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TJ Clemmings


BleedTheClock

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Browns fan here inquiring about one of my favorite draft prospects from a few years ago.

 

Why was TJ Clemmings so bad? I had him as the top rated OT and pegged him as someone that could become an elite LT in the future. He seemed to have some balance issues in college, but I figured for such a young player, he'd iron those out as he had really only been playing OT for 1-2 seasons.

Why was this dude so bad?

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To put it simply, because I'm not an analyst ... he couldn't hack it. He had plenty of size and strength, but something was lacking; call it heart, call it killer instinct, call it a simple inability to block NFL-caliber defensive linemen. Even in a 2016 season defined by injuries and mediocrity on the o-line, his poor play stood out. Those dazzling memories of the 2015 Combine lost their luster very quickly when we watched him get blown up in one game after another and make frequent appearances on opposing teams' highlight reels.

There are smarter guys than me in this section who can probably tell you exactly what was wrong with his blocking technique and why his abilities were so limited. (I'm curious too, actually. ^_^) I just know about his results, and they weren't good.

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Clemmings had a lot of technique issues coming into the NFL, which was expected and many thought he’d need a year or two on the bench to riding those skills. 

Unfortunately he was thrust into starting from day one as a rookie due to Phil Loadholt tearing his Achilles. That early playing time forced him to use the technique that he knew, which was bad, and it led to some very bad habits that he never was able to correct. Mainly, his use of his hands. 

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