Much to the surprise of many the Saints stayed put at 13 and selected an offensive player. The guy is Andrus Peat of Stanford. I’m not going to lie, I’m not thrilled with this pick at 13. I had hoped Peat would fall to 31. I do like his size, intelligence, character and toughness. There is no doubt the fit is excellent. He is a Saints type player and he’ll learn a lot from Zach Strief. But I think 13 is a reach and it’s not clear he’ll start or play much in 2015 unless there’s an injury. Because he’s very tall and lean, I don’t see him competing at guard. But tackle depth was a serious issue and now the Saints feel much better at this position. If one of the tackles gets injured, Peat can step in and give the Saints better production than Bryce Harris.
Here’s his write up on NFL.com:
STRENGTHS
Tall with a thick lower body and well-proportioned frame. Has good knee bend and movement for a power player. Shows some bounce in his feet. Gains plenty of ground on kick slide but keeps his weight under him. Able to transition from pass set to power step inside to close down inside moves. Hand placement generally good in run and pass. Plays with a strong, wide base. Above-average understanding of protections. Instinctive against twists and reacts quickly to them. Able to drop his anchor in pass protection. Powerful drive blocker with explosive hips. Plays with leverage and leg drive to mow down overmatched defenders. Punishes defensive tackles when asked to secure with a down-block. Once he locks out, has the anchor and power to end his opponent’s chances.
WEAKNESSES
Left tackle displaying some edge fear. Technique breaks down when facing wide rushers with juice off the snap. Opens up prematurely and turns into a lunger. Waist-bender. Will lead with head and hands, hoping to land a strike and engulf the edge speed. Needs to improve angle of pass sets against speed. Has direction-change issues when moving in space. Gets stuck to first block too long, allowing second-level target to escape over top. Has issues with sustaining blocks on second level and doesn’t always work feet to improve positioning when blocking laterally.
BOTTOM LINE
Big and powerful with a right tackle’s play strength and demeanor, but enough foot quickness to protect on the left side. Peat has the physical tools to be an upper-echelon run blocker with pass-protection ability, but he needs to improve his technique in order to protect with consistency. Peat has been well-coached and is one of the most game-ready offensive linemen in this year’s draft.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
