While the WR position is the deepest in this draft the Offensive Line is a pretty impressive group and should have as many as six OTs go in the first round. After the combine Tristan Wirfs, Mekhi Becton, Jedrick Wills and Andrew Thomas are guaranteed to go in round one and they should all be off the board in the top 15-18 picks. Josh Jones and Austin Jackson look like 1st round guys at this point and while QB is the most over drafted position, offensive tackle is a close second. Two guys look like worthwhile projects that could end up drafted higher than they should be, Ezra Cleveland and Isaiah Wilson.
Running back has certainly been a devalued position overall the past half decade and a Super Bowl that featured Damian Williams and Raheem Mostert as the starting RBs didn’t help the cause but it’s still a position of need for a number of teams. Luckily there are some dynamic players in this group, none of whom are seen as top 15 picks but the back half of round one through rounds two and three should provide some serious talent at the position. Jonathan Taylor, D’Andre Swift and Cam Akers really solidified themselves as top players at the combine.
Offensive Line
- The offensive line drills might as well have been called the Tristan Wirfs show. I knew he would test well but he exceeded even my expectations. He set the combine record in the vertical for offensive lineman, tied the record in the broad jump and then ran the fastest forty time of the position group this year at 4.85. By the way, Wirfs is barely 21 years old and if just scratching the surface of his talent. Anybody who doesn’t think Wirfs can play OT in the NFL just isn’t paying attention.
- Mekhi Becton ran the forty in 5.10, that’s good for an offensive lineman, that’s exceptional when you consider he’s 6’7 364 lbs. After doing one position drill he pulled up with a bad hamstring and cut his workout short but he did what he needed to do, he impressed. Becton might be he first OT off the board, he’s not my top guy but he’s worthy of a top 10 pick.
- Jedrick Wills looked good, he’s plenty athletic and his workout only confirmed what his play on the field already tells you, he’s an immediate starter next season. The biggest question for Wills is can he flip to the left side or does he stay on the right side in the pros. The commentators noted that while playing RT at Alabama he protected Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side but that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable flipping to the left side and changing his stance and all the other things that look different from that side. It’s not as easy as you might think. Both Becton and Wirfs have played both RT and LT so that might give them an edge.
- Andrew Thomas didn’t do anything to stand out athletically but he looked plenty good and solidied his stock. Thomas is the type of player that while he might not have the potential ceiling of Becton or Wirfs he has the highest floor of any of the OT prospects. Is he a hall of famer? Maybe, maybe not but he’s a 10 year starter who won’t get your QB killed.
- Josh Jones and Austin Jackson are kind of the opposite guys in the fact that Jones looks good on tape but doesn’t stand out athletically. Jackson looked good at the combine, he was overshadowed by he freaks Wirfs and Becton but he’s a very good athlete. On tape it doesn’t always translate. He just needs some more work and he’ll be damn good.
- Ezra Cleveland is an early entry guy out of Boise St. At 6’6 311 lbs. he fits the mold of a starting LT and his 4.93 forty along with 30 reps on the bench press means he has the athleticism and strength to be just that. He’s still a bit raw and he needs some technique work but he’s a round two pick and probably pretty high in that round.
- Isaiah Wilson is another gigantic athlete at 6’6 350 lbs. and he ran a 5.32 forty. He has 35.5 inch arms and when he engages the defender it’s over. He too is pretty raw but he is well worth the investment. Wilson will likely be a RT only but he has the potential to be the best RT in the NFL in three years with the right coaching (assuming Wirfs ends up at LT for someone).
- The interior linemen aren’t as impressive as the OT class. With Tyler Biadasz sitting out the drills and Lloyd Cushenberry coming up lame after his forty it left the door open for some other guys to look good but I’m not sure anyone other than Biadasz has a shot of going in the first round, even Cushenberry might only be second round guy. Michigan C Cesar Ruiz looked good as did Oregon’s Shane Lemieux. Washington C Nick Harris had a good workout but nothing is going to make up for him being a bit undersized at 6’1. There are some quality players but the C/G position is going to be 3rd round and lower position.
Running Backs
- Jonathan Taylor owned the combine. He was the only RB to run the forty in under 4.4 as his official time was 4.39, and he did that weighing 226 lbs. While I understand that D’Andre Swift, JK Dobbins and even Cam Akers are talented prospects Taylor isn’t getting the respect he deserves. He ran well, caught the ball well and generally looks like a stud RB. Someone is going to get a huge steal with him in the draft. You can’t convince me he won’t be the most productive RB out of this class in the NFL.
- D’Andre Swift looked good. I like his skill set. He was fast enough and he looks really smooth running the drills. Swift isn’t the tallest guy but he’s built like a bowling ball and can do everything you need a RB to do.
- Cam Akers is almost the forgotten man because the last couple of years at Florida St. have been pretty rough. Akers is an exceptional talent and he displayed all his playmaking ability at the combine. This is one of the guys that can really benefit from the combine because since his team wasn’t very good he wasn’t always able to show off his skills on the field. He’s a great back for today’s game because he excels in the screen game.
- One guy that you can throw out the combine stuff and just go with the game tape on is Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of LSU. He’s short and he only ran a 4.6 forty but he clearly plays faster than that and he brings a modern day skill set to the position. He’s never going to be your go-to goalline/short yardage back because he lacks size and power but he has so many skills otherwise he’s incredibly valuable as an offensive weapon.
- The NFL has seen a lot of teams go to the multiple back system where you use different players with different skill sets depending on your need. This draft has guys who fit as backs who work well in space and can catch the ball; Eno Benjamin, Darrynton Evans, and Anthony McFarland. As well as bigger, power backs like AJ Dillon, Zack Moss, and Mike Warren.
- One guy I like better than most is Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn. He isn’t dynamic in any one particular thing but he ran 4.51, he has excellent size at 5’10 214 lbs. and even though he played on a less-than-stellar Vanderbilt team he was still a productive back. Even when his SEC opponents knew he was Vandy’s best offensive weapon. He can be a productive NFL back.
- One guy that didn’t participate is Ohio St.’s JK Dobbins. Dobbins is small, fast and shifty. Not participating won’t affect his draft stock overall but there is a bit of a jumble at the top of the position. Swift, Taylor, Dobbins, Akers and Edwards-Helaire are generally considered the top five, all of them should somewhere from the 20th overall pick in round one to somewhere through the second round.
Defensive Linemen and Linebackers go on Saturday. I guess we will see if AJ Epenesa can impress as much as his teammate Wirfs did in the physical testing. Chase Young isn’t working out so Epenesa has a chance to make himself the star of the defensive line drills.
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