Tag: Blake Freeland

10 offensive tackles for the Eagles in 2023 NFL draft

We’re looking at ten offensive line prospects to watch for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 NFL Draft

The Eagles are a gold standard franchise in the NFL, and a significant reason for the yearly success centers around one of the top offensive lines in football.

Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson are both all-time greats and have been with Philadelphia throughout Howie Roseman’s tenure.

The Eagles GM drafted Jordan Mailata in 2018, and he made significant decisions by previously acquiring Brandon Brooks and Isaac Seumalo.

Landon Dickerson was a second-round risk, and he’s a Pro Bowl left guard and potential All-Pro who has transitioned from the center position.

Cam Jurgens was drafted to replace Jason Kelce at the center position, but the former Nebraska All-American could slide to right guard in 2023.

Philadelphia builds from the inside out, and the Eagles’ GM will indeed begin preparing to replace Johnson and possibly Mailata at some point.

With the NFL draft fast approaching, here are ten offensive tackles to watch.

1 OT prospect for Colts in each round of NFL draft

Taking a look at OT prospects for the Colts in each round of the draft.

The Indianapolis Colts are just under two weeks away from the start of the 2023 NFL draft where they’ll be looking to add talent and depth to the roster.

While the roster on paper features two starters at the offensive tackle positions in Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith, the Colts likely will enter the draft looking to add some depth and competition to the room. It may come closer to selections later on Day 2 or more likely on Day 3, but the need is there.

It also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Colts added a veteran offensive tackle through free agency ahead of the draft just to bring in some extra competition to the room. As it currently stands, they only have four offensive tackles on the roster in Raimann, Smith, Jordan Murray and Carter O’Donnell.

Following this series of articles, we’ve also looked at these positions:

We’ll be tracking the Colts’ reported interest in the 2023 draft class so be sure to keep up with latest updates via our tracker.

Here’s a look at offensive tackle prospects who fits the Colts in each round of the draft:

2023 NFL Draft: The top 5 offensive tackles

There are a lot of offensive tackles in the 2023 draft class. Here are the five (just five?) that Doug Farrar thinks will be plus-level NFL tackles.

Before we get into this particular list, I would like to state this for the record: The fact that I have just five offensive tackle prospects here, when I’ve had at least eight prospects on every other position list for the 2023 NFL draft, is not based on laziness.

It’s based entirely on volatility.

After comprehensive tape study, there were five college tackles in this class that I felt were slam-dunk next-level players at their positions in the NFL, and that’s taking into account a few fixes for each player.

Three college tackles — Georgia’s Broderick Jones, Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch — could be decent-to very good outside, but I tend to think that each of them will work better inside.

To be even more clear, I’m not always in favor of the “Oh, just move a guy inside when you have questions about him” thing. When Rashawn Slater, Skoronski’s predecessor at Northwestern, came out for the 2021 draft, a lot of people looked at his measurables and insisted that he should kick inside. I could not have possibly disagreed more. Slater had the look of a left tackle, and that’s proven out during his time with the Chargers when he’s been healthy.

If you think Rashawn Slater’s not an NFL offensive tackle, here’s why you’re wrong

It’s not a default thing for me, but it’s why the next prospect list, covering interior offensive linemen, will be relatively loaded.

There are other tackles, such as Syracuse’s Matthew Bergeron and Maryland’s Jaelyn Duncan, who may be able to stay outside, but not without a ton of work. In these cases, we may be talking about multi-year projects.

So. With all that said, if you need an offensive tackle in this draft class, and you want him to play pretty quickly outside, here are the five best such prospects for that particular scenario. It’s not the best class for such a need — not by far — but the guys at the top each have a lot to offer, albeit in radically different ways.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Sports Info Solutions, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

(All prospect measurement percentiles courtesy of MockDraftable.com). 

2023 NFL Draft: The top 9 safeties

2023 NFL Draft: The top 11 cornerbacks

2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 linebackers

2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 interior defensive linemen

2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 edge defenders

1 offensive tackle for the Vikings for every round of the 2023 NFL draft

Even though the Minnesota Vikings are set at offensive tackle, you should always be prepared if a talented prospect falls down the board.

The Minnesota Vikings searched for their cornerstone tackles for a long time, and they finally found them in Christain Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. If no unforeseen events occur, they should have their tackle position settled for years to come.

However, the NFL is unpredictable, and injuries can ruin a team’s season. Although the Vikings are not likely to use an early pick on a tackle, it is worth examining the draft class because you never know. Let’s explore one offensive tackle from each round of the draft who may fit well with the Vikings.

Commanders get cornerback and offensive tackle in Mel Kiper’s new mock draft

Kiper gives the Commanders two intriguing talents in his new 2-round mock draft.

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN released his latest two-round mock draft Tuesday. Kiper’s newest mock draft featured some significant changes from his last version and includes two trades, one in the top five.

In Kiper’s last mock draft almost three weeks ago, he slotted Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes to the Washington Commanders at No. 16 overall.

In his new mock draft, Kiper has Washington going with Penn State cornerback Joey Porter at No. 16 overall:

The Commanders say they’re not in the market for Lamar Jackson and I don’t see them making a trade up for one of the top quarterbacks in this draft. That means they need to find an instant starter with this selection. While I thought about offensive line — Washington ranked 28th in yards per carry (4.0) last season — signing right tackle Andrew Wylie filled the biggest hole. On the other side of the ball, finding a corner should be the priority. At 6-2 with long arms, Porter would make a lot of sense. He has all the tools to be a spectacular cover man.

What’s interesting here is Kiper has Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright landing in the top 10 with the Chicago Bears. Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson drops all the way to No. 19.

It doesn’t feel like the Commanders would pass on Johnson if he dropped to No. 16.

Kiper didn’t forget about Washington’s need for an offensive tackle. At No. 47 overall, he has the Commanders selecting BYU tackle Blake Freeland.

I mentioned earlier Washington’s need along the offensive line and this could be a selection to find a starter for 2024 and beyond. The 6-8 Freeland could be the swing tackle as a rookie. He started 40 games for the Cougars, playing left tackle, right tackle and right guard. His height gets him into trouble at times — he can struggle with speedy rushers — but he has quick feet.

This is an intriguing pick, for sure. Freeland is huge but is a terrific athlete. He started for four years at BYU, two on the left and two on the right. As Kiper mentioned, Washington could keep Charles Leno Jr. as the left tackle in 2023, with Freeland serving as a swing tackle.

If this scenario played out for the Commanders, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. They’d address two needs with the hope they’d have a true No. 1 cornerback and their left tackle of the future.

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NFL Draft: 12 mid/late-round prospects that could be steals for the Eagles

We’re looking at 12 mid to late-round NFL draft prospects that could end up being steals for the Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have had success hitting on late-round picks in the past few years, with Jordan Mailata (2018), Kenneth Gainwell (2021), Jack Driscoll (2020), Quez Watkins (2020), Josh Sweat (2018), Nathan Gerry, Jalen Mills, and Jason Kelce being some of the late round picks who’ve played in a Super Bowl.

The 2023 NFL draft offers Philadelphia another opportunity to reload in the late rounds.

The expectation is that GM Howie Roseman will move around the board, acquiring draft assets and a large group of undrafted free agents.

With the draft just three weeks away, we’re taking an early look at 12 mid to late-round prospects that could end up as steals for the Eagles.

Broncos select OT and LB in 3rd round of NFL mock draft

Draft Wire’s recent three-round NFL mock draft has the Broncos selecting OT Blake Freeland and LB Daiyan Henley in the third round.

In his latest three-round 2023 NFL mock draft for Draft Wire, Curt Popejoy has the Denver Broncos adding an offensive tackle and linebacker in the third round.

With their first pick (No. 67 overall), the Broncos select BYU offensive tackle Blake Freeland. Such a pick would give Denver a talented backup swing tackle, but after signing Mike McGlinchey in free agency and with Garett Bolles still under contract until 2025, using their first pick on a tackle might not be the Broncos’ best strategy.

After that, Denver adds Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley with the 68th overall pick in the draft. After initially playing wide receiver at Nevada, Henly first transitioned to defensive back before ultimately landing at linebacker. He later transferred to Cougars before the 2022 season.

Last year at Washington State, Henley totaled 106 tackles (12 behind the line), four sacks, three forced fumbles, two forced fumbles, one interception and one pass breakup in 12 games. If selected by the Broncos, Henley would likely serve as a rotational linebacker and key special teams player as a rookie.

To view Popejoy’s complete three-round mock draft, visit Draft Wire.

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Breaking down new 7-round mock draft for the Commanders

The Commanders add plenty of help in this new 7-round mock draft.

The 2023 NFL draft is now less than four weeks away. NFL teams are busy finalizing their draft boards after attending pro days and hosting draft-eligible players on top-30 visits.

The Washington Commanders used free agency to fill holes at multiple positions. While the Commanders didn’t land a big-ticket free agent, they did re-sign star defensive tackle Daron Payne. Outside of that, Washington added three new offensive linemen, as well as quarterback Jacoby Brissett and help at linebacker and cornerback.

In a new seven-round mock draft from Jordan Reid of ESPN, the Commanders land several players at positions of need.

Here’s a breakdown of each of his seven picks for the Commanders.

Bengals worked out OL Blake Freeland at Cougars pro day

Another notable to watch for the Bengals in the draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals were one of three teams to put OL Blake Freeland of BYU through some drills Friday.

After Freeland had a great performance at the Combine, Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network reported that the Jets, Saints, and Bengals were interested in him at the Cougars pro day.

With Jonah Williams requesting a trade after the Orlando Brown signing, the Bengals are showing some obvious interest in an OL prospect that they could draft in the middle rounds in April.

Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the Bengals are entertaining trade calls for Williams, so it seems like they could be moving on going into his fifth season.

This is also notable since OT La’el Collins might not be ready for the beginning of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL in December. Paul Dehner of The Athletic has also said that Collins is “a prime candidate to be let go,” since cutting him would save the Bengals $6.1 million against the cap this season.

The Bengals have a few reasons to look for some help on the offensive line, and Freeland is one of many options.

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Rams 2023 Draft Prospect Profile: Blake Freeland (OT, BYU)

The Rams could use one of their 11 picks in the 2023 NFL draft on an OT and Blake Freeland is a name to watch.

The Los Angeles Rams appear to be content with the current offensive line unit despite the shortcomings the group had in 2022. Despite the team’s apparent confidence in the current group, the Rams should certainly look to add a couple more pieces this offseason.

Besides having a few veterans available in free agency, the 2023 NFL draft is a source for the Rams to bolster their offensive line. Los Angeles owns 11 draft picks in this year’s draft, so the team has plenty of ammo to address multiple needs.

With the offensive tackle spot being a potential target for the Rams in the draft, Blake Freeland out of BYU is an intriguing rookie.