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Trenchmen’s Corner| Quinn Meinerz Scouting Report | Former CFL scout Dave Van Nett breaks down his game

Quinn Meinerz Scouting Report Trenchmen's Corner
Former CFL scout Dave Van Nett breaks down his first offensive lineman in the 2021 NFL Draft. Quinn Meinerz from Wisconsin-Whitewater enters the Trenchmen’s Corner.

Quinn Meinerz Scouting Report – University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

  • High School – Hartford High School
  • Hometown – Hartford Wisconsin
  • Parents – Aaron Meinerz and Nichole Halase/ 5 siblings  
  • Jersey # – 77
  • Position – LG/OC
  • Height – 6’3”
  • Weight – 320
  • Reach – 33”

Overview:                                       

Quinn was a three-sport athlete in high school and won several awards in all three sports.  He participated in Football, Track and Field, and Wrestling.  In college, he has had the same success that he had in high school.  His football career from 2017 to 2019 has been nothing short of exemplary.  He won awards in all three seasons including becoming a team captain. With the 2020 season being canceled due to Covid-19, Quinn decided to forgo his senior year and declare for the NFL Draft.  Quinn was invited to the Senior Bowl replacing Alabama’s injured starting center. Normally a left guard, Quinn received a call from the Senior Bowl asking him to attend as a center. Quinn didn’t think twice and showed up in force.  At the Senior Bowl Quinn showed everyone that he would be a force to be considered in the upcoming draft and season.  He interviewed very well and showed his talents well in the practices.

Personal:

Quinn was raised for most of his life by a single dad, Aaron, who works in I.T., and he spent the summers with his uncle in Canada who runs a fishing camp.  Quinn also has three siblings and two step-siblings.  Quinn talks extensively in interviews about his uncle and how he would spend his summers in the Canadian bush helping his uncle at the fish camp, but more importantly how he developed his out-of-the-box training regimen.  Quinn would run the log roads and use whatever he could find around camp to carry, push or lift to increase his strength and stamina.  He would film himself working out and working on his technique so he could self-evaluate and correct issues he saw.  Quinn began to receive even more national recognition with his “Belly of the Beast” campaign to raise money for an 11-year-old girl in his hometown who has a rare disease and needs help finding a lifesaving treatment.

Film Review:

I have reviewed several films on Quinn including his Senior Bowl practices and I would rate him a solid B overall.  Although he has numerous positive qualities as a player he still has several areas that he needs to be worked on, but can easily be fixed.  In his film, I saw a player that dominated in the trenches in college.  But, was that because of the level of completion he was playing against, or is he just that good?  In the Senior Bowl practices, his lack of experience at center showed a little bit but showed the tenacity and vigor it takes to face off against bigger school players.  Quinn is an offensive line coach’s dream center.  With some light coaching, he will be a dominant center in the League for many years to come, and with the right support, he could be looking at a Hall of Fame career.

Assessment:

  1. Quinn has the ability to play both offensive guard and center; with some advanced training he has the potential to be a HOF center
  2. Quinn is extremely strong and easily pushes people around.
  3. He keeps his head on a swivel and is always looking for work when not actively engaged.
  4. Quinn is very aggressive off the line of scrimmage; with this, at times his aggressiveness makes him a little less accurate on his attack points. 
  5. He has very good hand fighting skills, he has the ability to pick up faster pass rushers and control them.  Even with his hand fighting skills at times his hands do get a little wide on the defender’s shoulders.
  6. Quinn has a strong base and a balanced stance.
  7. His ability to double team and climb to the next level is very good, both in inside and outside zone.
  8. As a guard he pulls very well and very aggressively, this includes pulling to the lane in screen situations.                
  9. He finishes blocks strong and aggressively no matter where he is on the field.  
  10. During the Senior Bowl Quinn showed drastic improvement from his junior year in college.  During his one on ones, he showed everyone that he can compete at the next level.  He was able to compete and at times be very dominating against players from bigger schools.  He did get put on his heels a few times but never gave up and didn’t allow the defender near the quarterback.  
  11. A testimony to this young man’s tenacity is that he broke his hand during practice and finished out the week and continued to dominate

Injuries:  Broken hand at Senior Bowl

Belly of the Beast Quinn Meinerz
Quinn Meinerz teamed up with Milwaukee T-Shirt’s very own Nick Packard to design a shirt that will give back to a young girl fighting a rare disease. He has already sold 433 items.

Prediction:

This young man is a P.R. dream.  He has an amazing personality and social media is falling in love with him.  

As a player, I rate him at a solid B.  Quinn possesses the aggressiveness that every coach desires in a player.  The ability to play dual roles is a huge plus.  I see him being drafted as a center though.  He is a bit of an enigma at times when it comes to his technique and aggressiveness.  He is fast and aggressive in his zone work and pulling but occasionally this can make him attack slightly off-target; this is a minor issue and can be easily fixed with some advanced coaching.  He also has great hand speed and hand fighting ability but at times his hands can get a little wide, and again this is a minor issue and can be fixed quite easily.  

I see Quinn going late in the second round of the draft to the early fourth round.  I can see him being a backup center for his first year and then make the move to the starter and really showing his abilities.  Long term I see many pro bowl appearances and with his personality and charity work, I can even see him as a Walter Payton Award nominee and possibly a winner.  Quinn has the potential to have a HOF career with the right guidance.  No matter where he goes he is going to be a force to reckon with. 

About Dave:

David Van Nett is a 17-year football coach and former CFL scout.  He was hired by Head Coach Chris Jones, 4 times Grey Bowl coach, to be the area scout in the Carolinas.  David is an Army veteran and retired law enforcement officer as well. Make sure you follow him on Twitter @coach_vannett

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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