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NFL Draft Rumors: So, what should we believe about Ryan Ramczyk?

SB Nation’s Stephen White offers a different view of the draft’s top tackle

NFL Combine - Day 2
Ryan Ramczyk
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Everyone has opinions when it comes to NFL Draft prospects. Shoot, when it comes to sports everyone just has opinions. About everything. So it is that reasonable minds with credentials that make them credible can disagree.

Such appears to be the case with Wisconsin offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, thought by most draft analysts to be the best offensive tackle in the 2017 NFL Draft class.

Stephen White, a former NFL defensive end who currently contributes to SB Nation, posted a profile Monday in which he concluded that Ramczyk might not be a first-round caliber left tackle. Or maybe not a left tackle at all.

White wrote, in part:

Do I think Ryan Ramczyk will be a good NFL player? Yeah, probably.

But I also saw enough in five games to give me some doubts. I don't like having reservations about first-round prospects. I'm not sure Ramczyk is ever going to be better than good, if that, at left tackle in the NFL. ...

Maybe Ramczyk is the best this draft class has to offer at offensive tackle. That would only mean that it’s a down year for offensive tackles.

White’s opinion is undoubtedly a minority one.

In his prospect profile here at Big Blue View, Chris Pflum called Ramczyk “a great fit for the Giants.”

There is a lot to like about Ryan Ramczyk, though some of it depends on your perspective. Is his injury a problem or does playing through it show off his mental toughness? Does the fact that he only has one year of major college football make him a risk, or does it illustrate his work ethic? Regardless of your feelings on those potential risks, he does enough well already to suggest a player who can step in and contribute from Day 1, and only get better with more experience and coaching.

On the field for Wisconsin, Ramczyk looks like an NFL tackle. He is a brutish run blocker, which has to interest a team that can’t run the ball, and a solid pass protector. He, of course, has issues that need coaching up, but he doesn’t have some of the issues that plague many college tackles coming out.

The question is if he falls to the Giants, will they have the stomach for his potential risks?

Offensive line performance consultant Duke Manyweather, who watched all of Ramczyk’s games in 2016, did a film study of Ramczyk. It’s not hard to figure out that Manyweather is a Ramczyk fan.

CBS Sports draft analysts Dane Brugler said during the NFL Combine that Ramczyk is the only Day 1 starter among offensive tackles in this draft class.

NFL.com grades Ramczyk as the best offensive lineman available in the draft. Lance Zierlein writes:

“Extremely confident tackle with the athleticism to stay on the left side and the technique to make an early impact as a starter. Ramczyk has the core strength and body control that should keep him connected to blocks in both the run and pass and he's proven to be scheme versatile with his playing style. Ramczyk is an early starter with the potential to become a good starting left tackle provided his medicals hold up.”

Will White be right? Or, will the majority rule? Only time will tell, but the differing views certainly add something to think about regarding a player who could be in play for the Giants at No. 23 overall.