Here’s the first post I’ve seen that details prospect Wonderlic scores. As I had expected, Vanderbilt OT Chris Williams led all of the top linemen in the NFL’s preferred intelligence test.
Most of the top offensive linemen also tested well. Michigan's Jake Long scored a 26. Pittsburgh's Jeff Otah scored a 28. Southern California's Sam Baker scored a 27. Vanderbilt's Chris Williams scored a 32. Boston College's Godser Cherilus scored a 25. Virginia's Brandon Albert scored a 23. Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady had the only disappointing score from the top group of blockers, a 13.
So in order from highest to lowest it’s Williams, Otah, Baker, Long, Cherilus, Albert and Clady. I’m sure Clady would like a do over. Otah helped himself with his score as well.
The only thing Williams detractors can say about him is he has short arms. I haven’t seen an official listing of his arm length yet (I’m still looking), they look fairly normal to me. Ever since Robert Gallery failed to justify his draft position ‘short arms’ are the in vogue reason for failure.
I’ll take a guy with average arms but a high intellect any day. Even more important, he excels at pass blocking.
Strengths: ...does a fantastic job in pass protection...a team leader...
A lot is being made of the Panthers placing more emphasis on a power run game but the left tackle needs to pass protect first and foremost (no more big hits on Jake please). If Clady falls to #13 the Panthers will have a tough decision. I think Clady, Williams and Otah have grades justifying the #13 pick. Clady played at a mid-major and rarely lined up across from NFL-level talent. Otah started only one season at Pitt and has only been playing football a few years. I think Chris Williams presents the least amount of risk in what will be a very important pick to the Panthers front office.