Ricky
Stromberg.
Ricky
Stromberg.
Arkansas· 6'3"· 306 lb· 5.26s 40
"The safest interior line evaluation in the class turned into a reminder that safety is a projection, not a guarantee: forty-four SEC starts, four NFL games, and a knee that took the runway away."Pre-draft read
Stromberg finished his Arkansas career as the Razorbacks' pivot, a compact center who won with leverage, hand placement and snap-to-contact timing rather than length. His best trait was the initial fit: he closed ground off the snap, landed his hands inside the breastplate and rolled his hips through contact, walling off shaded noses and reaching the play-side shoulder on outside zone.
He was most comfortable in a moving run game, where his balance in space and his feel for climbing to linebackers showed up. In protection he anchored better than his frame suggested, but the ceiling was functional rather than dominant: a rhythm blocker and communicator, not a mauler, whose value came from four seasons of clean, dependable reps.
Outside/wide zone offense with a movement-based run game
Year 1 swing interior backup and No. 2 center who can start on short notice; ceiling is a multi-year starting center in a zone scheme that asks him to reach, climb and communicate.
A gap/power scheme that parks him one-on-one against a 340-pound two-gap nose on early downs, or a deep-drop passing offense that leaves him isolated against long interior rushers.
Value rises sharply in an offense that uses the center on the move and protects him with quick game and slide help.
Ricky Stromberg Center Highlights
Cut-up of his interior work at Arkansas: reach blocks, climbs to the second level and hand placement at the point of attack.
Ricky Stromberg game highlights
Game reel showing his snap-to-contact quickness and pass-protection anchor against SEC interior fronts.
Ricky Stromberg - NFL Draft Prospect - Center
Pre-draft prospect breakdown covering his technique, length limitations and projected NFL role.
Stromberg entered the 2023 cycle as one of the safer interior offensive line evaluations in the class: a plug-and-play center with real starting experience, positional flexibility inside, and a proven ability to survive against the best defensive fronts in college football. Teams liked the football character as much as the tape.
The resume did the arguing for him. He appeared in 45 games with 44 starts across four seasons in Fayetteville, starting 11 games as a true freshman at guard in 2019, eight at center in 2020, and every game of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was second-team All-SEC in 2021 and first-team All-SEC in 2022, when he also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the conference's best blocker. The flags were physical: he lacked the length to keep long interior rushers off his frame, and pressure sometimes arrived before his feet reset.
The board consensus put him in the late second to third round, with Shrine Bowl work reinforcing the impression of a ready-made backup center who could start early. Washington took him at 97 as a bet on continuity up front, an inexpensive answer at a position the franchise had cycled through for a decade.
- 01
Snap-to-contact quickness
Fires out of his stance with the ball still moving and lands his hands first, letting him win the leverage battle against nose tackles before they can build power.
- 02
Hand placement
Consistently gets his strike inside the breastplate and keeps his elbows tight, which is why he sustained blocks longer than his length or mass would suggest.
- 03
Movement in the run game
Balanced and coordinated on reach blocks and pulls, comfortable climbing to linebackers on the second level without ducking his head.
- 04
Four-year SEC production
Forty-four starts against the best interior fronts in college football, including All-SEC recognition in back-to-back seasons and the 2022 Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
- 05
Interior versatility
Started at both guard spots as a freshman before settling at center, giving a staff a legitimate three-position emergency answer inside.
- 01
Length limitations
Short arms let long interior rushers get into his frame first, and once they establish extension he struggles to reset and recover the rep.
- 02
Power against true nose tackles
Anchors adequately with technique but can be walked backward by heavy two-gap bodies who catch him leaning.
- 03
Recovery balance
When his first punch misses or he oversets, his feet stop and he grabs, which turned into holding risk against quicker interior movement.
- 04
Ceiling is functional
The traits point to a competent starter rather than a difference-maker; he wins on timing and effort more than on power or reach.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.26sp50
- Vertical
- 32.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 111inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Arkansas | 11 |
| 2020 | Arkansas | 9 |
| 2021 | Arkansas | 13 |
| 2022 | Arkansas | 12 |
| Career | — | 45 |
Offensive linemen do not accumulate box-score statistics, so only games and starts are listed. Season totals (45 games, 44 starts) match the career line.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Similar profile as a technically sound, length-limited center whose NFL opportunity was derailed by injury.
The aspirational version of the archetype: undersized, quick-footed zone center who wins with timing and second-level range.
Used here as the floor comparison for movement centers who need the perfect scheme; without it the reps go to bigger bodies.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Ricky Stromberg played in 4 games for the Washington Commanders in his rookie season (2023), primarily on special teams.
Washington drafted him to compete immediately, and he did make the roster as a rookie, but the runway never opened. He appeared in four games in 2023 without a start, working mostly as a swing interior backup, before a knee injury suffered against Philadelphia in Week 8 put him on injured reserve in November. He never got the season back. In August 2024, still working his way through the knee, he was waived/injured by the Commanders and released with an injury settlement, ending his time in Washington after one four-game season. Chicago signed him to the practice squad that November, kept him on a reserve/future deal into 2025, waived him at final cuts and re-signed him to the practice squad again. A November 2025 practice-squad injured list stint closed the door on any debut, and he entered the 2026 offseason without a regular-season snap since his rookie year.
In hindsight this is the injury version of a bust, not the evaluation version. The scouting profile was accurate: Stromberg was a technically sound, undersized-length center whose margin for error was small, and a knee injury in his rookie season took away exactly the thing he needed most, snaps and continuity. Whether a healthier path turns him into the multi-year starter the board projected is now unknowable, but the pick returned four games and no starts, which is a miss for a top-100 selection regardless of cause.
Data note: Imported from Wikipedia 2023 NFL draft player selections table.