Direckshun
03-24-2014, 01:08 PM
As it seems more and more certain (http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=280387) that the Chiefs are going with a guard with their first pick, let's examine the top two guard prospects in this draft.
Below is the rap sheet on both players, if you are unfamiliar (both are simply my assessments, not expert opinions). Coming in 2 seconds is a poll: select the player you'd prefer.
OG David Yankey, Stanford [written January 12 (http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=10366478&postcount=41)]
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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.
OT/G Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA [written March 24 (http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=10513432&postcount=112)]
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If you were asked to build a guard, the end product would look a ton like Xavier Su'a-Filo (pronounced "zoo-ah feelo"). You'd probably give him a large frame (6'4", 307 lbs) with room to grow, long legs with a thick trunk of a lower half, quick feet and powerful hands. That's what Su'a-Filo has, and it's the kind of tools that make you think "wow, this guy could really be an All Pro." Yet I was surprised that with all those gifts, I merely saw a steadily above average player in the guy, which suggests that he has yet to reach his maximum potential. That said, he has a lot of impressive tape. Filling in at LT this year because of injuries, you'll see in the above clip that he has a pretty good game against VT, one of the most ferocious front sevens there was in 2013.
Su'a-Filo is described this year as a guard, and for good reason. Putting on his UCLA tape suggests that he's extremely good at guard, and merely really solid at tackle (he played left tackle for about a year and a half for the Bruins). I don't think he's a "OT/G" like Zack Martin, who's more of a tackle who can convert to guard; Su'a-Filo will play guard and can fill-in at tackle when needed. Like the other 1st-round-caliber guard in this year's class (Yankey), Su'a-Filo is comfortable with both power and athletic schemes. That flexibility will put him higher on draft boards than the power-only, guard-only talents of Gabe Jackson. And while Yankey may be more polished, Su'a-Filo dominated him at the Combine.
As I alluded to earlier, there are areas where Su'a-Filo will need to step up his game, suggesting that he hasn't reached his full potential yet. He legitimately struggles keeping his head on a swivel and making the right blocking decision; stunts, blitz-pickups, and delayed-rushes can confuse him, which honestly may be the only way to beat him. If he gets a DL sized up and squared, he is capable of dominating, though he's surprisingly not a pancake artist like Gabe Jackson. He does get beat with tricks, however, but possesses really good recovery moves/speed.
His upside is probably Alan Faneca, if you remember the All Pro Steeler guard, because Faneca also had thick trunks, could sink his hips, and drop anchor. Su'a-Filo isn't as consistent in that regard (very few are and will be), but he has the build and skillset to develop in that arena.
It's important to remember that Su'a-Filo does possess some bust-ability. He possesses a fantastic punch, and he plays strong, but he doesn't play with that nastiness that can erode DLs over the course of a game. He played like a steady, dependable presence against college defenses, so he's definitely not going to be an elite road-grader against NFL defenses.
Projection for Su'a-Filo: At this point, Su'a-Filo is just outside the top 32 prospects in this draft class, in my opinion. But his elite versatility and huge upside give him better-than-50% odds that a team in the back end of the 1st goes for him. Again, he does have All Pro upside.
Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Orgasmic levels of interest. The Chiefs altered last year between a power-run scheme (that the coaches preferred) and a zone-blocking scheme (that they best performed under). Su'a-Filo should be able to play both schemes very well, and most importantly, he can also play tackle when you need him to, which is something neither Yankey nor Jackson can say with confidence. If the Chiefs have to decide between Yankey and Su'a-Filo, it'll just be like their choice in 2013 between the known quantity in Luke Joeckel (Yankey) vs. the elite upside of Eric Fisher (Su'a-Filo). And we all know how that decision went down.
Below is the rap sheet on both players, if you are unfamiliar (both are simply my assessments, not expert opinions). Coming in 2 seconds is a poll: select the player you'd prefer.
OG David Yankey, Stanford [written January 12 (http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=10366478&postcount=41)]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3l7FvVyx9CM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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.
OT/G Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA [written March 24 (http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=10513432&postcount=112)]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/46QxODS-7sk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you were asked to build a guard, the end product would look a ton like Xavier Su'a-Filo (pronounced "zoo-ah feelo"). You'd probably give him a large frame (6'4", 307 lbs) with room to grow, long legs with a thick trunk of a lower half, quick feet and powerful hands. That's what Su'a-Filo has, and it's the kind of tools that make you think "wow, this guy could really be an All Pro." Yet I was surprised that with all those gifts, I merely saw a steadily above average player in the guy, which suggests that he has yet to reach his maximum potential. That said, he has a lot of impressive tape. Filling in at LT this year because of injuries, you'll see in the above clip that he has a pretty good game against VT, one of the most ferocious front sevens there was in 2013.
Su'a-Filo is described this year as a guard, and for good reason. Putting on his UCLA tape suggests that he's extremely good at guard, and merely really solid at tackle (he played left tackle for about a year and a half for the Bruins). I don't think he's a "OT/G" like Zack Martin, who's more of a tackle who can convert to guard; Su'a-Filo will play guard and can fill-in at tackle when needed. Like the other 1st-round-caliber guard in this year's class (Yankey), Su'a-Filo is comfortable with both power and athletic schemes. That flexibility will put him higher on draft boards than the power-only, guard-only talents of Gabe Jackson. And while Yankey may be more polished, Su'a-Filo dominated him at the Combine.
As I alluded to earlier, there are areas where Su'a-Filo will need to step up his game, suggesting that he hasn't reached his full potential yet. He legitimately struggles keeping his head on a swivel and making the right blocking decision; stunts, blitz-pickups, and delayed-rushes can confuse him, which honestly may be the only way to beat him. If he gets a DL sized up and squared, he is capable of dominating, though he's surprisingly not a pancake artist like Gabe Jackson. He does get beat with tricks, however, but possesses really good recovery moves/speed.
His upside is probably Alan Faneca, if you remember the All Pro Steeler guard, because Faneca also had thick trunks, could sink his hips, and drop anchor. Su'a-Filo isn't as consistent in that regard (very few are and will be), but he has the build and skillset to develop in that arena.
It's important to remember that Su'a-Filo does possess some bust-ability. He possesses a fantastic punch, and he plays strong, but he doesn't play with that nastiness that can erode DLs over the course of a game. He played like a steady, dependable presence against college defenses, so he's definitely not going to be an elite road-grader against NFL defenses.
Projection for Su'a-Filo: At this point, Su'a-Filo is just outside the top 32 prospects in this draft class, in my opinion. But his elite versatility and huge upside give him better-than-50% odds that a team in the back end of the 1st goes for him. Again, he does have All Pro upside.
Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Orgasmic levels of interest. The Chiefs altered last year between a power-run scheme (that the coaches preferred) and a zone-blocking scheme (that they best performed under). Su'a-Filo should be able to play both schemes very well, and most importantly, he can also play tackle when you need him to, which is something neither Yankey nor Jackson can say with confidence. If the Chiefs have to decide between Yankey and Su'a-Filo, it'll just be like their choice in 2013 between the known quantity in Luke Joeckel (Yankey) vs. the elite upside of Eric Fisher (Su'a-Filo). And we all know how that decision went down.