By Draft Writer Oscar Hazell @OscarHazell
Pac-12 top offensive players. Breaking down the top two draft eligible players at each offensive position. Looking back at their previous years production, highlighting their strengths and where to look for improvements going forward into the 2013 season.
Quarterback
Brett Hundley – UCLA
#17, Sophomore, Height 6-3, Weight 222 lbs
Gary A. Vasquez/US PRESSWIRE
2012 Stats
Passing
| CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT |
| 319 | 479 | 3745 | 66.6 | 7.82 | 71 | 29 | 11 | 52 | 147.7 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 160 | 355 | 2.2 | 72 | 9 |
Hundley has huge physical potential with a great arm talent, size and is very athletic. When the pocket breaks down he can get up field quickly without putting himself at risk of big hits by getting out of bounds or sliding early. Hundley shows good footwork in the pocket and a variety of touch throws as well as strength to drive the ball down field. Look for improvements in decision-making, particularly in getting the ball out quicker. He seems to wait for big plays to open up, which result in either a bigger sack or making bad throws deep.
Marcus Mariota – Oregon
#8, Sophomore, Height 6-4, Weight 211 lbs
2012 Stats
Passing
| CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT |
| 230 | 336 | 2677 | 68.5 | 7.97 | 55 | 32 | 6 | 17 | 163.2 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 106 | 752 | 7.1 | 86 | 5 |
Mariota is a dual threat quaterback with great athleticism and size, runs with a long stride, great speed and as last year went on became better at protecting his body and ball security from hits. Mariota uses nice touch and a compact throwing motion, ideal in quick short throws. Mariota’s footwork needs to improve particularly as plays break down, he has a tendency to hop in the pocket. This could be a factor in the speed and accuracy on deep balls. Look for him to take command of the offense with a year under his belt and utilize a more expansion passing game.
Running back
Ka’Deem Carey – Arizona
#25, Junior, Height 5-10, Weight 196 lbs
2012 Stats
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 303 | 1929 | 6.4 | 73 | 23 |
Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 91 | 425 | 4.7 | 33 | 6 |
Carey was the leading rusher in the country for 2012. His vision is the strongest part of his game along with initial quickness and strength to break tackles, making him an exciting back. Carey’s biggest plays come when bouncing off the outside or in open space and using his agility to make defenders miss. Lacking great speed in the open field, he is unable to run away from faster defenders. He could improve when running inside, often getting bottled up quickly, unable to show the same patience when utilizing on the outside. When he does find a hole early it often results in a big gain, fitting any system other than a power scheme due to lack of ideal size.
Bishop Sankey – Washington
#25, Junior, Height 5-10, Weight 200 lbs
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
2012 Stats
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 289 | 1439 | 5.0 | 61 | 16 |
Receiving
| RED | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 33 | 249 | 7.5 | 42 | 0 |
Sankey is a perfect back for a zone-blocking scheme, taking natural angles making defenders miss in space and allowing him to continue forward momentum after contact. He has good hands, but is not asked to make too many tough catches, sometimes catching with his body, which leads to drops when caught quickly after the catch. The biggest issue with his game is very poor blocking, tending to either dive early to cut blocks that works to various degrees but has no consistency. Alternatively he attempts to absorb the hit that he currently hasn’t the size or strength to pull off and often gets pushed back deep.
Wide receiver
Marqise Lee – USC
#9, Junior, Height 6-0, Weight 195 lbs
2012 Stats
Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 118 | 1721 | 14.6 | 83 | 14 |
A true number one receiver and the most productive in the country last year, Lee plays much bigger than his size using strength and athleticisms to get up to the ball. Possessing great speed to stretch the field as well as create separation on shorter routes. He may struggle with the loss of Barkley throwing to him and will have even more double teams with the woods no longer opposite. Lee could look to improve his ball security having some balls popped out when in traffic. There may be some slight worries about his size as a number one receiver, but his production clearly proves he is more than capable to take on the workload.
De’Anthony Thomas – Oregon
#6, Junior, Height 5-9, Weight 176 lbs.
2012 Stats
Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 45 | 445 | 9.9 | 49 | 5 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 92 | 701 | 7.6 | 59 | 11 |
Thomas will be mostly lined up in the backfield for Oregon this year, but I am projecting NFL teams to look at him as a versatile slot receiver of the Tavon Austin elk. This is mainly down to his size, which is far from ideal for a feature back at the next level. He possesses terrific acceleration and dynamic lateral movement, making him very elusive on plays on the inside. Thomas can create massive plays on outside runs and when catching in the backfield with electric speed. He is stronger than his size suggests and can break and bounce off tackles and uses stiff-arms effectively. Thomas should get more production this coming year, no longer sharing the backfield with Kenjon Barner.
Tight End
Colt Lyerla – Oregon
#15, Junior, Height 6-5, Weight 246 lbs
Scott Olmos/USA TODAY
2012 Stats
Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 25 | 392 | 15.7 | 48 | 6 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 13 | 77 | 5.9 | 23 | 1 |
Lyerla is a flexible tight end that can be used as a traditional tight end. A fantastic blocker in particular when sealing off the edge, setting a good low base and can drive into the second level. Along with his block ability, Lyerla possesses a great seam threat and surprising elusiveness prompting Oregon to utilize him in the run game, where he demonstrated his fantastic agility with short sharp cuts. When lined up as H back he can jump into blocks. This is effective initially due to his size but can be quickly surged off with lack of anchoring. Being a raw route runner look for him to improve in creating separation in short yardage and red zone.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Washington
#88, Junior, Height 6-6, Weight 266 lbs
2012 Stats
Receiving
| REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| 69 | 852 | 12.3 | 43 | 7 |
Seferian-Jenkins posses a basketball player body and with such can get up to balls in double coverage and makes DB’s look minuscule. Very good at utilizing his frame to maintain a good body position making him the favorite for clutch catches as a play break down. He doesn’t possess great speed and looks somewhat clumsy running routes, but runs them well. Considering his size and strength Seferian-Jenkins is a disappointing blocker and very inconsistent, this will be the main area to look for improvement with his bend to utilize his length. A very exciting prospect physically and with a lot of upside that could find him high on many teams boards.
Offensive Tackle
Kevin Graf – USC
#77, Senior, Height 6-6, Weight 300lbs
Joe Andras/WeAreSC
Graf is entering is 3rd year at right tackle where he has looked the part, although not possessing great athleticism he is solid at maintaining the edge, having good ability to move assignment quickly and indentifying the free man blitzing. He is more than able and willing to get down field and set up blocks down field. When beat on the outside he relies on the cut block as a last resort. And lacks ideal bend that many scouts preference, so look for Graf to go around the 4th round and contribute as a solid lineman in the pros.
Jake Fisher – Oregon
#75, Junior, Height 6-5, Weight 295lbs
The former tight end has incredible athleticism for the position, very efficient footwork and can get into the second level and beyond quickly. Has great range, arm length on tape and can get hands on early with good pad level. Fisher does however lack a little strength and thickness, which when caught early without leverage can get pushed back. His overall upside could lead him to shoot up draft boards around the combine, in particular for teams running a zone-blocking scheme.
Guard
Xavier Su’a-Filo – UCLA
#56, Junior, Height 6-3, Weight 305lbs
Su’a-Filo has a good all-round game as an interior lineman, great anchoring and pad level in pass protection as well as great balance against fake moves or twists. He is built thick from the bottom up and has a strong upper body, along with some agility and quick feet to create movement on the line, creating gaps that allowed Johnathan Franklin to be so productive last year. The only weakness in his game is occasionally losing balance when over extending, this occurs when letting his pad level rise, but it is rare. At 23 years old Su’a-Filo is almost a finished product and would move into the next level with little acclamation.
David Yankey – Stanford
#54, Senior, Height 6-5, Weight 311lbs
David Bernal/Stanford Athletics
Yankey prominently lined up at left tackle for Stanford in 2012, but was used at left guard in short yardage and looks far more accomplished when inside. He will make the move inside permanent in the up coming year and that should improve Stanford’s run game dramatically. Yankey has a wide base and good pad level that are his key attributes in pass protection. Showing a lot of strength particularly when inside making interior running lanes. His biggest weakness is being beaten by speed and getting caught off balance, which is the main concern with him at tackle. Another weakness of Yankey’s game is finding himself lost in space when not lined up opposite and struggles to find an assignment or get down field.
Center
Hroniss Grasu – Oregon
#55, Junior, Height 6-3,Weight 294lbs
The leader of a complex Oregon offensive line, Grasu possess great intelligence and leadership along with fantastic physical attributes with strength and agility. Often the lead blocker on run plays using great drive and speed to get into the 2nd level. Also a consistent snapper and gets anchored quickly. He only struggles when not getting his hands on early in pass protection and drops back into the pocket without pressure in an attempt to preempt interior blitz. Grasu could find himself being taken as high as the first round if a team falls in love with his upside and intangibles.
Marcus Martin – USC
#66, Junior, Height 6-3, Weight 310lbs
Martin started all of his 20 games in his first two years at left guard. He moves to center this year to replace Khaled Holmes who was drafted by the colts. Spring practice cemented Martin’s new role with no snap fumbles. He will be having a yet unknown Quaterback behind center, It will be interesting to see weather he takes on a leadership role or calls protections. When starting at guard Martin possessed a wide base and lower body thickness. Look for him to improve his hands as he can get turned, which could also be due to having a slightly high pad level so is unable to anchor.