Indiana OL Rodger Saffold; 2nd Round Pick Option for Redskins?
by Kevin Ewoldt on Mar 3, 2010 10:30 AM EST
in Redskins Analysis
9 comments
Rodger Saffold | OT | Indiana
6'5" | 312 lbs | Senior
Born: Bedford, OH
WalterFootball.com had the Redskins selecting the Hoosier in the 2nd round, so I thought it merited taking a closer look. Saffold in January was a projected 5th round pick, but he has climbed up the charts with his combine and appearance in the East-West Shrine game. He is projected to play RT or Guard and like the other profiles I have selected, can handle a zone blocking scheme.
Highlights:
Saffold never left the starting lineup after sliding in at left tackle midway through his true freshman campaign. He was the 2009 Don Howell "Outstanding Offensive Lineman" Award recipient, given to the outstanding offensive lineman in memory of Don Howell. Saffold started 41 games and appeared in 42 in his career.
Selected second team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches and named honorable mention by the league's media ... earned second team All-Big Ten recognition from Phil Steele's magazine.
Scout Analysis after the jump...
Strengths
Saffold has raw athletic ability in space and does an above average job of reaching defenders at the second level; he did a solid job on NW's Corey Wooten though he had tight end help some of the time. He displays good athletic ability in space with the quickness to cut off rush lanes once he loses contact with a pass rusher. He generated a pretty decent push in the first half in the run game against Corey Wooton.
Does a nice job reaching defenders off his frame in the run game and uses his athletic ability to chip at the line and seal at the second level. He has an above average first step off the edge and has the range to consistently reach corner on his initial kick-slide. Most of Indiana's big runs this season have come on his side.
Weaknesses
At times he can get too wide with his footwork and will struggle to keep his base compact in pass protection. On occassion he doesn't generate much power when extending his arms into blocks and is easily disengaged from on the outside. He has a tendency to overextend and get off balance. He has decent feet but can be beaten around the edge.
Due to his tendency to get too high and lose leverage when facing quick-twitch edge-rushers, he struggles to quickly redirect and anchor at the point. Also he can be overwhelmed on contact and fails to consistently stay on blocks.
Despite his size and speed he's not a dominant in-line run blocker and struggles generating much push at the point of attack, he doesn't possess the body control to consistently stay on linemen through the play and is eventually disengaged on contact.
At times he really struggles to stay on blocks. In the 2nd 1/2 of the game versus Wootton despite a good early game he didn't do much that was noticable [in a good way,] in the run game against strong defenders he has struggled to generate movement in the running game.
I don't know enough about this kid to say one way or another if he's good pick at #2. It seems a bit of stretch with the other talent out there. have any of you seen him play?
Image via media.scout.com
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Saffold
I go to Indiana and i watched him play all the time over the last two seasons.
he’s a solid player and has done well against the top competition (michigan’s de, i forget his name. and wisconsin’s de, also forget his name) but i don’t know if indiana’s system transfers over so well to the pro game. We ran the spread/ pistol offense and there was a lot of pass blocking, but not so much run blocking. we had a weak running game and it cost us lots of games. if the redskins want to run the zone blocking system that got run in denver/houston, i’m not sure how saffold will handle it but i hope he can be successful. If he gets coached up well, i think he could be a really good player because he’s got a lot of potential and is a very solid, injury-free, consistent player
Sounds like a lot of upside to me
I believe you were referring to Brandon Graham at U-M.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
yeah thats it
yeah he has a lot of upside, it’ll be interesting to see where he goes in the draft.
could definitely fit in with the skins if they use him right
Excellent job again here, I am very high on Rodger Saffold, as are most scouts.
Don’t let the earlier rankings fool you. He goes to a relatively unknown football school, and was not on the radar. He has perfect size and athletic ability to excel at the pro level. He can play LT,RT, and the Guard postions. His quickness and strength will allow him to pass block, run block, and pull to reach the 2nd level consistantly. He should be able to block in any kind of scheme. He has all the necessary tools and attitude to be coached up to an elite level. He aced his interviews, according to reports, and teams will probably be looking at him hard in the 1st round. He is exactly the kind of guy you want on your team. The Skins are going to have some tough choices with the 37 pick because there will be some studs sitting there. Hopefully Saffold is one of them.
He has got to be one of the reasons
I-U has turned its program around. We just barely won 36-33 at home vs I-U this year.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
we may not be the biggest football school but...
IU has had a lot of success with players that have entered the draft
-antwaan randle el
-tracy porter
-James hardy (played behind lee evans and TO, will hopefully compete for starting job this year)
-Courtney Roby
-Jeremi Johnson (transferred after 2 years)
might not be full of stars, but lots of diamonds in the rough that can be major contributors at the pro level (if they are used correctly, example A=antwaan randle el from pit to was)
I also like that fact that he has size
but little girth – that is he is not a fat guy using his gut, but a big, strong and lean guy. That means speed and stamina to me.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
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