Not sure if people have noticed the sub-obtimal arm lengths of some of the top tackles in 2021: Rashawn Slater: 33 inches Jalen Mayfield: 32 5/8 inches Dillon Radunz: 33 1/4 inches Teven Jenkins: 32 7/8 inches James Hudson: 33 inches Robert Hainsey: 32 inches Samuel Cosmi: 33 inches Surprising results may be a boon for the Jets looking for a guard!
I've been saying for a while that it's not a good draft for IOL, but is for OTs, and have been saying that the Jets should draft one of these OTs and play him at RG. I'd love Slater, but would be really happy with Jenkins or Radunz, and probably would be happy with the others as well.
Hainsey is perfect for the conversion and he's athletic enough to play in this system. I don't think arm length really matters in the end though. It's all about foot speed and operating in space along with technique. Walter Jones had 33 5/8 inch arms (short by the pundits standards for an offensive tackle) and he's one of the best of all time. Joe Thomas 33 3/4 inches. Armstead and Ogden right around 34 inches. There's obviously a bit of a correlation between height and arm length which is why you see the taller guys slotted in at tackle because they're bigger by trade. I haven't seen a lot of the listed guys play or watched them when they played. Cosmo was unspectacular from what I did see.
How well do they bend & do they have the quickness/anchor to win an initial surge? Always the key w that move Alex Leatherwood has looked like a quality NFL guard for 2 years now. Trey Smith’s first 2 years in college were at OT. The 2 guards i really like
Love Leatherwood but I think he can play right tackle. What are your thoughts on Darrisaw? I've been trying to hunt you down because I haven't had a chance to watch him.
Leatherwood can def play RT. Ive watched 2 games of Darrisaw.Kind of a mixed bag. Very good run blocker including in space. Moves very well.Also has a nice punch & some nastiness to him. His hips are just ok & hes alittle limited in terms of foot quickness for mirroring at the next level. Hard to tell how he’d fare at guard, certainly would be great in the running game but might struggle vs twitchy 3Ts in pass pro & certain blocking concepts
The position that athleticism and quick feet are more important to an offensive tackle than long arms makes sense to me. However, how are we to understand that almost every drafted OT (combine participants) to start at least 5 games between 2015 and 2019 have longer arms than any of the 2021 prospects listed above? 2015 Rob Haverstein 33.75 inches Donovan Smith 34.38" Ereck Flowers 34.5" Daryl Williams 35" Cedric Ogbuehi 35.88" Trent Brown 36" College tackles converted: BrandonScherff 33.88" Jake Fisher 33.75" Andrus Peat 34.38" 2016 Taylor Decker 33.75" Jason Spriggs 34.13" Laremy Tunsil 34.25" Brandon Shell 34.75" Jack Conklin 35" Ronnie Stanley 35.63" Germaine Ifedi 36" College tackle converted: Alex Lewis 34" 2017 Ryan Ramczyk 33.75" Garrett Bolles 34" Sam Tevi 34" College tackle converted: Daniel Brunskill 33.88" 2018 Isaiah Wynn 33.38" Brian O'Neill 34.13" Kolton Miller 34.22" Chukwuma Okarafor 34.5" Brandon Parker 34.63" Mike McGlinchey 34.87" Geron Christian 35" Orlando Brown 35" College tackles converted: Alex Cappa 32.63" Connor Williams 33" 2019 Kaleb McGary 32.9" Andre Dillared 33.5" Jonah Williams 33.63" Tytus Howard 34" Chuma Edoga 34.75" Jawaan Taylor 35.13" Greg Little 35.25" College tackles convderted: Dave Edwards 33.38" Max Sharping 33.63" The evidence seems to be that arms longer than 33" are all but essential for an NFL tackle!
Sorry, I should've clarified in saying I don't read too much into it like a lot of combine stats. It's certainly preferred and comes with the territory but if there's a stud out there that can play tackle. There's also a lot of bad players those lists. The best five players are Stanley, Tunsil, Ramzcyk, Isaiah Wynn and McGlinchey which displays a larger range than one would think. Zach Martin switched to right tackle at the end of the year last year with 32" arms and was fantastic. The 49ers started two left tackles in successive years in Staley and Skule in the 33" range.
I'm not trying to say that somebody with arms shorter than 33" can't play tackle in the NFL. What intrigues me is that good college tackles without long arms apparently tend not to be pencilled in as starters by NFL teams; instead, they are more likely to be converted to guards. If this is true, it opens up some great opportunities for the Jets with the shorter-armed 2021 tackles!
Look, the last thing I want is to be a "Debbie Downer" about the 2021 tackle prospects, but Liam Eichenberg's arms measured at 32 3/8". The historical numbers I posted above are what they are and, besides, a whole bunch of 2021 tackles being considered for guard conversion may well help the Jets' horrible guard play.
A bit short for sure but I think he can do it. Mitchell Schwartz, La'el Collins, Ramczyk, Havenstein, etc. are all below the 34" mark. Matt Feiler for the Steelers is under 33". Conklin and Lane Johnson well above the mark. Regardless, I think all three of the available Notre Dame lineman will find spots in the league as average to good/great players. At minimum they're body movers and teams need those. If they can't pass block effectively enough they're going to be guards. I don't think Hainsey or Banks can play tackle but I'm curious to see what happens with Eichenberg.