NFL Draft Preview: Lineman Jeff Otah Out of Pittsburgh

NFL Combine Performance Causes Draft Stock to Plummet

If you were to go to Jeff Otah's high school, you may have found yourself talking about a star basketball player. This is because the soon to be NFL lineman has only been playing football for five years; his original sport was on the hardwood.

Otah first attended Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania before transferring to Pittsburgh. He became an immediate impact player, playing left tackle for the Panthers.

He stands 6' 6" and weighs in at a hefty 332 lbs. Otah had his breakout senior season blocking for 1,000 yard rusher LeSean McCoy. He was recognized by the conference's coaches as an All-Big East Selection. The left tackle's most impressive performance came against the University of Southern Florida. He was matched up against defensive end George Selvie who had 14.5 sacks (2^nd in the nation) and 31.5 tackles for losses (1^st in the nation). Otah held him to no sacks and 2 tackles for losses (www.fftoolbox.com).

With such a big frame, Otah seems to be a prototypical offensive tackle. His raw ability is evident due to his short career in football still being so successful. Otah still has plenty of time to develop and many teams are excited by this opportunity.

Otah had been a lock to be drafted in the first twenty picks until the NFL Combine. It was there that he ran a 5.56 40 yard dash, the slowest among all offensive linemen that ran. However, he is still an offensive lineman so speed is not essential, and some scouts are writing off the poor run due to the high ankle sprain that Otah suffered which didn't allow him to fully prepare for the combine.

With Alan Faneca signing with the Jets, the Steelers are in dire need of a young offensive lineman. Drafting Otah at #23 overall makes sense and can be very beneficial for the Steelers. The big frame will fit right into the Steelers philosophy of a hard nose running game. Recent mock drafts have not had Otah selected in the top two rounds, but any team in need of an offensive lineman would be foolish to pass up on such a raw athlete.