Michal
Menet.
Michal
Menet.
Penn St.· 6'4"· 301 lb
"A 6'4'/301 Penn State four-year starting center with 10-inch hands, 31.5-inch arms and 26 bench reps — a technically sound Day-3 pivot whose short arms and average power capped him as a backup interior projection."Pre-draft read
Menet is a technique-first center with a wide base and quiet feet. His shotgun snap-to-punch is smooth, setting a stable inside hand on nose tackles with good timing on angle and mid-zone reach blocks. In pass protection, he sinks into a compact anchor, works the A-gap, and passes off twists cleanly when guards communicate. He climbs under control, finding linebackers with correct angles.
Physical limitations include shorter arms which allow one-gap 1-techniques inside. He lacks sudden lateral quickness to recover if initially beaten, and his drive-block power is average, often sealing rather than displacing defenders. Against longer 3-techniques at guard, his hands catch, and he can be walked back by bull rushers.
run-heavy wide zone with RPO elements that features cut-back lanes and movement concepts to gain leverage on smaller defenders
Immediate backup center who can take over as a year two starter, cap him as an eight-year starter on a contending team.
Gap/power run scheme where he would be asked to move 3-techs off the ball instead of seal and access second-level targets.
Menet’s strengths—his intelligence, technique, and second-level execution—fit best in a zone scheme that prioritizes leverage and angles, mitigating his physical limitations.
2016 Signing Class Highlights - Michal Menet
Game film cut-up of Michal Menet's Penn St. tape.
2019 Lift for Life_Michal Menet
Game film cut-up of Michal Menet's Penn St. tape.
Michal Menet on Penn State’s offseason ‘attitude and mentality’
Game film cut-up of Michal Menet's Penn St. tape.
Menet projects as a scheme-diverse center whose value stems from his mental processing and technique rather than his physical tools. He offers immediate depth due to his reliable mechanics and understanding of protections. His ability to consistently execute assignments makes him a viable backup with a specific role, leveraging his football IQ even with 31.5-inch arms.
He concluded his college career as a four-year starter and team captain, demonstrating durability and consistent performance against Big Ten fronts. His usage involved clean snap-to-set, effective angle blocks, and solid second-level range. While his production was consistent at the college level, his physical profile limited his ceiling projection beyond a backup role.
Pre-draft consensus placed him in the late-Day-3 to priority free-agent range, primarily due to concerns about his arm length, average anchor against interior power, and limited potential as an emergency guard. He was ultimately selected in the seventh round, pick 247, reflecting the trade-off between his high football IQ and his physical limitations.
- 01
Four-Year Starter, Captain
Menet was a four-year starter and captain, demonstrating durability and consistent performance in college.
- 02
Clean Snap-to-Set Mechanics
His clean snap-to-set mechanics include compact vertical sets and hands loading in rhythm without premature opening.
- 03
Correct Angles Mid-Zone
He uses correct angles on mid-zone concepts, securing the play-side shoulder to open effective running lanes.
- 04
Controlled Climb to Linebackers
Menet maintains control when climbing to linebackers, finding his target with correct angles and sustaining blocks.
- 05
Pre-Snap Identification
He handles pre-snap identification of pressure, MIKE calls, and gap adjustments with clear eyes, a key trait for centers.
- 01
Arm Length
His arm length of 31.5 inches is below the NFL comfort threshold, allowing one-gap 1-techniques into his frame.
- 02
Average Lateral Quickness
Average lateral quickness limits his recovery ability when a nose beats his first step, impeding pocket reset.
- 03
Average Drive-Block Power
He offers average displacement on gap runs, tending to seal defenders rather than moving them.
- 04
Limited Guard Flexibility
Guard flexibility is restricted by short arms and average length, making an emergency guard role challenging.
— — — positional median (p50)
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- 26repp50
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Penn St. | 12 |
| 2018 | Penn St. | 13 |
| 2019 | Penn St. | 13 |
| 2020 | Penn St. | 9 |
| Career | — | 47 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Short-armed Big Ten center who filled in as a spot starter and career backup because of processing and technique — the realistic outcome for the archetype.
Cerebral, technique-first center who parlayed IQ and communication into a multi-year starting career despite average length — the ceiling if Menet's anchor develops.
Interior lineman whose length and power ceiling turned him into a practice-squad body without a stable roster role — the miss case if physical caps compound.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. Menet finished his Penn State career as a four-year starting center and 2020 captain, measuring 6'4', 301 pounds with 31.5-inch arms, 10-inch hands and 26 bench reps at the school pro day (forty and jumps were not publicly reported at a verifiable level). The tape sold him as a scheme-diverse pivot with clean snap-to-set mechanics, angle-block technique and legitimate second-level range against Big Ten fronts, and the intangibles were the strongest part of the report — leadership, communication and pre-snap ID. The physical flags — short arms for center, average recovery quickness and limited drive-block power — pushed him into the late-Day-3 to priority-UDFA band on most boards.
NFL fit — Arizona. Arizona took him at #247 as a developmental interior body behind Rodney Hudson and Justin Pugh, betting on the mental profile to translate to a depth role. The runway on a veteran offensive line was always going to be limited to spot duty and special teams, and the arm-length concern that showed up on tape at Penn State compounded against NFL 1-techniques when he did see reps.
Retrospective. Menet's career has followed the pessimistic branch of the projection: minimal defensive-front reps in Arizona, practice-squad churn and short stints with other clubs without ever locking down a permanent 53-man role. As a Round 7 pick the acquisition cost was appropriate for the archetype — the pre-draft grade always framed the outcome as an interior backup with a hard ceiling. Grades as a miss relative to any hope of a starter emerging, but not a valuation error at the slot.