I'm more familiar with the interior guys right now because I like to watch these guys play full games against good competition and last year was a shitshow for a lot of guys and teams, so --I'm behind the curve at this point.
I've watched Sewell and he is just ridiculously athletic for a guy his size and has zero regard for the guy he's blocking. I've seen him just knock guys senseless and then go looking for another victim, but I haven't seen him face anybody with a hard outside rush yet. I figure he can be trained to do anything at a high level and should be all-pro before long. To me he is the Mekhi Becton of this class and the clear favorite. He plays a little too upright, but it doesn't seem to matter. All the potential in the world, but you have to project a little because his experience level is simply not there. Like a few others.
I'm impressed with Vera-Tucker and think he is a solid 1st rounder, but I like him better as a guard. He's good at everything, but doesn't seem dominant at anything. He seems to be a safe pick and appears to be a mature and motivated kid.
Rashawn Slater seems a little oversold to me and looks quite similar to Vera-Tucker. A solid, competitive, strong guy whose marginal length might signal a move inside. I keep seeing him mocked to the middle of the first round, but I think that is too high.
I'm not impressed with Eichenberg at all and think he gets too much praise because he's a Golden Domer. Definitely a right tackle and should not be taken before day 3. I'm trying to stop comparing guys to others from the same program, because that can be misleading, but he really reminds me of ND's Mike McGlinchey who was way overdrafted by the Niners and was getting destroyed (along with his QBs) on the pass rush last season. Eichenberg can probably play in the NFL, but I would not want him in Foxboro.
Two guys that might outplay their draft slots are Sam Cosmi -- who checks almost every box (unlike most of them he had 34 starts at Texas) and put up freakishly good numbers at his pro day this past week. He doesn't look massive, but plays strong with advanced technique. I don't know why he isn't ranked higher among draft people. This guy has the film and the numbers. The other one is Walker Little of Stanford who didn't play much due to a knee in 2019 and then opted out last season, but Paul Fitzgerald, who is an outstanding OL guru, had high praise for Little stating he could start right away at LT as a rookie and perform very well. Apparently he is one of those relative unknowns that will be a better pro than College player. When Fitzgerald says stuff like that NFL teams should listen.
In general it looks like an unusually deep class (mostly RTs), but Sewell is the only guy I would go out of my way to watch. There will be good players selected on day 3 when in some recent years the well was pretty much dry by then. I would be surprised if the Pats take an OT in the first two days, but expect we'll get one.
I've been keeping a candle burning for Yodny Cajuste since we drafted him, but he's been hurt for two years running. He better get healthy for 2021, but I'm not holding my breath.
Justin Herron would have likely been a rookie redshirt (to add some muscle) in a typical year, but we had to play him before he was really ready. I think he held up pretty well and is an interesting guy with good feet and movement skills but can see a need to continue to develop the pipeline so we never again have to try to run an offense with a Jermaine Eluemunor or Marshall Newhouse taking meaningful snaps. I think Herron is the leader in the clubhouse to be our backup swing T, but has to improve his strength a fair bit. He seems to have everything else to serve that role for now while he gains experience. The way he survived the rookie gauntlet speaks well for his chances to solidify his role.
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