Scouting Report-From a physical standpoint, Okung has that build that teams are looking for not. Less about being a big bulky road grader, and more about being tall, with long arms, athletic frame and a strong base. From a technical standpoint, Okung is an outstanding pass protector, able to set up quickly, keep his feet under him, and use a good punch to keep defenders at bay. He's got quick feet, and moves really well from side to side and while he's not a dominant player, he's really consistent. He shows good conditioning, able to play well at the ends of games just like at the start. His run blocking has improved, but it still remains to be seen if he can consistently line up and run block out of a traditional set. He's good at the second level, able to find players and engage and finish his blocks. He's an experienced player with 35+ starts in his career and hasn't missed any time with injuries and durability is huge. There's a ton of potential you can see in his game, and that alone will make him a high first round pick.
Draft Status-At this point, short of a huge jump by some other tackles, Okung is the top tackle in this draft, and on potential alone almost a sure top 5 pick. I am not sure I put him in with the top tackles from the past few drafts, but offensive tackles who are elite pass protectors are a hot commodity, and that alone will make a team like Kansas City covet him early.
Final Analysis-Okung is the best tackle in a deep, but not top heavy draft class. He's the best pass protector in the draft by a good margin, and you see flashes that he could be a really good run blocker especially in the proper system. Okung has gone against some really good rush ends, and shown that he can play with them on a regular basis. He will need to get a little stronger in his upper body, and like any elite college player, he will needs to shore up his technique to compete against elite NFL defenses, but if I'm a team picking in the top ten, and I need someone to protect my quarterbacks blind side, Okung is my guy.
Reminds me of: D'Brichashaw Ferguson, OT New York Jets-Top Tackle in a class that isn't top heavy, both credited with similar physical stature, athleticism, ability to pass protect and on upside. Ferguson has taken longer to come into his own than many would have liked, and Okung could be a 2 or 3 year project as well.
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Scouting Report written by Curt Popejoy |
