STRENGTHS - Thickly built with good playing strength, Boren can drive defenders out of the way to open holes for ball carrier. Able to bend knees and sink hips, he can drive up into linebacker to deliver a hard initial blow, stays over feet and blocks man out of the play. Even though most of his blocking is on lead blocks on inside runs, he can get outside to lead block effectively on outside runs. His ability to block with base also helped him be productive in pass protection from fullback and wing-back alignments. While not a major part of Ohio State's passing attack, Boren has shown good hands catching 20+ passes over the course of his career. As a senior he played linebacker in a number of games, which proved to me that he can be a productive member of special teams coverage units. .
WEAKNESSES - A classic lead blocking fullback, Boren lacks the foot quickness, speed and athleticism to make big plays as a receiver or ball carrier. He lacks the quick burst and speed to get the corner on outside runs and cannot out-run angles to make big plays running with the ball.
SUMMARY - As the NFL has become a pass first league, classic "hammer" style fullbacks are used by fewer teams than ever and therefore only have value to a handful of teams. While he is a strong runner with the ball, he lacks the quickness and athleticism to make a team as backup tailback. If Boren is going to make it in the NFL, it will be with a team that uses an old school fullback because Boren has the lead blocking skills to help a power rushing attack. Additionally, his linebacker play as a senior makes me confident he can become a hard core special teams player in the NFL. Overall, Boren is not likely to be drafted before the sixth or seventh round because true fullbacks have so little value to most teams. However, I believe he will make a team as their lead blocking fullback while contributing on special teams. .