Monday, March 9, 2009

Matty's Big Board Prospect Countdown: 15!

Hey folks, the Super Bowl is behind us and it's time to focus on the next big event and that is the all powerful and mighty draft, which has the ability to take a team from the bottom of the barrel and turn them into a playoff caliber team (ex. Dolphins and Falcons). What I plan on doing is twice a week until draft weekend, I'll be counting down my top 25 prospects, discuss their strengths, weaknesses, overall impact in the NFL and potential landing spot. So, without further delay, I bring you the player who ranked number 15...

15. Duke Robinson, OG Oklahoma Sooners

2008 Season Stats:
1st team All American

Career Stats:
07 1st team All American

Personal Stats:
6'5" 329 lbs. SR

Strengths:

The aptly named Duke is a large, statuesque individual with long arms, a big frame and all the upsides you want from an interior offensive lineman. He has outstanding strength, he is tough, he is physical, he knows how to finish his blocks and drive defenders into the turf. He is stout against bigger bodied defensive tackles, he uses his hands well to get good placement and control them and he anchors very well in the pass game and shows good awareness when looking for the blitzer or helping out backside. He is a natural knee bender and uses that to his advantage as he out leverages bigger and less fundamentally sound defensive tackles. He's also versatile and he has been a stalwart and consistent starter for Oklahoma and has played against top level competition in the Big-12.

Weaknesses:

Like all big offensive linemen, he lacks the quick feet and 'dance' ability that makes tackles so sought out. He has very heavy legs which leads to poor balance and the occasional over extension and face plant combo. Despite his good awareness he does have mental lapses at times and will not see a blitzer come free or will bury his head in a block and miss the looping defensive lineman coming through his gap. He has trouble with quick defensive linemen and will get caught reaching and holding in order to keep them at bay. He is a tad immature and likes to coast on his natural abilities, he is also not going to be a fit in a zone blocking scheme.

Overall:

Duke is without a doubt the top interior offensive lineman in this draft by leaps and bounds and it would not surprise me if he went in the top 15. But with the need for guards at a low and the fact he has some character issues I believe he slips a bit and ends up with the World Champion Steelers where his abilities and skills will be utilized to the utmost as Pittsburgh employs a power running game that would suit Duke's skill set and he would be in a solid environment that would force him to work and get better and I believe he can be an unstoppable force at guard if he learns to harness his gifts the right way and I think at the next level he will be able to do that and will have a great career ahead of him.



Projected NFL Destination:

With the 32nd selection in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select...









There you have it folks, be sure to tune in later this week for Prospect #14!

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