O-Linemen that I'm liking at the Senior Bowl

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1. Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP - what a monster. He manhandles opponents at the Senior Bowl practices and 1 on 1 drills. He's a bit stocky and not very tall, but man oh man, does he wear his weight well. Good feet, great hand placement inside the frame and power! Sometimes he tries to cheat and overset to the outside by guessing where the rusher will go, but that's very easily fixable and from what I was seeing, he doesn't really need to do that to win pretty much every rep. He seemed a bit grabby at times. I don't think he's getting out of day 2 and if I had to bet, I'd bet he gets picked in the 2nd rather than the 3d.

2. Isaiah Wynn, OG/OT, Georgia - he played left tackle for Georgia but he's projected to be moved inside in the league. He lined up on both sides of the center in 1 on 1 drills and was exceptional. He was stonewalling opponents. His initial punch was noticeable. He would get his hands inside the frame of D-linemen and they would visibly get shocked and bounce back by the initial punch. His feet and pass-protection set looked great. He ranked no. 1 in SEC by PFF in pass-protection with grade of 98.6(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)... this is at tackle!! I wonder why teams would try him at tackle first before they move him inside. His arm length was 33 1/8 and his hand size is minuscule at 8 1/2, maybe that's the reason... I watched a ton of Georgia this year and he was flashing a lot not only in pass-pro but also as a puller in the second level of Georgia's run game. I am having hard time justifying leaving him out of the top 3 rounds. If we draft him or Hernandez in round 3 this would be a massive steal IMO.

3. Alex Cappa, OT, Humboldt state - Duke Manyweather, who is a O-line guru loves this guy. He's been getting coaching from some of the best O-line coaches in preparation for the draft and O-line twitter raves about him. After a slow start in the first half of Tuesday's practice, he's been killing it for the second part of Tuesday and all of Wednesday. He destroyed projected top 10 pick from UTSA Marcus Davenport all day yesterday. I think Cappa won every single rep against him. In addition to having the physical profile and athleticism to play OT, Cappa seems to have some good fundamentals and good feet and pass set + he checks the box that O-line experts like most - violence and nasty! If you check some of his college tape, he literally throws linebackers in the air in the run game. Here are some tweets and a video:

 

 

 

 

 

IMO he will be a riser and especially if he tests like people expect him to test at the combine. He will jump into round 2-3 considerations IMO. 

[Surge89]

Dude that's scary... I just posted about Hernandez and Cappa lol

[Surge89]

I've watched Wynn plenty while I watched Smith he's gonna be good.

 

I was more excited on the new candy lol...  Hernandez and Cappa are the types of lineman I love. If I'm drafting they don't make it past the 3rd round. 

[BProland85]

Would like to see Ballard find a few OL players with starting ability in free agency, and then getting a few young studs in the draft as well. Hernandez and Wynn are definitely on my radar in rounds 3-4. I think rounds 1-2 should be spend on defense or OT help. Unless Ballard wants to trade down for a haul and move in position to get OG Quenton Nelson. 

[Indy Fan]

I’ve been liking Hernandez and Wynn a lot but haven’t looked at Cappa. Wynn I could see early second round and Hernandez I wouldn’t be surprised to see in the mid second. It would be nice to trade back in the first and get another second rounder to help the o line.

[OffensivelyPC]

1 hour ago, stitches said:

 

2. Isaiah Wynn, OG/OT, Georgia - he played left tackle for Georgia but he's projected to be moved inside in the league. He lined up on both sides of the center in 1 on 1 drills and was exceptional. He was stonewalling opponents. His initial punch was noticeable. He would get his hands inside the frame of D-linemen and they would visibly get shocked and bounce back by the initial punch. His feet and pass-protection set looked great. He ranked no. 1 in SEC by PFF in pass-protection with grade of 98.6(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)... this is at tackle!! I wonder why teams would try him at tackle first before they move him inside. His arm length was 33 1/8 and his hand size is minuscule at 8 1/2, maybe that's the reason... I watched a ton of Georgia this year and he was flashing a lot not only in pass-pro but also as a puller in the second level of Georgia's run game. I am having hard time justifying leaving him out of the top 3 rounds. If we draft him or Hernandez in round 3 this would be a massive steal IMO.

 

Wynn is also 6'2.  Good length considering his height.  But 33 1/8 is average length, maybe even below average for an OG.  For Tackle, it's at least a good inch and a half below average, 2 or more inches below the ideal/prototype.  I'll go on record as saying length is often overrated.  There is no strong correlation between pass blocking and length.  That said, its still, just from a logical perspective, better to have arms longer than your opposing rusher.  I mean, how are you going to punch him if he's punching your pads and he can reach but you can't?  It means you have to resort to a counter before you can latch on again.  The effects of arm length are exaggerated, but I'm sure they aren't altogether obsolete.

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[Valpo2004]

3 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Would like to see Ballard find a few OL players with starting ability in free agency, and then getting a few young studs in the draft as well. Hernandez and Wynn are definitely on my radar in rounds 3-4. I think rounds 1-2 should be spend on defense or OT help. Unless Ballard wants to trade down for a haul and move in position to get OG Quenton Nelson. 

 

I don't know how much of a haul we are going to get since Nelson might go in the top 10 anyways.  We could probably get a late 2nd to trade down from 3 to the bottom of the top 10.  

 

But trading down and getting Nelson is my preference.  

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

I like all 3 of them!

[NewColtsFan]

 

I think it would be interesting to take Chubb in the first,  and Hernandez or Wynn at the top of the 2nd.

 

I'd be on board with that.      We'd improve pass rush and upgrade at guard.     And that's assuming we get a top quality guard in Free Agency as well.

 

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Cappa is looking real good against Nwosu.. Nwosu got him in the first practice, but is getting stonewalled by Cappa right now. edit: and Shaquem Griffin got him with an inside move. I love this kid. 

[Track Guy]

Cappa wasn't on my radar - the NFL will be a big adjustment, but he certainly was dominant and he's got the demeanor you like in the trenches. 

[BProland85]

23 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

I don't know how much of a haul we are going to get since Nelson might go in the top 10 anyways.  We could probably get a late 2nd to trade down from 3 to the bottom of the top 10.  

 

But trading down and getting Nelson is my preference.  

 

If we don't get more than a late 2nd by trading down 6 spots or so from the 3rd overall, Ballard isn't doing his job right as a GM in regards to draft trades. If we traded down all the way to 8-10, I would expect to get a 2, 3, and 2019 early pick as well. 

[bhougland]

On 1/25/2018 at 9:58 AM, OffensivelyPC said:

Wynn is also 6'2.  Good length considering his height.  But 33 1/8 is average length, maybe even below average for an OG.  For Tackle, it's at least a good inch and a half below average, 2 or more inches below the ideal/prototype.  I'll go on record as saying length is often overrated.  There is no strong correlation between pass blocking and length.  That said, its still, just from a logical perspective, better to have arms longer than your opposing rusher.  I mean, how are you going to punch him if he's punching your pads and he can reach but you can't?  It means you have to resort to a counter before you can latch on again.  The effects of arm length are exaggerated, but I'm sure they aren't altogether obsolete.

Maybe that is why i haven't heard his name too much, but man was his technique flawless, way better than Hernandez.

[Four2itus]

"Everyone! Out of the club!" (tape on Kappa)

 

lol.......

[RealityIsLuck]

Wynn is a guy that I straight out like at pick 35. Hernandez is a guy that I would hope to snatch in the third, but doubt he'd be there so I'd like seeing him in a trade down/extra pick in the 2nd picked up from trading down in the first rd. situation. 

 

Kappa is an interesting prospect, if he climbs up draft boards enough could be taken 3rd round, but I'd love him in the 4th as a developmental prospect. 

[The Peytonator]

I'm with guys on Wynn. Definitely would not mind taking him in the second, but he has to play guard. There probably hasn't been a tackle that short to succeed since the 80's. I really don't want to use more than two draft picks on offensive linemen though. We've spent a decent amount lately and they just take so long to develop coming out of college that I really just want to see it all get fixed in free agency and use the draft to get someone they really like; see Wynn. Then again, I'm terrible at projecting which linemen are gonna be good. I thought Jacques McClendon was our guard of the future at one point. 

[Hoose]

On 1/25/2018 at 4:32 PM, NewColtsFan said:

 

I think it would be interesting to take Chubb in the first,  and Hernandez or Wynn at the top of the 2nd.

 

I'd be on board with that.      We'd improve pass rush and upgrade at guard.     And that's assuming we get a top quality guard in Free Agency as well.

 

Getting Chubb after a slight trade down from the third pick is ideal. It really opens things up

for the second day with two high second rd picks and likely two high thirds as well.

Neither Wynn nor Hernandez are Nelson but they are both very talented. One of them in the 2nd would be a definite upgrade for the O line. That said, there is no other special pass rushing talent in the draft like Chubb......which makes him the preferred pick over someone like Nelson if they are both available when the Colts pick. 

[ClaytonColt]

Some of that Cappa tape is hilarious! Obviously don't know how he'd get on again at bigger and stronger guys but he's definitely got a way of neutralizing opposition players. 

[Dark Superman]

Cappa is a monster

[Reidm]

4 minutes ago, KING. said:

Cappa is a monster

Hernandez looks really good so far in the game as well

[Reidm]

Watching Cappa he doesn't look like he does well with speed rushers. I've watched him get beat a few times by speed guys running right around the outside

[Dark Superman]

18 minutes ago, Reidm said:

Watching Cappa he doesn't look like he does well with speed rushers. I've watched him get beat a few times by speed guys running right around the outside

I would try him at RT in the NFL. I believe he was playing LT during those clips.

[Dark Superman]

1 hour ago, Reidm said:

Hernandez looks really good so far in the game as well

He's definitely on my radar! Hopefully, he's still on the board when we pick in the 2nd round.

[Dark Superman]

Hernandez is definitely moving up draft boards. Don't be surprised if he goes late in round 1.

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Look at this video, guys:

 

Tremendous job by Wynn. Too bad he got injured and didn't play in the game. 

[akcolt]

I'm looking at guys like Teller Hearn and Phillips  day 3. Ragnow is a guy that could slide in a pretty good class due to injury. If we don't add picks day 3 may be where Ballard looks for reinforcements for the.interior of the OL

[ColtsBlueFL]

I feel Phil Savage has done an exemplary job inviting players to the Reese's Senior Bowl.  Quite a few weren't that familiar or house names.  So many will improve their draft slot, both In practice and the game.  And I still believe around 50% of all chosen in the draft in rounds 2 and 3 will make the NFL from playing in this game.

[Dark Superman]

On 1/27/2018 at 3:10 PM, Reidm said:

Hernandez looks really good so far in the game as well

I really wanted him to fall to us in the second, but he's looking like a first-round pick at this point.

[Dark Superman]

On 1/27/2018 at 4:00 PM, Reidm said:

Watching Cappa he doesn't look like he does well with speed rushers. I've watched him get beat a few times by speed guys running right around the outside

Well, he's gonna have to in the NFL if he wants to make it. Everyone who rushes the passer is normally fast. Lol

[BProland85]

On 1/27/2018 at 3:21 PM, KING. said:

Hernandez is definitely moving up draft boards. Don't be surprised if he goes late in round 1.

 

If he goes late round 1 I could see Tennessee drafting him. Their OGs are horrible. 

[chad72]

4 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

 

If he goes late round 1 I could see Tennessee drafting him. Their OGs are horrible. 

 

I am thinking Jaguars or Vikings.

[waka waka]

if Lamar Jackson is still on the board when the jags pick its a good chance he'd be selected. Say what you want about there guards you put Jackson with that run game they have already and every team in this division is going to tough to win. 

I do agree with you guys i see him climbing into the late first round he will not be there when we pick in the second.

[krunk]

Lamar Jackson is damn fast, but I have doubts about him as a passer.  Reminds me too much of Mike Vick.

[LockeDown]

Stampede Blue had Will Hernandez as one of the losers at the Senior Bowl and Capps a winner.