J.B. Shabazz

Physical Profile

The measurables are the sell. He has an ideal tackle build — legitimate 6-5/6-6 with 34-plus-inch arms, which is the single most predictive trait for staying outside at the next level, and a wide, thick lower half that projects to carry 330-340 without losing mobility. His weight trajectory is the thing to track, not the height: he was reported at 280 pounds at his July 2025 Tennessee commitment, 315 at his September flip, and is listed at 333 now. That is roughly 50 pounds in a year. Some of it is natural fill-out on an 18-year-old frame, but at that rate the question is whether the added mass is functional playing weight or storage — his college staff's answer to that determines whether he stays at tackle or eventually kicks to guard. The basketball background (All-Conference honors at East Forsyth) is a real data point here: it means the body control and change-of-direction were there at a lighter weight, and the developmental bet is that he keeps them at a heavier one.

Play Style

He is a positional pass protector, not a mauler. Aligned at left tackle in a two-point stance, he plays with patience, gets depth in his set, and uses his length to keep rushers at arm's distance rather than trying to jolt them. On film the best reps are the long ones — where a rusher tries a counter or a spin and Shabazz stays balanced enough to reset and mirror rather than falling off the block. The weakest reps are power reps, where he's upright at contact and surrenders ground before recovering with pure length. There is very little nastiness or finish on his tape right now; his game is control, not violence.

Strengths

• Pass protection in space — as a junior he worked almost exclusively from a two-point stance at left tackle and was at his best in reverse, staying under control in his kick-slide and re-setting his feet to adjust to a rusher's counter rather than lunging. That is an advanced trait for a high schooler with his mass.
• Length and reach radius — 34-plus-inch arms let him initiate contact first and re-anchor after losing the initial punch, which papers over technical mistakes at the high school level and is the trait that keeps him at tackle rather than forcing an inside move.
• Frame and growth capacity — he has already absorbed roughly 50 pounds in a year without reports of losing his feet, meaning the staff can build him to a mid-330s ACC tackle without projecting a rebuild of his body type.
• Multi-sport body control — All-Conference basketball athleticism at his size, which shows in his hip mobility and his ability to mirror in the second half of a rep.
• Program-tested competitive environment — two-time All-Conference across Oak Grove and East Forsyth, a 4A program that also produced UNC quarterback Bryce Baker, so he has played meaningful snaps against real North Carolina competition and been coached in an offense that asks its tackle to protect.

Areas to Improve

• Pad level and hip flexion — the recurring note in his evaluation is that he bends at the waist rather than sinking through the knees and ankles. At 6-6 that is the difference between anchoring and getting walked back; ACC interior and edge power will find his chest before he re-anchors. This is the number-one item on his development sheet and it is a strength-and-mechanics fix, not a talent problem.
• Lower-body utilization and run-game displacement — his junior tape is a pass-protection profile. He absorbs and mirrors far better than he drives. He needs to learn to generate through the ground, finish blocks, and be a factor on down blocks and combos before he is a starting-caliber option in a gap/power run scheme.
• Playing-weight management — going 280 to 333 that quickly requires a strength staff to verify the mass is usable. If he adds without adding functional strength, the pad-level issue compounds and the tackle projection erodes into a guard projection.
• Hand placement and punch timing — with his length he can win late; against college rushers who close the gap he has to strike first and accurately, and his hands are currently more catch than strike.

College Projection

Redshirt in 2026 is the expected and correct outcome. He arrived in a Belichick/Lombardi pro-style program where the offensive line was the roster's biggest question mark and where the staff is likely to press only the most ready freshmen into service, and he is not that — he needs a full year of ACC strength work and technical rebuilding of his lower half. Realistic timeline: developmental year one, swing tackle and situational jumbo/six-OL package snaps in year two, competition for a starting job at right tackle in year three. His floor is a multi-year Power Four swing tackle who can protect the edge in emergency duty; his ceiling, if the pad level fixes and the added weight is functional, is a three-year ACC starting left tackle. The scouting consensus label on him coming out was explicitly 'swing tackle at the Power Four level,' and beating that label is the goal, not the expectation.

NFL Outlook

Too early to project a round, and any draft conversation is entirely trait-based rather than production-based. What makes him a draftable body is the pair of things you cannot coach: 6-6 with 34-plus-inch arms. Left tackles get drafted on that profile every year. What stands between him and a draft grade is everything you can coach — anchor, pad level, and run-game finish — plus the requirement that he first become a starter, which is not guaranteed in a room he'll enter as the fourth or fifth tackle. Best case, if he starts two-plus years at tackle in the ACC and the technique catches up to the frame, he's a Day 2 developmental tackle. More likely outcome as things stand today: a late Day 3 or priority free agent swing-tackle profile. Track his weight and his knee-bend, in that order — those two variables decide which of those he becomes.

Best Fit

A pro-style program with a veteran offensive line room, patience to redshirt, and a technique-first line coach — a place where he sits behind starters for a year or two and is not asked to survive on Saturdays before his lower body is built. Schematically he is a better fit right now in a pass-heavy, wide-splits offense that asks him to set and mirror than in a downhill gap/power run scheme that asks him to displace defenders. North Carolina is a defensible landing spot on both counts: it's an NFL-structured staff that develops linemen on a pro timeline, and it kept him in-state alongside a former high school teammate. The risk is the same as the appeal — an offensive line that is the team's biggest question mark could force him onto the field a year before his body is ready.