This bit is from Scouts, Inc.,
Free suffered a stress fracture in his foot in the season opener (Ohio State) that lingered throughout most of his senior year. As a result, he did not look as agile as he did on film from the previous season. Even when at full strength, Free has never been an overpowering blocker and he will need to improve his strength in order to sustain blocks longer in the NFL. With all that said, Free is still worthy of first-day consideration because of his impressive combination of size and mobility. He draws many comparisons to former Northern Illinois OT Ryan Diem, who currently starts at right tackle for the Colts, but Free is a significantly better prospect now than Diem was in 2001.
Tim MacMahon entitles his first post on this “The best things in life are Free.” He notes, “He’s 6-7, 318 pounds and agile, so he might be a better fit at left tackle than third-round pick James Marten, who played on both sides at Boston College.” He snarks, “Wonder how Pat McQuistan feels about the Cowboys’ draft so far.”
In his second post, he asks, “Will this be Flozell’s final season in Dallas?” He observes, “The Cowboys might not be running Adams out of town, but they sure are preparing in case he does leave. And they’re positioning themselves so that Adams won’t be able to hold them hostage in contract negotiations.” Quite right. And a good deal.
Free is on The Ticket, talking to Norm Hitzges, Goose Gosselin, and others. Hitzges asks Free why he thinks he fell so far, since he was considered a 2nd or 3rd round possibility. Hitzges notes that the Cowboys “took about 9 seconds” to make this pick and were high-fiving themselves that Free fell this far.
Indeed, Free was the #77 prospect on Gosselin’s board. That’s pretty good value at #122. Interestingly, James Marten, picked by the Cowboys in the third round yesterday (#67), was ranked 85th.
OK, it wasn't Free's coach who said he was a better prospect than Diem, but Scouts, Inc. . . . . my mistake.
