STRENGTHS - Strong and powerful, Frederick consistently shows ability to "get a good fit" on DT and is able to keep DT pinned on LOS in pass pro. Although his 40 time is terrible, he is quick out of stance to set-up and make contact with DL. He does a good job of bending knees and pass blocking with good base/leverage, which allows him to slide well side to side to maintain in pass pro. Once he gets ahold of DT he has the strength and technique to consistently maintain his pass blocks. He does a good job of getting off the ball quickly on in-line run blocks, makes contact with good leverage and can pin/seal DL to the side of the play to open the inside hole. For a player who ran such a bad 40, he is surprisingly effective making short pull and lead blocking LB in the hole. In addition, he is effective chipping DT and stepping through the LOS to seal block LB to the side of the play. He has experience starting at both guard and center, so versatility is definitely a plus.
WEAKNESSES - Frederick is not a top athlete and while he can effectively make short pull, he lacks speed to get outside the OT to lead block on outside runs. Despite showing the ability to set-up quickly in pass pro, he is late at times getting his hands on DT, which allows explosive off the ball DT's to get into gaps to get backfield penetration before he is set. While he is productive blocking in space when defender is on his track, he lacks the quickness and athleticism to adjust off track to block a moving target out in space consistently.
SUMMARY - Having played guard most of 2011 (Except when he filled in for Peter Konz when he was injured), Frederick switched to center in 2012 after Konz graduated and was much more effective there. While he weighed 312 at the Combine, he played in the high 320's/low 330's at Wisconsin and definitely is at his best when at that weight as it gives him the size and playing strength to physically tie up and control DT. He is never going to be able to adjust to block effectively out in space and will have trouble dealing with explosive off the ball gap shooting DT's due to his lack of top athleticism. Overall, Frederick is being downgraded because of a bad 40 time at the Combine, but he is a good center prospect with the talent to be a solid, workmanlike starter in the NFL who is able to physically control man once he locks up on them. He would be an excellent fit for a team like the Ravens. .