NFL DraftScouting Reports

Scouting Notes Offensive Tackle Edition

In this week’s Scouting Notes, Inside the War Room’s John Blair takes a look at some of the top senior offensive lineman in the 2015 NFL Draft.

For the second year in a row it looks like a Texas A&M offensive tackle will be the highest rated offensive lineman on my board. This year’s outstanding offensive tackle prospect is Cedric Ogbuehi. When scouting him the first thing that stands out to me is his outstanding athletic ability. He slides extremely well in pass protection, and shows the quick feet an left tackle requires. He excels as a pass blocker, and I consider him the best pass blocker in this year’s senior class. He has the ability to physical hold up with power rushers, and the speed to keep up with speed rushers. I do have concerns about his run blocking ability, mainly because he doesn’t power run block much in Texas A&M’s offense. I currently project Ogbuehi to be a top 10 pick, and possibly a top 5 pick.

I came away very impressed after watching Cameron Erving’s game film. He has outstanding strength, and once he gets his hands on a defender he usually controls him. His strength allows him to be a standout run blocker. Erving holds up in pass protection as well. He has quick feet and slides in pass protection very well. One other interesting note about him is that he has only played two years on the offensive line at Florida State, since he started his career off at FSU as a defensive lineman.

I am not sold on Oklahoma OT Daryl Williams. He lacks the athletic ability I like to see in an offensive tackle, and tends to struggle with quick athletic pass rushers. Another concern I have with him is that he lacks great balance, and tends to lunge a lot at defenders. On the positive side he does show good strength, and has great size at 6-6 328 pounds. It will be interesting to see if NFL teams project him as an offensive guard, or offensive tackle in the NFL.

A player that could rise up the draft board this year is South Carolina offensive tackle Corey Robinson. Robinson comes in at 6-8 348 pounds which is both a positive and negative. On the positive side he can keep defenders away from his body with his long arms. On the negative side defenders can get underneath his pads, and use leverage against him. Robinson moves well for his size, and can easily get to the second level of defenders when run blocking. He also shows good strength for the most part, but does have trouble if a defender gets under his pads. The biggest area Robinson needs to work on is his technique.

Another player that could make a significant rise up the draft board is Colorado State’s Ty Sambrailo. I really like this prospects athletic ability, and he has shown the ability to pull as a blocker and can easily get to the second level to block linebackers. His athletic ability allows him to hold up well in pass protection. An interesting note that highlights his athletic ability is that he is also a free style skier who can pull off tricks when skiing. One more positive with Sambrailo is his consistency. In 2013 he graded above 89% in every game he played. One area he needs to work on is his strength. He can be bull rushed at times, and might struggle in the NFL as a run blocker if he doesn’t get stronger.

One of the most underrated offensive tackles in this year’s draft is UNLV’s Brett Boyko. Boyko is one of the more athletic tackles in this year’s senior class of offensive tackles. His athletic ability allows him to excel in pass protection, and he only allowed one sack last season. He is still learning the finer points of offensive line play, since he has only played offensive line at UNLV. In high school he played quarterback, and defensive line. One area Boyko needs to continue to improve on is his strength. He is somewhat light for an offensive tackle coming in at 6-7 310 pounds. His lack of strength and bulk raises some questions about how well he will hold up as a run blocker. Another concern with him is that he missed most of his sophomore year with a knee injury.

A late round prospect to keep your eye on is Mississippi State OT Blaine Clausell. Clausell has great size coming in at 6-7 315 pounds, and has a long wingspan which allows him to keep defenders away from his body. While he plays left tackle for Mississippi State his lack of foot quickness will make him move to right tackle in the NFL.

You can follow John Blair @nfldraftitwr

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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