NFL Draft 2019: Early look at top five offensive linemen
College football is only weeks away. There's no better time than now to look at five offensive linemen who could be early-round NFL Draft picks after this season.
MORE ON THE 2019 NFL DRAFT: Top 5 QBs | Top 5 RBs | WR/TEs
1. GREGORY LITTLE, OLE MISS
Recruiting: Little picked Ole Miss over Alabama, his second choice, along with Georgia, Auburn, LSU and others. He was in the same recruiting class as star receiver A.J. Brown and five-star QB Shea Patterson, who has since transferred to Michigan.
Stats: The Rebels rushed for only about 134 yards per game and scored 19 rushing touchdowns, but Little is widely considered one of the top three offensive tackles available for the NFL Draft after this season.
Farrell’s take: Little was a two-time participant at the Five-Star Challenge, making back-to-back solid performances in Baltimore in 2014 and 2015 and always impressed me. He’s a special prospect with light feet, the ability to re-set quickly and a nice punch. I fully expected him to be a star in college and beyond and his improvement from year one to year two at the Five-Star Challenge shows how much he learns from facing top competition. Now he’s improving year to year in college and is at the top of my offensive line board for a reason.
2. JONAH WILLIAMS, ALABAMA
Recruiting: Originally from Atlanta, Williams moved to Folsom, Calif., early in high school but heading back to the SEC always seemed like a priority to the five-star offensive tackle. His mother went to Auburn and his dad went to Georgia but Williams picked the Crimson Tide in April of his junior year.
Stats: Alabama averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season, more than 250 rushing yards per game and the Crimson Tide scored 36 rushing touchdowns as Williams is considered one of the top three offensive tackles available for the draft.
Farrell’s take: Williams was the rare five-star prospect who didn’t attend camps, didn’t care about all-star games and just dominated on the football field with pads and a helmet on. We saw him in game action but never got to see him go against the elite defensive linemen in the country at any events. But it didn’t matter to us, because he was so good in person and on film, and he had that throwback, nasty attitude of the greats of yesteryear. Williams just wanted to destroy the player in front of him and help his team win - he didn’t care about gear, free trips or rankings. He’s clearly showing our faith in his film was warranted.
3. TREY ADAMS, WASHINGTON
Recruiting: Calling Washington his dream school, Adams committed to the Huskies in August before his junior season. There was a coaching change from Steve Sarkisian to Chris Petersen and USC and Oregon got more involved, but Adams stuck with his Huskies’ pledge.
Stats: Adams started the first seven games of last season but left the Arizona State matchup early because of a knee injury. The Huskies averaged five yards per carry a year ago and had 37 rushing scores.
Farrell’s take: A high three-star out of high school, I never got to see Adams in person because he was from Washington and couldn’t get out to camps nor was he invited to an all-star game. But on film he was tall, angular with a great frame to fill out and a long reach he used very effectively. He was more finesse than he was power back then but he uses a nice combination of both now.
4. DAVID EDWARDS, WISCONSIN
Recruiting: Rated as a three-star athlete who was 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds in high school, Edwards committed to Wisconsin in the summer before his senior season. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Syracuse and Vanderbilt had also offered but Edwards stuck with Wisconsin through the coaching change from Gary Andersen to Paul Chryst.
Stats: The Badgers averaged 223 rushing yards per game, five yards per touch and Jonathan Taylor emerged as one of the best running backs in the country after rushing for 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns in his freshman season.
Farrell’s take: Talk about a tough evaluation, Edwards has gone from athlete (quarterback) to offensive lineman, so I’m happy with our mid three-star rating out of high school. He could have projected to a few positions and was a good athlete who we thought would end up as a tight end. He also played defensive end, but had a huge frame so he could have ended up as a defensive tackle down the line as well. He is the perfect example of an offensive lineman with the feet of a tight end.
5. MITCH HYATT, CLEMSON
Recruiting: Hyatt committed to Clemson on National Signing Day – of his junior year. His uncle played for the Tigers and it was long considered the favorite in his recruitment.
Stats: The Tigers averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored 40 rushing touchdowns last season as the ACC power averaged more than 33 points per game.
Farrell’s take: Hyatt was a long-time five-star but was downgraded at the end of the process because of concerns regarding his ability to fill out his frame and add strength in his lower body. Oops, I’ll take the blame for that one. His technique and footwork helped him overcome a frame that is still filling out. Hyatt seemed to get stronger game by game each of his first two years so it’s exciting to see how good he can be in his third year in college.
