Patriots Draft Preview: Offensive Tackles
Current Roster: Marcus Cannon, LaAdrian Waddle, Matt Tobin, Andrew Jelks, Cole Croston, Antonio Garcia
Positional Overview: Even if Nate Solder had come back for 2018, offensive tackle was going to be a priority in this draft. Without him, it’s THE priority. Unfortunately they could not have picked a much worse draft to be needing someone to protect Tom Brady’s perfectly sculpted ass side. Most publications are giving this class an overall grade in the C/C+ range. There are no prospects considered elite, which is probably a moot point anyway since those Joe Thomas type left tackles tend to go in the single digits, as Joe Thomas did.
It’s getting hard enough to project OTs from college to pro as it is, with the prevalence of spread offenses and guys who’ve never taken a 3-point stance in their careers. Plus the lack of padded practices now makes finding a plug & play, pro-ready tackle who won’t get your QB put in the back of an ambulance like finding wife material at Lilith Fair.
But that’s our reality at the moment. Cannon is entrenched at right tackle. And while the RT/LT designation is less of an issue now as it’s way more common for your top pass rushers to come from the right side the way Von Miller, Kalil Mack and Joey Bosa do. But Cannon is as good a RT as there is in the league and moving him could weaken you at two positions. The Pats drafted Garcia for this very contingency last year. But he developed blood clots in his lungs, according to some reports lost as much as 40 pounds, and while he said on Instagram he’s cleared to play, you don’t want to be counting on him. Yet. And as much as I consider Dante Scarnecchia to be capable of miracles, I don’t believe any of us think LaAdrian Waddle is the LaAnswer. So finding a left tackle this draft is mission critical.
Will Most Likely Go in the 1st Round:
Connor Williams, Texas. 6-foot-5, 296 pounds, 5.05 40-time
Williams shows up on more rankings and mocks coming off the board first than any other tackle prospect. The most FAQ though is “Is Connor Williams in fact a tackle?” I keep seeing him listed at 320 lbs, but the NFL officially lists him at sub-300 post-Combine. And with that 40 time, he seems a natural fit at pulling guard. Plus he’s got shortish little T-Rex arms which lets guys get into his body somewhat, so he seems ideally suited for operating in the mall photo-booth sized space in the interior. All that said, he is the best pass blocker in this class, with the balance and mechanics that fog up the lenses on offensive line coaches’ Oakleys.
Compares to the leading brand: Garret Bolles (Denver’s pick at 20th overall last year)
Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame. 6-8, 309 lb, 5.27
McGlinchey is generally regarded as solid but not elite, very good but unspecial pro prospect. More of an athletic, finesse blocker as opposed to a drive-blocking snowplow. But I don’t mean that as a pejorative because he’s regarded as the best run blocker in the bunch. He’s more durable than Williams, having started his last 39 games for the Irish. Like a lot of taller guys (think Nate Solder), he’s susceptible to small, quick-twitch rushers getting underneath his pads. But he has a pedigree, starting three years for the same O-line factory that produced Zack Martin and Ronnie Stanley. That alone is worth a 1st rounder in a down year.
Compares to the leading brand: The Lions Taylor Decker
Kolton Miller, UCLA. 6-9, 310, 4.95
The mocks are all over the map on this guy. Some have him going as high as the teens of Round 1, but others drop him as far as the 3rd. He was in and out of the lineup as an underclassman but was installed as Josh Rosen’s left tackle as a junior and never relinquished it. He’s not the most refined technician. The knocks on him include he plays a little upright and needs sounder footwork. But no one questions his effort or his knack for recovering when he gets beaten on the initial rush. It’s hard not to look at his size/speed and not immediately think of the guy the Patriots just lost. One major difference is his 24 reps on the weight bench is way more than Solder did.
Compares to the leading brand: Der. Nate Solder.
NFL Combined His Way Right Out of the 1st Round:
Orlando Brown Jr., Oklahoma. 6-8, 360 lb, 5.88
Brown was considered a potential Top 10 pick before his showing at the Indianapolis Kennel Show, which was so bad if I’m Orlando Brown Sr. I’d consider getting him to drop the “Jr.” No O-lineman with a 40-time slower than 5.7 has ever made it in the NFL. But add to that he only had a Spongebob-like 14 reps on the weight bench (some OLs did in the mid-30s) and got yelled at by a coach for loafing and that performance cost him millions. But there’s so much raw material to work with that can’t be ignored. He’s got a 7-foot wingspan. When he gets his hands on a rusher it’s almost always Game Over. And he just came off blocking for the Heisman winner on a playoff team. He’s going to drop because he’s what the real estate agent’s call “handyman’s dream.” But if he just happened to have had a shitty day at the wrong time in Indy, he could be the steal of the decade.
Compares to the leading brand: Former Steeler Max Starks
Intriguing Day 2 Prospect:
Tyrell Crosby, Oregon. 6-5, 325 lb, 5.23
Crosby is interesting in that he’s one of the best (if not the best) pure drive blocker in the class. He was voted the best o-lineman in the Pac-12. He’s played both tackle spots as well as both power and zone schemes. It’s possible his pass blocking efficiency is a little skewed by the Ducks’ athletic quarterbacks and opponents playing contain rather than pure pass rushing. But still, anyone who serves up as many steaming, buttery stacks of pancake blocks as him merits consideration. For what it’s worth to you, he’s a native of Nevada and when Oregon got a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl he changed his number to 58 in honor of the shooting victims. That doesn’t make him your franchise left tackle, but it’s not nothing either.
Compares to the leading brand: Marcus Cannon
I Like the Player But Dread Having to Learn to Spell the Name:
Chukwuma Okorafor, Western Michigan. 6-6, 330 lb, 5.31
To be clear, that’s not me being xenophobic. It took me three seasons to get the vowels and double consonants in “Jimmy Garoppolo” down. As a blocker, he’s surprisingly well built for a such a big guy, with his power coming from a muscular lower half and almost no flab. He also relies on light feet and quickness, which again plays against his body type. Which is also his downside, since he’s generally considered passive when he could use more aggressive. He tends to “catch” guys and re-direct them with technique rather than beat their bag in. One bit of good news for football writers is he answers to “Chukes,” which is like when Homer Simpson discovered he didn’t have to type “Y-E-S” because the computer understood “Y” and increased his productivity by 67 percent.
Compares to the leading brand: Tampa’s Donovan Smith
Small School Guy:
Alex Cappa, Humboldt State. 6-7, 305 lb. 5.39
The latest NFL player to come off the assembly line of that relentless football factory, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Granted, most of his competition was on a level of community colleges, intramural athletics and Quidditch players. (All due respect.) But at the Senior Bowl he looked like he belonged among the best in the nation. He’s not much more than a mid-to-long term prospect as his fundamentals need time to develop and in Mobile he was getting by more on strength and aggression. But he’ll come cheap. Probably not before the 5th Round. And will be worth taking a flyer on for a team with some patience.
Compares to the leading brand: Jared Veldheer (proud Hillsdale alum)
I Want:
Brett Toth, Army. 6-6, 305 lb, 5.24
Don’t laugh. Toth is a legitimate enough pro prospect that he was the first Black Knight ever invited to the Senior Bowl. He also played in the East-West Shrine and more than held his own against the best of the best. On second thought, maybe you should laugh because Army runs a triple option and literally completed 20 passes all season. And he has two year military commitment to complete. But still. I want an Army guy standing next to Joe Cardona during the National Anthem whenever he is actually available. Draft him. The Cowboys waited for Roger Staubach and the Spurs waited for David Robinson. And a O-lineman who never had to pass block is pretty much the same thing.
Compares to the leading brand: George S. Patton
The Perfect Patriot: Kolton Miller. For a lot of reasons, Miller just seems like a fit here. The Pats like their tackles – and their tight ends for that matter, anyone blocking on the edge – with some height. Which is why they drafted twin towers like Solder and Sebastian Vollmer. Cannon is “only” 6-5, but they drafted him as a guard before moving him. Plus Miller almost has tight end speed, and a very respectable 7.34 in the 3-Cone, their most beloved drill. He’ll almost certainly be available with the 31st pick. Kolton Miller is the guy.
Earlier previews: