Ranking the NSFL Offensive Line Prospects
Who'll be making pancakes? Who's going to flop like one?
Who'll be making pancakes? Who's going to flop like one?
With the inaugural NSFL draft now hurtling towards us, it's time to take one last look at the offensive line prospects before the GM's shut themselves away and finalise their draft boards.
The O-Line has been receiving a lot of attention in the media in the buildup to the big day, with two very vocal groups emerging who have opinions that are essentially the polar opposites of one another.
At the time of writing this article, there are 11 O-Line prospects listed. As this is the inaugural season of the NSFL, and there is no existing player group to add to outside of the 2 player-GM's for each team who are unsurprisingly not O-linemen, it would take 30 prospects to completely fill all the spots on the line.
Averaging it out, most teams can secure themselves 2 guys. If there are any particularly bold GM's among the bunch, they may grab one or two more. So you might have one team that looks good from left tackle to right; but it's likely that most teams' offensive lines will be comprised of guys who would otherwise be camp bodies.
Back to the two groups: group 1 thinks that this makes the offensive line prospects even more important, as one stud could potentially anchor the line and take it from woeful to passable, and two guys could be good enough to really make a difference. Group 2 thinks that any pick spent on an O-Line guy is a waste, because unless you draft yourself a whole line, you're gonna have holes somewhere that will be exploited, so you might as well draft defense and look to crush any other offense as well.
So which group's got it right? Only time will tell. In less than two days the pieces will fall where they may and we'll finally get a look at each team's completed roster. From there, our eyes will look to the start of the season, when we'll finally start to get an idea of just how important the O-Line will be.
If you're reading this, you've likely got an opinion one way or the other. Or maybe you're just looking for any NSFL fix to get you through until the draft. Either way, I'm about to break down this year's offensive line prospects by four main categories: pass blockers, run blockers, generalists, and finally the best overall talent.
So strap yourselves in, because we're about to dive head first into the trenches and get ourselves dirty.
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Pass Blockers
Of the 11 offensive lineman who have declared for the draft, only 2 guys consider themselves to be pure pass blockers: Daniel Robicheaux and Ben Longshaw. Unsurprisingly, these two guys have got excellent raw pass-blocking ability - the equal best in the draft class in my opinion. But you might be shocked to hear that there's two others guys who I think are equally as good. The tape I've seen of D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Angus Winchester tells me they're on par with the pure pass blockers for talent, despite the former considering himself a technician and the latter being a more athletic style of lineman.
But let's get things straight, this isn't run blocking we're talking about! It takes more than just throwing your weight around and trying to move forward and take a couple defenders with you to be a pass blocker. You need to have in-depth knowledge of the passing game and great technique. Strength is important too, but not on the same level as it is for run blocking.
With that in mind, I've got to say that Winchester's knowledge of the passing game just doesn't cut it for me. I've watched his tape and he looks lost out there when the QB drops back, and his technique is nothing short of sloppy. If you're hoping to have you quarterback go through his progressions or to run complex plays, this isn't your guy. He'll buy you a bit of time on a short drop back, but as an all-round pass blocker, you have to pass on him.
Robicheaux and Longshaw are again about level for knowledge in the passing game. They both need to make a big leap to be true professionals, but there's an obvious class difference between the raw Winchester and these two pure pass blockers. They've got a sense for what's going on out there. From what I've seen I'm actually going to say that Ferguson seems the most switched of the three. But that brings me to my next and most important point: technique.
While Robicheaux and Ferguson have the raw talent and eye for the game that allows them to get in position to make blocks, both of them are much too sloppy when engaging with their guy to be considered the best pass blockers. And while Robicheaux overcomes some of that by being a stronger guy, Ferguson gets pushed around a lot out there, too.
With that in mind, Longhsaw, who's just as tough as Robicheaux but has the far superior technique, is definitely my #1 pass blocker. He's got it all: raw talent, knowledge of the game, good strength, solid technique. He's definitely not the fastest guy, but he's known as the Brick Wall for a reason and he's more than happy to basically stay put.
#1 Pass Blocker: Ben Longshaw
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Run Blockers
It seems that the prospects in this year's draft class are focusing on being generalists. In the same vein as pass blocker, there are only 2 prospects who consider themselves to be pure run blockers: Bender Rodriguez and Marcus Boyd. With that being said, I will add that D'Brickashaw Ferguson encapsulates what it means to be a generalist, and his raw run-blocking talent is on par with the two purists just as it was in pass blocking, but as I said above he simply isn't strong enough (and that's even more of a knock in the running game), so this is a two-horse race.
Now as well as raw run-blocking ability, to be able to effectively pound the rock you want your guys on the offensive line to have knowledge of the game, be big, strong guys who can drive back defenders and clear space for the running back, have the speed to get downfield on the big plays, and also of course have sound technical skills.
In terms of football knowledge, I have Rodriguez and Boyd dead even. They know what they've got to do to get their job done, but they're not breaking new ground out there. These guys stick to the basics and do it well, and neither has an edge in this department.
When it comes to strength, though, Boyd is clearly the superior blocker. I had a lot of fun watching his tape and seeing him make mince meat out of defenders. He's simply brutal out there, and is a scary, scary man. Don't get me wrong, you're not going to want to get in Rodriguez' way either, but Boyd just has that little something extra.
He does pay for it, though, because he's clearly a couple steps slower than Rodriguez. I've seen on more than one occasion his speed stopping him from making plays down field to extend running plays - it even cost them a couple big TD's. Rodriguez is hands-down the fastest lineman in this class, and seeing Rodriguez pulling for a block is simply terrifying.
Now, I might be inclined to say that that Rodriguez' speed makes up for the strength difference, but the guy is a rocket: he can move fast, just don't ask him to change direction. He's got the worst feet of all the lineman, and defensive backs have made him look like he was still learning to walk on more than a few downfield plays, tripping up the big guy. Boyd doesn't exactly look like a running back out there, to be fair, but his slower pace has helped him stay in the play longer at times and not overshoot the mark.
So, overall the two guys seem about on par. Do you like strength or do you want the guy who can move? Even if you have a preference one way or the other, the gap isn't so big that it can't be closed with a good training camp or even a season under their belt. The question, then, is who will manage to get a season under their belt? Having spoken with both guys, Rodriguez - at least to me - seem like the one who's gonna live for this league, whereas Boyd might only have his eyes on draft day and no further.
All other things being equal, I've got to go with my man Bender Rodriguez to be the top run blocker based on his eagerness to get among the other guys at the combine.
#1 Run Blocker: Bender Rodriguez
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Generalists
Jack of all trades, master of none. The generalist is generally going to be a guy who fits in any scheme you want to implement, but he's not gonna be the top pass or run blocker. You'll always have a solid, dependable guy, perhaps with periods of being elite depending on the overall talent, but if you have a preference for running or passing, this isn't the lineman you want.
Now there's one guy who should be jumping out at you already. Can you think of who? Come on, it's easy! No? OK, it's D'Brickashaw Ferguson. You might recall that I said his raw pass- and run-blocking ability is on par with the purists at both of those positions. He also clearly understood what he needed to do out there, having a good knowledge of the game and his team's playbook. That being said, all the knowledge and natural talent in the world won't help you if you get thrown around and have sloppy technique, both of which Ferguson is guilty of.
There's three guys in the discussion for the best generalists in this draft pool. The top guys at their respective styles, Ben Longshaw and Bender Rodriguez, who as well as being the most naturally talented at their own styles of blocking, are also both ranked fourth best at the opposite style of blocking. That's pretty damn impressive. The other guy is Jogn Floggity, a technician. He's not overwhelmingly talented at either style of blocking, and is a slightly better pass blocker than run blocker, but the man is a monster not unlike Marcus Boyd, is easily one of the most intelligent prospects, is further along with his technique than most guys (only sitting behind Alex Thomas and Ben Longshaw there), and despite being clocked in as the equal-slowest lineman at the combine along with Alex Thomas and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, he is so light on his feet that you'd be forgiven for forgetting he was 294lbs.
So, who's the best guy to plug in for any situation? The pass blocker? The run blocker? The technician? First I've got to eliminate one of the specialists. They are equally good at their non-specialist blocking style as each other. Longshaw can run block just as well as Rodriguez can pass block. They are both dead even in strength, to the point of doing the same number of reps on the bench press at the combine. If there's any edge at all in their football IQ, it goes to Longshaw, but it's barely perceptible in the tape. Rodriguez is faster, Longshaw is more agile. They're both crazy enthusiastic about their place in the NSFL and seem like they'll be guys to truly dedicate their lives to the sport. So how do you split 'em?
Technique. The only guy with better blocking technique in this draft than Longshaw is Alex Thomas, who had to have exceptional technique to cover up his woeful raw ability in both styles of blocking. Longshaw throws his arms around out there like a karate master with a Mu ren zhuang, and defenders simply struggle with it. He gets my nod over Rodriguez as a generalist.
So, Longshaw or Floggity? Longshaw is a much better raw pass- and run-blocker, is faster and has the superior technique. Floggity is stronger, has a higher football IQ and is lighter on his feet. In my opinion you simply can't pass up the guy who is the best pass blocker, has one of the best techniques, is fairly fast for a pass blocker, has good knowledge of the game and is only behind a few guys in terms of strength. It's gotta be Longshaw for the generalist.
#1 Generalist: Ben Longshaw
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Best Overall Talent
Well, this is pretty straight forward. You've got a guy ranked as the top pass blocker, the best generalist, and can more than hold his own in the running game. Not only that, but he's one of the most passionate guys around the league and is just waiting to sink his teeth into the NSFL. I honestly can't see how you can pass up on a guy like Ben Longshaw. But, as I said at the start, some people simply don't value the offensive line position, so none of this would matter to them. But if you do value the O-Line, and you value your QB, you've got to go with Longshaw.
#1 Overall Offensive Lineman: Ben Longshaw
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References
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Update Page
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[div align=center][SELECT style="background-color:maroon; color:white; font-family:Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 400px; "][br]
[OPTION]Scott Michaels || Colorado Yeti General Manager || #YetiNoises
[OPTION]Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] NSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S9: 3 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 9 - 5
[OPTION] S11: 8 - 6
[OPTION] S12: 6 - 8
[OPTION] S13: 8 - 6
[OPTION] Career: 34 - 26 (.567)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION] S9: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S11: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S12: DNQ
[OPTION] S13: 1 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 4 (.200)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] DSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S8: 10 - 4
[OPTION] S9: 9 - 5
[OPTION] Career: 19 - 9 (.792)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION]S8: 1 - 1
[OPTION]S9 0 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 2 (.333)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Accolades
[OPTION]S11 NSFL GM of the Year
[OPTION]S9 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFC Conference Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]===========================================
Update Page
[div align=center][/align]
[div align=center][SELECT style="background-color:maroon; color:white; font-family:Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 400px; "][br]
[OPTION]Scott Michaels || Colorado Yeti General Manager || #YetiNoises
[OPTION]Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] NSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S9: 3 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 9 - 5
[OPTION] S11: 8 - 6
[OPTION] S12: 6 - 8
[OPTION] S13: 8 - 6
[OPTION] Career: 34 - 26 (.567)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION] S9: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S11: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S12: DNQ
[OPTION] S13: 1 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 4 (.200)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] DSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S8: 10 - 4
[OPTION] S9: 9 - 5
[OPTION] Career: 19 - 9 (.792)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION]S8: 1 - 1
[OPTION]S9 0 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 2 (.333)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Accolades
[OPTION]S11 NSFL GM of the Year
[OPTION]S9 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFC Conference Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]===========================================