INDIANAPOLIS – A handful of NFL scouts, with more than 90 years of experience, chatting about the team's draft picks?
That is what Colts.com had earlier this offseason in a roundtable with five Colts' scouts.
The five names listed below (titles at time of draft) traveled all over the country scouting college prospects last season. They have seen these draftees several times throughout their college seasons, at games, school visits and at Pro Days.
T.J. McCreight (Director of College Scouting)
Todd Vasvari (Assistant Director of College Scouting)
Matt Terpening (National Scout)
Dave Razzano (Senior Scout)
Jamie Moore (Area Scout)
What were your thoughts on third-round pick Le'Raven Clark (Texas Tech)?
McCreight: "He can play guard or tackle. I remember going to the school and looking at this guy and saying, 'Wow.' He's a big, long man. He can move. He has some physical traits that are uncommon for offensive linemen. Plus, the fact that when we talk to him, he's a real smart kid, a real good kid. Another guy that when we were sitting there in the third round, I said, 'Wow, let's go for it.' Across the board, the coaching staff, the scouting staff really liked the kid."
Vasvari: "We only had a couple of (offensive linemen) that had rare traits, as far as his length and his athletic ability, his feet. He's going to need some technique work coming out of their (spread) offense, but he has the competiveness. He's smart enough. He's got certainly all the ability to be a starting tackle, potentially a starting guard. I think he could play right or left tackle. He's that good of an athlete. Initially, his length is going to help him while his technique gets refined. If he oversets with his feet, he has that length where he can just stick his arm out and stop a guy's charge because he is so long."
Terpening: "You watch his game tape, playing in the Big 12, they throw it all the time, playing against some really good pass rushers and he shut a lot of really good pass rushers out this year. That's what stood out."
Vasvari: "Denzelle (Good) has 35-inch arms. We thought he played very well for a guy that's from a small school. I went and saw (Clark) play in the bowl game. I thought he played well in that game and (LSU) had a big-time young rusher. I thought he played pretty well against him."
McCreight: "If you think about it, if you have an extra two inches on your arm and you're an offensive tackle against a fast rusher coming off the edge, that extra two inches just let's you nudge him out of the way, that makes a huge difference. That's why arm length, it's not everything, but it's so important because like Todd said, it will bail you out of some spots that most players can't get bailed out of."
Vasvari: "Then you match that arm length with the athletic ability and the feet that he has, that's a really good combination. It's an advantage that he has. He's going to need to play to those advantages to be successful in our league, too."
Terpening: "I think it makes him taller too. He's a guy that's just under 6-6, but with that arm length, he's really like a 6-7 guy out there. That definitely helps him."
Moore: "You talk about arm length at the tackle position, anybody that is 33 inches or shorter, you kind of pause. It concerns you because how can they compensate? Thirty-six-inch plus is a rare quality that you just don't find very often. It's very appealing for us, for sure."
Razzano: "A guy with that length, he can get his arms on the opponent before the opponent gets his hands on the tackle. It's a big advantage."
Moore: "Just like boxing. A guy with the more reach is going to connect with his punch more efficiently."
