Penn. St. C A.Q. Shipley

THE_TRUTH with the pick...

Having acquired Knowshown Moreno in the first round to assist in the lackluster running game of last year, two more positions are in dire need for the Card’s this year. To recap, Arizona needs a Center as well as OLB’s (due to age).

Having tossed this around, there are some potential OLB picks that Arizona can grab in the mid-late rounds and the opportunity to grab a strong Center at this point is better then ever. Considering the availability of talent at the 63rd pick, the best player(s) on the board playing Center that haven’t already been acquired are Antoine Caldwell (Alabama) and AQ Shipley (Penn State).

The race between these two young men was closer then ever and each could produce very well as Centers for Arizona in my mind. You have Caldwell at 307 as well as Shhipley at 304 lbs. respectively. Caldwell is 6’4” and Shipley is 6’01”. The difference in the 40 at the combine was negligible -.04s.

After reviewing some tape of both players, both players played their positions very well and to make the decision even more difficult, I was impressed with their footwork on the line as well as the use of their hands. So the dilemma became apparent…flip a coin, or maybe not. Both players played very well for their teams and actually stood out on their respective lines. It was difficult to determine if they were even breaking a sweat, except when they had to run off the field ;)

I was presented with an interesting stat (thx. Lanier63) that gave me the answer I was looking for (since I couldn’t actually interview both players to determine whether their head is in the right place). The stat was Size/Speed ratio. It basically compares size with speed to give a good determination if you will, on how a players weight/speed matches compared to the rest of the field. The idea is that heavier players don't necessarily equate to better players unless they have speed as well.

It’s a stat that divides a player’s weight by his 40-yard dash time and takes the square root of the result.  One important note is that obviously you can only compare this stat with others who play the same position.

• A.Q. Shipley’s  ratio was 7.65
• Antoine Caldwell’s ratio was 7.66

So by the slimmest of margins, Arizona picks Center, A.Q. Shipley from Penn State as the 63rd pick in the draft.

Round 1 is here.

Previous pick: LB Cody Brown

Read more: Center Rankings (Mocking the Draft)

On the clock:  Pittsburgh Steelers (McWhirt33)

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