far for the 2023 draft class I have had on Tennessee RT Darnell Wright, Northwestern LT Peter Skoronski and Florida RG O’Cyrus Torrence. Next up is TCU LG Steve Avila.

TCU LG Steve Avila

Avila was originally recruited to TCU as a guard after playing left tackle as a senior in high school but began his time in Ft. Worth playing right tackle as a freshman on the scout team under the tutelage of former TCU and current Chiefs RT Lucas Niang. Avila was moved inside to center the ensuing season, which was a dramatic change that took some time for him to adjust to, but his time spent outside at tackle helped increase his comfort-level operating in space and refined his skills as a pass-protector.

Avila eventually settled in at left guard in 2022. He amassed 35 career starts over his college career at center (17), left guard (15), right tackle (2) and right guard (1). Avila projects best as a guard in the NFL while offering proven versatility across the interior with the ability to get a team out of a pinch at tackle.

When I began studying Avila’s tape at center from the 2021 season, I was impressed with his play strength but wasn’t particularly drawn into many other areas of his game. Then I turned on the 2022 tape at left guard, and the more exposures I had the more I started to recognize traits that set him apart from others in this class. 

At 6’3” 335 pounds, Avila has the wide-bodied frame with starter-level play strength and power to both dissipate and dish out force, holding and resetting the line of scrimmage in the run game, but it is his light feet that really drew me in and raised his grade.

During our 40-minute discussion, I showed several examples of these traits and critical factors with Avila providing excellent insight into his career, mindset and overall approach as a player. We really connected in our love of the trenches, and this was one of my favorite sit downs with any prospect over the last few seasons. Once you take the time to watch/listen, you will quickly see why I project Avila as an early starting guard in the NFL.

Specific topics covered during the film room:

• Scout team RT, transitioning to center and playing both guard spots

• The differences in tackle, guard and center

• Playing offensive line is all about angles and how they change from position to position. Avila’s understanding of those really jumps out when you watch and listen to him talk about his game

• How ‘shortening angles’ at guard plays right into Avila’s wheelhouse

• One of the most fun aspects about playing offensive line; finding work when uncovered

• Avila’s favorite “ID” against a three man front

• Resetting and refitting hands under and inside of a pass-rusher and how that can win the leverage battle

• “Deleting” the frontside defensive end en route to the linebacker versus an odd front

• Avila talks about the Senior Bowl and how one of his top goals was to prove that he is more versatile than given credit for. Ex: not just an ‘inside zone/duo’ blocker.

• Adjusting aiming points against post-snap movement to dig out a massive 3-technique attempting to cross-face and gain inside penetration

  • Video preview

• The importance of having active, alert eyes in pass-protection combined with the anchor to shut down penetration while already engaged

  • Video preview

• Avila broke down one of his favorite plays of the season against Michigan with a lot of moving parts and you can really get a sense of his passion and knowledge of the game during his breakdown

• One play that caught my eye was an awesome job finishing from Avila despite being down by 50+ points late in the National Championship against Georgia that speaks to a really impressive level of consistency and competitive toughness.

  • Video preview

• The importance of staying light on your hands and not trying to deliver kill shots in pass-protection allowing you as a blocker to stay in the fight and recover after the rusher executes their first move

Miss prior NFL Draft player film rooms?

Cole Strange

Bernhard Raimann

Zion Johnson

Trevor Penning

Ikem Ekwonu

Creed Humphrey

Landon Dickerson

Teven Jenkins

Full Steve Avila Film Room: