DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2020 NFL Season 2020 NFL Draft Your Top 5 OL Prospects For The Draft

As are you. You don't think when you are projecting something that a player has never done, that it is more of an experimental project?

You do understand that projecting is from the word project, right? Project is actually the root word of projecting.

You make it sound like I'm the one who invented the English language.

You could have been clearer on whether you meant PRO-ject or pro-JECT. And no need to be so snarky...I'm not calling you out.

I guess humor is subjective. I thought the emoji would help but I guess not.

Both of us have made our points so let's end it here...

I keep reading about what a great class of OT's this is. I think it's good due to the sheer number of them.

However, I don't think any of these guys are great. There isn't a Joe Thomas, an Anthony Munoz, a Jonathan Ogden, etc in my opinion.

I think there are quite a few guys who could be good, but I think all have question marks.

My top guy is Andrew Thomas. Even he has some concerns. I think his hips are a little stiff. Not bad, but not what I would like for them to be. His biggest weakness is that his footwork can get out of whack. He doesn't always maintain good balance. One foot will get too far out in front of the other. He does have good recovery footwork though.

The other guys have more concerns in my opinion. I like Thomas the best because I think he is the one guy of all them that almost certainly won't bust [unless he gets into drugs or other off-the-field nonsense.] Even if he doesn't end up great, he almost certainly will be a decent LT for a decade or more.

I can't say that about the other guys. They could be very good, but all have some issues that might make them busts. I am not saying they will be. I don't even think they will be busts, but there are some red flags that would make me hesitant about drafting any of them other than Thomas at 10.

JMO.

Mammoth OT Mekhi Becton Might Be In Browns Sights

ByFRED GREETHAM 12 hours ago
Share
29 Comments

Mekhi Becton (Photo: Jody Demling, 247Sports)


(The OBR's Fred Greetham will feature several of the players that could be targets of the Browns in the days leading up to the upcoming NFL Draft).

Most NFL Draft observers have had the Browns penciled in for an offensive tackle since before the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February began and before free agency began in mid-March.


Fast forward to less than three weeks from the draft and that's still the consensus.

The Browns filled a major hole by agreeing to terms with Jack Conklin as an unrestricted free agent on the first day teams were allowed to talk with free agents.


However, the Browns still have a major void at tackle, particularly left tackle. Conklin is presumed to be the new right tackle and currently, the other tackles on the roster are Chris Hubbard and Kendall Lamm. Conklin was signed to replace Hubbard, who has deficiencies in his game, but re-structured his contract and is still with the Browns, likely as a top backup at guard or tackle.

Since future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas retired in 2017, the Browns have tried Shon Coleman, Joel Bitonio, Desmond Harrison and Greg Robinson at left tackle.


We started the series with Iowa's Tristan Wirfs , followed by Georgia's Andrew-Thomas, Alabama's Jedrick Wills which can be found here:

Could Tristan Wirfs Be At The Top Of The Browns Wish List?

Could Browns Find Joe Thomas' Replacement With Another Thomas?


Wills Says Switching From Right To Left Tackle Isn't A Problem

Now, we'll take a look at another one of the top tackles in this year's NFL Draft, Mekhi Becton from Louisville.

At first glance at Becton's size -- 6-7, 364 lbs. -- many NFL observers would say that Becton. wouldn't fit the description of playing tackle in the wide zone scheme.


But, not so fast.

Becton has surprised those who didn't think he could play in the wide zone.

"Yeah, they don’t expect a person like me to move that well," Becton said at the NFL Combine. "So, I think I surprised a lot of people."

Becton likes using his size to his advantage.

"I love being the biggest offensive lineman," he said. "I love intimidating guys. I was always the biggest on my team.

Here is how NFL.com described Becton, whom they compared to Bryant McKinnie:


"Enormous frame complemented by surprisingly nimble feet and functional athleticism to handle either tackle spot. Becton's combination of movement and force should allow him to fit easily into all running schemes, but he needs to play with better patience in order to control and redirect all that mass into centered blocks in both run and pass. His technique and set-up are better than expected in pass pro, while his size and length allow him to recover and redirect both inside and outside rushes.

"With all really big prospects, weight and quickness will be concerns, but Becton's areas of concern are correctable or manageable, if he's disciplined enough to prioritize them. He has the potential to be a good starter on either side, but the weight creates an obvious low-floor scenario."


NFL
✔
@NFL
He's 6'7" and 364 LBs...
And he ran a 5.1 40-yard dash.@UofLFootball OL Mekhi Becton crushed it last night. 😤

📺: 2020 #NFLCombine continues 4pm ET on @nflnetwork
Embedded video

973
3:00 PM - Feb 29, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy

145 people are talking about this

Becton ran a 5.1, 40-yard dash. ProFootballFocus.com ranked Becton fifth among tackles and 47th overall in this class. The Browns are big proponents of analytics and the analytics-driven website has the following tackles listed ahead of Becton: Georgia’s Thomas (No. 8 overall), Alabama’s Jedrick Wills (No. 9), Iowa’s Wirfs (No. 11) and Houston’s Josh Jones (No. 14).

All five of these tackles said they interviewed with the Browns at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Becton was asked what the Browns talked with him about.


"My technique," he said. "Really my technique the whole time. They told me what I was doing wrong. They showed my good plays, my bad plays. What I did wrong on my bad plays, what I did good on the bad plays."

Becton said he played in the wide zone at Louisville and has no problem in it.

"It didn’t take me a while at all (to learn it)," he said at the Combine. "I’m a quick learner. But once Coach (offensive coordinator Dwayne) Ledford taught me my footwork, it snapped right there."

Becton said he takes pride in the way he plays the zone scheme.

"I take a whole lot of pride in it," he said. "I love outside zone and inside zone. It’s just fun running a man out of the play taking him where I want him to go."

One of Becton's highlight reel plays was against Syracuse when he drove an opponent to the Louisville sidelines with several shoves, exuding his power.


"It’s just fun seeing a man on the ground every play and then going to jump on him," he said. "That’s what I love about the game."

NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah has Becton ranked as the top tackle in the NFL Draft and the seventh-best player. Becton said he wants to be the first tackle taken.

"Yes, sir! It’s real important," he said. "Because I put the work in. I didn’t put the work in for nothing."

Becton feels he can be the franchise left tackle for an NFL team.

"I feel I’m the most dominant tackle in this draft," he said. "You wouldn’t go wrong picking me. The tape shows it. It shows that I finish almost every play. It’s as simple as that."

Becton said he really doesn't care what type of offense that he's in--and he's very confident in his abilities.


"Nah, just run behind me," he said. "It don’t really matter what we run as long as you’re running behind me. Open a hole and run behind me. I can get you a touchdown pretty much if you run behind me."

(Next up, we'll look at Houston's Josh Jones)

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...ghts-145617449/

Gawd.. If it were that easy..

I generally tend to agree ... "great" in terms of numbers.

That is to say we have many who meet the threshold, but how many will push the threshold is still a question at this point.
Generational talent? Probably not.

Personally I like Wirfs over Thomas, who could both be off the board at pick #10.

I think that both can push the threshold of an average OT ... (albeit w/Wirfs it might be RT/RG).

My only real issue with Thomas is that he does seem to have a balance issue, finishing many plays on the turf, but it should be said that he usually still fulfills his initial responsibility.

With that said, Thomas's pass protection sets, combined with his long reach and heavy hands I think will allow him to have successful reps early on.

With Wills I see a potential all pro RT, but as a LT with his build ... that's projecting out of the box.

The rest (4-6) are in another tier imo.

--our dilemma is...

With the Jets and probably TB looking to add OTs' we can't afford to trade down very far if our # 1 guy (Whosoever) is not on the board when we pick.

If we are sitting at 10 with Wills (t1), Jones, and Cleveland (t2's) and we haven't a trade down option we like...

Who should we take?

And I have already mentioned that Becton is imo a bad fit for our zone-scheme...

I think that Jones is a guy who meets the threshold of what you look for at LT, but athletically he just meets the threshold which keeps him out of the top tier.

Ezra Cleveland I think is a guy who athletically pushes the threshold, but due to the level of his compitition, (of no fault of his own,) will keep him out of the top tier, but the word is that this young man really impressed with his mental acumen on the white board and in interviews at the combine.

Don't be too surprised if we see him come off the Draft board in the top 15 picks.

I haven't looked at Jones and barely researched Cleveland, so I won't comment on those parts of your post...........but, damn dawg.................that was an awesome post! I am very impressed!!! That's some damn good football talk right there!

Thanks Dawg!

You earned that praise, bro. I love reading real football takes.

I think we have somewhat of a disconnect here. I'm not trying to say that one of these guys can't make the transition. It's quite possible they can. But it's certainly not a given. Let's take Wills for example.

The young man is bright as well as talented. Those are points we certainly agree on. But when building a draft board, every question about a player has an impact on their draft status. And while Saban has a glowing revue on the guy, both he and Wills admit there is going to be a learning curve.



I would NEVER consider Becton at #10. So no, we're never going to agree on this one. When you have to depend on a player to switch positions, that impacts his draft stock. Nobody looks at four players at the same position and has them all graded equally. Especially when two of them don't even play the position you're drafting them for.

What you are suggesting would mean throwing the entire BPA side of the draft out the window based strictly on need. While you may not see it that way, it's just like saying if any of four QB's are leftover at the #10 pick, take the leftover. That's not how any of this is supposed to work.

j/c:

Doesn't surprise me.

Can't believe he said that. Not "smart."

j/c:

Perhaps Berry is being intentionally vague or throwing up a smokescreen. More revealing, he said the OLine is a priority every year...

That's what i'm thinking. I've said that i don't think the switch is that big of a deal. Guys switch from left to right all the time.



But, it's two weeks from the draft. He wants to make it clear that all his options are open (whether this is true or false). So while i like this report/conference call, because Wills is my top guy, i don't think we can put too much stock into it.

I hope you are right. Pluto's comments made my head hurt due to their ignorance of the positions.

Do you know why that is?

How many guys switch from right to left?

I'm not really here to argue. I'm here to educate. I have a thread on OL play in the PFF. I can talk about the differences between LT and RT there and/or here. I don't want to get into who is the best LT debate, though. I think that topic is too subjective.

Quick question, as you might no football knowledge more than me.

If guys switch from LT in college to RT in the pros all the time, what's the big deal with Wills switching from RT to LT.

Is the actual technique of LT that much harder to master (when switching from RT) verses that of switching from LT to RT?


Conklin switched from left to right. He was a probowler in his rookie year (i believe).



So if guys are capable of getting the technique down of RT from LT. How is that any harder than getting the technique down the other way

Kinda to your point...

But if anyone has a subscription to the Athletic, I'd like to know what former offensive lineman Ross Tucker is referencing here in his article.

It's titled There is no longer a distinction between left tackles and right tackles

and it begins with the following:

How do you know someone doesn’t really know what they’re talking about when it comes to the NFL these days?

When they talk about the difference between left tackles and right tackles or describe an offensive lineman as a “right tackle only,” that’s how.

The truth is, anybody who has been paying close attention to the league the last few years realizes (or at least should) that there is no longer a distinction between the two positions on the edges of a team’s offensive line. If your team’s front office hasn’t figured that out yet, and there are still a few I’m not convinced have, you’ve got major problems.

That’s why I’m not surprised the Raiders are lining up at mandatory minicamp this week with their marquee free agent signing, Trent Brown, who played left tackle with the Patriots, at right tackle. Or that the Eagles drafted Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard in the first round to be the heir apparent to longtime...

https://theathletic.com/1023509/2019/06/...-right-tackles/

I will try and go into more detail in the OL thread in the PFF, but a quick answer is that a lot of guys [such as Conklin, Bitonio, etc who played LT in college just don't have the footwork to play LT in the pros.

Teams are mostly right handed. That means the TE lines up on the right side and provides help to the RT. The LT typically doesn't have that support. Also, teams run the ball to the strong side a lot due to the extra blocker.

If you look up Conklin's PFF grades, you will see he rated higher in run blocking than pass blocking. That is due to his strength while his footwork is lacking in terms of being an elite pass blocker.

I tried to hit on attributes in the OL thread. Take a look at them and it might make sense. I say this because I think you are an honest poster and want to learn. You can even ask me more questions in that thread, because this one will probably take a turn for the worse.

I think it goes one layer deeper. I think it depends on why you think so few guys transition from RT to LT, and so many go from LT to RT (when jumping to the NFL).

That little factoid (so many going from LT to RT, but 'nobody' going from RT to LT) kinda floats to the top in this discussion.

Is it a skills issue? Guys usually don't have the feet or athleticism for NFL LT, but they do for RT, so they switch.

Or is it a technique issue? LT and RT technique is so different, that once you're locked in it's very difficult to switch.


For me, I think it's much more logical that it's the skills explanation. That would mean that even if a guy, for whatever reason, was playing RT, but had the skills of a LT, then it's fine to draft him at LT.

Footwork and agility are the two keys.

I totally get that. At LT, the blindside blocker, usually facing the best DE, you have to have very good footwork. That's why it's an exclusive position. Because you have to be a big man with quick feet. Except, and my point has always been, Wills HAS the footwork to play LT. He's more than athletically capable.

He's making a switch in position, and people say, "The technique is different". But guys have to switch their technique when going from left to right. So what's the big deal about going right to left? Is there any difference in the degree of difficulty (technique-wise) going from one side to the other, and not the other way around. Not what's physically required of you because you are in charge of the QB's blindside

It's because, generally, there's no freakin lefty college QBs. For some reason, it's the opposite of baseball. The amount of QBs who are lefty in college is less on percentage than that of the general population.

There's 32 starting QBs in the NFL. Are any lefty besides Kyler Murray?

I'm not trying to change your mind on Wills, bro.

I'm just talking about the dumb comments from Berry [his might be intentionally deceiving] and Pluto.

I will say that playing on an island is an entirely different thing than playing w/a big TE beside you.

Kyler Murray is a lefty?

I'm not trying to have my mind changed. Just asking a serious question.

You said you coached football or scouted it at some point. My life has taken me different paths. I spend my time typing on the board and cheering on the television.


So i don't know the exact nuiances, technique-wise, as to why it would be any harder to switch from left to right, than it would right to left. Is there anything extra that he would have to learn, technique-wise than Conklin had to learn? He's gotta get used to playing on an island. I get that.

You could read the Mary Kay article that Super started a new thread on. Saban and Wills spoke to it.

Most guys switch from LT to RT because their feet and agility are not good enough for the NFL. I am not debating if Wills has those talents or not.

I do think that muscle memory is very important and that playing LT requires more athleticism than playing RT. The gap has narrowed, but it's still there due to formations and personnel packages. I don't know if you golf or not, but how hard is it to change your swing in the middle of a round?

I didn't think of the 'playing on an island part'. That's a good point. I'm not sure if that gets lumped in the "skills needed" or the "technique difference" columns (or both).

The point of my earlier post was to explore the possibility that the overwhelming majority of guys that played RT and didn't transition to LT was because the just didn't have the skills for LT. If there was a guy that was the exception to the rule, and did have the skills, then he should be a LT candidate, no?

Yes, absolutely.
If they have the skills and athleticism to do it, then it is just a matter of building the muscle memory with thousands and thousands of reps practicing drops and sets so that the hands automatically go where they need to go, so that your stance and first kick-step are automatic, etc..

Not trying to start a fight, but the fact that there aren't many left handed QBs may skew the numbers. Starting at RT and moving to LT is a fairly common progression in college. It's what Thomas did at Georgia. Wills started at RT, but when Bama went to a lefthanded QB, it didn't make sense to "progress" to the non-blind side.

Does Wills have the skills should be the question? I think he does. But, it's a decent bit of conjecture. It'd be a lot easier to figure out if teams could still bring in prospects for workouts.

On other OTs, I'm starting to kick around the idea of something along the lines of Peters for a year with Austin Jackson developing behind him. Jackson has a decent bit of technical stuff to clean up, but his upside is immense. Might be an ideal fit in a ZBS. He's probably the youngest "big time" prospect and didn't switch to LT full time until his senior year of high school, I believe I read. Plus, he had the down time for the bone marrow procedure for his sister. I think he could be a good fit with Stefanski and Callahan. Would be a bit of a bet on him being able to live up to what he can do a lot more consistently than he has so far, but the reward could be great. And he even has some added ST kick blocking value.

Geoff Schwartz agrees with Berry as well. I would also like to hear more about their line of thinking.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-d...baker-mayfield/

At this point, it seems like Thomas would be the best scenario

Or Nick Saban knows that having a good right tackle is just as important as having a good left tackle and he didn’t want to screw things up.

IMO, all this RT vs LT stuff is moot if other BPA players (like Simmons) are gone and we have a pick of tackles that includes Thomas.

Just go with Thomas.