Offensive Tackle ~ Shon Coleman ~ Auburn Tigers ~ 6054/308
The Gutters are riddled with the Corpses of Teams that were built around so-called "skill" Players ~ teams that delighted their Fantasy FootBall Fans every Year, all the way until January...until The Only Games That Really Matter.
It is then, of course, that the Capacity ~ or lack thereof ~ to Move The Chains and protect the QuarterBack against PlayOff Caliber Defenses rears its ugly head. And another Team built for Fantasy FootBall bites the dust.
This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Offensive Tackles:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.
Combat Skills: Paw Power, Mechanics ~ Hand Speed & Positioning ~ and of course: Frame.
Intangibles: Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Run Blocking: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.
Pass Blocking: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength in the Passing Game. The capacity to Stand one's Ground.
* Drive Power in the Running Game. The capacity to drive your man back.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Combat Skills
* Frame ~ Arms, Hands, and above all: WingSpan.
* Field Vision ~ Reacting to the Tactical LandScape: It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Paw Persistence ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* FootWork ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
Intangibles
* Processing Speed ~ Field Vision. Reading Defensive Schemes quickly and effectively, and finding 2nd Level Targets.
* Motor ~ Intensity and Duration.
Run Blocking
* Power ~ Drive Power to project Power in the Running Game.
* Agility ~ especially Acceleration DownField or to the Flank.
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Pass Blocking
* Power ~ Anchoring Strength to reject Power in the Passing Game.
* Agility ~ especially Fluidity to Mirror the Pass Rusher.
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Agility: Moderate. Adequate Launch Velocity and Acceleration. Mediocre Fluidity.
Combat Skills: Marginal. Tremendous WingSpan, but raw, shaky Mechanics.
Intangibles: Phenomenal. Marginal Processing Speed and Field Vision. Excellent Motor. Heart of a freaking Lion.
Run Blocking: I don't believe that he projects especially well in either Power or in Zone, but he could compete.
Pass Blocking: Here he has more Potential, because of that terrific WingSpan.
Needless to say: I and everyone else is rooting for'm. He's got plenty of Work yet to do, mind you, but I don't think anyone's questioning his capacity to do whatever it takes for however long it takes to make the best of his Skills.
What I, personally, question, are if the general perception of his Skills has been pumped up a bit ~ or two bits!! ~ by the Good Will we all feel towards this incalculably impressive young man.
As a Prospect, I see Shon Coleman as an Offensive Tackle with unremarkable Power and Agility who has a lot of Work to do on his Combat Skills, and whose only Strengths are his enormous WingSpan...and his Heart.
I'll take on the mantle of being the ColdBlooded A-Hole who grades this admirable kid as OverRated.
But I'll also say that I hope he makes me look like a drooling Idiot in the Years to come.
He wouldn't be the first!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value 2nd/3rd Round | Yank Rank 3rd/4th Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!