Offensive Tackles
There are a bunch of high quality tackles this year. Eugene Monroe (Virginia), Jason Smith (Baylor), Andre Smith (Alabama), Michael Oher (Ole Miss), William Beatty (Conn), Jamon Meredith (South Carolina), and Phil Loadholt (Oklahoma) are the best of the bunch.
I want to begin with Jason Smith, who at 6’4 and 300 lbs is a converted tight end with excellent mobility. He carries his weight very well, and is a superb pass blocker. If he can prove to be equally effective in the run game, then he should be the first tackle prospect off the board. I can’t think of a tackle who has moved up draft boards more over the course of the season than Smith. In fact, the other 3 top tackle prospects have only dropped down in recent months.
Eugene Monroe is considered more of a gifted finesse blocker than an outright mauler. At the combine, he will want to emphasize that he has a mean streak in the run game. But other than that, he is a fine prospect that probably will be chosen second behind Smith.
Andre Smith from Alabama is a huge guy at 6’4 and 340 lbs. Reports from the media have harped on how he has struggled with his weight since he was a young guy. If he can squash that virus in his interviews, then he could really help himself.
His style of play is much like Pro Bowler Jason Peters (Buffalo Bills), but he struggles with speed rushers more than Peters.
- Andre Smith (NFL.com)
Last of the top prospects is Michael Oher. He decided to return for his senior year, thus passing up a probable mid-first round selection in the ’08 draft. It pains me to see that he didn’t really improve his stock much in the meantime. Questions still remain about his intelligence and consistency. Yet, there is NO question about his physical abilities, which happen to be unparallelled.
I can’t say much about William Beatty because I didn’t watch any Connecticut games this year, but I hear he is very athletic and is well suited for the left tackle position.
As for Loadholt, he is a massive guy at 6’8 and 330 pounds. He could play the right tackle position, but he has ability to play left side if he shows he can handle speed rushers.
Jamon Meredith is a very smart guy who managed to win the team’s GPA award, which is not an easy thing to achieve. I should know, he majored in the same degree as I did with a similar GPA! And I didn’t play football at the same time. He has great strength but is a bit raw, and should go in round 2.
Out of all of the guys in this class, I have to say Jason Smith and Jamon Meredith are my favorites. I know I would be very excited if my team picked either of those two.
Who are your favorites?
Next installment: interior linemen
