![\"\"](\"https:\/\/articles.runyourpool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Maryland_Penn_St_Football_22317025111214.jpg\")
Michigan OL Olusegun Oluwatimi<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
This is one big man that can make some extra money with a good showing at the combine. Currently projected to go in the fourth round, Oluwatimi transferred to Michigan at the beginning of the season from Virginia, after originally enrolling with Air Force. That transfer history may have something to do with the lower draft grade, but I suspect the ranking has more to do with the position Oluwatimi plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OTs are the golden children of the O-line because they protect the QB. Most interior linemen are less highly valued. This is especially true of center, where Oluwatimi plays, as the transition to the NFL is considered to require a veteran\u2019s knowledge of the offense in order to make the required checks and calls. As a result, though Oluwatimi is a strong player at his position, he\u2019s never played anywhere else on the line, so NFL math kicks in and he slides down the overall draft board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a strong showing at the combine, particularly in the bench, the 3-cone, and the broad jump, the Outland Award-winning Oluwatimi can move up the board for a team looking for a gap-smasher with the motor to move and block on the run. That said, I could see him making it to the top of round 3 or even higher, perhaps going to a team such as the Bears or Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hunter Luepke FB, North Dakota State<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t like Hunter Luepke, you don\u2019t like football. At 6\u20191\u2019, 240 lbs, this young man is a throwback to the days before specialists ruled every position. He can easily flex between fullback, H-back (aka move TE), and the Y. His blocking is roughneck and his hands are above average. He has the ability to be a true three-down back in an age where few exist, and he can protect your QB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luepke is currently projected to go in perhaps the fifth round. I think that undervalues him. The knock on him is that he\u2019s really not that athletic and certainly lacks NFL speed, limiting him to special team roles and spot-work on the O. I think that\u2019s some old-head NFL think. What Luepke is, is a football player, capable of contributing anywhere you put him on the field. In an age where teams take huge risks in the first round, don\u2019t tell me that\u2019s not worth better than a five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like Luepke to get picked up by a team looking to reload that can leverage the utility of the NDSU fullback\/H-back to the best of his ability. I could see Arizona, Washington, and the Giants drafting this kid in the late third round and being very happy for a couple of contracts. I\u2019d also love to see Luepke in the same backfield as Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The NFL Combine is this week in Indianapolis. As always, stocks will rise and fall, and names will become household ones in the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":68858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[797,46],"tags":[983,8,1017,805,1558],"class_list":["post-68857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-nfl-football","tag-football","tag-men","tag-national-football-league","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n