Offensive Tackle

Hillsdale

6-8 312

40 time: 5.09

Draft board overall prospect rank: #109

Draft board offensive tackle rank: #12

Overall rating: 68*

                4/13/10: Jared Veldheer is a big man from a small school. His athletic prowess as a 6-8 312 pounder with 5.09 speed gets NFL scouts excited about his upside. Guys like Jonathan Ogden and Jared Gaither have done extremely well in the NFL and their size, 6-9, has a lot to do with that success. Veldheer could be next in that line. He showed very good dominance and consistency, as well as durability on the Division II level, but the level of competition is obviously an issue. He started all 46 games of his college career and was dominant from the start. He was, most likely, the most dominant offensive lineman on his level and his size and physical prowess. He looked great at The Combine in the positional drills and in the measurables. He looked extremely nimble for his size. The only issue with his Combine was his 33 inch arms which are often a sign of maxed frame. He might not be able to get to the 340-350 that Gaither and Ogden were in the NFL and that could hurt him. Long arms also are useful in pass protection, but, again, Veldheer was beyond dominant as a pass protector in college (statistically). He struggled a bit with run blocking, but he’s a big athletic left tackle and given the lack of those type of players in this draft class, he probably is going to go in the 2^nd round.

NFL Comparison: Sebastian Vollmer

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here