Move to Block: Will UW's Trey Adams Get Drafted This Week?
It's four days to the NFL draft, and the analysts can't say enough good things about all the offensive tackles worthy of a high pick.
Four might go in the first 15 selections. A dozen could come off the board through the first two rounds. It's really a deep draft for these oversized and nimble men. Listen to Sports Illustrated's take on this position area on the video.
The experts toss names around left and right, just like these elite blockers shed themselves of pass rushers. Alabama's Jedrick Wills Jr. Iowa's Tristan Wirfs. Louisville's Mekhi Becton. Georgia's Andrew Thomas.
Sadly for him, there is no ready mention of Washington's Trey Adams.
He's deserved far better than this. He had the body and the skills at one point.
Three years ago, following his sophomore season, the 6-foot-8, 327-pound lineman from Wenatchee, Washington, was considered the top overall draft pick coming out of the Pac-12 Conference.
He was lean, graceful and nasty when needed. Then he became unhealthy.
Knee and back injuries potentially have robbed him of millions of dollars -- apple orchard money, Lake Chelan waterfront money, that Mercedes Benz that would have looked good tooling around his Columbia River town.
Adams participated in the NFL Scouting Combine in February and might have done himself more harm than good. He graded out low in a series of athletic exercises. He went viral with a crude response to a combine question.
Always an amiable guy, draft analysts in Indianapolis found Adams engaging as he spoke about his difficult UW journey. He seemed to enjoy himself again this past season. He's also pragmatic about his situation.
“Definitely just being with the guys and being able to help the team win,” Adams said at the combine. “That was definitely the hardest part. That said I think there are things from my injury that helped me. Silver lining almost. I was able to step away and see what my life was like without football and know if I really wanted to do this and took some time.
"And this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m very passionate about it and just excited.”
That said, Adams faces the prospect of not getting drafted at all. The ongoing pandemic has denied teams the chance to conduct separate physical exams on players with battered bodies.
Even Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, coming off a fractured hip and assorted other setbacks, has seen his draft stock dip because teams can't closely examine him. More than a few have said they won't consider him at all.
Adams can only hope that the talent scouts remember what he's done and was once capable of doing, which was considerable.
