The Indianapolis Colts have made it clear they will be on the hunt to find a new offensive tackle to replace 10-year veteran Anthony Castonzo, who announced his retirement this offseason.
Looking toward the 2021 NFL draft, the Colts will have their eyes on a number of prospects. That includes former USC offensive tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, who Daniel Jeremiah called one of the safest prospects in the entire draft.
“I also think along the offensive line, man, I mentioned his name a little bit, but Vera-Tucker, he’s one of my favorite players in the whole draft. He can play darned near anywhere,” Jeremiah said on his pre-draft conference call with the media. “I think he’s going to be an All-Pro guard. He can hold up at tackle if you wanted him to. But you want to get better along that offensive line, I think he’s just one of the cleanest, safest picks in the whole draft.”
It should be noted that most don’t believe Vera-Tucker will be available for the Colts at No. 21 overall. Because of how dominant his play is both as a tackle and potentially as a guard, it’s hard to see him falling to the Colts.
But it is the NFL draft, so anything can happen. Vera-Tucker is being viewed as a guard mostly because of his short arms (32 1/8 inches). But his movement skills, technique and competitive drive would make him a perfect fit for the Colts.
They have also been an organization that doesn’t live and die by the arm length threshold for offensive tackles, which is typically 34 inches. Braden Smith was drafted as a guard in 2018 for this very exact reason but has proven to be one of the best right tackles in the NFL.
This is mostly due to his footwork, mirroring ability and sound technique when it comes to hand placement. Having long arms helps, but it won’t ruin the career of an offensive tackle.
It will be interesting to see if Vera-Tucker is available at No. 21 because if he is, it will be hard for the Colts to trade back from that spot.
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