I like this guy quite a bit. He's got Belichick written all over him. Smart, tough kid who plays powerful when he gets low, very hard to move. He may be a quick solution to some of these bigger DT's we've been having trouble with the last few years. Not a immediate starter but definately a groomer imo. Probably my favorite lineman for the value in this draft. I see the Pats nabbing him off the board earlier than some might expect.
Scarnecchia could do wonders with this kid.
Scar has maintained a Center/Interior Reserve pipeline:
-- Stephen Neal was a FA in 2001.
-- Russ Hochstein was a 5th round pick of Tampa in 2001, acquired by NE in Nov 2002.
-- Dan Koppen was a 5th round pick in 2003.
-- Gene Mruczkowski was a UDFA in 2003.
-- Billy Yates was a UDFA in 2004.
-- Dan Connolly was a UDFA for Jax in 2005, acquired by NE in 2007.
-- Ryan Wendell was a UDFA in 2008.
-- Rich Orhnberger was a 4th round pick in 2009.
-- Thomas Austin was a UDFA for Minny in 2010, acquired by NE in 2010.
And those are just the guys who beat the competition to stick around. Break it down further:
-- 1st string starters: Neal, Koppen
-- 2nd string starters: Koppen, Hochstein, Connolly
-- 3rd string starters: Yates, Wendell
-- Limited playing time: Mruczkowski, Orhnberger
-- PSquad only: Austin
Scar groomed two starters out of his UDFA/Late Round kids. Good starters with Super Bowl rings to show for it. He's groomed second stringers who were essentially first string capable, but were unable to unseat the returning starter - Hochstein, Connolly. Yates might even factor in that way since he's starting for Cleveland.
Pugh is the kind of kid Scar loves to acquire in the late rounds or as a UDFA. 40 career starts, has started at LT for Auburn, played high pressure games in the SEC, gone up against top DL/LB ...
