Nate Solder Too Big for Comfort?

[Flugel]

As I was watching the combine, I found it intriguing how athletic and msucle dense Nate Solder was for being over 6'8" tall at 319 pounds. When the cameras were on the former TE - he looked every bit the part of an OT. Even better, he showcased the athleticism you want to see in an OT. So what's the problem one might ask?

Mike Mayock, who said he watched alot of film of Solder, indicated there's an emormous procede with caution flag on this Colorado Buffalo. In particular, he mentioned what California put on his edge to test the frame all day long. Cal put a short stocky athletic on Solder's outside shoulder and evidently it wasn't pretty for Solder. According to Mayock, Solder's body was unable to BEND/SQUAT consistently enough to accommodate that challenge and he got beat repeatedly. There's only so far a guy that tall can squat; and that means he begins every play with an incredible disadvantage IMO.

Looking in state, Elvis Dumerville only goes 5'11" and that's gonna make one bend or look stiff as a statue. Folks, this is the type of thing film shows that a workout doesn't uncover when Solder's vertical is over 34 inches and his 40 is very impressive for an over 300 pound guy. Winning trench battles is about leverage and physics. While Solder has the ideal arm length, he loses base to guys with better stance exit heights. That's probably the BIGGEST thing Rubin had to learn at the jump of levels was the appropriate height to exit his stance with. They're gonna challenge Solder's ability to squat in the NFL on the blind side of QB. I'm not sure someone that struggles with consistency to squat is a good idea to stand between a short stout Dwight Freeney and franchise QB. This ain't the Legally Blonde version of "Bend and Snap."

Unfortunately for a guy like Solder, the number of killer good athletes coming off the edge looks like they're increasing if the combines were any indication of what's ahead. This kid may want to consider a tweener type of position of TE/Tackle for teams that like to go with an unbalanced line such as Baltimore. I think a creative mind like BB can find some use for this kid. That said, don't be surprised if this kid sporting good combine metrics falls. Seems like a good kid with an unfortunate predisposition.

[Alo]

Great post, Tom. Solder has the worst tape of any of the top offensive tackles in this class. I simply can't understand why some folks have him rated as the #1 OT. He's more Bruce Campbell than Joe Thomas.

Here's a clip I cut of the Cal game Mayock mentioned. Just an awful performance by the Colorado OT.

YouTube - Nate Solder vs. Cal

[Sez.EJ]

Bruce Campbell..isn't he guy guy from Evil Dead 1 and 2 and Army of Darkness?

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

Great post, Tom. Solder has the worst tape of any of the top offensive tackles in this class. I simply can't understand why some folks have him rated as the #1 OT. He's more Bruce Campbell than Joe Thomas.

Here's a clip I cut of the Cal game Mayock mentioned. Just an awful performance by the Colorado OT.

YouTube - Nate Solder vs. Cal

Thanks Alo! I really appreciated you showing the video of the Cal matchup; because it's a serious red flag for round 1. I think there's a place for this guy in the league. I almost think he and agent should reconsider the Tight End position he once played. He can be a better run blocker than Robert Royal and he could run routes with his eyes closed and outproduce Royal in the passing game.

Whoever takes him, prolly won't play him at left tackle unless it's Mike Brown wanting to send out Carson Palmer his way. I could see Solder playing for a creative mind like BB or even John Harbaugh when he brings in an extra tackle to go unbalanced on occasion. He could also be an H-back or short yardage FB unless someone really wants a John St Clair clone or revenge on that QB bad mouthing their front office.