Reason for optimism with Clark

[Legend of Luck]

I've noticed there's been a lot of uncertainty about the O-line here (rightfully so, myself included), but I've read some things that made me feel very optimistic about Clark at RT, and I thought it'd be beneficial to some for me to pass this information along.

 

First was this great article about his short time as a starter in 2016.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2017/4/5/15182956/pre-draft-look-at-colts-offensive-line-rt-leraven-clark

 

Then I pulled up his draft card from last year.

 

"

Overview

Clark started 51 straight games for the Red Raiders, spending his final three years at left tackle and his freshman season at right guard. All three years at left tackle, he earned All-Big 12 honors, and as a senior he was named a second-team All-American for his efforts. It's unclear where Clark's best position will be at the next level; he flashes the lateral agility and recovery speed to play on the edge against college pass rushers, so he should get a shot at left tackle. Its possible, though, that Clark might be best inside where he can lock on and create creases for the running game. His durability, pro-ready body (6-6, 313), and next-level tenacity make him a likely NFL starter wherever he lines up.

 

Strengths

Possesses good thickness through his rear and thighs helping him drop and anchor. Plays with outstanding foot quickness in his pass sets. Able to mirror head­-faking pass rushers like a cornerback with ability to shift weight and change directions seamlessly. Uses choppy, controlled slides in pass sets instead of long, protracted kick-­slides. Able to shut down darting inside moves with relative ease. Blessed with exceptionally long arms. Uses length and excellent timing to get hands on edge rushers quickly disrupting their game­plan. Has athleticism to effectively recover and fight back when he gets beaten. When he gets hands on defender and locks out, it is over. Has impressive sink steps inside to wall of B­-gap against twists and the backside in running game. Does adequate job of sustaining blocks. Plus lateral quickness off the snap. Can reach and seal the edge in run game. Accelerates into angle blocks, runs his feet and washes defender down. As base blocker, has ability to strike, turn and pin defensive ends on off­-tackle runs his way. Instinctive and proactive against twists.

Weaknesses

Allows weight to creep forward past his feet and will get caught leaning,­ especially when trying to run rushers around the arc. Plays with average body control. Struggled to match inside/out rush moves of LSU's Arden Key in his bowl game. Hands can be a little frenetic and end up outside defender's frame. Will benefit from a stronger inside hand in his punch. Needs to improve hand placement. Slightly deficient in core power. Has quick feet but average footwork, especially after contact. Posture in protection needs work. Rarely a flat­-backed, flat­-footed puncher. Leans and makes contact while on balls of his feet or with feet in transition and will give some ground. Footwork and hands not always synced. Relies too heavily on length over feet. Pad level rises at contact robbing him of optimal leverage. Not a natural bender in space and struggles to redirect his body and strike moving targets.

Draft Projection

Rounds 1 or 2

Sources Tell Us

"He's going to end up being big time in our league. He's got elite foot quickness, he's long and he's smart. He'll keep getting better once he gets to a pro offense and away from that stuff Texas Tech does and he'll become one of the top five tackles in our league." -- NFC personnel director

NFL Comparison

Bobby Massie

Bottom Line

Clark is an ascending left tackle prospect with the elite foot quickness and length that NFL teams simply don't pass up for very long. Clark could still use more muscle on his frame and will need to be much more consistent with his technique rather than just relying on his length if he is to reach his full potential in the pros. Left tackles with his potential in pass protection carry first-round value and Clark has a Pro Bowl upside with the floor of an average NFL starter."

 

Some very positive things here. Hopefully with another full off-season under his belt and more time with the coaching staff, we'll have a bonified reliable starter at RT.

[Bluefire4]

We all saw this and said this last year. He still has to go out and prove it. And there will continue to be uncertainty until he does that.

[throwinbbz]

He should be just fine.
And hopefully our starting LT in 2018.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

Our starting RT next year. 

[Boiler_Colt]

His biggest issues are his functional strength to anchor which can absolutely be improved with an offseason of NFL weight training programs. I'm optimistic about t he kid still. Think, if he was in this year's draft class he would probably be a first rounder given the lack of highly rated tackles. 

[GoColtsWin]

Great write-up. We'll know for sure what we have in Clark these next two seasons as the game slows down for him. Hopefully he works on his weaknesses and improves them, because we need O-line continuity now, not later(Lucks body, and us fans sanity depends on it!). 

[Creekside]

I remember reading when the season ended that Clark had played 200+ snaps and gave up only one sack.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

I hope he has worked on his technique and strength this off season...he showed promise at the end of the season.

[coltsfeva]

I shutter when national pundits repeat the mantra; The Colts need help on the right side. If Clark and Haeg end up being above average, I could see a late round draft pick making sense as a backup but o-line is definitely not their most pressing need. Pass rush trumps all other positions, if one isn't there CB would move to the primary need. 

[Tmoney]

23 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

I shutter when national pundits repeat the mantra; The Colts need help on the right side. If Clark and Haeg end up being above average, I could see a late round draft pick making sense as a backup but o-line is definitely not their most pressing need. Pass rush trumps all other positions, if one isn't there CB would move to the primary need. 

ILB is just as big of a Need, but I agree that o-line is not.

[a06cc]

 

On 4/6/2017 at 3:27 PM, throwinbbz said:

He should be just fine.
And hopefully our starting LT in 2018.

 Was going to say the same thing. Castanzo is good when JM is next to him. If AC again has a bad season then goodbye to him. 

[will426]

3 hours ago, a06cc said:

 

 Was going to say the same thing. Castanzo is good when JM is next to him. If AC again has a bad season then goodbye to him. 

Nah he's the same way with or without JM as of lately and that's average

[LockeDown]

Ballard noted the Oline has already been working out and they do it together which he liked.  

[Dark Superman]

I miss Howard Mudd...

[Dark Superman]

I think I can recall Clark going up against Khalil Mack, and I remember how I was impressed with Clark and how we was playing for a rookie.

[Dark Superman]

Kind of makes me want the Colts to trade back to 18 and pick Lamp. Costanzo, Mewhort, Kelly, Lamp, Clark. Sounds good to me.

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, LockeDown said:

Ballard noted the Oline has already been working out and they do it together which he liked.  

 

I think he's was referring to mostly weight room work at the facility.

 

I'm not even sure if it's legal for any player to be "working out" doing any football drills at the team facility at this point of the off-season.      We can all thank the last CBA for that insanity.

 

I think football drills at this point have to be done off-site.    

 

[NewColtsFan]

 

As for Clark....

 

If you were a mad scientist and you were building an offensive tackle you would build LaRaven Clark.

 

He's 6'5"

He's 315-320 pounds

He has 36 inch arms

He has nearly 12 inch hands

He ran a good 40.   He tested well in the other drills.

He has a high IQ.

He scored a high wonderlic number.

 

Everything you would want in a tackle he has.    The only thing he was missing was experience in an NFL style offense,  but he did start 52 games in college.     He just needed to be coached up by a good coach and we now have that with Joe Philbin.    

 

Clark should be our tackle for 17 and 18....    and if he does well enough,  then perhaps he switches to the Left side in 19,  but certainly no later than 20.

 

[rock8591]

Actually his wonderlic number was low, only 17. Lawrence Phillips was 23. (LOL I'm still laughing at the latter - would have guessed NEGATIVE 50 score, if there ever was one.)

[LockeDown]

52 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I think he's was referring to mostly weight room work at the facility.

 

I'm not even sure if it's legal for any player to be "working out" doing any football drills at the team facility at this point of the off-season.      We can all thank the last CBA for that insanity.

 

I think football drills at this point have to be done off-site.    

 

Right.  I was referring to a comment about Clark needing more strength this offseason and I was demonstrating he is working on that now.  The group thing was an aside. 

[#12.]

On 4/6/2017 at 7:06 PM, coltsfeva said:

I shutter when national pundits repeat the mantra; The Colts need help on the right side. 

Pundits?  Ballard said the same thing.  "Need to build on Haeg and Clark."  "The starters aren't currently on the roster."

[dodsworth]

All 3 rookie O linemen have a bright future. Hitting 3 for 4

on the o line picks were one of the bright spots in Grigson

tenure.

[a06cc]

23 hours ago, will426 said:

Nah he's the same way with or without JM as of lately and that's average

He's average with JM next to him. Have to see looking for a replacment? 

[will426]

11 minutes ago, a06cc said:

He's average with JM next to him. Have to see looking for a replacment? 

I actually like Ac but it's been said and seen that after he got paid for being an above average Lt his play has downgraded..I mean some games he's good in no issue then it's those games where non stars are constantly getting pressure from his side 

[coltsfeva]

20 hours ago, #12. said:

 "The starters aren't currently on the roster."

I don't know where you get that. I know he was asked if the five that started at the end of season were going to be the starters this year and he did say; "I wouldn't say that" but that is because he wants to build competition. It doesn't mean they won't be the starters. Adding another lineman in the late rounds of the draft or FA makes sense but if Haeg and Clark end up staring, they could be pretty solid.

[#12.]

6 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

I don't know where you get that. I know he was asked if the five that started at the end of season were going to be the starters this year and he did say; "I wouldn't say that" but that is because he wants to build competition. It doesn't mean they won't be the starters. Adding another lineman in the late rounds of the draft or FA makes sense but if Haeg and Clark end up staring, they could be pretty solid.

Are you talking about what he just said last week or so to Holder?  

 

That's the way you interpet it because it fits what you want to see in the draft.  It's not the way I interpret it, taken with his earlier comments and the fact Zeitler was the first free agent he showed interest in.  

 

I have a feeling the people opposed to going OL early will be disappointed in a few weeks.  Seems pretty likely to me.

[masnerj]

I am actually optimistic about our O-Line next year. I see two scenarios playing out:

 

1) We don't really draft any OL high (think anything in the first four rounds) and basically stick with those five going into next season. Basically here, you know what you are getting with Castanzo. He will be up or down, but certainly an above average left tackle overall imo. Mewhort is very talent but just needs to stay healthy but I expect him to give us atleast 10-12 good games at LG. Kelly is gonna be the rock in the middle I expect. Haeg will be a slightly above average RG who does a decent job but certainly doesn't wow anybody. And Clark, who probably will still make some mistakes time to time, will improve greatly over the course of the season and become a solid starter at the least with upside to boot. The only issue going in with this scenario is injuries. Yes we signed that back up and yes Haeg and play RT if Raven gets hurt. But it is very hard to have a permanent five for an entire season (especially in Indy).

 

2) We draft a OG in the first three rounds that we feel offers more than Haeg. I love Haeg as he is an excellent value (especially based on where we got him!) who is a serviceable starter but really better suited as a high quality back-up that can do it all. Think guys like Forest Lamp, Feeley, etc. I don't think we will be drafting someone to play tackle (not to mention the tackle class sucks anyways and that Clark is probably better than most of the tackles easily) but I would not be suprised if we go after a guy that we can probably slot right in at RG and make Haeg the high quality back-up. 

 

I personally don't wanna draft a OG high because our defense needs more help but I wouldn't be mad if we trade down and go after a guy like Lamp. 

[GoColts8818]

I think there is a big reason to be optimistic.  Last year was also viewed as a transition year for him.  The Colts made that clear when they drafted him.  So I expect him to keep improving. 

 

Honestly, if he pans out at right tackle our o-line could very well be in place with Castonzo, Mewhort, Kelly, Haeg, and Clark. 

[Str8himalaya]

I remember in preseason how many thought he was an absolute nightmare and would get luck killed if he started. Then, he plays the last few games of the season, and honestly, looked like he belonged. Had a few issues here and there, but the growth from the preseason to the end of the season has me optomisitic he can be a very good find. Pair that with the scouting reports that it would take him a bit but had great potential and I don't see why we have to judge the guy after a few games. He looks like he can play, so let's see what happens. I, for one, think he turns into a great find in the 3rd round.