Ronnie Stanley spent four seasons blocking for Notre Dame. Now, he should prepare to spend the rest of his football career blocking for Marcus Mariota in Tennessee.
The offensive tackle contemplated forgoing his senior season in 2015, but ultimately decided against it. Not even watching the success of his former teammate Zack Martin -- who was drafted by the Cowboys in 2014 -- was reason enough for him to make the jump.
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Even without his presence, draft scout Matt Miller had high praise for Stanley during the 2015 NFL Draft.
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Real talk: Ronnie Stanley would have been the best tackle in this draft.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 27, 2015
That year, five tackles -- Brandon Scherff (No. 5 overall pick), Ereck Flowers (No. 9), Andrus Peat (No. 13), Cedric Ogbuehi (No. 21) and D.J. Humphries (No. 24) -- were chosen in the first round.
Since the Titans hold the No 1-overall pick, expect Stanley to go higher.
With Marcus Mariota under center, Tennessee will not be in the market for one of the top QB prospects. Lance Zierlein even ranks offensive tackle as the team's top need in the draft, per NFL.com.
Considering Mariota’s injury history, it’s easy to see why.
Multiple reports that Marcus Mariota is out for the remainder of the Titans' season (2 games) with MCL sprain of right knee. #HawaiiFB
— Ferd Lewis (@FerdLewis) December 21, 2015
Admittedly, the Titans are still two years into the Taylor Lewan experiment at left tackle. Drafting Stanley would likely see him start his NFL career on the opposite side, but also go a long way in keeping Mariota upright in 2016.
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Good job of kicking out the DL by Ronnie Stanley. https://t.co/jSEUuRIzXv
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 30, 2015
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