Now that the draft is over, let's study the selections the Cowboys made who we have not previously studied by giving them the same 200-snap treatment and try to see more on why Dallas found them worthy of selection when they did.
Find all the profiles here.
- Florida offensive lineman Chaz Green runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Chaz Green, T, Florida - 6'5, 314 - RS Senior - 5.16 40
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when we examine the case of the Dallas Cowboys 3rd round pick, Chaz Green is a great example of that. There were many draft analysts that figured he would either be drafted late on Day 3 of the proceedings, or not at all. But the Cowboys thought he was the 91st best player in this draft and a perfect fit for them to replace the 3rd tackle "swing tackle" of the last 5 seasons - Jermey Parnell, who was signed away for large money in Jacksonville. Now, if either Doug Free or Tyron Smith fall to injury in 2015, odds are pretty good that Green will run onto the field.
Green was once a highly regarded high school recruit, but five years later, Green is fighting to overcome a host of injuries that have kept his Florida career from ever taking off. He redshirted in 2010, injuries cost him a month of the 2011 season (ankle), all of the 2013 season (knee), and part of the 2014 season (ankle). To study his work, we looked at the LSU, Florida State, and Missouri games from this season in particular.
Green wears #75 and plays Right Tackle for the Gators:
What I liked: Green is a big man who has that wide base you want from an edge protector who uses his large kick steps to get back in his stance and squared up to his man on the edge. Green looks quite comfortable in doing this and in the action we looked at seldom lost his edge to a rusher and generally seemed to have his assignment. He has massive hands that allow him to again control his man and to stay on balance and smooth in his protection. In the run game, he can move well and get in space and seek his target before getting him out of the way. He is not real fast, but he moves well enough for a man of his considerable size. He certainly looks the part.
What I did not like: It was certainly difficult to find his snaps. Not only was he basically a 1-year starter at Florida, but even then, he was part of a right tackle rotation that kept him on the sideline. Beyond that, he has a real reputation as being an injury prone player which is the biggest enemy of a football team. He has to prove durable to be useful. Then, in his run blocking when he gets engaged he has very disconcerting issues with being top-heavy and not really ever moving his feet. This leads to an off balance man who then finds his way to the ground too much. When you are in a battle of upper body strength, often the man with the worst footwork loses, and he would lose quite a bit in this scenario. I am sure it can be fixed, but for now it zaps all of your strength if you stop moving your feet as a lineman. His disposition does not seem particularly noteworthy as nasty or physical.
Summary: This is one where you find out about the front office. First round offensive linemen have been targeted and drafted quite well, where the degree of difficulty is much lower. But this team has a reputation of coming up empty in the premium 2nd round-4th round spots in the draft when they go for offensive line help. David Arkin was pick #110 in 2011, Robert Brewster #75 in 2009, James Marten was #67 in 2007, Jacob Rogers was pick #52 in 2004 and all of them were unmitigated disasters. Doug Free was a hit at #122 in 2007, but that is a 20% hit rate on OL over a decade. We also must credit them for Ron Leary as an un-drafted free agent, but that does not balance the percentages too much if you consider all of the later round (5th-7th) picks on the OL over the years. Here is pick #91 on a player that the Cowboys are taking a step out of the consensus to bet on a player that they really like.
You can see his skill set and his tools. You can also see his pedigree. But, for now, we wonder about his durability and his fit as a very important spot on the team from day 1. We also wonder if he might have been available later in the draft, but that, of course, is an unanswerable question. We knew replacing Parnell was going to be an important objective in 2015, and Green appears to be their guy. Now, we see how his summer goes and his performances in Oxnard will be on full display. He has a chance, but a bit of skepticism is fair until proven otherwise.
And, if you don't mind, please check out the Bob and Dan (BaD) Radio show in Dallas-Fort Worth, from 12p-3p, Monday-Friday, on Sportsradio 1310 and 96.7fm, The Ticket. www.theticket.com
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