Evan
Beerntsen.
Evan
Beerntsen.
Northwestern
R7 · #253 · Baltimore Ravens"A seventh-year interior technician who wins with leverage, timing and independent hands instead of mass, the sort of zone-scheme guard a line coach can install in a week."Pre-draft read
Playing right guard, Beerntsen operates from a low base, exhibiting excellent knee bend to fire out of his stance and maintain pad level below his opponent. He generates displacement through hip extension, enabling him to drive defenders on gap and trap concepts despite his 301-pound frame. His hands are independent, quick, and precise inside the defender's frame, and he effectively resets them if his initial strike misses.
His second key trait is his vision, allowing him to instantaneously read and sort stunts and interior twists, rarely being late to pass off a defender. In pass protection, he mirrors with short, choppy slides, absorbing bullrushes by anchoring early. He demonstrates unusual grace for an interior lineman on wide-zone reach blocks, a quality that distinguishes his play.
run-heavy zone concepts built to attack second-level linebackers and cut off backside pursuit but still capable of pounding the ball on gap schemes and duo.
Immediate backup at either guard spot, with eventual starter potential in a zone-heavy system within two seasons.
A gap-heavy, power-run blocking scheme would negate his agility and highlight his lack of ideal mass and arm length.
Beerntsen's experience and high football IQ make him a plug-and-play interior backup for a zone-heavy scheme, where his ability to reach and seal is an asset despite athletic limitations.
Path To the NFL Draft: Episode 3 (Evan Beerntsen)
Long-form look at Beerntsen's hand usage and leverage from his Northwestern film.
Evan Beerntsen OL 40 Yard Dash
Combine 40-yard dash run, part of a workout that produced a 1.81 ten-yard split.
Evan Beerntsen Receives His Draft Call From the Ravens
Draft-night call for the final pick of Baltimore's 2026 class.
Evan Beerntsen projects as a leverage-based zone guard, offering a team a Plug-and-Play interior lineman who excels in run-blocking schemes that prioritize movement and technique over brute force. His advanced understanding of angles and footwork, combined with a quick processing speed, minimizes breakdowns in pass protection, making him a reliable option for inside zone or wide zone concepts.
Beerntsen built an extensive resume with 38 career starts and two FCS national titles at South Dakota State before transferring to Northwestern. In his lone Power Four season, he started all 13 games at right guard, not allowing a single sack or quarterback hit, and only yielding six hurries on the way to All-Big Ten honorable mention. This performance validated his ability to compete at a higher level, despite facing significantly younger opposition for much of his career.
Evaluators were split on Beerntsen due to his 32 1/8-inch arm length and his age, turning 25 before the draft, limiting his perceived physical upside. This combination marked him as a late Day 3 selection, with the Baltimore Ravens ultimately taking the experienced, technically sound player with pick No. 253, betting on his immediate utility over long-term development.
- 01
Leverage and pad level
Consistently plays under defenders, squatting into contact and driving through his hips to create real displacement at the point of attack with a 301-pound frame.
- 02
Independent hand usage
Strikes with fast, separate hands, effectively inside the framework, and resets cleanly, preventing defensive tackles from locking onto his chest plate.
- 03
Zone-scheme mobility
Moves easily on wide-zone blocks, reaching and covering ground with unusual grace for an interior blocker, fitting schemes built on angles.
- 04
Stunt and twist recognition
Processes interior games instantly, passing off loopers on time and preventing unblocked rushers from collapsing the pocket and causing sacks.
- 05
Pass-protection reliability
Posted an exceptional pass-protection record in 2025, starting all 13 Big Ten games without allowing a sack or quarterback hit, yielding only six hurries.
- 01
Arm length
With 32 1/8-inch arms, he has a short strike zone, allowing longer-armed defensive linemen to initiate contact and lock him out before he can establish hand position.
- 02
Playing mass
At 301 pounds, he is comparatively light for an NFL interior role, leading pure power rushers to walk him backward on initial contact before his anchor engages.
- 03
Age and development runway
As a 25-year-old seventh-year senior, there is limited physical projection or developmental upside remaining compared to younger prospects.
- 04
Second-level movement
His feet become slow and lumbering when climbing to linebackers, causing him to miss tracking angles that his quickness in close quarters suggests he should achieve.
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | South Dakota State | 0 |
| 2020 | South Dakota State | 4 |
| 2021 | South Dakota State | 0 |
| 2022 | South Dakota State | 13 |
| 2023 | South Dakota State | 15 |
| 2024 | South Dakota State | 15 |
| 2025 | Northwestern | 13 |
| Career | — | 60 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2025)
- Second-Team AP FCS All-American (2024)
- First-Team All-MVFC (2024)
- Honorable Mention All-MVFC (2023)
- Two-time FCS National Champion (2022, 2023)
A technique-first guard who sticks for years as a spot starter and the first man off the bench at two spots.
The hand-heavy, finishing interior starter Beerntsen would become if the anchor holds up against NFL power.
A camp-body interior blocker whose length limits show up in pads and who bounces between roster and practice squad.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Beerntsen is the rare prospect whose file reads like a career before the career starts. He arrived at South Dakota State in 2019 as an unranked recruit out of Appleton North who had weighed barely 250 pounds as a high school senior, redshirted, lost a year to the pandemic-shortened calendar, lost another to the depth chart, and did not become a full-time starter until his fourth autumn on campus. What followed was three seasons of interior anchoring for one of the most physical programs in the FCS, including two national championships and a 2024 campaign that ended with second-team Associated Press All-American recognition. By the time he transferred to Northwestern as a graduate, he had 38 starts and almost nothing left to prove at that level.
The Big Ten season was the audit, and he passed it in the plainest possible way: 13 starts at right guard, zero sacks allowed, zero quarterback hits allowed, six hurries across the entire fall. Northwestern's ground game found traction it had not enjoyed in years with him working combination blocks on the right side, and his instantaneous read of interior stunts kept a young quarterback upright in situations where the pocket should have collapsed. Baltimore's interest is easy to trace. The Ravens run a scheme that asks guards to reach, climb and finish rather than simply occupy, and Beerntsen's knee bend, hand speed and temperament fit that ask cleanly. The counterargument is honest too. He measured 32 1/8-inch arms at 301 pounds and turned 25 before the draft, which means longer NFL three-techniques will find his chest before he finds theirs, and there is no projection left in the body. That is exactly the trade a team makes with the 253rd pick: no ceiling to dream on, but a professional who understands leverage, protection rules and his own limits well enough to survive a training camp and be useful the moment an interior starter goes down.