2018 NFL Draft: Can Orlando Brown recover from disastrous Combine?
Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown was a consensus first round pick following the season. Will an atrocious showing at the NFL Combine tank his 2018 NFL Draft stock?
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The son of former NFL offensive tackle Orlando “Zeus” Brown, Orlando Brown had a no good, very bad day when it mattered the most. For most of the 2017 season Brown was regarded by most draft analysts as an obvious first round pick. That’s understandable given his track record at Oklahoma and his intimidating size – 6-foot-8, 360 pounds. However, an abysmal week in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine have caused Brown’s stock to plummet.
That begs the question, which Brown is the real Brown? Should he be a first round pick or an undrafted free agent? Let’s start with the glaring problems that were exposed at the combine.
Weaknesses
There’s no denying the bad results at the NFL Combine. Brown’s numbers were unfathomably awful, as demonstrated by his web diagram above. He scored in the very bottom percentile at his position in nearly every physical test.
With that elephant out in the open, the holes in his game don’t look so bad. Brown has a tendency to play high, not adjusting his blocks for his size. Leverage is crucial for an offensive lineman of his size, and his technique has some cleaning up to do. His lack of quickness raises questions about how well he’ll fit into a blocking scheme that involves much movement.
Strengths
The tape on Brown is just as excellent as it was at the end of the Sooners’ season. Brown anchored an offensive line for a Heisman Trophy winner and proved himself to be a strong pass protector and run blocker. When he gets moving he doesn’t get pushed aside at the second level, making him a weapon off the edge in the running game. When he’s afforded time to set his feet, he demolishes edge rushers.
Brown simply doesn’t get beat off the edge. He didn’t give up pressure to a bull rush at any point last season. He was more likely to put a rusher on their back than he was to allow them to get beyond his long arms and to the quarterback. From a purely football standpoint Brown looks the part of an NFL-caliber offensive tackle but therein lies the biggest question with Brown; Which do NFL teams trust more, the numbers or the tape?
Next: Latest first round NFL Mock Draft post Combine
Draft projections
Guys like former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen are earning their draft stock based almost entirely on projectability. His mixed results in college are being cast aside in favor of strong measurables.
NFL teams value size and body type significantly more than the casual fan. Orlando Brown might have done poorly in the drills, but his size and football ability cannot be ignored. He won’t be a top 10 pick or even a top 20 pick, but don’t be surprised to come off the board soon after that.