Let the banshees wail all they want. Nobody knows that Cole Strange was sure to be a 3rd rounder, but it's nice to see McVay cackling like a punk.
I'm going to try to keep this brief, but I went to bed pissed and tossed and turned. The pick was a shock and my first thought that it was Bill
telling Bob Kraft to go fuck himself and that represented the beginning of the end. While that is still a remote possibility I've considered the big picture and
am waiting for the horses to cross the finish line before I declare the one I bet on a loser.
First, I realized a couple of weeks ago that getting a top Guard is the biggest need we had, not Corner, LB or WR. They're all needs, but we
absolutely needed to address the position seriously and went out and got Joe Thuney or the nearest facsimile available.
That is who Strange reminds me of in playing style. A more aggressive version of Thuney. He's fast, athletic and fluid. He's got a good punch
and played every position on the OL. His ability to spring out of his stance and beat a defender to a spot (AKA reach) is excellent and compares well with
Tyler Linderbaum, who was the best I'd seen this year. His upper body strength could be better and will need work, but Strange is not a big
program kid who has already been maximized. Despite being almost 24 he is still an ascending talent who will likely respond well to being
in our program, which is a long way from Chattanooga.
I found a nice, long interview
here in which Strange details the weight gain program he was on prior to the draft. Among other things, he talks
about why he wears an old-school wire cage facemask and hates knee braces.
Like our 1st round pick last year, Strange earned a 4.0 grade average in College and, aside from Terrell Owens, the Chattanooga Mocs program can claim
none other than Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont) as an alum.
I was aware of Strong, but never took him seriously for us because he was an older, small-school prospect who I had seen getting his ass kicked
by Travis Jones in Senior Bowl drills. I decided to rewatch them this morning and, to be fair, he kicked a few asses of his own as well. Maybe I was
bit hasty but the competition was fierce and everybody seemed up and down as the one-on-ones went along.
I feel much better about Cole Strange than I did when I heard the announcement.
You're going to continue to hear a lot of gloom and doom about the pick, but consider this scouting report as a counterbalance:
Excellent combo blocker who transitions easily. Very smart with his angles. Plays with a wide base and trusts his lower half. Natural lower body flexibility
helps his leverage. Precise with his initial strike and uses good hand strength to maintain his control. Remarkable accuracy when he gets to linebacker
and safety territory. He's able to change directions well to adjust and still make landfall. Very fluid in transition. finds opportunities for work. Balance and core
strength stand out. Very smart approach to the game overall. Doesn't have many holes.
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