superphinfan said:
Interesting you should say that. One, and only one, of the draft prognosticators voiced that opinion about Carey prior to the 2004 draft:
THE HUDDLE REPORT
Vernon Carey OL Miami
Strengths
Vernon can play any one of the offensive line positions. He has played
them in college and could play them all in the Pros also. Vernon is big,
strong, and quick, has excellent feet and is very smart. He shows leadership qualities and knows all the assignments of all positions on the line. He is equally as good in the passing game and the running game. Vernon has good lateral movement. He also has a quiet toughness and good stamina. Vernon is mature in his play on the field.
Needs to Improve
Vernon needs to get a little quicker and stronger. His lateral movement is good but not great.
He is a good tackle, a better guard, but his best position in the pro’s might be the position that he has played the least in college and that is the center position. This will take a little time for him to develop if my instincts are correct. Vernon does not dominate his man at this time. Developing at just one position should make this negative go away.
Bottom Line
Vernon's growth as a dominating offensive lineman has been stunted because he is so versatile. Right now he has to think too much before he reacts. With this in mind he still is one of the best OL’s in this draft. Vernon is not your flashy type of lineman. He is very steady and does his job.
I think that for the pro’s he might make a great center. That position would be where he would be the most impacting IMO. He has the temperament, leadership ability, and size along with quickness. He has good enough feet to block a MLB in the 4-3 and the power to handle a nosetackle one-on-one in the 3-4. I think that Vernon has the ability to re-define the center position to a new standard in the pros. Normally, if Vernon was dominant at one position, I would rate him as the second best offensive lineman in this draft behind Gallery. He is, at this stage, a very good lineman and a possible project at the Center position. Therefore, I have to rate him behind Andrews. I will be honest, if I was able to work him out for the Center position and he passed, I would rate him above Andrews. Then he would be a two or three position player and on my board it would move him in front of a limited one-position player. (See Andrews profile). Remember, I do not rate players according to profiles on other sites. I rate players to how well they play and how well their skills will translate to the pro game. I look at film all through the season and make my judgments based on that. Vernon will move up in this draft. He is a very safe pick and a player that a lot of teams will notice as we get closer to draft day. I believe on some boards he will be rated ahead of Andrews. On my personal board it will not take much for that to happen. Vernon is the most complete and best lineman to come out of the Miami program in years.
Drew Boylhart
http://www.thehuddlereport.com