There usually are at least a few skeptics when it comes to evaluating players in the NFL Draft. No matter what a player’s resume says, someone will find fault.
Then there’s Orlando Pace, who if not for New York Jets coach Bill Parcells’ love for defense would be the No. 1 pick. Mention his name to any coach or scout in the NFL and their eyes bulge, then their heads shake in an almost reverant fashion.
“I’m not a big believer in taking offensive linemen in the first round,” Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson said. “But Pace … yeah, Pace.”
Pace, a junior from Ohio State, is the most accomplished and most dominant player in a draft that is bereft of offensive skill position players. But even if Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning had come out, there’s a good percentage of people who believe that Pace would rank higher. That doesn’t mean you take an offensive lineman over a quarterback, but that argument could be made.
The reality is that no offensive lineman has been taken No. 1 since Ron Yary of Southern California in 1968. That streak is likely to reach 30 years because Parcells is supposedly set on taking defensive tackle Darrell Russell of USC with the No. 1 pick. In fact, Oakland is so sure that Russell is going to the Jets that it has traded up to the No. 2 spot to get Pace. Al Davis sees Pace as the second coming of Hall of Famer Art Shell.
That’s despite the fact that offensive linemen tend to be the surest bet in the draft and defensive linemen tend to be much more of a risk.
Yes, people point out the colossal bust of Tony Mandarich in 1989, but most NFL people think that Mandarich was able to mask his use of steroids until he got into the league. When he couldn’t hide anymore, he quickly failed and is a backup with Indianapolis.
Since then, offensive linemen have succeeded. Richmond Webb was taken by the Dolphins in 1990 and hasn’t missed a Pro Bowl since. Willie Roaf was taken by New Orleans in 1993. Tony Boselli went No. 2 to Jacksonville in 1995 and proved his worth in the playoffs last season when he helped the Jaguars get to the AFC Championship Game.
Then there was Jonathan Ogden last season, who was taken No. 4 by Baltimore and started all season at guard. He will be moved to tackle this season after passing his apprenticeship with flying colors.
Now comes Pace at a time when there is a premium on offensive tackles. In fact, Florida State’s Walter Jones could join Pace in the top 10 selections for the NFL Draft, and another four or five offensive linemen should go in the first round.
With teams throwing so much more in this era, protection has become primary. That’s particularly true for the Raiders, who brought in quarterback Jeff George to revitalize their deep-throwing attack.
“The problem you have with taking an offensive lineman first overall is that they don’t touch the ball,” Johnson said. “But this kid can create big plays.”
“He’s just like Boselli in that he brings a defensive lineman’s mentality to offensive line,” said Tom Braatz, Dolphins director of college scouting. “They even lined him up at defensive tackle in goal-line situations.”
Pace not only loves to “pancake” block his opponents, he hustles, often leading plays 30 yards down field. He creates two and three holes on some plays. He simply loves to dominate.
When asked about it, Pace just smiles.
“I want to toy with people, not just beat them,” Pace said. “I want to be the No. 1 pick. I want to be the best offensive lineman ever at Ohio State. I want to be the best ever.”
Then there are the physical gifts. Pace is 6 feet 7, 334 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds.
While Pace didn’t do a lot of pro-style pass blocking, he has the long arms that offensive tackles need to gain leverage and the big body to absorb the bull rush.
But there has to be something wrong. Well, Pace didn’t exactly show the greatest maturity at the NFL scouting combine in February when he got angry over having to take a second magnetic resonance imaging exam on his left knee when some teams wondered why he wore a brace in college. Pace left Indianapolis angrily, declining to run in any of the drills and declining to give a reason.
The maturity issue may carry over to the field at the next level. Pace was so dominant in the college ranks that he allowed only one sack in three years, and that was arguably a coverage sack.
What will happen to Pace when he has a bad game or gives up a couple of sacks? Then again, will he do that?
“People can say what they want about me having a tough time, it hasn’t happened. I could have stayed, but I think I accomplished everything I could,” said Pace, who won every award possible except the Heisman Trophy. He finished fourth for the Heisman, which is almost unheard of for a lineman.
“I think I can do things that people will remember for a long time,” Pace said.
