Juice Scruggs
Detroit LionsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 10 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Comps
STM Take
Two straight tier 8 (#72, #72) rookie and sophomore years to tier 5 (#33) in year three is a measured developmental arc for a 2nd-round center, but still below the tier 2-3 range that the draft slot implied. The Penn State 26-start résumé plus the Texans' offensive line continuity around C.J. Stroud should support continued development. The 2026 question is whether Scruggs crosses into tier 4 or whether tier 5 becomes the stable baseline.
Scruggs came out of Penn State as the Houston Texans' 2nd-round pick (62nd overall) in 2023 after starting 26 games for the Nittany Lions at center. The Texans installed him as a starter from week one of his rookie year as part of the offensive line build around C.J. Stroud. His STTM career runs tier 8 (#72) rookie season, tier 8 (#72) sophomore, then tier 5 (#33) in 2025, a year-three jump that 2nd-round centers need to justify the draft slot.
Strengths
- 39-spot year-over-year jump from tier 8 (#72) to tier 5 (#33) shows trajectory, even if the absolute level is below the 2nd-round draft expectation.
- Penn State 26-start résumé plus the Texans' C.J. Stroud-era offensive line investment gives him the structural support to keep developing.
Concerns
- Two straight tier 8 finishes before the year-three jump is below the year-two median for 2nd-round IOLs on the Pro Bowl trajectory.
- Houston's broader offensive line investment pattern (multiple Day 1-2 picks 2024-2025) signals the front office may still upgrade at the center spot.
What to watch: Whether Scruggs holds tier 5 or better in 2026 plus crosses into tier 4 territory, the threshold for confirming the 2025 jump was structural.