In-depth analysis of Raiders draft pick of Jylan Ware

Yet another example of Reggie McKenzie looking for the late round gems he loves. While most don’t get excited about seventh round picks or undrafted free agents, McKenzier certainly does. Landing guys like Seth Roberts, T.J. Carrie and Denico Autry helps keep cap numbers down by providing the team with solid players at dirt cheap prices. Hopefully, offensive tackle Jylan Ware can be another one of his late round gems. Here’s a look at the second of four seventh round picks:

A massive man, Ware might be one of the late round gems that we often credit Reggie McKenzie for finding a few years from now. Ware is 6’8 but only 295 pounds and it shows. If he wants to succeed at the next level, he’s going to need to live in the weight room for a while. If he puts on some muscle mass so that he can better handle NFL defensive linemen, he has the traits necessary to be a starting tackle.

The problem is, the traits I mentioned? They have to do with the fact that he’s surprisingly agile for someone his size, That agility allowed Ware to stay with speed rushers, something that’s incredibly valuable for the tackle position. So why is that a problem? Because Ware will have to maintain that agility after he adds a good amount of weight to his frame.

It’s hard to know if Ware can walk that tight rope of adding weight to his frame without loosing any of his agility. If he can’t, there’s always the option of trying to move him inside to guard. But unlike their other draft pick at offensive tackle, David Sharpe, Ware may not be the best option to move inside. For a seventh round pick, there’s plenty of potential to be a wasted pick. But there’s also potential for it to provide an incredibly amount of value if he develops into even a swing tackle.