Evaluating Derek Sherrod going in this year’s draft might have been a little harder than the other top tackle prospects because of Mississippi State’s offense, and it might explain why his transition to the NFL hasn’t been as fast as the tackles chosen ahead of him.
Mississippi State runs a spread, shotgun offense, and its tackles almost always play from a two-point stance, not a three-point (with one hand on the ground). Sherrod’s biggest problem in the Packers’ training camp has been consistently getting deep knee bend, which is required to get the most out of a lineman’s strength and athletic ability.
“These teams in college that stay up in a two-point stance all the time, it’s hard to project how (the tackles) are going to be with their hand on the ground,” one scout said when discussing Sherrod last April. “For some guys, that transition is unbelievable. It hurts their productivity.”
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