Teams are leaning left
Prospects line up to offer protection
For NFL teams assessing the value of picking an offensive lineman top five overall in the draft, it's usually the first question to ask:
Can he play left tackle?
The prevalent thinking is that a top-five pick at left tackle is the type of pillar on which to build a line because it's the most important position, normally protecting the quarterback's blind side. If a prospect is considered more of a right tackle, perhaps because he's strong enough to play on the edge but not athletic enough to fend off speed rushers, his value dips a bit.
When it comes to Michigan's Jake Long, who has signed a contract with the Dolphins as the No. 1 overall choice, scouts have varied opinions on which side he is best suited to play, although the Dolphins plan to play him on the left side.
Some say he might be another Joe Thomas, the former Wisconsin stud who went third overall to the Browns last year and is entrenched at left tackle. Others, including the general manager who selected Thomas, aren't so sure.
"If you were going to lean Joe one way or the other, he leans more toward left tackle. I think Jake Long leans more toward right tackle," Browns GM Phil Savage said last week, noting that he thinks Long is a lock as a Pro Bowl selection on the right side.
"That's the biggest questions teams have to ask - if you take Jake Long in the top five you almost have to say he'll be your left tackle, and that was the question we had to ask, if we take Joe Thomas off the board, he's got to be our left tackle. I think Joe's a little more athletic than Jake. I think Jake has more of a physical road-paver type block than Joe in the run game."
Long (6 feet 7 inches, 313 pounds) is the top choice, but he certainly won't be the only offensive tackle selected in the first round, as Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert believes the tackle class is the best he's seen in 24 years of scouting. As many as six offensive tackles could be plucked in the first 31 picks.
Of the group, Boise State's Ryan Clady (6-6, 309) is the most natural projection to left tackle. And although he played guard at Virginia, Branden Albert (6-5 1/2, 309) is also flying up draft boards because teams believe he could play left tackle. Vanderbilt's Chris Williams (6-6, 315) is also considered a first-round talent with left-tackle skills.
Pittsburgh's Jeff Otah (6-6, 322) and Boston College's Gosder Cherilus (6-6 1/2, 314) are closer to Long in terms of style of play, maulers with the most natural fit probably on the right side.
Savage doesn't believe the class of centers and guards is particularly strong. No interior linemen, outside of Albert, are expected to be picked in the first round.
Locally, one of the emerging stories is the rise of Bentley's Mackenzy Bernadeau (6-3 1/2, 292) as a likely candidate to be drafted in the mid to late rounds. NFL scouts were frequent visitors to campus last fall, as they view Bernadeau as a prospect with untapped potential with prototypical size and athleticism. Outside of Cherilus, Connecticut guard Donald Thomas (6-3 1/2, 303) is the top lineman from a New England school expected to be drafted.
The Patriots have each member of their starting line under contract for at least the next two seasons, so from that standpoint, there is no pressing need. But with starting right guard Stephen Neal battling injuries in recent years, guard could be an area to address. The Patriots generally like interior linemen with flexibility to play center or tackle. Prospects to keep an eye on, after the first round, include Maryland's Andrew Crummey (6-4 1/2, 299), Pittsburgh's Mike McGlynn (6-4, 311), Buffalo's Jamey Richard (6-4 1/2, 295), and Rutgers's Jeremy Zuttah (6-3 1/2, 303).
