Sam
Hecht.
Sam
Hecht.
Kansas State· 6'4"· 303 lb· 5.10s 40
R5 · #144 · Carolina Panthers"Two-year All-Big 12 starting center and former walk-on with elite processing and quick hands; the flag is short arms and average anchor length that shrink his positional versatility."Pre-draft read
Aligns exclusively at center, responsible for call and full front-ID. He wins pre-snap, quickly identifying the Mike, redirecting protections, and passing off games. With light feet and near-hand accuracy, he lands the first shot on nose tackles. In pass protection, he mirrors 0- and 1-technique bull-rushers with a compact base and reset punch, though longer-armed 3-techniques on stunts can force him to reach.
In the run game, he thrives on combo blocks to the second level, throwing his hip into the down block before climbing to linebackers on gap and mid-zone schemes. His angles at the second level are a separator. Snap accuracy is clean in both gun and pistol formations, and he maintains constant communication chatter on RPO checks.
Carolina Panthers run a balanced offense featuring duo, inside zone, and outside zone, with RPOs mixed in, often utilizing shotgun and pistol formations.
Year 1 backup center with proficiency in pre-snap reads and combo blocking, with the potential to develop into a reliable starting center due to high football IQ.
A power-oriented, gap scheme with a heavy focus on drive blocking where he would be consistently asked to move larger defensive tackles without help, or one that demands guard flexibility.
Hecht projects as an intelligent, assignment-sure center who thrives on communication and combo blocks in a zone/duo scheme, making him a good fit for the Panthers' current system despite physical limitations.
Where will K-State's Sam Hecht land in the NFL Draft?
Pre-draft breakdown of Hecht's Kansas State tape, walk-on story and projection.
Can the Panthers Trust Sam Hecht to Win the Starting Center Job?
Post-draft breakdown of Hecht's fit in Carolina and path to a starting role.
Draft Talk — 2026 NFL Draft Offensive Linemen (includes Hecht)
OL class breakdown including Hecht's pass-pro reps and combine testing profile.
This player projects as a center due to his operational intelligence and disciplined technique. A team is investing in a high-floor, plug-and-play backup whose processing speed and footwork allow him to execute complex blocking schemes, offering immediate depth and potential as a low-end starter. His 5.10 forty time indicates functional athleticism rather than explosive traits.
He was a two-year All-Big 12 starter, beginning his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship and starting 25 games at center. His senior season, Pro Football Focus graded him among the top pass-blocking centers nationally, showcasing his reliability and effectiveness against Power Five competition in a demanding role. He primarily operated out of gap and mid-zone schemes, specializing in second-level blocks.
Evaluators consistently flagged his shorter arm length and average anchor as concerns, limiting his projected versatility and potentially creating issues against longer, stronger NFL defensive linemen. Despite these trade-offs, consensus positioned him as one of the class's cleanest center prospects. He was selected in the fifth round, 144th overall, by the Carolina Panthers, fulfilling expectations for a backup pivot.
- 01
Pre-snap diagnostic ability
quickly identifies the Mike, correctly redirects protections, and processes defensive alignments with veteran timing and accuracy.
- 02
First-strike pass protection
uses quick hands and precise timing to consistently land the initial punch against nose tackles, controlling engagements.
- 03
Second-level run blocking
effectively executes combo blocks, throwing his hip into the down defender before climbing to linebackers with effective angles.
- 04
Operational efficiency
delivers clean snaps from gun and pistol, consistently communicating RPO checks and cadence variations with his quarterback.
- 05
Walk-on mentality
his progression from unrecruited to two-year Power Five starter highlights his effort, coachability, and preparation.
- 01
Short arm length
31 5/8-inch arms can make it challenging to maintain separation against longer 0- and 1-techniques if hand placement is not perfect.
- 02
Average anchor
at 303 pounds, he can be walked back into the pocket by powerful bull-rushers, especially those who gain leverage early.
- 03
Limited positional flexibility
exclusively played center in college, and his athletic profile does not suggest viable guard or tackle versatility at the next level.
- 04
Recovery from late losses
struggles to adequately recover or generate a second effort when longer rushers stack him or force him to overextend.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.10sp50
- Vertical
- 28inp50
- Broad jump
- 101inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.75sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.71sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kansas State | 4 |
| 2023 | Kansas State | 13 |
| 2024 | Kansas State | 13 |
| 2025 | Kansas State | 12 |
| Career | — | 42 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Ready-made backup pivot who wins with pre-snap operation, spot-starts as a plus and holds up in short-week emergencies.
Undersized center with elite processing and quick hands who anchored a line for years despite average length.
Roster center whose value is entirely operational — call sheets, snap cleanliness, scout-team quality reps behind a veteran.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context Hecht is a Shawnee, Kan., native who arrived at Kansas State as an unrecruited walk-on and spent two years grinding on the scout team and rotation depth chart before earning a scholarship. He redshirted for developmental reps, played four games as a special-teams and reserve OL body in 2022, moved into a backup interior role in 2023 (13 games, no starts), and finally took the starting center job in 2024, holding it through his 2025 senior season. Both starting years produced All-Big 12 recognition, and Pro Football Focus graded him among the country's best pass-blocking centers as a senior. The 2026 Combine confirmed the tape: 6-4, 303, 31 5/8-inch arms, 9 7/8 hands, 5.10 forty, 7.75 three-cone, 4.71 shuttle. The workout was functional rather than explosive, but the agility numbers matched a center who wins with feet and processing more than raw pop.
NFL fit — Carolina Panthers Carolina took Hecht at 144 in the fifth round to sit behind veteran Austin Corbett and Cade Mays on the interior, with the medium-term expectation that he competes for the starting pivot in year two. The Panthers' offensive scheme leans on inside- and mid-zone with layered protections, both of which reward Hecht's two strongest traits: quick pre-snap communication and clean climb angles to the second level. The initial rookie-year runway is scout-team quality reps, jumbo package center, and emergency starter — Carolina's recent interior injury history suggests he will get real snaps at some point. The concern in a Panthers uniform is the same one that showed up in Manhattan: longer NFL nose tackles on straight bull-rush can force him to reach and reset late.
Retrospective Rookie year still to come, but the evaluation reads cleanly. A two-year Power Five starter with elite operational IQ, short arms and an average anchor is exactly a fifth-round center — high floor as a backup pivot, upside as a low-end starter if length does not become a weekly loss. The walk-on arc and the pass-pro tape are the reasons this pick is easier to defend than most fifth-round interior linemen; the Panthers were not reaching for traits, they were buying a plug-and-play backup who can move up if the room turns over.