NFL Draft Rumors 2015: Beware of Offensive Tackles?

NFL Draft Rumors swirl around us as the first round falls within just a few days. You can’t miss them as you look over your sports coverage and whether it’s trading draft picks for the league’s best running back or just thinking about your team’s new favorite potential target, you’ll get plenty throughout your day.

Some places bring up more viable NFL Draft rumors while others are simply speculation.

Pro Football Focus, being a statistics company at its heart, usually does a good job of limiting the NFL Draft rumors. They did, however, issue a warning on Friday saying “buyer beware” about offensive tackles in the 2015 NFL Draft class. Writer Michael Renner highlights offensive line prospects Brandon Scherff (considered the best in the class by some), T.J. Clemmings, and Jake Fisher. All three of them are big time prospects in this year’s class. All three could be off the board at the end of round one.

All three of these players have technical issues, according to Renner and PFF. Highlighted among those issues is bad form for Clemmings, the inability to correctly use his hands for Fisher, and the potential move of Scherff to guard since he’s allowed too many pressures on the outside. When you’re investing a first round pick, you want to make sure the guy you’re getting isn’t going to be such a major project that you’ll have to use him at a different position or recognize that he is in fact a liability.

Now, PFF isn’t the gospel of pro football. An excellent resource, yes. But suggesting that teams shy away from top offensive line talent simply because PFF notes they allowed a few too many hurries against the University of Maryland or in the Senior Bowl would be ridiculous. These guys will get their chance in the NFL and they deserve at least a chance.

Making sure that your team picks up a technically lineman who can help for the future is important, though, and taking a player to be an offensive tackle and discovering he has issues later would be a major problem for many teams who could be rebuilding lines this offseason.

I’m secretly hoping some teams pass so the Jags have a shot at a top lineman after round one in the draft.

Next: Could Adrian Peterson be had for 2nd Round Pick?

More from Black and Teal

Home/Jaguars Draft