2011 NFL Draft - Top 4 OTs

The-Mainboard.com 2011 NFL Draft Initial Top OTs

List is from NFL Draft aficionado, Neal Olson.

1. OT Joseph Barksdale, LSU
-Although I have Potter as my top offensive lineman going into the year, Barksdale is not far behind for me. I think both have been better over early favorites such as Nate Solder and Gabe Carimi. Barksdale is an outstanding athlete at the position and that is the biggest thing that sticks out to me. He stays back very nicely in pass protection and doesn't get over aggressive which allows cut back lanes for opposing defensive linemen. With him being the athlete that he is, he is able to get to the second level in run blocking with ease and can open up bigger holes for his running back. On top of all of that, Barksdale does a great job staying low to the ground and being able to use leverage to his advantage and doesn't lose it that often. Although Barksdale was surprisingly better at pass protection than I thought he would be, he isn't as strong as I would like. He isn't the force in the running game that is usually correlated with an elite offensive linemen when it comes to pro potential. There is definitely room to grow when he is completely dedicated to football at the next level, but he may never establish a great mean streak.

2. OT Anthony Castonzo, Boston College
-Castonzo is much higher on other people's projections going into the year and although I like him, I am not in love with him. He is another extremely agile prospect who has outstanding feet and uses that as his primary asset. He is able to contain the edge quite often by beating defensive linemen to the edge forcing them to take a wider angle into the quarterback. That will certainly draw plenty of attention to him and that is why a lot are high on him. In what is becoming a smaller and more athletic defensive front for a lot of teams, especially at the end position Castonzo is able to project nicely in covering them. However the big knock on him, much like Rodney Hudson, is the size concern that teams will have. He is below 300 pounds right now and the strength isn't their for him like a Nate Potter. He is going to have to work to get that up as the agility is great, however defensive ends in the NFL have both speed and strength. So even if he can beat ends to the edge, the concern will be the bull rush and how well he can contain that at the next level.

3. OT/OG DeMarcus Love, Arkansas
-Although Ryan Mallett is getting all of the attention for the Razorbacks entering the year, it wouldn't surprise me if Love is the first Arkansas player off of the board come April. Love has tremendous versatility with the ability to play outside at the tackle position or probably where he is best suited on the inside at guard. He is very quick off of the ball and has great strength with the ability to drive opposing linemen off of the ball rather easily. He does have a slight issue of being over aggressive and trying to recover by reaching out which similar guards have the issue with. He tries to get by with brute strength and in the NFL defensive linemen will begin to exploit that more as he won't be able to hide as he does at the collegiate level. Overall though, I think he has the most potential of all offensive linemen prospects to shoot up the board and potentially challenge for one of the top offensive linemen off of the board. He has a great ceiling and probably more so than the offensive linemen above him do.

4. OT Nate Solder, Colorado
-Solder is a mammoth offensive linemen that has a ton of buzz with a lot of people. He is extremely agile and is extremely quick getting off of the ball. He does a great job of getting depth at the tackle position and sealing off the outside against speedier edge rushers. He is extremely raw and that is why a lot of people are oozing to try and mold him into a monster NFL tackle at the next level. Even though he has all the tools, he is still to inconsistent for my liking as a top 10 pick like some have him valued at. He is extremely thin standing 6'9 and barely getting over 300 pounds. I am not sure how a 6'9 tackle will project in the NFL and if there ever is a thing, he may be to tall for the position at the next level. He doesn't have a great first punch and struggles in the run game due to a lack of strength. Overall there are plenty of things to get excited about with Solder, however the body of work isn't there and not sure he is poised for a huge season for Colorado.