Player Bio

O'Neill's athleticism helped him win honors as Delaware High School Defensive Player of the Year (five sacks, 13 pass deflections, also 33 receptions, 614 yards, and eight touchdowns as a tight end) in football and the state's basketball Player of the Year award. His talent came as no surprise since his father was a running back at Dartmouth and his mother a swimmer at Northeastern University. O'Neill was a tight end during his redshirt season in 2014 and the following spring but moved over to offensive tackle before the 2015 season. He played in all 13 games, starting the final 12 (one at left tackle, the rest at right tackle). O'Neill continued his improvement on the line, starting all 13 games at right tackle and earning second-team All-ACC from league coaches. Injuries on the line caused him to move to left tackle for his junior season, where he started all 12 games and garnered first-team all-conference honors. Pitt coaches used O'Neill' athleticism as an offensive weapon as a rusher (two scores, one on a lateral and the other on an end-around) and passer (0-for-2). He won the satirical "Piesman Trophy" in 2016 for one of his touchdowns.

Overview

O'Neill has good length and is a terrific athlete, but his inconsistencies at the Senior Bowl practices will be hard for teams to get out of their minds. What might be even more troubling is the way he seemed to panic and lose technique in certain matchups. O'Neill is a classic zone scheme blocker, but teams may take a look at him as a move guard with tackle potential rather than locking in with him as a blind-side tackle. O'Neill needs to get thicker and stronger or swing tackle could be his ceiling.

Strengths

Good arm length

Athletic and fluid as a move blocker

Good lateral quickness and able to race ahead of the pack on pull blocks and screens

Redirects weight and works feet into position to square second level blocks

Accelerates into down blocks and runs feet through contact

Makes subtle weight shifts to keep defender centered during his block

Stays connected to his blocks for the long haul

Plays with adequate lift and hip roll at point of attack

Fires out of his stance into initial kick-slide

Has ability to slide and mirror defender around the arc when technique is right

Nimble feet and good reactive athleticism to recover when beaten around the edge

Quality "snap and find" talent on End/Tackle twists

Weaknesses

Linear build lacking core strength

Technique will go on vacation at inopportune times

Struggled during Senior Bowl reps to maintain his pass pro posture

Tends to defaults to a "nose-over-toes" approach with too much waist-bending

Hands take too many outside tracks to the target

More grabber than puncher

Oversets and opens the inside path

Lack of play strength could be debilitating on the next level

Panics and forgets his footwork

Gets caught on balls of his feet and can be walked into pocket in pass pro

Makes initial contact before working his feet into position as lateral blocker

Doesn't have enough upper body strength to seal and finish some backside reach blocks

Allows defenders to rip through his edge

PLAYER BIO

O'Neill's athleticism helped him win honors as Delaware High School Defensive Player of the Year (five sacks, 13 pass deflections, also 33 receptions, 614 yards, and eight touchdowns as a tight end) in football and the state's basketball Player of the Year award. His talent came as no surprise since his father was a running back at Dartmouth and his mother a swimmer at Northeastern University. O'Neill was a tight end during his redshirt season in 2014 and the following spring but moved over to offensive tackle before the 2015 season. He played in all 13 games, starting the final 12 (one at left tackle, the rest at right tackle). O'Neill continued his improvement on the line, starting all 13 games at right tackle and earning second-team All-ACC from league coaches. Injuries on the line caused him to move to left tackle for his junior season, where he started all 12 games and garnered first-team all-conference honors. Pitt coaches used O'Neill' athleticism as an offensive weapon as a rusher (two scores, one on a lateral and the other on an end-around) and passer (0-for-2). He won the satirical "Piesman Trophy" in 2016 for one of his touchdowns.