Philadelphia Eagles Draft | Seven Round Mock 2.0

Round 5: Will Holden, OT, Vanderbilt

Everyone is lying to you. Will Holden was the biggest riser of Senior Bowl weekend.

Well, okay, not really. But he should have been.

Never heard of him, right? A three-year starter at Vanderbilt, Holden was called up on the last day of Senior Bowl practices after a great Shrine Game week. He flew in and started stonewalling pass-rushers like he was teaching a clinic. Swamped up in the pre-existing storylines, a lot of folks missed it. But if Holden had played in all three practices, you would hear a lot more chatter. There was a great piece done on him here.

Holden excels in the run game and against the bull rush, but does struggle with his kick-slide against quick edge rushers. I do, however, like his movement skills for a 310 lb tackle, love his recovery ability, and appreciate the patient use of his hands.

Holden has ideal size for the position, standing at 6’7 and eeking past the arm length threshold at 33 1/8″. He might also benefit from a move in to guard, but his height could prove a detriment there.

A few folks in the scouting world like to say “It’s only a problem when it is.” Sure Drew Brees is a shorter quarterback–but no more of his passes get batted down than other QBs, so the problem isn’t a problem. A lot of people thought Brandon Graham was too short to play DE–clearly, he disagreed.

While I’m still a big threshold guy, arm length is only a problem when it is. Arm length is predictive of an OT’s ability to pass block, and you don’t really see that issue with Lamp or with Holden. They both showed clean technique and effective edge protection on tape. Their arm length might lower their draft stock, as it makes them a riskier selection. But they still deserve the shot to play the position.

Many tackles who lack length move to the right side, which I anticipate will be the plan with Holden. Both Holden and last year’s 5th-round selection OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai will start the year as backups, before competing for Lane Johnson’s RT spot when he replaces Jason Peters on the blind side.

The Philadelphia Eagles have only drafted five OL in the past five years–but if they go this direction, they will have taken four in the past two. Youth is desperately needed along the offensive trenches. The last thing a team with a promising young quarterback should do is deprive him of adequate protection.

‘Sup, Andrew Luck?