NFL Draft Profiles: Offensive Tackle Yasir Durant

Yasir Durant arrived at Missouri to little fanfare, but that changed quickly as he immediately became an impact player.

The former junior college transfer arrived to Missouri with stiff competition to earn playing time at left tackle. At the time, Tyler Howell was the entrenched starter after a solid season as the full-time starter in 2016.

That quickly changed.

Durant took over as the starter by the fourth game of the season and never looked back. He was a crucial part of an offensive line that performed very well in Josh Heupel’s high-tempo offense in both 2017 and 2018. His pass protection was top-notch, and left very little to be desired.

For the casual fan, the best thing you can say about an offensive tackle is... Nothing. And Mizzou fans rarely said Durant’s name during a game in 2017 or 2018.

That changed a bit in 2019. Durant was like every other returning offensive lineman this season in that his play seemed to take a slight step back. The pass protection wasn’t as crisp. The entire unit struggled in the running game.

Durant likely projects as a swing tackle at the next level. He’s not going to wow you with his athleticism, and he’s not going to dominate anyone in the running game. But he has excellent size and knows how to use it in pass protection. Given the way the game is trending, that’s a valuable tool to have in the tool box.

I would expect to see Durant selected somewhere on day three, likely in the 5th-6th round, and ultimately find his way onto a roster as a backup tackle.