STRENGTHS
Chad is an efficiently, smart, athletic pure left tackle who reminds me a lot of Browns Joe Thomas. He’s a smooth operator working his position with the fluidity of shark in deep waters calmly hunting for its prey. When pass block he comes off the snap quickly establishes his technique and then calmly without losing his techniques adjust to his opponents attack. What I like about Chad’s play is that he doesn’t lose his techniques, believes in them and never seems to panic when an opponent looks as if they are going to be beat him and sack his quarterback. Chad’s ability to recover and adjust and continue to trust his techniques along with his natural athletic talents shows maturity beyond most left tackles coming out in a draft. He has excellent lateral agility and foot speed to go out to the second level or be used on sweeps, screen plays or pulling. He can play in any offensive line blocking scheme. I suspect the closer we get to the draft Chad will be considered as one of the top players in this draft.

CONCERNS
Chad is not perfect; he’s techniques when run blocking are not as good as they should be. He comes off the snap to high, getting into his man with his body and loosing leverage. His leg strength needs to improve but the truth is…you’re not paying a left tackle because they are great run blockers…you’re paying them the big bucks to pass block and protect your quarterback. When Chad puts his mind to it he can be an excellent run blocker because he has excellent athleticism. UPDATE; Chad’s Medical history is the only issue that I think could affect Chad’s draft status. His history of injuries and operations are extensive and has to be taken into account. I think it would be very difficult for teams to select Chad early in this draft.

BOTTOM LINE
Chad is the real deal and should be considered as a top player to select in this draft very early except for his history of operations. Chad is just a very good player and one of the few pure left tackles in this draft. If he can get stronger and healthier there could be pro bowls in his future. Remember Drew’s Draft Rules number 12; drafting a Franchise Left Tackle improves three positions: LT, LG & QB. I love drafting offensive lineman. We shall see in this draft what round Chad is selected in and like I said barring injury he could be considered as a steal in later rounds. Because of his injuries he’s a boom or bust player but if you select him in the latter rounds of the draft that’s a chance of the bust portion being minimized.

Drew Boylhart  JAN.2017