Hello Panthers Nation! I'm back again with another community NFL Draft question, this time regarding a potential first round selection of the Utah OT Caleb Lomu. Before you begin raging in the comment section about drafting an EDGE in the 1st round as a foregone conclusion, this situation would be a trade back scenario in which EDGE rusher talent is limited at 19. Any feedback is appreciated and as always KEEP POUNDING!!!
Caleb Lomu; OT; 6'6" 308LBS; Arm Length: N/A
Caleb Lomu started a total of 27 games over his three year career with the Utes. In this span, he gave up just 2 sacks, 8 QB hits, and 15 QB hurries. These stats were good enough to earn him an 82.1 pass block grade and 62.0 run block per PFF.
Although the vast majority of Lomu's snaps were played at LT over his three year career (1,582), he does have experience playing the RT position at the collegiate level (only 32 offensive snaps). This may sound far fetched, but I honestly believe Lomu could learn to play the RT position and be the long-term replacement for Taylor Moton. I'm prepared to be ripped apart in the comments, but let me know what you think.
11 comments
If available, he’d get my vote. We’ve done well with OL from Utah
I have become full on board with us drafting a O lineman over anything else. All of them are almost 30 and we had so many injuries this year. Then with Ickey going out has really made me believe they need to be drafting two OL and I really hope one’s a Center.
I wouldn’t hate it but for all the fantasizing we like to do about everything but the biggest need, if we never invest either real money or a top pick to fix it, it’ll never get fixed
Are there any O linemen we can draft that are 5’9? /s
Looks decent on tape, but hasn’t really faced anybody being at Utah. I do like us drafting a LT in the first round. I’d rather a MLB, but if not a LT is needed
Jordan Gross 2.0? Yeah sign me up.
We have to operate under the assumption that Ickey will never be 100%. Moton will retire within the next few years. We absolutely should take Lomu if he’s there. We could really use two tackles and a G/C.
He’s a little more raw so he would have to maybe sit a year and learn, but he’s definitely got the tools
Utah fan here, Lomu is excellent in pass pro, could use some work in the run game, but improved a lot in that this season. In a lot of ways he reminds me of the opposite of Icky in that regard. Lomu started at LT at Utah while our better tackle, Fano(most likely top 10 pick) started at RT.
I would love the Lomu pick and think he has a long career ahead as a top end tackle in the league, even if I think positions like Edge, LB and Safety are bigger current needs for our team(S & LB later picks work out well frequently, for Edge- FA/hope the rookies take the next step).
If we took him I could see a variety of ways to make it work on our line depending on Moton, I could see him as a long term replacement there, but I’d rather kick Icky over to RT and put Lomu at LT, also if Moton wants to keep playing you could kick Icky inside/just decide not to re-sign him when that comes up. If you move Icky inside I think he would excel even more in the run game and may end up being a lot better than he has been on the outside, but then the question comes of what you do with Lewis and Hunt right? IIRC we have both through 27 and Hunt through 28, so potentially move 1 to C to take over or look to trade either or Icky and re-sign Mays or find another C. I loved what Lewis did this year and Hunt when healthy has been elite as well so I’d prefer to keep both even if we are paying a lot for them, but unsure about how either would be able to translate to C.
Id be happy if we sent icky somewhere else to be guard and brought back cade. But the right LT would have to fall to 19. Its risky, but could pay off heavily considering we wouldn’t have to pay big left tackle money for the foreseeable future.
Love it. Too many mock drafts have us taking an Edge or WR and even a TE. I think everyone forgot, Icky most likely will be out the entirety of next season (wasn’t great to begin with and would be better at LG) and Moton is likely gone in 1-2 years. While an Edge would be ideal, if we’re going to ride with Bryce for another 2 seasons, we gotta give him some protection. DE free agent market should be somewhat decent this year and adding another piece along side Scorton shouldn’t be too hard. Can always find gem WRs and LBs in the middle rounds, but bookend tackles don’t grow on trees.