Originally Posted by Direckshun
OG David Yankey, Stanford
Ladies and gentlemen, the best guard of this draft class. Absolutely no doubt in my mind.
There's a reason OL from Stanford are highly sought out. They are expertly coached, and come into the NFL readymade to be plugged into a lineup and play. The program has made miracle talent out of people like Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro in recent years, and David Yankey is better than both of them.
He does play, however, a devalued position at guard. But positional value aside, Yankey is entering Draft season as a Top 5 player in sheer talent. That'll probably change as the ebbs and flows of the year progress, but for now, there's Clowney, then there's Yankey and three or four other guys, and then there's everybody else.
There are absolutely zero holes in his game. His pass protection along the interior is smooth and efficient. His run game blasts holes open. His technique, great. His athleticism, nearly Fisher-esque -- at the guard position.
It's hard to even tell what offensive gameplan Yankey couldn't effortlessly execute. I'm tempted to say he's more of a zone-blocker than he is a power-blocker, but who the hell drafts a guy like Yankey just to waste his talents forcing him to block downhill? Yankey's true talent is his Swiss army knife utility: you can pull him, you can throw him out on screens, you can send him to the second level, you can him sprinting out to the edge on bubble screens!
If there is a single hole in Yankey's game, and I do mean a single hole, it's that he is developed to capacity. He's already at his ceiling. But that ceiling is already Pro Bowl material for ages. He is one of the players I am most excited to see in the NFL.
Projection for Yankey: I think Yankey is Top 15 material unless he tanks at the Combine. There is no offensive system he cannot fit into. There is seemingly no pass protection responsibility he cannot handle. I think Yankey is going to blow up at the Combine, however, and he's a prime candidate to go in the Top 10 if there's a team stupid enough to draft a guard that early.
Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Maximum. The Chiefs would adore a talent like Yankey's to supplant the struggling Jeff Allen at LG, Yankey's position at Stanford. If Yankey somehow lasts to the 23rd pick, he's absolutely gotta be on KC's shortlist, and I'd argue he'd be the heavy favorite to end up a Chief.
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