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One prospect who may interest the Denver Broncos on day two of the 2017 NFL Draft is former Troy Offensive Tackle, Antonio Garcia. He is a 6'6", 302lb offensive tackle who is considered one of the top second-tier tackles in this year's draft class. Garcia is ranked as the 87th overall prospect in the 2017 NFL Draft according to CBS Sports and is ranked as the 6th best offensive tackle in the draft.
After his 2013 season where he saw six starts at left tackle, he started 36 of 37 games for Troy at left tackle. Garcia was named an honorable mention All-Sun Belt pick in 2015 and a first-team all-conference selection this past season. He was invited to the 2017 Reese's Senior Bowl roster and invited the 2017 NFL Combine because of his impressive college career.
Antonio Garcia
Offensive Tackle, Senior, Troy
Height: 6'6" | Weight: 302lbs | 40 time: 5.15 seconds
Arm Length: 33 3/8" | Hands: 9 7/8"
Bench Press: 24 reps | Vertical Jump: 31 inches(Top performer at his positional group at the Combine)
Broad Jump: 108.0 inches | 3 Cone Drill: 7.98 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.94 seconds
Film Room
Scouting Report
Strengths:
- Highly athletic
- Quick feet and smooth when on the move
- Good length
- Good balance
- Has the athleticism and feet to mirror edge rushers
- Good in space
- Has a mean streak and plays through the whistle
- Relentless attitude and never quits
- Experienced at the college level
- Played well against Clemson and held his own against top talent when matched up against them
- Needs work, but starter potential
- No off the field issues and was well liked my teammates and coaches
Weaknesses:
- Needs to add some bulk
- Lower body strength needs to be added
- Played under 300lbs while at Troy
- Arm length is not what you want, but can get the job done
- Plays too tall and needs to sink his hips more
- Called for too many false start penalties in college
- Needs to work on his technique
- Had microfracture surgery in 2013, but has stayed healthy since
Does Antonio Garcia make sense for the Denver Broncos?
If they are looking for a developmental guy to pair with a veteran, then yes!
Garcia has some quality starter traits to him but needs to bulk up and refine his skill set before being starter ready for the Broncos. I would pair him with a veteran and hope he can overtake him midseason or let him be the swing tackle and compete for the starter role in 2018.
I like targeting Garcia in the 2nd and pairing him with a say King Dunlap then spending a first on Bolles, Ramczyk, or Robinson. This would allow the Broncos to address other needs in the first round or even trade back if they want.
I think Garcia will be there for the Broncos in the second round and could possibly slide to them in the third round depending how the board falls.
After the top three tackles, the best you will get are developmental prospects like Garcia. There's a pretty decent drop off from the first tier and second tier tackle prospects, but that drop gets even bigger once you start looking at the third tier tackles. So the Broncos should grab someone in the first two rounds if they want a rookie to battle for that starting left tackle spot.
So I ask you Mile High Report, should the Broncos pass on the top three tackles in the first round and select a second tier tackle like Antonio Garcia on day two? Or should they just address the position in round one?