NFL Draft
3/12/25
5 min read
Jonah Monheim 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For USC Trojans Center
Height: 6041 (verified)
Weight: 307lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Pat Elflein
Scouting Overview
USC Trojans offensive lineman Jonah Monheim projects as a developmental center at the NFL level. He boasts potential 5-position flexibility as a college talent, but his lack of length and power are difficult to overlook and should relegate him to playing as a center, where he’d be less frequently handling solo assignments and isolated by opposing defenders.
Monheim has a high football IQ, good movement skills, and plays hard. But his build's ultimate limitations threaten to prevent him from finding a functional home without adding significant strength.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Light-footed and agile blocker with high-level agility in short spaces
- Boasts the second-level and space athleticism to pop when uncovered to help pick off linebackers
- Showcases good body control and flexibility to play with effective pad level and leverage
Negatives
- Lack of length makes him likely a center-exclusive talent at the NFL level
- Does not play with the desired functional strength and displacement ability to handle solo assignments with consistency
- Missing the blend of reach and core strength to protect his edges in pass protection
Background
Monheim is from Moorpark, CA, and played high school football for Moorpark HS. There, he was a 4-star recruit (247 Sports Composite) with 30 offers. He chose USC over programs like Alabama and Oklahoma, and Monheim joined the Trojans as a member of their 2020 recruiting class.
Monheim made his debut with one appearance in 2020 as a true freshman, playing right guard. He retained his fourth year of college eligibility and then assumed a starting role for the 2021 season at right tackle. He started seven of the 12 games he appeared in that season.
By 2022, Monheim was a full-time starter. He collected 11 starts at right tackle and three at right guard for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. 2023 saw Monheim flip to the left side and start all but one game at left tackle — the other start coming at right guard. He was named Second Team All-PAC 12 for his performance.
Monheim finished his college career with 12 starts at center as a redshirt senior and then accepted an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
Monheim is a conflicting player because he boasts many likable qualities but a few fatal issues that will be hard to reconcile. This is a well-tenured starter who has collected starts at four spots along the offensive line and would theoretically have little issue stepping in as a left guard — the only spot he hasn’t played.
However, his physical stature and his severe lack of length and extension ability are inhibitors that will limit his prior versatility.
First and foremost, this is a plus athlete. Monheim has good lateral range, effective short-area redirection ability, and the necessary first-step quickness to climb and get on top of second-level defenders. Projecting him to the center position will leave him vacant and free to unleash these elements more freely without being capped by a defensive tackle.
Functional strength can be considered sufficient. Monheim has good flexibility and body control to sit down on his hips and keep his lower half engaged freely in his blocks.
He would benefit from some added strength to bolster his anchor consistency. He has had access to plenty of resources for strength and conditioning at USC, leaving questions about how much there is left to add or what flaws with controlling blocks at extension are simply a byproduct of a lack of length.
With 30.13-inch arms, Monheim is in the 0th percentile. It is apparent in how he tries to sustain when latched, how difficult it can be for him to gain and sustain control in solo block situations, or when he’s trying to stiffen his edges as defenders test one of the gaps he’s creating.
When Monheim fits on defenders head-up, he does show the posture, pad level, and punch placement to win inside positioning. However, the concern looms about how sticky he can play, and he lacks the point-of-attack displacement ability to disrupt the front integrity.
There’s enough athleticism and football intelligence for Monheim to garner opportunities. Still, his build is an outlier that will likely temper down enthusiasm over his draft profile, making him more of a flier late in the draft.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Monheim projects as a center-exclusive talent who should be regarded as a developmental talent at the NFL level. He’s a better fit for the Shanahan/wide zone schemes that weaponize their center’s athleticism.
Grade: 69.50/100.00, Sixth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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