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Super duper raw. Like right off the boat tuna. I wouldn't hold my breath.
He held his own in the senior bowl practices, so I like his chances to land on the PS...Maybe fourth T...
Quote: @"BarrNone55" said:
He held his own in the senior bowl practices, so I like his chances to land on the PS...Maybe fourth T...
Practice squad, doable. Full time roster this year? No way, IMO.
Oli is actually one of the best late picks I have seen. He has good tools, the question is, he actually isn't an ideal fit for a zone blocking scheme but the could be slightly hidden by having him as a right tackle. What I see is a player that has had limited teaching, but picks up skills fairly well, and and plays to the level of competition. He more than held his own at the senior bowl. That is not the best indicator but its a very good indicator. Lets just compare to Willie Beavers, not a great comp ending but lets go from there. Both have small school experience. Both went to the Senior bowl. Beavers struggled while Oli more than held his own. At the combine Udoh did better at almost everything than Beavers, essentially is more athletic. The biggest issue is Beavers could not pick up new things being taught to him during training camp, just couldn't grasp the concepts. Udoh, picked up those concepts very well at the Senior Bowl. My understanding is the coach we had at the senior bowl, was enamored with him. I know any coaches can do that, but this coach was there and saw what he could do, how he interacted and how he could learn concepts along with his athletic ability. My guess is he will show too much during preseason unless we hide him to put him on the practice squad. He will likely be our 4th tackle and possible swing tackle while learning this year and potentially being the starting right tackle next year. That is an aggressive plan, but he has the ability. We will see if comes to fruition.
Quote: @"Kmerry82" said:
Oli is actually one of the best late picks I have seen. He has good tools, the question is, he actually isn't an ideal fit for a zone blocking scheme but the could be slightly hidden by having him as a right tackle. What I see is a player that has had limited teaching, but picks up skills fairly well, and and plays to the level of competition. He more than held his own at the senior bowl. That is not the best indicator but its a very good indicator. Lets just compare to Willie Beavers, not a great comp ending but lets go from there. Both have small school experience. Both went to the Senior bowl. Beavers struggled while Oli more than held his own. At the combine Udoh did better at almost everything than Beavers, essentially is more athletic. The biggest issue is Beavers could not pick up new things being taught to him during training camp, just couldn't grasp the concepts. Udoh, picked up those concepts very well at the Senior Bowl. My understanding is the coach we had at the senior bowl, was enamored with him. I know any coaches can do that, but this coach was there and saw what he could do, how he interacted and how he could learn concepts along with his athletic ability. My guess is he will show too much during preseason unless we hide him to put him on the practice squad. He will likely be our 4th tackle and possible swing tackle while learning this year and potentially being the starting right tackle next year. That is an aggressive plan, but he has the ability. We will see if comes to fruition.
Don't forget that Udoh was also at the Shrine game, where several of the Vikings staff were there as coaches. Vikings OL coach at the time, Andrew Janocko, was Udoh's OC during the game. It was his great showing at the Shrine that got him the invite to the Senior Bowl.
I think he's a couple years away from contributing, but his upside is enormous.
You make a good point about Beavers, who was just a terrible terrible pick. He not only got his ass kicked at the Senior Bowl, out of 70 or so PFF grades given to guards that year, he finished dead last in pass pro and 2nd to last as a run blocker. Talk about checking all the wrong boxes.
Quote: @"StickyBun" said:
@"BarrNone55" said:
He held his own in the senior bowl practices, so I like his chances to land on the PS...Maybe fourth T...
Practice squad, doable. Full time roster this year? No way, IMO.
No doubt, the Vikings would love to keep him on the practice squad for a year or two, but let's not forget we lost a promising 6th round prospect last year in Colby Gossett by putting him on the PS. Chargers signed him late last year and not only put him on their active roster, but put him in the starting lineup for 5 games.
Considering all his pre-draft hype, Udoh might be even harder to keep.
Quote: @"MaroonBells" said:
@"StickyBun" said:
@"BarrNone55" said:
He held his own in the senior bowl practices, so I like his chances to land on the PS...Maybe fourth T...
Practice squad, doable. Full time roster this year? No way, IMO.
No doubt, the Vikings would love to keep him on the practice squad for a year or two, but let's not forget we lost a promising 6th round prospect last year in Colby Gossett by putting him on the PS. Chargers signed him late last year and not only put him on their active roster, but put him in the starting lineup for 5 games.
Considering all his pre-draft hype, Udoh might be even harder to keep.
I don't think we're in much of a position to worry about that. Gossett went to the Cardinals because their OLine was worse than ours, not because he was good. Udoh might be promising, but I just don't see us jettisoning Collins or Hill to give him a roster spot. I think you just got to put him on the practice squad and see what happens.
Why not keep 10 O-Linemen for a change? Reiff, Elf, Bradbury, Kline, O'Neill, Samia, Collins, Hill, Jones/Dozier, and Udoh.
Quote: @"medaille" said:
@"MaroonBells" said:
@"StickyBun" said:
@"BarrNone55" said:
He held his own in the senior bowl practices, so I like his chances to land on the PS...Maybe fourth T...
Practice squad, doable. Full time roster this year? No way, IMO.
No doubt, the Vikings would love to keep him on the practice squad for a year or two, but let's not forget we lost a promising 6th round prospect last year in Colby Gossett by putting him on the PS. Chargers signed him late last year and not only put him on their active roster, but put him in the starting lineup for 5 games.
Considering all his pre-draft hype, Udoh might be even harder to keep.
I don't think we're in much of a position to worry about that. Gossett went to the Cardinals because their OLine was worse than ours, not because he was good. Udoh might be promising, but I just don't see us jettisoning Collins or Hill to give him a roster spot. I think you just got to put him on the practice squad and see what happens.
Gossett went to the Cards to cover an injury. He was also probably my favorite pick in our entire draft last year.
No, of course it's not likely that Udoh beats out Hill or Collins, but it all depends on what happens in training camp, doesn't it? Remember, just two years ago, Collins was a high-upside, developmental player the Vikings chose to put on their active roster over more experienced linemen. Probably because they didn't want to expose him.
There are late round picks that are swings at the plate. Boyd and Mitchell are like that. They're either going to show that they can play in the NFL or they won't. And you're going to know that fairly soon. And then there are developmental picks. That's what Udoh is. And the Vikings can't afford to keep losing players like that, especially on the offensive line.
Gossett missed most of training camp last year with an injury. Vikings should have just put him on IR. Hell, the Patriots do it all the time.
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