IMO, Reed is the better player right now but I'm predisposed to prefer Robinson. Reed has taken the bizarre route including multiple stops before finding Alabama. Robinson looks much older but is actually more than a year younger, and he was the blue ribbon recruit who has been touted as a future star throughout.
I agree that Reed is a logical pairing with Suh. Reed is the absolute antithesis of Earl Mitchell. Reed will smartly clog and occupy a defined space while never freelancing. He knows he doesn't have the burst or ability to freelance. Mitchell somehow fancies himself a playmaker.
I had to laugh in the Senior Bowl when Mayock and Charles Davis went out of their way to rave about Reed, even though Reed didn't do much of anything on the specific plays. Reed has no burst so he often gets stuck a couple of yards beyond the line of scrimmage on the pass rush. That's very typical for a run stopping tackle. They love that spot just like baseline tennis players wear out the area behind the service line.
At that point Reed has no option other than try to put his hands up if the ball is thrown, or wait for the quarterback to wander into his general area if the pass doesn't materialize. Wentz did that early in the game. Reed was on the short side so naturally he chased Wentz toward the sideline instead of standing frozen. Mayock and Davis acted like it was revolutionary. Then during the final minutes of the game Reed likewise inherited a play that wobbled toward him after the intended pass didn't work. Once again Mayock and Davis raved.
Meanwhile, if you watched the defensive tackles throughout, the only guys in that game who could get upfield and regularly create gaps on their own were the two #93s, Hargrave on one side and Butler on the other. Hargrave has a tremendous build and athletic ability for a defensive tackle. If we don't draft Nkemdiche in the first and Spriggs isn't available in the second, I'd love to take Hargrave. He creates problems. Butler is more of a bottom heavy type who makes some plays but can also overrun things, and overall he covers less space than Hargrave.
Reed's best play was actually late third quarter when he got inside of Garnett and nearly got to the quarterback. Otherwise Reed is mostly irrelevant on the pass rush. Robinson has far greater upside.
Reed needs to go to somebody like the Ravens and gain more weight while hoping the rest of the defense is fortified around him so he can thrive in the stout tough guy role for year after year.
Overall I'll be interested to see if all these tackles indeed are drafted as high as the hype. I don't see it. Too many unremarkable traits. Too darn bad that Rankins didn't play in the Senior Bowl game itself. If so, I think he and Hargrave would have stood out in terms of upfield disruption. The Temple kid with the funny name had his moments getting into the backfield late in the game but it was the same move over and again against a lesser lineman.
There are a few interesting combo types, with angular frames who can fit at tackle or end. Kaufusi of Brigham Young is that type. He can get into the backfield on his own. I've mentioned Gotsis of Georgia Tech several times.
I have to say that while watching that Senior Bowl tape last week I was struck at the ineptitude of many of the offensive linemen, included some guys who are rated highly. Westerman of Arizona State plays so tiny compared to his listed height and weight. He looked like he was 5 foot 10 and 240 pounds out there. Of course, he was wearing a ridiculous jersey that was literally cut off above the knees, like he was wearing shorts. I don't think I've seen that previously. Westerman knows how to switch and help but gad did he look physically outmatched. I'm frankly seldom a fan of drafting kids out of Arizona State. It has the reputation of a rogue program and nothing ever changes to dent the stereotype.
Whitehair of Kansas State is a tough square build guard with marginal ability. He also uses his hands very poorly on pass protection, not unlike Eric Fisher when he came out of Central Michigan. Whitehair holds his hands too low and allows the defender to get to his body. He seemingly has no clue than punch technique is equally effective, if not moreso, on pass blocking than run blocking.
Whitehair also has the amusing tendency to tip off the play once in a while. I noted that at Kansas State on occasion when he played tackle but it was even more glaring at guard in the Senior Bowl. When he was going to crack back on the nose tackle on a running play Whitehair would stare in that direction throughout the snap count.
I have to believe some of the lower tier guards will prove superior to the highly rated guys. That's often the case, although I do like Garnett of Stanford.
