Marshal Yanda - Round 3, Pick 86

[UKRavenStockers]

My take - Versatile strong player who adds depth at guard and tackle, plus will push Adam Terry to make sure he is up to starting at RT.

NFL.com's take:

At the Big Ten Conference 2006 Kickoff Luncheon, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said Yanda was one of the finest offensive linemen to suit up for the program in recent years. He not only provided stellar pass protection and opened huge holes for the ground game, but his ability to play multiple positions proved invaluable when injuries hit the Iowa front wall. Yanda made Ferentz look good by following up the praise with a strong senior season.

Despite playing only two seasons with the Hawkeyes, Yanda earned instant respect from his teammates and coaches due to his tireless work ethic. At the start of the 2006 season, he was selected to the Leadership Council and also served as one of the team's offensive game captains.

Yanda was a first-team All-Conference selection as a senior and junior at Anamosa High School. He served as team captain as a senior, earning three letters as an offensive and defensive tackle. He added a pair of letters in track-and-field, tossing the discus and shot put, and lettered twice in basketball.

Upon graduating from high school, Yanda enrolled at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City (2003-04). He earned All-Region honors in consecutive seasons and was honorable mention All-American as a sophomore. The two-year starter lined up mostly at left offensive guard as a freshman and at right tackle during his sophomore season.

Yanda enrolled at the University of Iowa in February 2005, in time to compete in spring camp. He earned the team's Hawkeye Hustle Award for his performances in 2005, as he started the first four games at left guard before shifting to right tackle for the rest of the season. He collected 81 knockdowns with 11 touchdown-resulting blocks for an offense that averaged 432.4 yards per game.

Yanda continued to mature physically and became more comfortable with the mental aspect of the game in 2006. He was a third-team All-American choice by The NFL Draft Report, but received just second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors from the league's coaches. The offense was not as explosive as the previous season, managing 383.3 yards per game, and the offensive line yielded 23 quarterback sacks compared to 11 in 2005. But Yanda delivered 98 knockdowns and again cleared the way for 11 touchdowns.

Positives: His frame has yet to fill out, but he has room to carry at least another 25 pounds with no loss in his quickness … Has above average initial quickness and good foot speed for his position … Has adequate muscle thickness, but shows good chest width, broad shoulders, good bubble and improved lower body strength … Determined athlete who plays until the whistle and takes it personally when he is beaten by an opponent … Very light on his feet, showing the agility to block on the second level and gain position on the defender … His speed allows him to mirror his opponent and sustain while taking proper angles … Locates and adjusts to the linebackers while on the move and works hard to screen off the defenders, as he improved his knee bend and no longer stands erect when trying to redirect … Still needs to sink his pads better, especially in pass protection, but has improved his change of direction agility in attempts to recover … Keeps his hands active, doing a good job of adjusting and positioning them to lock on and drive the defender off the ball … Gets good movement when he comes off the snap, as he generates the punch to shock his opponent on contact (will lock on rather than catch in pass protection) … Works hard to sustain his blocks long enough for the runner to get through the holes … College tackle who will probably shift inside to take advantage of his rare quickness for a lineman … Plays on his feet and battles to completion, using his body well to push and gain position … Battles throughout the play and shows improvement bringing his feet when moving off the ball … Gets good fits on linebackers in the short area … His improved knee bend lets him get better leverage, and he could be an effective guard prospect due to his ability to come out on the pull, adjust and turn it up inside … Has a good concept for taking angles and is quick to locate second level defenders … His improved leg drive lets him widen the rush lanes and he has the lateral agility to be effective on traps … Uses his arms well to ride the defender away from the pocket (very effective with grabbing and locking on) … Still developing his body strength and adding bulk, but battles throughout the play and adjusts well to stunts and blitzes, sliding and readjusting to pick up in-line action … When he is quick to gain position, he can effectively wall off his man, thanks to improved quickness in his slide … When he stays low in his pads, he can move the pile and finish with authority … Has the reach to keep defenders off his body … Quick to see games up front and adjust to movement.

Negatives: Despite his power, he is more of a finesse-type blocker, but has good pop to jolt on contact … Has to develop more lower leg strength and improve upon rolling his hips through blocks … Does not shoot his hands up to deliver the proper punch that he should coming off the snap all the time, but did improve in 2006 … Sometimes tends to "short arm" rather than extend into the defender … Better guard prospect, as he doesn't yet have the bulk to play tackle and struggles with the quicker pass rushers, as he seems to get too tall in his stance when having to mirror on the edge … When he gets too tall in his stance, he tends to lean into the opponent and lose leverage … Loses his balance and base when he bends at the waist … Lacks the bulk to prevent the bigger bull rushers from walking him back into the pocket (will defeat them if he shoots his hands first).

Compares To: Brian Waters, Kansas City … When Waters entered the league, he was a raw talent who developed under patient coaching, but his versatility earned him a roster spot until he wrested a starting position. Yanda has the same work ethic, good quickness off the snap and tireless work ethic to improve like Waters has. He doesn't have the raw power to consistently punish defenders, but does manage to do an effective job due to his quickness off the snap and active hands that consistently tie up his opponent. He needs to add more bulk, but is better suited to play inside, as it won't expose his inability to redirect and sink his hips in attempts to mirror edge rushers.

[psuasskicker]

Seems like a solid pickup but I don't know that he can play outside this year and the big question is if he can transition outside in the future. We need him to be able to.

He seems to me to be a guy like Pashos. Tons of raw talent, not good if we need him to start this year, but in a year or two he could be a big-time talent.

- C -

[festivus]

If he's a project, that's fine; we don't need him to start right away.

Here's Kiper on whether he can start:
"This kid has a chance to compete at a guard or tackle, and obviously at right tackle could be a factor right away," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.

So hopefully he's close to ready.

[Kaven]

We gave up 101, 166 and 203 for 86. He had better be a lot more than a project.

[RavenScallywag]

Yanda provides us an insurance plan if Ogden retires next year. If he can acclamate well this year, we can move Terry to LT and pop Yanda in as RT.

If not, we draft/sign a RT next year and make Yanda a swing backup like Rimpf.

[Kaven]

My point exactly, Rimph was chosen at 246. Yanda was expensive.

[mavhimself]

if nothing else he increases our depth at o-line, you can never have enough quality lineman, especially ones that can play multiple positions.

[RavensInBrazil]

I think it's a very good pick. Hopefully the Ravens are trying to pull a San Diego and lock up a good, young O-line for many years. If they are, it's a solid move on their part, we can focus on other things in the future, and frankly, it'd be a relief, after all these years of O-line inconsistency

Terry - Grubbs - Chester - Brown - Yanda

I like it

[ExiledRaven]

I like the pick a lot and basically every place I see analysis of the kid it's talking about his work ethic. Definitely like seeing that and with it the idea he can fully develop himself into a starter.

[festivus]

My point exactly, Rimph was chosen at 246. Yanda was expensive.

No he wasn't. We had enough 2d day picks to choke a goat. The highest pick we gave up was one of our *three* fourth rounders.

And Todd Heap was a project. Just because Yanda's a project doesn't mean he won't be good.

I couldn't be happier with all 3 first day picks.

[psuasskicker]

No he wasn't. We had enough 2d day picks to choke a goat. The highest pick we gave up was one of our *three* fourth rounders.

Any time you give up three picks to move up ~15 slots in the middle rounds, it's expensive. Yanda looks like a really good pick, but there's no question he cost us pretty heavily.

- C -

[tnsmith90]

In a literal sense Yanda was quite expensive for us, but in a pracatical sense he was not that expensive at all. This is because our roster is pretty much filled out. We don't have the room for a million rookies. Plus we had a ton of day 2 picks to give up. So it was better for us to get the one guy we really like, and who we have room for rather than get a bunch of guys we don't like as much who we don't even have room on our final roster for.

It's almost like a millionaire getting a craving for a 10 dollar hamburger. Yeah that burger is expensive, but it's really not all that expensive to him because that's what he's craving and he has the money to spend.