Stock Up: Cameron Erving, C/OT, Florida St., Sr.
Should he continue to show the ability to play center that he did on Saturday night, the move to the middle could be a much-needed boost to a draft stock that had been declining.
Projected as one of the 2015 draft’s top offensive tackle prospects coming into the year, Erving’s senior season had not been living up to the hype. He struggled on the edge against top pass-rushers, like Clemson’s Vic Beasley and Notre Dame’s Sheldon Day, leaving reason to question whether Erving is actually capable of playing outside in the NFL.
That said, the 2013 second-team AP All-American is an intriguing physical specimen, an impressive athlete at
6’6” and 308 pounds, who has promising upside and has shown the ability to be an impactful blocker. If he can establish his versatility to play both inside and outside, his stock will gain back at least some of what it has lost.
Erving looked very good as a run-blocker on Saturday, showing his ability to turn out on defenders and open some significant holes in the middle of the line, while he did not allow much pressure up the middle. He was off the mark on a few of his shotgun snaps, but that’s to be expected of a player making his first career start at center.
The move to center from left tackle is an unusual one, but it has been done before; doing so at Oregon helped Max Unger become a second-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and he has been one of the NFL’s best centers for the Seattle Seahawks ever since.
That’s not to say that Erving’s future necessarily should be at center, but regardless of whether NFL teams believe Erving is best suited to play tackle, center or even guard, his ability to play both outside and in the middle should increase his value.
