It just shows where he is at his position. Joe Thomas didnt do that in college. It speaks to his readyness and ability. ---not saying he's a better all around T than Thomas...
But questions about his pass-blocking are greatly exagerrated.

mentioned somewhere above.

Man its hard to keep up with the flying posts!:)

Not one single person on this board has even implied taking Otah at #5, not one, so drop that please. You've beat it to death. If anyone wants Otah, it's on a trade down scenario.

As for Clady, I guess if you consider that a reach, but whatever.

Exaggerated?

His footwork is awkward.

When he has to go against Sean Phillips ot Dwight Freeny, that's going to be a big problem.

Joe Thomas is also more athletic and can handle speed rushers, there is serious debate as to whether Long can do that or not....

If Long can't handle speed rushers and ends up on the right side which is basically everything his game is, he becomes a wasted pick in the top 5.

It's that whole people go "oh Gholston was 1 game" well in the NFL you face guys like him, even better every single week...a LT that struggles with speed rushers is a liability.

Here's how I look at it.

There are elite prospects at the the top of the board.

The 2 Longs, Dorsey, Ellis, Gholston, Mcfadden, and Ryan.

Clady is in the next level.

If you select a guy that isn't in that elite prospect category, then he absolutely is a reach.

You need to go read DraftPlanet if you actually believe no one is advocating taking Otah at 5.

After his name popped up on a mock draft at 5, people started trying to justify it.

And Clady IS a reach if Dorsey or Ellis ( or even Matt Ryan) are still on the board.

I'll give people a quick newsflash here......if you see Ryan Clady listed as the 8th,9th or 10th best player on a draft board and then say taking him at 5 isn't a reach, that makes you not very bright.

In the top 5 the difference in a reach and good value can be 1 pick, this isn't the difference in the 5th and 6th round.

easyb said he'd take Otah and said he'd prefer a trade down. I'm not sure if that means he'd require a trade down or not.

Do you consider Jake Long at 5, Clady at (say) 10 or Otah at (say) 17 reaches?

Only if he played for another team than the Chiefs.

If you advocate trading out of 5 with a top 5 rated player on the board to take Clady at 10 just because he's an OT then yes, because it just placates position ahead of player.

Not necessarily. They may not be the best players you could get at those spots though.

Or if he'd done it more than once.