Be sure not to miss the 2008 Miami Dolphins Draft Party, Presented by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. The draft party will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm at Dolphin Stadium. The party features full coverage of the NFL Draft, 2008 Season Ticket Select-A-Seat, player, alumni and cheerleader autographs as well as free parking and admission.
By Andy Kent
Special for MiamiDolphins.com
April 23, 2008
Will the next top offensive line prospect please step up?
Now that Michigan left tackle Jake Long is the sole property of the Miami Dolphins, it's a wide open race for who will be the next offensive lineman taken Saturday in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Tackles Jeff Otah of Pitt and Ryan Clady of Boise State are the two names that have most often appeared behind Long's on several mock draft boards, but Vanderbilt's Chris Williams and USC's Sam Baker aren't too far behind.
Virginia guard Branden Albert has separated himself from the pack when it
comes to guards, while USC's Chilo Rachal, UTEP's Oniel Cousins and Pitt's
Mike McGlynn appear to be interchangeable. If there is a weak position along
the offensive line in this draft it's at center, where Mike Pollak of Arizona
State, Wake Forest's Steven Justice, Jeremy Zuttah of Rutgers, John Sullivan
of Notre Dame and Bowling Green's Kory Lichtensteiger have swapped positions
among the top five of a number of different mock draft boards.
BREAKING DOWN TOP TACKLE PROSPECTS
Jeff Otah - The fact that he did not use his lingering ankle injury as an excuse to skip the NFL Combine could give Otah a reprieve for his poor performance in the 40-yard dash (5.55 seconds, slowest among all offensive tackles). Otah postponed his Pro Day and when he felt he was fully healed, shaved off nearly three-tenths of a second, helping to reassure scouts of his explosiveness.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Ryan Clady - Converted to offensive tackle as a freshman after playing defensive tackle in high school, Clady is one of the top underclassmen in the draft and his strengths are his footwork, pass protection skills, explosiveness and strength. There are some questions about his blocking technique, but whoever selects him surely will be able to work on that.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Chris Williams - In 12 games for the Commodores, Williams allowed just one sack and one pressure in 836 snaps. At 6-6 and 315 pounds, he has the size to be a top-flight left tackle in the NFL and earned his stripes in one of the toughest if not the toughest conference in the NCAA, the SEC.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Sam Baker - Injuries plagued Baker's senior campaign at USC, but he
came back strong enough at the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and his Pro Day
to put his name back into consideration among the top tackles in the draft.
Some scouts project him being moved to right tackle in the NFL. A slower time
in the 40 at his Pro Day compared to the Combine might have hurt Baker a little,
but he looked good in positional drills. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS
BREAKING DOWN TOP GUARD PROSPECTS
Branden Albert - Versatility is this junior's strongest asset as he
filled in at left tackle for two games when Virginia teammate Eugene Monroe
injured his knee. Tape of those two performances, coupled with his solid outings
at guard, resulted in Albert being touted as a serious first-round prospect.
When he opened even more eyes at February's NFL Combine, he became a legitimate
top 10 pick and clearly the cream of the crop among all guards. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS
Chilo Rachal - Rachal is nearly identical in size to his more high
profile teammate on the offensive line, left tackle Sam Baker, and his 9-foot
leap in the broad jump showed off his athleticism. He chose to leave school
in order to help out his family as his father, who works construction, has
suffered two hernias and tendonitis in his knee, and his mother has an abdominal
growth that has not been labeled benign or malignant, so becoming a high draft
pick will help Rachal's cause. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS
Oniel Cousins - Even though he played tackle at UTEP, Cousins' 6-foot-4 physique is better suited for guard in the NFL and is listed as such on most mock draft boards, especially since tackle is deep enough already. He ran a 5.04 in the 40-yard dash at the Combine and was a bit slower at his Pro Day, but he is still considered to be the third-best guard prospect in the draft.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Mike McGlynn - With his teammate, offensive tackle Jeff Otah, grabbing most of the headlines, McGlynn was content to line up wherever his coaches asked him to along Pitt's offensive line. He played tackle and guard for the Panthers and is capable of playing center and long snapper, meaning that whichever NFL team picks him will have plenty of options.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
BREAKING DOWN TOP CENTER PROSPECTS
Mike Pollak - Pollak is looking to continue a strong tradition for Arizona State of producing NFL centers, with four Sun Devils (Grayling Love, Drew Haddon, Scott Peters and Grey Ruegamer) having established themselves over the past decade. By running a 4.99 in the 40-yard dash at the Combine and distinguishing himself at the Senior Bowl, Pollak placed himself at the top of all centers in the draft and could also be shifted to guard.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Steven Justice - Voted the ACC's top offensive lineman, Justice put
together solid workouts at the Combine and at Wake Forest's Pro Day and was
the anchor along the Blue Devils' offensive line. Due to the fact there are
so many tackles and guards ahead of him, Justice is projected to go in the
third round or perhaps early in the fourth round. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS
Jeremy Zuttah - Like UTEP's Oniel Cousins, the 6-4, 303-pound Zuttah
played tackle at Rutgers but also excelled at center and is expected to play
that position in the pros. He tweaked his back during position drills at his
Pro Day and had to cut short his workout in front of 30 scouts, but he already
had dazzled onlookers at the NFL Combine with his 4.99 in the 40-yard dash
and his 35 reps in the bench press, second only to Jake Long's and Vernon
Gholston's 37, so he could be a surprise first-day pick. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS
John Sullivan - Notre Dame's struggles during a 3-9 season didn't help Sullivan prior to the Senior Bowl, but a strong showing in Mobile, followed by a decent Combine probably saved him and helped his stock rise enough to be taken in the fourth round.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
By Andy Kent
Ryan Clady - Converted to offensive tackle as a freshman after playing defensive tackle in high school, Clady is one of the top underclassmen in the draft and his strengths are his footwork, pass protection skills, explosiveness and strength. There are some questions about his blocking technique, but whoever selects him surely will be able to work on that.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Chilo Rachal - Rachal is nearly identical in size to his more high
profile teammate on the offensive line, left tackle Sam Baker, and his 9-foot
leap in the broad jump showed off his athleticism. He chose to leave school
in order to help out his family as his father, who works construction, has
suffered two hernias and tendonitis in his knee, and his mother has an abdominal
growth that has not been labeled benign or malignant, so becoming a high draft
pick will help Rachal's cause. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS 
Steven Justice - Voted the ACC's top offensive lineman, Justice put
together solid workouts at the Combine and at Wake Forest's Pro Day and was
the anchor along the Blue Devils' offensive line. Due to the fact there are
so many tackles and guards ahead of him, Justice is projected to go in the
third round or perhaps early in the fourth round. VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS 
