Wanted to share some thoughts and a couple of breakdowns that I've done about two popular offensive tackles that will be linked to us a lot in the coming months.
These are the two twitter breakdowns I did. If you are a visual learner or require proof of what I'm about to talk about, this is where you'll find it!
Charles Cross
Evan Neal
(If there was a way to upload GIFs from my desktop to the thread discussion interface, I definitely would. Alas.)
When I look at offensive tackles, I really look at just a few things:
Footwork/Flexibility
Hands/Punch
First step & Short area quickness
Functional Strength
Balance
Both very good prospects, but I think that Evan Neal (and Ikem Ekwonu, though I won't be discussing him here) are on another tier compared to Charles Cross.
Charles Cross, from a technique perspective is a bit more advanced than Neal is. In fact, Neal has a pretty decent amount of stuff to clean up.
I think, though, if you look at how you can translate to the pro game and think about the strength and speed of the guys that rookie OTs will face, I think that Cross is somewhat more maxxed out on how much better he can get whereas Neal is scratching the surface.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Both have the requisite athleticism to have exceptional recovery skills when they are beat. It's a trait shared by Andrew Thomas and one of the reasons I liked him a ton as well. What's crazy is that Neal is about 40-50 lbs heavier than Cross, which really puts his short area quickness into light as elite.
Cross has the most explosive first step of any tackle in the draft. This allows him to control and get the advantage 90% of the time when he does a quick set and allows him to get his hands and punch inside the DL. Neal, on the other hand, has good but not elite first step. That's OKAY, you can definitely get by.
Balance. Cross has great balance and is rarely found on the ground. This is Neal's biggest weakness. Sometimes he lunges. That's because sometimes he doesn't trust his strength the same Andrew Thomas didn't trust himself during his rookie year and that leads to bad habits. THIS IS FIXABLE. You know who had significant balance issues in college? Tristan Wirfs. He was on the ground a lot. Look at how that turned out.
!!!Strength!!! This is where there is a huge difference between these two prospects and why I'm so high on Neal and relatively lower on Cross. Neal is a brute. He could thrive in a gap scheme just drive blocking people out of the way. His anchor, while inconsistent in having a nice wide base, still stymies most pass rushers. His power allows him to get by on a few technique mistakes with his foot work, and so when he gets those fixed, watch out.
Cross has poor functional strength in my eyes. He's not going to be an impact player in the run game in a gap scheme (which Daboll prefers). He can be a good player in a ZBS, definitely has the athleticism to make some of those blocks.
I think the biggest issue re: Cross'strength is that it causes him to panic sometimes. On more vertical sets he opens his hips way too early, especially if he doesn't win early and leads to pressures. Stronger players in the NFL will flatten him on the way to the QB. It also leads him to try and lean into his pass sets, which, as you will see in the above twitter breakdowns, leaves room for an inside counter by a pass rusher WIDE OPEN. He does this consistently. Andrew Thomas had the same issue, but that came from Thomas not trusting his strength. I'm not sure that Cross has that type of strength.
Of course, strength can get better and many will say, "Get him into an NFL training program" and that's great but I'm not sure how many players have completely transformed themselves and gotten that much stronger relative to their NFL colleagues. It's a risk.
I think Neal is in that traditional OT1 range, which is usually a top 5 player most drafts, so I think his draft range is definitely appropriate right now.
Cross, his range is everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if a team took him top 10 or if he went top of round 2. As I said in my breakdown, he reminds me of Andre Dillard or DJ Humphries, both of which went early 20s. I think that's probably a good range for him.
Agree? Disagree? Am I stupid?
I've done breakdowns on Michigan EDGE David Ojabo and Utah LB Devin Lloyd as well. I plan on doing a bunch more, so if you guys enjoyed reading this, let me know and I'll do a few more of these here.
Cross to me might be a touch lower upside but might be the best day 1 starter of the bunch especially in pass pro.
If either Neal or Ekwonu are there at 5 , they are still probably my pick but Cross might be the best at least initially as plug and play
See, I'm not so sure. Like, I don't think Evan Neal needs to get much quicker. I think he just needs to clean up some tech.
But I think that "functional" strength is a massive issue for Cross. I don't know that he'll be able to anchor in the pass game, think he'll start lunging vs stronger guys in the pros.
Another guy who needed to get a lot stronger (Cross IMO is better than him) is Miami OT Austin Jackson who ended up moving to guard for similar issues where every pass set is a quick set
This is my worry with Neal. See Becton with the Jets. Along with the poor techniques he shows. Didn't Sy say that he thinks Cross is top 10 overall?
I'll probably do a Devin Lloyd vs Nakobe Dean and a David Ojabo vs Jermaine Johnson at some point soon.
This is my Devin Lloyd: https://twitter.com/KSIXI/status/1492137160962682885
This is my David Ojabo:
https://twitter.com/KSIXI/status/1490748002419490821
That's a fair concern.
Quote:
Draft a 350 pound OT in the first round. Knees are a terrible thing to waste.
This is my worry with Neal. See Becton with the Jets. Along with the poor techniques he shows. Didn't Sy say that he thinks Cross is top 10 overall?
His technique issues aren't really all that bad IMO, and easier to fix than most. Again, the weight, yes that is the big concern with him.
That being said, there are bigger tackles that have been successful like Bryant McKinnie and Trent Brown. It'll come down to the interview of Neal and the interviews with his coaches to see if he has the motivation and drive to keep his weight down. Obviously stuff we are not privy to.
As far as Sy'56 having Cross that high, I respect and trust his evaluation and opinion greatly and hold him in really high regard. Usually agree with him though not on this particular take.
Quote:
In comment 15602503 Bones said:
Quote:
Draft a 350 pound OT in the first round. Knees are a terrible thing to waste.
This is my worry with Neal. See Becton with the Jets. Along with the poor techniques he shows. Didn't Sy say that he thinks Cross is top 10 overall?
His technique issues aren't really all that bad IMO, and easier to fix than most. Again, the weight, yes that is the big concern with him.
That being said, there are bigger tackles that have been successful like Bryant McKinnie and Trent Brown. It'll come down to the interview of Neal and the interviews with his coaches to see if he has the motivation and drive to keep his weight down. Obviously stuff we are not privy to.
As far as Sy'56 having Cross that high, I respect and trust his evaluation and opinion greatly and hold him in really high regard. Usually agree with him though not on this particular take.
The good news with Neal and Ekwonu is they already have pro level strength and are athletic enough that their deficiencies could be covered up at least partially early on by their ability to recover. And they will be playing RT and LT which is a bit more helpful to the QB as well.
I like him but I question if he's worth a Top 10 pick. He looks like such a pro out there in college, but ironically I wonder if he's a guy who will fail against actual pro athletes who are on a different tier of athleticisim/power from college kids.
If there was a trade down to Pitt(for qb) from #5 to #20, then yes to an olineman that may grade there (penning, cross, TL, kenyon green)
we would also probably get pitts #2, another mid rd pick (4) and next yrs #1
8 picks in first 125 would let us draft two solid OL prospects and fortify ER, ILB and CB maybe even grab decent two way TE
the depth of oline is between picks 50-100, probably IOL
Unfortunately haven't gotten to him yet but of course opened my eyes at the Senior Bowl. He's on the list to watch!
He's an intriguing prospect. I believe Sy talks about him in the Senior Bowl thread
Quote:
Thank you. If you have any, please share your thoughts on Abraham Lucas. He's a smooth pass protector who only gave up 4 sacks in 900 career reps. He could be somebody the Giants may be interested in on Day 2.
He's an intriguing prospect. I believe Sy talks about him in the Senior Bowl thread
He does.
I've seen mocks that have the Jags taking him @ 1.
You pointed to Cross leaving the inside open. That’s really worrisome to me because what I see is a lack of quickness that good NFL DEs will be able to exploit. Is this actually a correctible flaw? Educate me.
Cross just turned 21 so you can argue he is still developing and can gain weight, but he is not an imposing NFL specimen, just like you said.
You pointed to Cross leaving the inside open. That’s really worrisome to me because what I see is a lack of quickness that good NFL DEs will be able to exploit. Is this actually a correctible flaw? Educate me.
Cross just turned 21 so you can argue he is still developing and can gain weight, but he is not an imposing NFL specimen, just like you said.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I feel like I need to show my work and so I think it helps to show everyone what I'm seeing.
I think it's fixable. Andrew Thomas had the same issue. But I think if Cross doesn't get stronger he's going to continue to give up inside pressure. He already struggles with stunting DTs.
Obviously, he can do it and if he does, he'll be an elite player, but there are enough questions where I don't think I'd take him in the top 10.
Thanks for posting.
I agree with Ikem seeming to have the most similarity with the types of players buffalo drafted because i think he's the type to have a crazy combine. i actually think neal is probably the safer/higher floor player and Ikem possibly the highest upside in the draft due to the power he generates. but also a lower floor because he may need to kick inside to guard.
Both him and Neal are great fits for NYG and they'd be lucky to get them at #5. The fact that both have played 3 positions well is a huge asset.
Neal lunges way too much for my taste and got away with it a lot due to the overall talents in the Bama backfield.
No matter the case, the NYG going with one of these guys is almost a near certainty at #5 or #7.
if this OL needs anything it's an athletic, nasty, former state champion wrestler with a unique ability to put other people on the ground.
NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu, a year out from NFL Draft eligibility, is quietly ‘the most feared offensive lineman in the ACC’ - ( New Window )
One thing on Neal's weight - he can lose 10-15 maybe even 20 lbs and not lose strength. As much as teams can put guys in weight rooms to bulk up, they can also put them there to get lighter.
I would not compare him to Becton as far as injuries because Becton had these back issues in college and I do not remember hearing of injuries with Neal.
One thing on Neal's weight - he can lose 10-15 maybe even 20 lbs and not lose strength. As much as teams can put guys in weight rooms to bulk up, they can also put them there to get lighter.
I would not compare him to Becton as far as injuries because Becton had these back issues in college and I do not remember hearing of injuries with Neal.
Good point ... "As much as teams can put guys in weight rooms to bulk up, they can also put them there to get lighter."
and is more than likely easier if the player has any discpline food wise.