2023 NFL Combine Notes: Sidy Sow, OL, Eastern Michigan

Sidy Sow was a mainstay of the Eastern Michigan offensive line thorughout his tenure in Ypsilanti, starting 55 of 57 career games for the Eagles after moving in from his native Quebec.

Sow saw time at both tackle and guard, eventually settling in primarily at the left guard, winning all-MAC honors three seasons in a row, with third-team honors in 2020 and first-team honors in 2021 and 2022. He’s an impressive interior prospect at the professional level; Sow only gave up nine sacks in his 57 appearances, logging nearly 2,000 snaps as a starter.

Sow is eligible for the CFL as well thanks to his citizenship, and is considered a Top 10 prospect oin this year’s amateur draft.

The NFL Combine will give Sow a chance to show off his natural athleticism and measurables after a decent showing at last month’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Official Combine measurements:

• Height: six-foot-five
• Weight: 323 lbs.
• Hands: 10 and three-eighth inches
• Arms: 33 and five-eighth inches

Official Combine workout numbers:

• 40-yard dash: 5.07 seconds (ninth in position group)
• 10-yard dash: 1.8 seconds
• Vertical jump: 32 inches
• Broad jump: nine feet, two inches
• Three-cone drill: 7.62 seconds (seventh in OL group)
• Shuttle drill: 4.69 seconds (tied for eighth in OL group)
• Bench press: Unavailable

What did we see?

Sidy Sow made a great impression upon scouts assembled at the Combine, even drawing praise from the on-field coaches during the positional drills.

Sow has some work to do on his body; his frame is fairly large and could use some sculpting to take full advantage of his ridiculous agility, but if he’s running the numbers he is right now, a season under an NFL strength program would make him extremely intriguing.

His three-cone and shuttle drills are especially noticeable; he finished in the top 10 of all offensive linemen in both, placing second amongst guards in the three-cone drill and third amongst guards in the shuttle drill. Sow was also a Top 10 offensive lineman in the 40-yard dash regardless of position with as 5.07 official time— just one-tenth of a second off from the first spot.

Sow particularly shined in positional drills, with no major issues to report back. Sow kept compact in the deep pull drill, looking swift and smooth while hugging the inside of the racing line. Sow also finished strong in the fold block and pull block drills, and showed explosive hands in the pass block and kick slide drills.

The broadcast did not show Sow’s mirror drill, so we can’t speak to the lateral movement, but if the deep pull and wave drills are anything to pull from, Sow should be able to reasonably translate at the pro level.

Sow is a natural pass blocker, with disruptive hand movement and a good anchor, understanding how to use his frame to hold up opponents. This is especially true on shorter reps. The question has always been with needing to work for longer; his run blocking could use work, and longer pass-block reps showed off some of his bigger flaws (most notably with his footwork.)

Sow should be able to find a good home with an NFL team who can have the room to nurture him as a rotational pass-blocking guard to start and work him into being more well-rounded. Fellow former Eagle Andrew Wylie went down a similar path and ended up being an essential piece of a Super Bowl-winning line in Kansas City.

Sow would also be a great fit in the pass-friendly CFL, where the three-down structure favors teams with better short-game passing offenses.