I wanted to discuss the tackles at the top of the draft. After a thorough deep dive (at least four full games on each guy, sometimes more), I’ve come to the decision that we’re between a rock and a hard place. It’s not a bad tackle class, per se, but most of the top prospects are developmental and will likely take some time to hit.
Which doesn’t match up with our need timeline… IF Decker retires. It really comes down to what he decides to do. I hope he lets the brass know before the draft.
Of course even if he does come back, he needs some competition. 2025 Decker was a shell of himself. I think it was pretty clear it was due to the shoulder injury, and what I’m hoping is it’s an injury that will heal, and not something he’ll have to deal with until he retires. I’m going to choose to believe that if he returns, it’s because the injury is healed and we’ll get the old Decker back. In which case the developmental options become a lot more palatable.
The case for: Total ass kicker, lots of high level experience. Of all of the 1st round OTs, the most ready to step in and be a plus overall. Class-best pop in his hands, supposed to be a great kid, team captain. Good technique with his hands (especially compared to the rest of the class), and improved as the year went along. Good footwork, more fluid than you’d think, for a guy his size he’s pretty good at the second level. Very good core strength, it’s really, really easy to imagine him on our OL.
The case against: Might not have the juice/length to stay outside. I think he does, but I also think he’d be one of the league’s best guards. He’s no dancing bear, just a bear. But average T >>> good/great iOL, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be at least an average tackle. I felt similarly about Fuaga, Campbell and Darnell Wright, and they’ve all stuck outside. He’s also a bit of a hip bender, can get over his skis a little more often than you like and needs the improvements he made with his hands to stick.
Summary: The least likely guy to make it to us, but someone we could move for if he falls a little. Plug and play, though almost certainly requires moving Penei to the left side. Or if Decker returns, sticking him inside for a year.
The case for: Has the tools you want from a high-level prospect, long and a very good athlete. Major improvement over the last 5-6 games, and played on a hurt ankle early in the year. Very young, might have the highest ceiling of any T available. Very agile and noticeable in space. Flashes of power are noticeable too, though inconsistent. Good natural grip strength. Instinctive gift for timing combo blocks and seals at the 2nd level, already pretty intuitive passing off stunts and recognizing blitzes.
The case against: While his technique improved, he’s still young and has a long way to go. Clicks his heels too often, hands can get wide exposing his chest to power, gets out over his skis too frequently and consequently off-balance. He has to get stronger. The youth makes you think that he will - like I said there are flashes - as he grows into his body, but it’s still a step that needs taking. For all that he’s got natural grip strength, he doesn’t have a lot of pop behind his hands yet. Doesn’t drive guys off the ball consistently.
Summary: He’s a guy you watch and think, if he went back to school for a year he’d be top 5 next year. Most of his issues are due to inexperience or a still-maturing body.
The case for: Awesome athlete with a great motor. 2024 run-blocking tape was eye opening. Plenty of starting experience (at both tackle spots). Excellent balance allows him to stay on blocks. Best hands in the class outside of Tiernan, uses them independently like a 5th year pro. Strong grip and pretty good punch. I am also starting to hear a steady drumbeat that might make a great center, which makes him a uniquely-suited prospect for us. If he fails at T, maybe he can be our future in the middle?
The case against: Arms will be short, how short is the question. Lithe build with thin shoulders and hips, and not much junk in his trunk. While his great balance allows him to sustain blocks, his lack of core strength makes it an adventure. Can get overwhelmed early in a rep if he’s not on point. Really struggled pass-protecting against Bailey and Height of Texas Tech. For as good as the 2024 run-blocking tape was, 2025 was a big step back. Why?
Summary: Great athlete who does the advanced OT stuff really well, but the fact is he just doesn’t have the overall girth to not have some struggles more regularly than you’d like. All of the NFL’s power edges could give him fits. I also question whether he’s really our FO’s type?
The case for: Extremely experienced, basically been their starting RT for his entire time there (3000+ snaps!) and almost never gets fooled. Prototypical build and athlete, one of the best pullers in the class, lots of reps of him wiping out defenders and springing RBs (especially good for us). Constantly out at the second-level, redirecting defenders. Plays with a nasty streak, both in his run finishes and hand-fighting. Strong team-first mindset, one of the few draft-eligible guys who didn’t opt out of their bowl game after a terrible season. Never even missed a practice in four years.
The case against: Like a lot of guys in this class, strength issues. It’s improved nominally during his time under Dabo, but not nearly enough. Hands have very little knockback power, lack of core strength leads to him being tossed aside too often. Inconsistent footwork doesn’t help, his anchor is often unmoored. He HAS improved, but you’d like for him to be further along at this point in his development, especially at a school with a good S&C program like Clemson.
Summary: Outside of Mauigoa and maybe Tiernan, might be the most ready to hit the ground running, but there are questions about the long-term ceiling. A very similar prospect to Freeling and Lomu honestly, prototypical traits with strength issues, BUT unlike those guys he’s had more time to gain strength and hasn’t really done it. Of course development isn’t linear, but you wish he was a little further along.
The case for: Has a lot of prototypical traits for a LT. Tall, lean, athletic. Hand technique improved quite a bit as the year went along. Seems really in tune with his body, hands and feet are in sync, has a gift for timing his punch - which packs some heat - and varies them pretty well for a young guy. Naturally sinks to anchor against bull rushes, he’s patient with natural mirroring skills in pass protection. Looks to be pretty strong through his core. Never seems fooled by defensive trickery.
The case against: Has a high-waisted, long-legged build and it really affects the strength in his lower half. Doesn’t get much push in the run game at all because of it, and can get run over from time to time. Also leads to a galloping gait, so despite the clear athleticism he will whiff on move blocks more than you’d expect from such an athlete. While he’s not easy to fool, his technique will sometimes abandon him as he tries to react to inside counters (again, I think his long legs hurt him here). For all that his body seems preternaturally in sync, the opposite is true of his timing on the move. Doubles, seals, squaring up blocks… they don’t come naturally to him.
Summary: To me this really comes down to a simple decision… can he gain strength in his lower half? If you believe he CAN, then he’s higher on your board. If you don’t, then he’s lower. The argument for the former is that he’s still very young (reshirt sophomore) and tackles typically gain strength at this point in their development. Often pretty dramatically. The argument for the latter is his frame… is he just too tall and long-legged to ever gain enough strength? I say… maybe.
The case for: Monster human being with elite linear explosiveness. Guys fly away from him when blocked. When he gets his hands on a guy the rep is over, he’s won. Plays with a mean streak that can frankly embarrass guys at the end of reps. Bull rushes are useless. The high-level flashes are dominant. Still young and if he can sort out some of his issues, the upside is sky high. And if he doesn’t make it as a tackle, has the capability to be one of the league’s best guards.
The case against: Does he have enough lateral quickness to stay in front of NFL edge rushers? He gets beat badly on inside counters, then when he overcompensates to cover for it, gets beat to the edge consistently, despite his elite size (the 2nd Oklahoma game was especially bad in this respect). Technique is all over the place. Footwork abandons him, not natural when mirroring, has a bad habit of shoving guys rather than latching on. There are some really low lows to go along with his high highs. This season was a microcosm overall - he was terrible game one, then very good for a 7 game streak, then back to his worst the final 3-4 games. It makes him a very tricky evaluation. There are also potential weight issues, and word is he actually gained weight during this season (which might explain the sluggish finish to the year).
Summary: There’s a pretty easy upside case to make for Proctor, and it will come down to whether you believe he can bring the lateral juice up to NFL levels, either via weight loss or improved technique. I prefer to bet on him as a guard, but am admittedly wary of giant prospects who need to keep their weight in check. If he does, I would not be surprised if he became one of the league’s best tackles.
The case for: Very good athlete with light feet in prototypical tackle frame, Has flashes in more technical areas you wouldn’t expect of someone so new to the game. Timing on seals and combo blocks is good, natural mirrorer, body positioning seems to come naturally, really strong inside hand. Greatly improved his strength this year. Had easily the best showing of any tackle against the TT duo of Height and especially Bailey (who also went against Fano and Lomu), on top of great flashes at the Senior Bowl against the best college had to offer.
The case against: He’s being given something of a pass despite having a long way to go due to his very late start with the game and rapid progress. But man, he probably won’t be ready for a very long time. You can see his lack of experience when it comes to recognizing stunts and blitzes and overall lack of spatial awareness, I worry he would struggle greatly against a DC like Flores and get a non-mobile QB like Goff killed early in his career. His footwork is really raw, he doesn’t have that intuitive feel for timing seals or moving on to the second level.
Summary: Back in December, when I started the crush list, Max was one of the first names I put down. Of course back then he was regularly mocked on day 3, maybe mid day-2 at the earliest. Alas, the hype has gotten out of control and the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Max’s ceiling is sky high but he needs a lot of seasoning. If Decker does decide to retire, I wouldn’t feel comfortable at all plugging Max in.
The case for: Very experienced and technically sound. Pretty comfortably the best hands in the class, strikes are timed to perfection. Grip strength allows him to control guys through the rep. Really good footwork too, just looks so calm and collected at all times. Moves easily into his anchor, has a natural feel for leverage. Pretty good push in the run game. Played a great game against Oregon. Good athlete with a preternatural gift for moving in space.
The case against: HAS to play with good footwork due to very short arms. Despite natural feel for leverage, is very tall which exacerbates short-armed issue. Is often blocking down at a guy. Bendier guys take advantage. Probably tackle only, unique build makes a move inside to guard - where pad level issues can be exacerbated - unlikely. Good not great athlete, his overall range at the second-level is only decent. Tight-hipped, change of direction isn’t great despite good footwork.
Summary: Tiernan is your classic high-floor, low-ceiling tackle prospect you get almost every year, but unlike most he has excelled when going up against better competition. The margin for error is just so thin with a guy like this, he has to be completely on point with his footwork and strike timing down-after-down or things can go downhill. It’s too his credit it doesn’t happen often.
I was really high on some OTs we could play at guard in the interim during the past 2 classes for this very reason. Mims was my favorite overall option for us in the 2024 draft (of the viable candidates), and he looks like a big hit for Cincy. Of course he went a little too earlier than expected and ended up being not all that viable. Kind of like Harmon, who was my guy last year.
Of course the rash of potentially career-ending injuries the roster has suffered couldn’t have been foreseen. I’m sure they expected at least another good year out of Decker which is why they took the Manu risk. I didn’t expect him to be ready to be anything more than a swing tackle by year 3 given how far he had to go, and I doubt they did either. But now the timeline has changed.
Gonna be a very interesting offseason for the oline. Just so many questions right now.
Is Decker done?
Is Tate moving to Center?
Is Sewell staying at RT?
Ragnow? That ship has likely sailed.
GG being cut?
Who is the new assistant oline coach?
The supply this offseason will likely inform the way we do things.
Personally I would love to add a veteran center, but as the Seahawks have just shown it doesn’t have to be done that way, and there are some decent options in the draft. Certainly with better pedigrees than Sundall, the Seahawks starter.
The Decker question is the biggie with the most profound impact on the way we go. I wouldn’t draft a lesser player over a better one just because we expect him to hit sooner, but in the event of a tie - and I see a lot of these guys very close together - it could make a difference.
I really don’t think there are a lot of vet options, except “get lucky.” It happens. The Giants got lucky with Eleumunor, the Jags got lucky with Van Lanen, the Steelers got lucky with Dylan Cook. But “get lucky” isn’t a plan. It’s something that happens along the way.
So even if we tried to go that route, it wouldn’t be enough. I’d like to bring in Oli Udoh for instance, who like Eleumunor busted out of multiple spots before finding his feet somewhere (in Tennessee). But it’s a big risk and I wouldn’t count on him for anything.
Decker is such a gamer and loves the team I think he knows it’s a big deal if he hangs them up this year. I would bet he comes back for one more. And if he does I think we are just fine.
In the event he doesn’t come back, move Penei over and you gotta role the dice with the 1st round rookie at RT. As you said the free agent talent market is underwhelming. Paying for average isn’t the way to go imo.
Yea I think Decker wants to play mentally but physically his body seems to be in shambles. When he was talking about being able to play with his daughter and not being able to even throw a football, I could tell he was being honest about his future.
Now maybe with 7 months off, he feels better. But that shoulder is a problem. He’s had multiple surgeries on it. Even if he comes back, it might flare up fast.
Injuries ■■■■■■■ suck and rarely get better while playing violent sports
I would hope so, but if he’s as hurt as he was in 2025 and it affects his play just as much, well that’s not the same Decker we’re used to. That version is a borderline liability. I’m hoping that part of the decision process would be “I’m healthy enough to get back to my best,” but if it’s more along the lines of “I just can’t quit the game” then we might have the same issues this year.
