Former Michigan Offensive Tackle Taylor Lewan may end up as the #2 overall pick in this year’s draft. Which is shocking when you consider: 1.) how terrible the Michigan offensive line was, and how bad the offense was in general, 2.) the overall reputation of Big Ten football right now and 3.) Taylor Lewan’s peripheral connection to the Brendan Gibbons rape case. And the assault charges filed by Ohio Sate fans against him.
However, all of these Taylor Lewan drawbacks can be explained away.
“It’s not of the question,” ESPN Analyst Mel Kiper Jr said when asked about the idea of Taylor Lewan going #2 overall to the St. Louis Rams.
“If they take a tackle, he’s right there with (Greg) Robinson, he might be better than Robinson.”
“Robinson has the better upside but Taylor Lewan really benefited from going back for his senior year. He could go there, he could go to Oakland at 5, he could go to Atlanta at 6, I don’t think he gets past 6,” Kiper continued.
Obviously, the Rams are looking to trade out of this pick, so if that happens, all bets are off and who knows where Taylor Lewan ends up, but it looks like he’s a lock to be a top five pick now.
In terms of the three strikes against Taylor Lewan, well…1.) Michigan’s horrendous OL was due to the three interior guys being horrible, the ends were actually good. 2.) The Big Ten always produces good NFL linemen, even in down years, in this area they’re on par with the SEC. and 3.) NFL teams do their due diligence. They’re investing a ton of money, they won’t take a flier this high up and anyone with major red flags, so I guess they feel Taylor Lewan is clean enough in the Gibbons case. And in the assault case as well.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)