About Shane

Shane Lemieux would grow up in Yakima, Washington, and attend West Valley High School. He was a 3-star offensive guard, and ranked as a Top 10 player in the 2015 Washington recruiting cycle by ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports. Lemieux would receive offers from schools like Arizona State, UCF, Utah, and Boise State but would commit to the Oregon Ducks on May 3rd, 2014.

After redshirting in 2015, Lemieux would play in 79% of all of Oregon’s offensive snaps. He started at left guard all 12 games, and blocked for an offense that would average over 490 yards of total offense, and average the 2nd most rushing yards in the Pac-12 (226.1). The Ducks had plenty of firepower on offense but only managed a 4-8 record in 2016. Oregon would move on from their head coach, Mark Helfrich, and first year offensive coordinator Matt Lubick.

Shane would continue to start at left guard, continue his streak to 25 straight games by the end of the season. The Ducks would be working with first year head coach, Willie Taggart, who had an up and down season and departed before their bowl game. Oregon would finish 7-5, and lose their bowl game against Boise State 38-28 with soon to be head coach, Mario Cristobal taking over. Cristobal wanted to make this team break the Pac-12 stereotype of being soft, and reinforced the trenches of this team.

Pro Football Focus would grade Lemieux has the No. 1 guard in the Pac-12, and the 3rd best in the nation. He would be voted to the AP All Pac-12 First Team, and the coaches All Pac-12 Second Team. By the end of 2018 Lemieux would have started 38 straight games, and the Ducks would average over 428 yards of offense a game. Mario Cristobal’s first season would go a lot more pleasantly than Taggart’s, finishing 9-4 and with a Redbox Bowl win vs Michigan State.

Lemieux would start of 2019 by being voted to the Preseason All Pac-12 first team, along with three other Oregon Ducks. Their offensive line would return all five starters from last year, making them one of the best and most experienced groups in the country. Finally Cristobal’s offense was coming together, as they would average 178 rushing yards a game, and a total of over 435 yards a game. They were second in the nation in run blocking, and 3rd in pass protection, only allowing a combined 15 sacks or QB hits in 2019 on 444 pass attempts. Oregon would finish their season 12-2, with a blow out win over Utah in the Pac-12 Championship. They were invited to play in the Rose Bowl, where they would battle it out with Wisconsin, and win a close game 28-27.

Preseason Pac-12 All-Conference first team squad. #GoDucks

👊 QB1
👊 @calthrock_54
👊 @ShaneLemieux
👊 @Tdye15dbTroy pic.twitter.com/XEiaSI7360
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) July 24, 2019

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Lemieux is a brick wall; he is a great run blocker and rarely ever gets pushed back from the line of scrimmage. Stays low and uses his strength to control his defenders. He will probably measure a smidge over 6’4, offering great size for an NFL guard. Shane put up really good tape against Bradlee Anae, one of the best pass rushers in this class. A team that wants to emphasize the run game would love to have Lemieux in their line up.

He is a redshirt senior who has been coached very well in his time in Eugene. Rarely gets called for a holding or any kind of plenty. He has a good football I.Q., like most of the Oregon offensive line, and won’t see many looks he hasn’t seen over his five years with the Ducks.

Weaknesses

He isn’t a mauler of an offensive guard, and that is something you would want to see in someone that leans heavily on run blocking. Very rarely will you see him take anyone to the ground. This could be a lack of lower body strength, and if he could increase that we might be able to see him become a pin in the trenches.

NFL Draft Projection/NFL Player Comp

NFL Draft Projection

Lemieux is going to be one of those interior offensive linemen that don’t get much love from the media, but are very valuable for an offense. Especially ones that want to feature the run. I have him 29th on my NFL Big Board, and going 25th to the Miami Dolphins.

With the 5th pick I have them selecting Tua, which means they gotta get this man protected. One of his only red flags is his durability, so giving him someone to keep him up right is very crucial. Lemieux was able to keep Justin Herbert shielded from defenders throughout his entire career, and his leadership will be something that Flores will like from Day 1.

NFL Player Comp

Lemieux is going to be a plug in starter for whatever NFL team drafts him and will make your running game a lot more lethal. I think he is very similar to fellow former Oregon Duck, Kyle Long. Both guards are great run blockers, above average in size, and offers a lot of experience for a rookie. He wasn’t the sexiest pick, but one that turned out to be one of the better picks for Chicago in the last decade. While Long’s career was a lot shorter than we expected, he was able to make an impact very quickly for the Chicago Bears.