The Big, Happy Thread of Cameron Erving

[Direckshun]

Might as well.

[Direckshun]

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/20...da-state.html/

What I see in Cameron Erving, OL, Florida State
Bob Sturm Follow @sportssturm Email sturm1310@me.com
Published: March 23, 2015 8:26 am

I have never been a scout or a NFL General Manager, but I am willing to watch a ton of football. By watching about 200 snaps of each prospect, we can really get a feel for a player and then know what we are talking about a bit better. It is no exact science, but the NFL hasn’t quite figured out drafting either, so we are going to do the best we can. Find all the profiles here.

Cameron Erving, OL, Florida State - 6’5, 313 – RS Senior - 5.15 40

We may all know, deep down inside, that certain football players are dependent on their coaches to find their proper home. There is a popular thought that a guy is a “football player” and you can just plug him in anywhere and he will be fine. Well, 90% of the time, that is absurd. You can’t just put a guy anywhere and he will excel. The sport is too competitive where his ability and your use of his ability are equally responsible for reaching his potential. I think that is pretty well demonstrated here with Cam Erving, a player who was a Defensive tackle, then a left tackle, and now the top center prospect in the entire draft. To watch Erving, we viewed Clemson, Miami, and Georgia Tech.

He wears #75 in these clips for the Seminoles.



What I liked: He is a bit of a complex study, because he was only moved to center at about the first week in November. So, we have a rather small body of work for him at center, but it is very impressive. He is a strong, smart competitor who was being exposed in space, but in the phone booth of the interior line, he is really very good. He tested well at every single combine event, showing as one of the very top athletes in the offensive line division. But, he had to find that home inside where he can use what he does well and avoid what he doesn’t. He run blocks with a mauling ability and doesn’t lose. He gets out in space and runs very well. Above, notice how he gets pieces of 3 different rushers as Miami is trying to blitz inside. He gets all 3 of them. That clip shows how quick he is and how he gets squared up against them and is able to avoid being off-center where holding happens. He seldom gets pushed back and is able to keep that pocket from ever collapsing from the middle. I really think this is his proper home and one where he can get into that 1st round even if someone wants to invest that highly.



What I did not like: He was just out of place at left tackle – despite being an All-American and All conference at that position. He had no chance against Vic Beasley in his meeting against Clemson (see below) and was just obliterated in space. He can’t get to the edge in time to cut off the speed rushers. Could he do it most of the time? Yes. But, in the NFL, one failure a game is often too much, so let’s move him inside where he won’t be attacked and exposed in space anymore. I think this was a great idea from Florida State – even though the narrative was that they had to do it due to injury – to get Erving inside where he was going to be matched up against giant DT-types, not the quick edge rushers like Beasley. Perfect fit. He also needs to get squared on his pulling opportunities, because Miami’s Denzel Perryman knocked him silly from the side in the Miami game.



Summary: Overall, in Erving, you have a versatile player who might be able to play anywhere on your offensive line in spurts, but I highly recommend you keep him at center because that one move turned his situation into a near lost cause into one of the more interesting and desirable OL prospects in this draft. He just needed to find a spot where he is exceptional, and on the inside – center or either guard – he can dominate and really turn into an anchor that you set your line around. I am not suggesting there are no rough edges at all anymore, but he sure looked the part once they moved him in those final 6 games or so on the inside protecting that pocket from the front. Teams started to avoid the middle blitzes, and Dallas fans will tell you that everything on the offense started turning around when they got a top-class center in the middle to patrol any sort of challenges opponents would want to present. Erving can be that guy for someone.

[Direckshun]

My evaluation of him in 2014:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

OT Cameron Erving, Florida State



I think Cameron Erving has all the potential in the world, and if you've got absolute faith in your coaching staff, you take a shot on this guy.

He's just a really special awesome athlete for a guy his size (6'6", 310). He doesn't quite have Eric Fisher's fluid movement but I'd put him on par with Brandon Albert. It really wouldn't surprise me if Erving blew up into a Top 10 pick after the Combine. He looks like a perfect zone-blocking tackle.

That's his greatest strength and perhaps his greatest weakness? I don't know, he doesn't seem to explode in the blocking game like some of the other dudes do on this list. He blocks effectively against inferior competition, but it'll be interesting to see how he handles the bigger, stronger DL in the NFL, primarily when he's playing 3-4 defenses.

He's fast enough to handle the edge, but he'll give it up from time to time for a pretty simple reason: his kickslide. I think Erving has a pathetic kickslide, but I can't imagine that could be that hard to coach up, is it? His kickslide looks like he has two thick rubber bands holding his feet together, and it's a really odd contrast to compare that to how well he moves all over the field.

It's reported that Erving has great strength, but I don't see it anything above average there. He can hang with smaller defenders, and block them effectively, but he doesn't get a lot of push in the run game like you'd expect from somebody with his skillset...

My primary fear would be that Erving is a finesse player, and not a grind-it-out player. Which is great in some schemes that require more athleticism than Reid's, but as I've said (and will say) ad nauseum, Reid's scheme prefers bigger and badder. But then again, he's got all the tools. The question is: how much do you trust your coaches. My guess is somebody in the Top 20 picks will trust them enough.

Projection for Erving: As for all of these players, it's too early to project much seeing how the draft is almost half a year away, but whatever. Erving has Top 10 potential if he tests well, and 1st round potential even if he doesn't. He's just too good of an athlete, and too many teams prefer great athletes who need work on technique over technicians who aren't great athletes.

Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Decently high. Dorsey has shown an affinity for drafting great athletic projects and trusts the Chiefs' coaches, as most teams do. He drafted Fisher, Kelce, Davis, and Commings in the earlier rounds, all players who need significant work from coaches. The problem, however, is that the Chiefs just drafted a super athletic finesse tackle in Fisher, and it's doubtful they want to go that exact route again -- no doubt they'd love a tougher, more powerful guy. But it's possible that with good coaching, Erving could be that guy.

[Direckshun]

From the Star this month:

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl...e12296891.html

Midseason switch to center boosts draft stock of Florida State’s Cameron Erving
By TEREZ A. PAYLOR
03/03/2015 4:44 PM

When you see Florida State senior Cameron Erving in person, it’s hard not to see a prototypical offensive tackle. He’s 6 feet 5, 313 pounds with 34 1/8-inch-long arms that help steer pass rushers away from quarterbacks.

Left tackle is where Erving opened the 2014 season for the Seminoles, just like he had in 2013, when he served as star quarterback Jameis Winston’s blind-side protector and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, voted on by the Atlantic Coast Conference’s coaches and defensive coordinators.

The Seminoles started 2014 well enough, winning their first nine games before a Nov. 15 showdown against Miami, Fla.

But coach Jimbo Fisher was not fully satisfied with his team’s play at center, so he made a surprising and rare decision: He moved Erving, his All-ACC left tackle, to center in an attempt to solidify the interior of the Seminoles line.

“Initially he tried to talk about it,” Erving said. “But honestly, at the end of the day I was like ‘Coach, if you need me to move, I’ll do it.’”

So Erving made his first career start at center against the Hurricanes and never looked back. That’s where he played for Florida State’s last five games and made such an impression that he is universally considered to be the best center prospect in the NFL Draft and a potential first-round pick.

“Cam Erving’s tape at center is impressive,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay posted on Twitter during the NFL Combine. “Might be the best interior offensive lineman in the draft.”

You typically don’t see centers 6-5 or taller because it takes them longer to uncoil their arms into squatty, stronger interior linemen, which causes them to occasionally lose the leverage battle. That will always been a concern with Erving, in addition to the fact he could stand to show more nastiness as a run blocker and has a habit of not always churning his feet through blocks.

Yet, Erving’s natural feel for combination blocking on zone-running plays — which the Chiefs run a lot — was easy to see.





His agility, which allowed him to play in space at tackle, makes it difficult for interior linemen to outquick him in pass protection, where he often keeps his head on a swivel against blitzes.



And his combination of size and power allow him to anchor against the bull rush, as he did one time against Oregon’s Arik Armstead, who stands 6 feet 7 and 292 pounds is projected as a first-round pick.



“It’s a lot harder than it looks, but he made it look easy,” Florida State guard Tre’ Jackson said. “The guy can do anything he wants to, really.”

When asked to elaborate why, Jackson credited Erving’s natural ability.

““Cam is probably the most athletic offensive lineman I’ve ever played with,” Jackson said, “and he’s a big dude.”

But that does not mean Erving relied solely on those gifts to get the job done. At center, Erving also made the line calls, which are the adjustment of assignments based on defensive alignments.

“I knew what they meant at tackle,” Erving said of the calls. “So just switching positions, it was pretty simple.”

Erving does not care what position he plays in the NFL, though there is a difference between to the two.

“At tackle, things develop a little slower, although you have a lot of great athletes out there on the edge,” Erving said. “When I was at center, things happened real fast and in close proximity, so you’d have to react. Things happened a lot faster inside.”

That applies to guard, as well. Erving has never played there but has the potential, especially given how quickly he took to center. That versatility will appeal to teams seeking interior line help, like the Chiefs.

“When I’ve been in meetings, they’ll ask me about center or tackle to see how well I take in the defense,” Erving said of his combine experience. “I don’t know exactly what certain teams have in store for me, but regardless of where I go, I’ll always be the same way in doing whatever the team needs.”

Erving did not hurt himself at the combine as he was among the top five performers at his position in the bench press (30 reps at 225 pounds), broad jump (112 inches) and three-cone drills (7.48 seconds).

The bench press is a measure of how hard players have been working in the weight room during college, while the broad jump measures the power and explosion of a player’s lower body and the three-cone drill shows the flexibility in a player’s hips.

“I definitely did well,” Erving said. “I’m very self-critical and I love pushing myself and competing against myself. So I always feel like there’s something I could have done better. I feel like I could have done a few things better. But as far as the results, I feel like I did OK.”

Erving says he has a proven track record of doing what’s best for the team. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, Erving’s appeared in 13 games as a defensive tackle.

“Honestly, when I made the switch a lot of people asked me how I felt about it in terms of the NFL,” Erving said. “That wasn’t on my mind. I mean, I’ve always been the type of person that does what’s best for the team.

“When I moved from defense (after freshman season) that was what was best for the team … as far as moving from tackle to center, it’s what the team needed at the time. So I did it.”

[BigChiefFan]

A center in the top 20, doesn't exactly make me warm and fuzzy. Looks to be a quality prospect, but I'd much rather take a flyer on a playmaker than spend a top 20 pick on him.

[planetdoc]

Although Cameron Erving has the size that Reid/dorsey likes, I dont see them grabbing him in the first round.

Here is the reasons:
Reids offense is complex and the center has to make line calls, etc. A rookie center couldnt start in Reid's offense. Er

Because of this, A rookie center couldnt provide true competition to Eric Kush who has now been in the offense for 2yrs backing up only center. Any true competition would have to come from a veteran (ideally someone who is familiar with the offense). Erving is even more raw then the usual rookie because he hasnt played center for very long. His ability to outright win the job would be extremely unlikely.

Kush is also on contract through the 2016 season. Dorsey's MO has been to use the 1st round pick to replace someone with 1yr remaining on their contract such as LT, and OLB.

[Saccopoo]

Despite the idiotic review from Bleacher Report, Erving is a better tackle prospect than center. He's got excellent athleticism, prototype length and moves his feet well.

Wow. Beasley got around him once. That never happened to any other LT. ****ing moron.

Nobody is going to waste that athleticism, size/length, production and 34" arms at the center position.

Jesus...

[saphojunkie]

Erving seems like a hell of a player and one worth drafting at 18, but I am not sure he's right for the Chiefs at 18 this year.

I think you'd find a better fit for the team drafting a skill position and then picking up a right tackle in the 2nd round.

I still maintain that my dream is trading back in the first, picking up another day two pick, and still landing the OL we need.

[RunKC]

Shun, how do you compare Erving to La'El Collins and DJ Humphries?

All of these guys look like good starters year 1.

[Meatloaf]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Might as well.

Direckshun, I definitely like your style as you seem to have the proper attitude as per posting on CP! Kudos to you, sir!!!