NFL Draft Rumors: Early run on offensive tackles likely
Teams are in their final preparations for the draft, reporters are trading information with front office types as they try to gauge value, and one thing that is emerging is that offensive tackles will be in demand. According to Peter Schrager, you could see an early run of offensive tackles, with teams seeking the trio of Jawaan Taylor, Andre Dillard, and Jonah Williams.
Annual tradition… 10 nuggets I’m hearing the night before the Draft …
1. Three offensive tackles could go end up going top ten. Jawaan Taylor/Andre Dillard/Jonah Williams. Better chance of a team trading up for an OT than QB.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) April 25, 2019
Eric Edholm also said something similar, saying that he is hearing they could all be gone by pick 12.
Texting with a few teams last few days … a theme emerged
Could see a high run on OTs. Expecting trio of Williams, Dillard, Taylor to go off the board by, say, Green Bay at 12 (and maybe before that). Teams feel dropoff after those 3
8-9-10 could all be trade-back spots
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) April 25, 2019
When I did my mock exercise, one thing that was apparent is that the demand for tackles is likely to exceed the supply, and also that once either Dillard or Williams goes off the board there is a perceived drop. The Houston Texans (23rd), Minnesota Vikings (18th), New York Giants (17th), and Carolina Panthers (16th) are all teams that could consider an offensive tackle, but it may be necessary to make a big move to acquire one that can come in and play right away. Last year, we also saw several teams take offensive linemen far earlier than the mock draft crowd was anticipating, and if the same happens this year, you could see three of them off the board early.
That area between the Giants’ first pick at sixth overall, and Green Bay at 12th, is an area that is going to be potentially filled with trades.
