We hear it each and every season. This team or that team is in need of an elite offensive tackle to help protect their quarterback. Most seasons there aren’t enough tackles to meet the needs.
This year’s NFL Draft will be no different. There are three players most agree on having the potential to be elite. Penei Sewell, Christian Darrisaw and Rashawn Slater. All three players should hear their names called fairly quickly in round one.
However, there are a number of tackles in that next group that could hear their names called before the end of round two. Former Clemson left tackle Jackson Carman is one of those guys.
After coming to Clemson in 2018 as a five-star prospect, Carman started 27 games for the Tigers over his three-year career and developed into a fairly reliable player over the years. However, with that five-star status comes some very lofty expectations that are hard for some players to live up to.
Whatever ones opinion on how Carman’s career played out at Clemson, there is no doubting his potential. He could be a sleeper pick in this draft with so many teams in need of tackles.
His shear size and power makes it hard for defenders to move him. He’s been successful against speed rushers, but one weakness many point to with Carman is his foot speed. Although, while at Clemson, and against some of the better competition college football had to offer in the postseason, he consistently got the job done.
His pass protection is probably further along than his run blocking but overall he has the physical makeup to have success at the next level. Many think he could have benefitted from staying in college one more season, and while that may be true, leaving early might not hurt him as much as some think.
There is a lot to like about Carman. While there are certainly areas he still needs to improve in, don’t be surprised if the big offensive linemen from Ohio is off the board by the time the second round comes to a close.
