Corey Kluber graces cover of Popular Mechanics magazine
March 20, 2015Missing day one of the NCAA tourney, plus Kevin Love narratives – WFNY Podcast – 2015-03-20
March 20, 2015We are about a month and half away from the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Over the last few weeks, I discussed my top five players in each of the defensive positions. I am now heading over to the offense, by discussing the offensive tackle class. Here were my top five offensive linemen in last year’s draft. Offensive tackles are one of the most important positions to have because of their duty to protect the quarterback. Tackles are usually taken very high in the draft with many of them going in the top ten.
This year’s class of offensive tackles is not as talented as year’s past. There is not a real elite tackle in the draft, meaning there will most likely not be selected as early as usual years. But, the draft does have players who can become very good offensive tackles in the NFL.
Here are my top five offensive tackles in the 2015 NFL Draft.
1. La’el Collins, LSU
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LSU’s La’el Collins is my top offensive tackle in the 2015 NFL Draft. He is a big lineman at 6-foot-4, 305-pounds, who is extremely difficult to move. He has a thick body, but he has very good feet for a player his size. The best part of his game is his run blocking ability. He is a mauler in the run game, pushing defenders out of the way to make holes (as you can see in the video below). He stays engaged with the defender and does not quit on plays until the whistle. He can play very well in pass protection because of his feet and arm extension. He can keep defenders in front of him and away from his body using both of these assets. His strength, size and feet are a great combination for an offensive lineman. CBSSports.com’s Matt Miller says, “La’el Collins has the best film of the group, and he’s versatile enough to play right tackle, guard or left tackle. I’ve been impressed with his athleticism in drills at the Senior Bowl and combine, in part because he’s dropped weight.”
Collins struggles sometimes when he reaches and lunges to block rushers. He can occasionally lose balance when he leans forward and loses contact with defenders. He needs to be more patient and not lose technique when he tries to be too aggressive. He is not a great athlete, so he could struggle with speed rushers when they force him to change directions quickly, which he has difficulty doing fast. But, I believe he has the demeanor, strength, size and feet that will allow him to be a versatile lineman in the NFL, playing multiple positions on the line.
2. DJ Humphries, Florida
DJ Humphries of Florida plays very well in both pass and run blocking. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound tackle is one of the most athletic linemen in the draft. He has great feet to slide in pass protection and reach speed rushers on the edge (as you can see below). His quick feet allow him to get into the right position to block the rusher. He moves well, so he can advance into the second level to block defenders down field. His athletic ability helps him stay strong versus bull rushers and get out quickly versus speed rushers. He has very long arms that allow him to keep rushers away from his body and control them from getting past him. He plays with good leverage to push defenders back and create holes for the run game. Humphries plays hard and through the whistle, showing toughness to compete in the trenches. “He has a chance to be a starting left tackle, Day 1, at the next level,” noted NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah. “I don’t know if I can say that about any other offensive lineman in this class. It’s very deep, but (Humphries) has the best feet of the bunch.”
Humphries biggest problem is his tendency to lean forward too much, causing him to sometimes lose balance. This affects his run blocking because he can sometimes fall off blocks because of his weight leaning forward. He needs to stay more upright and not lean forward. A little coaching can help him clean up his technique to improve his overall ability. He could also add some more weight, which can help him get stronger. But overall, Humphries has the athletic ability and feet to be a very good left tackle in the NFL.
3. TJ Clemmings, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s TJ Clemmings has the potential to be the best offensive tackle to come out of this draft class. He has the prototypical size of a left tackle 6-foot-5, 309-pounds, but he also adds unique athleticism that players his size don’t usually possess. He has the feet and athleticism to be great in pass protection against speed rushers. He has long arms to ward off defenders from his body. He gets out of his stance very quickly and has the ability to quickly change directions depending on where the rusher is going. This ability to change directions helps him to transfer to a new defender quickly without losing ground on him (as you can see in the video below). Bryan Perez of draftbreakdown.com says this about Clemmings, “He has the makeup and athleticism to suggest he will be a longtime starting tackle in the NFL, but his inexperience will require patience and extra time from a coaching staff.”
Clemmings biggest question mark is his inexperience and technique. He has only played two seasons as a right tackle and has never played left tackle in college. He is extremely raw in his technique especially with his hands. He does not utilize his length well enough with his arms. He lets defenders get close to his body rather than extending his arms to keep them away, allowing defenders to get past him easier. He also loses balance quite a bit because of his inconsistent footwork and his tendency to lunge at defenders. But, Clemmings has the talent to be a very good left tackle, because of his athleticism and size.
4. Andrus Peat, Stanford
Stanford’s Andrus Peat has a huge base at 6-foot-7, 313-pounds. His legs are gigantic giving him powerful legs to hold up in the trenches. For a player his size, he moves very well with good feet. He is extremely quick off the snap, allowing him to get into position quicker (as you can see below). His athleticism makes him a good pass protector. He uses his wide base well to lock onto defenders and keeping them at bay. He has good hand placement on rushers, keeping his hands on the inside of the defenders chest. ESPN’s Mel Kiper says, “Peat gains value because he’s both played left tackle pretty well while still clearly in the development stages, and he has the ceiling to do it in the NFL. He’s got the long frame you want, with a thick lower half he can use to keep his balance and also drive defenders back. I think the feet are pretty good.”
Peat’s biggest weaknesses are his consistency with technique and his overall demeanor. He has pretty good feet and athleticism for a player his size, but he struggles versus speed rushers. He sometimes fears the speed and opens up way too wide, allowing for the inside rush. He also sometimes bends over at his waist blocking, which can lead to being unbalanced. With his size, you would think he would bull dozer people in the run game. But, he does not really move players around because he may lack upper body strength. He usually gets stuck on one block and does not flow to the second level often. He is very laissez-faire when I watch him. He does not attack. He sits back and lets the defenders come to him and he does not finish blocks. Peat has the talent and size to be a really good tackle, but he needs to refine his technique and show more toughness and aggressiveness.
5. Ereck Flowers, Miami (FL)
Ereck Flowers of Miami (FL) is a prototypical run blocking mauler. He has great size at 6-foot-6, 329-pounds along with pretty good athleticism to move around at that size. He has good leverage and strength to move defenders out of the way in running situations (as you can see below). He can flow to the next level and block down field in running plays. He has athleticism, move his feet well and good length in pass protection. He has tough attitude to play through the whistle and finish off blocks. ESPN’s Todd McShay says, “Flowers has a massive frame that allows him to recover in pass protection and open up lanes in the running game, along with excellent strength and above-average agility and a quick first step for his size.”
Flowers biggest weakness is his pass protection technique. He does not show consistent technique in pass blocking, so he is in need of coaching. His hands are too wide on the defender, allowing rushers to breakaway easier using swim moves or hand swipes. He moves well, but his footwork needs refining to stay technically sound against speed rushers. He struggles with balance in pass protection because of his tendency to put his head down and lean forward to block. His feet can get too narrow, causing more unbalance situations for him. But, his run blocking is very good and he does have potential of being a good pass protector because of his athleticism and size.
5 Comments
My non-Top 5 prospects for Bode…there’s a lot of HUGE tackes this year.
Daryl Williams – Oklahoma
Jeremiah Poutasi – Utah
Jamon Brown – Louisville
Joe, another good list. I love that you have Humphries that high. Not many do, but I completely agree with you there. He’s a good one and I think will be able to play either bookend. I don’t have Clemmings that high, but understand that you are going off his potential there and he has tons of potential. I would swap out Peat for Brandon Scherff (love him, he’s a monster), but there’s a chance that Scherff would be about the same as Schwartz in pass blocking (and I have seen some suggesting he’d be better at OG).
Daryl Williams – love him, but not for us. He’s not a ZBS guy. He’s a power punch blocker, so you want him a straight-ahead power blocking scheme (and even then, he might be an OG).
Jeremiah Poutasi – Utah played 2-pt stances, so cannot evaluate his first step much. Smaller frame though indicates he might be best moving to OG.
Jamon Brown – dang skippy. Later round ZBS specific OT who also has experience at OG if he winds up there instead.
———-my guys————–
Jake Fisher (Ducks) – ZBS guy and Oregon ran the ZBS in their spread. He’s not the strongest guy in the world, but he is athletic enough to make up for it. Also,TE from HS, there’s a chance we could use him as a blocking TE.
Ty Sambrailo (C-State) – I love this guy more than most. He has such good feet and is so ridiculously athletic (plays pretty much any sport and they showed clips of him as an award-winning skier during Senior Bowl). Needs to get stronger, needs to use his hands better (blocking style would be holding in NFL – wasn’t in college), but he’s an under-rated guy IMO.
Cedric Ogbuehi (A&M) – the hype going into 2014 didn’t match the production. but, he now tore his ACL and cannot demonstrate his gifted athleticism in front of scouts. good chance he takes a major tumble and there’s no way that he should be drafted 5th or later. if he’s there, then he’s a ZBS gift.
———-Wisconsin————–
Rob Havenstein – agree with everyone that he’s just not a top prospect, plays way too high, and would be a power-block style guy anyway. but, he has great feet and uses his hands well as all Badger blockers do. gotta mention the Wisconsin guy.
Check out my next rankings for your answer on Scherff
Aha, I figured that I should just be patient!