6/1/2016 football Edit

GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft: No. 8 overall

Kyle Charters • BoilerUpload

Staff Writer

This summer, the Boilermakers are being divided.

Reporters Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters keep pushing forward Tuesday in GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft, a daily selection in which separate groups of 25 are assembled over the next two months. In late July, we'll decide — based on GoldandBlack.com staff and member feedback — which team would win.

Back to Charters with the eighth overall pick, and he chooses ...

Without an offensive line - as of yet - David Blough could potentially have to make a lot of improvised plays.

Purdue has a couple of talented quarterbacks, perhaps the best combination — in terms of potential — in years, maybe back to Curtis Painter/Justin Siller/Joey Elliott in 2008.

So either David Blough or Elijah Sindelar would be a good pick to lead a team, but taking one at No. 8 is questionable. There's not a ton of separation between the two, with Blough having the edge — he's almost assuredly going to be the starter for Game 1 — in experience, know-how and decision-making. But is getting him over Sindelar, a big quarterback with a laser-rocket arm, that big an advantage? Maybe not.

But I'll tell you why I'm taking Blough at No. 8: Not only is he the better of the two right now, but he also has command of his teammates, can make all the necessary plays and — maybe most importantly — can improvise outside the system. And, considering I've not yet taken an offensive lineman, his escapability is a huge plus. He might, and apologies for this, too frequently be running for his life. And if there's a QB capable of making something out of nothing, it's Blough.

Haven't taken a running back either, and there's not one on the board who is screaming to be selected in the first half of the draft, not after Stacy picked Markell Jones at 2 and with D.J. Knox out with his knee injury. Blough might end up needing to be my leading rusher, an area where Sindelar wouldn't be a huge help.

Does this force Stacy's hand at No. 9? If I was picking for her — she ain't gonna let that happen — I might want to get Sindelar to prevent my team from having a true freshman quarterback in Jared Sparks, who would likely be the next in line. But she says she's not going to take a QB. We'll see.

But enough of her roster; I've got my own issues to address, like a potential 3-0 deficit on the offensive line. Not good.

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