GoldandBlack.com Purdue player draft: No. 29 overall
This summer, the Boilermakers are being divided.
Reporters Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters are going head-to-head in GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft, a daily selection in which separate rosters of 25 are being assembled. In late July, we'll decide — based on GoldandBlack.com staff and member feedback — which team would win.
Clardie is back up with Pick No. 29.
So I tried to Jedi mind trick Kyle — there were hands moving and everything, swear — by telling him I was going to pick Anthony Mahoungou today. In the hopes that he’d care that without Mahoungou, he’d have Jarrett Burgess as a starting outside receiver and that, in turn, would open it up for me to pull the seeming impossible and get Jimmy Herman AND Markus Bailey. Alas, no worky. (I think that last movie ruined the Force for everyone.)
Though I still think one of my double-up picks would make sense as a receiver to cut into Kyle’s roster while also still allowing me to do my favorite four-receiver formation, it’s pretty clear Kyle doesn’t value Mahoungou. So I may as well wait on that for another day or two.
Could take defensive end Austin Larkin here because I obviously need to fill up on my defensive front at some point. Could take a chance on one of those interior freshmen D-tackles, too, to do that. Could take whomever I deem as the best remaining cornerback here to nearly complete my secondary.
But, if it’s not clear already, I prefer offense. So why not take the most versatile offensive lineman left to at least give me a bit of flexibility on the wide-open right side of my line? OK, I will. That’s you, Bearooz Yacoobi.
Though Yacoobi still needs to add strength and adapt to new coach Darrell Funk’s techniques — let’s be real, all of the remaining options on the board do — he’s shown a willingness to work in practice and seems to be a pretty smart guy, able to pick up concepts relatively quickly. Best thing for me is he has experience playing guard and tackle, so I could slide him between the two spots, if needed. I like him better as a run-blocker than in pass pro at this point in his development, but, like I’ve said, I have no issues offering my tackles help by sticking tight end Cole Herdman alongside them for a handful of snaps, as needed. But I think Yacoobi can hold up well enough for it not to be a detriment to my offense.
Draft ticker: 1-25 | 26. Richie Worship | 27. Jimmy Herman | 28. Markus Bailey
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