Beaux Limmer leads pack of prospective Pro Hogs in NFL Draft
The 2024 NFL Draft will get underway on Thursday night and a handful of former Razorbacks are in line to hear their name called throughout the three-day selection process. Chief among them is offensive lineman Beaux Limmer, who will likely find a landing spot as a mid-round selection.
Other Razorbacks with a good chance to be drafted include kicker Cam Little, cornerback Dwight McGlothern, guard Brady Latham and defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat.
After his five-year career in Razorback red and a strong showing in the offseason showcases, Limmer has solidified himself as a legitimate prospect. The latest projections from the NFL Mock Draft Database see Limmer as a fourth-round pick, with the potential to go as high as the third round.
Limmer cited his versatility as a plus in his draft prospects. After making the All-SEC second team at guard in 2022, he shifted inside to center last season and put up some impressive tape.
“I’ve heard some teams like me a lot at center, some teams like me at guard,” Limmer said at Arkansas’ Pro Day. “I feel comfortable at either one, it’s just wherever they have a need. That was kind of a recurring thing that came up at the Senior Bowl and the Combine…showing that I could play center and have that versatility helped me out, so I was thankful I was able to do that this year.”
NFL analysts have also said that this positional flexibility helps Limmer's stock.
“Limmer brings center/guard flexibility and a wealth of starting experience in the challenging SEC,” Lance Zierlein said. “He has decent upper-body strength and good lower-body flexibility to provide leverage, but could use additional mass on his frame. His clear eyes and accurate block entries give him early leads in the initial phase as a run blocker, and he maintains active feet to stay connected to his blocks over the first and second level.”
Limmer's Combine Domination Draws Eyes
The NFL Combine is an event that is widely renowned for its overreactions. From obsessions with hand sizes to head-scratching questions and answers about flying planes and the shape of the Earth, it’s a breeding ground for offseason craziness with prospects sliding up and down boards for all kinds of factors.
Limmer was one prospect who garnered national attention in Indianapolis for all the right reasons after putting up a best-in-show performance that impressed scouts and casual viewers alike.
The soon-to-be Pro Hog lapped the competition in the bench press, as he threw around 225 pounds like it was nothing. His 39 reps were by far the most of any other player at the combine, and the second-highest mark was a distant 32 reps.
“I knew I had a chance, just from training, to get a lot of reps and be towards the top,” Limmer said. “Super blessed that the Lord gave me the strength to be able to do that, and that I was healthy enough to do it at the Combine and perform on a big stage like that.”
In fact, according to the Combine’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS), Limmer had one of the most impressive performances from an interior lineman that the event has ever seen. His RAS score was a 9.80 out of 10, with his agility and explosion graded as “elite” and his speed rated as “great”.
Making his bench press demolition more impressive was the fact that the Tyler, Texas, native measured in at a relatively undersized 6-foot-4, 302 pounds – resulting in an "okay" RAS composite size grade.
Hog-on-Hog Crime at Senior Bowl
Limmer had an up-and-down offseason, as he made headlines for unfortunate reasons back in February after a clip went viral of Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat getting the best of the former Hog at the Senior Bowl practices.
This clip brought some hostility towards Limmer online, with most of the criticism coming, surprisingly, from his own fanbase. It’s likely that Razorback fans were still harboring some sour feelings from a disappointing football season, and Limmer was the unfortunate target of those frustrations.
However, despite the 4-8 record, Limmer didn't deserve to be thrown under the bus. Arkansas had plenty of problems last season, but he wasn’t one of them. He finished with a respectable Pro Football Focus grade of 73.8 – the highest of any Razorback offensive lineman. In the era of the transfer portal, it’s also worth noting that he stayed loyal to the program through a tumultuous five-year period.
After the Senior Bowl fiasco, it was certainly vindicating for the 22-year-old to generate such an impressive performance in Indianapolis. At the Combine media sessions, he gave special thanks to head coach Sam Pittman for his advice to come back for his super senior season.
Limmer’s potential selection this weekend would make him the latest in an increasingly long line of Pro Hog linemen alongside Travis Swanson, Frank Ragnow, Dan Skipper and more.
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place in Detroit from April 25-27, and it will broadcast on ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network. Stay tuned to HawgBeat for Arkansas-related coverage of the event.