Vikings

SENIOR BOWL: Offensive Tackles We're Watching for the Minnesota Vikings

Luke Inman and I are at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama with the express purpose of evaluating which players might be the best fits for the Minnesota Vikings.

Obviously, that means looking at offensive linemen.

While Luke might be more familiar than I am at this point in the draft with most of the players, there are a number of tackles that have caught my eye in the runup to the Senior Bowl that are worth a deeper look.


Forrest Lamp, OL Western Kentucky

Most evaluators covering the NFL and the scouts within the NFL itself seem to think that the extremely talented Forrest Lamp is better suited at guard than at his college position of left tackle. His height, 6’4″, gives credence to the idea—it’s unusual to see offensive tackles below 6’5″.

But his strengths and weaknesses better align to the tackle position and if the weigh-in is friendly enough to him in terms of both height and arm length, he may be getting a second look at offensive tackle.

Two first-round Alabama prospects, Jonathan Allen and Ryan Anderson, rated Lamp as the best tackle they played all year despite his pedigree as a Conference USA player.

Pro Football Focus logged him as giving up only four total pressures all year, in 417 pass-blocking snaps. He’s been one of PFF’s favorite tackles for three consecutive years, and was regarded as their top offensive linemen in the FBS last year. And he improved this year.

Lamp moves well with efficient footwork and anticipates individual pass-rushers intelligently. His responses to varied pass-rush technique are fundamentally sound and effective. Lamp’s best asset may be his kickstep, which is why moving him to guard may obviate his biggest strength.

Not only that, but his play strength doesn’t match the other tackle-to-guard conversions we’ve seen in the NFL. Lamp has functional strength for the tackle position in the NFL, but he doesn’t match players like Marshall Yanda and Brandon Scherff, and may struggle if he is forced to deal consistently with defensive tackles one-on-one in a phone booth.

Lamp has shown issues with blitz awareness that will require some further scrutiny, but he doesn’t have an extraordinary set of weaknesses as a tackle.

If he shines in Mobile protecting the edge, he could be an intriguing solution to the Vikings’ left tackle problem. If he proves that his strength is more than merely “functional,” he might be the perfect guard prospect.

Antonio Garcia, OT Troy

Antonio Garcia has created significant buzz in the last few days in the runup to the Senior Bowl, and it’s easy to see why. His 6-7 frame carries his 302 pounds well and he’s been astonishing in his time at Troy, the best offensive linemen on a line that only gave up seven sacks all year.

This year, Garcia didn’t give up a sack, despite playing powerhouses like Clemson and notable pass-rushers like fellow Senior Bowl invitee Tarell Basham. PFF noted Garcia’s strong play as well, and he only gave up nine pressures all season, also not giving up a sack all year.

Garcia has a bit of a different projection as a tackle as he doesn’t have as much experience with traditional kick-steps and vertical sets. He mostly won his pass protection snaps with very strong hands and aggressive, forward play. He has fast feet, so the issue is more the offense than it is him. The Troy product has natural balance and showcases excellent athleticism, so the tools are there.

Beyond that, Garcia has had issues creating movement in the running game. His large frame serves as a bit of a hindrance for him as he needs to find ways to create leverage and use his power to his advantage. Even so, he’s been able to create running lanes through sheer upper body strength and will be able to use that power at the next level.

His run-blocking footwork and lower-body strength have resulted in a surprising failure rate when attempting to road grade, but he has great positive flashes as well. His issues have compounded into a fairly high penalty rate, and that will be something to watch for as he transitions to the NFL.

With those technical issues in mind, Garcia will be fun to watch with the additional of live NFL coaching added to his game.

Taylor Moton, OT Western Michigan

Vikings fans might not be happy with the prospect of another Michigan tackle added to the mix, but Moton is no Willie Beavers. Whereas Beavers demonstrated essentially two total qualities (grip strength and nastiness), Moton is a more complete package as a tackle, both technically and athletically.

While PFF rasied as many flags as they felt they possibly could with Beavers—he was the worst pass protector in the draft, and had significant issues in the running game—Moton is well-regarded by the third-party grading agency. His pressure rate is nearly identical to the astounding Garcia’s, and in a slightly more pro-friendly offense (which is not to say it’s close to typical).

Like Lamp and Garcia, Moton didn’t allow a sack this year and only checked in with four penalties. He seems to move quickly and did well against the Wisconsin duo of T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel, but it would be nice to see him tested against more obvious speed rushers who can bend around the edge; his next-best test that I’ve seen was against Tarell Basham of the Ohio Bobcats—who wasn’t bad, but not quite the caliber of player in all likelihood that he’ll be up against in the NFL.

Moton was efficient in the run game, but the spread-style Western Michigan scheme (similar to Urban Meyer’s offense at Ohio State) didn’t ask tackles to move up to the second level very often, meaning there’s much more he has to prove before he can be considered a complete prospect.

His best asset might be his incredible awareness as well as his willingness to look for work, and that kind of help would be massively useful on the Vikings line.

Justin Senior, OT Mississippi State

Justin Senior hasn’t been getting much buzz from the draft community, but I’m not entirely sure why. He’s an extremely quick tackle who has better tools than a lot of players who have less technical refinement but have earned higher draft guides.

Senior is an efficient and productive tackle, rated as Pro Football Focus’ second-best pass-protecting tackle in the SEC. That comes from an incredible ability to mirror edge rushers. He needs technical work with his hands but exhibits a powerful punch that rocks even the strongest bull-rushers.

His work in run-blocking needs significantly more work, with footwork problems and second-level misses on tape. Not only that, his strength is functional at best.

He does need more awareness against the blitz and in picking up on twists and stunts, but there are a lot of raw tools there that the coaches here in the Senior Bowl may be able to resolve.

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