Mike Vrabel Met With the Most Controversial Left Tackle Prospect in the Draft, Josh Simmons

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Ordinarily, when a NFL head coach holding the fourth overall pick goes to his alma mater's Pro Day, and includes among his official pre-draft visits a prospect at his team's biggest area of need, that news doesn't achieve the exit velocity needed to achieve blogworthiness orbit. 

But this is no ordinary situation. Mike Vrabel is the coach. Ohio State is the school. And Josh Simmons is the left tackle prospect. And they reportedly spent quite a bit of time together:

Simmons is one of the most controversial, divisive prospects of the year. Certainly among offensive tackles. One who has draft pundits all over the map as to where - if not whether - he should be selected. So we've got a story on our hands. 

Heavy.com - Simmons is certainly talented enough to address [the Patriots] need, despite the torn patella that cut his final season with the Buckeyes short. Yet, there are concerns about Simmons that go beyond his injury, at least for some. 

Those concerns relate to an article written by longtime sportswriter Bob McGinn … for Tyler Dunne’s Go Long newsletter. In the article, McGinn included quotes from an unnamed scout. Quotes that are damning about Simmons and his temperament.

Specifically, the scout told McGinn, Simmons’ issues “are more football character. He has a complete [expletive] sense of urgency, like a total finesse player. Mental is an issue. Lacks power, struggles to anchor. Fundamentals are poor. Plays like a guy that was at a JUCO and just came here.”

All of which could just be dismissed as just the thoughts of one scout among thousands:

… if it weren't for the fact that the Draft Intelligentsia weren't also all over the map with their projections. Just to cite a few:

33rd Team: Has Simmons as their 7th best prospect overall, at any position. 

NFL Mock Draft Database: Based on a consensus of mocks, he projects as the fourth OT off the board, to Houston at 25.

PFF: Includes him among their "10 high-risk, high reward prospects," and landing in Miami with the 12th pick.

NFL.com: Has Simmons going to the Patriots with their 2nd, No. 38 overall.

No one outside the Buckeyes program can speak to whether that anonymous scout is right to talk about Simmons like he's a 2-ply soft squish with no power and the fundamentals of a JUCO or however he said it. Though you'd think that if anyone outside of Columbus could get accurate intel on the guy it's Vrabel, a Made Man in the Ohio State crime family. 

What no one can disagree on is Simmons' measurables, which are off the charts good:

Or how it looks like he's recovered from that torn patellar:

Or his game film:

To me, all this significant because I'm of the school of thought that if either Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter falls to them at No. 4, they have to take them. Carter is an obvious game-changing talent. Hunter is an absolute unicorn. The Shohei Otani of football, who can help you on both sides of the ball, and a man of his skills will likely never pass this way again. If that's the case, I'm perfectly content to take whichever of them is available, then start scrambling for the left tackle of the next 10-plus years. 

Which makes all this doubt and confusion around Simmons a good thing. And Vrabel's Ohio State insider status so valuable. I want this team to be shopping for left tackles early on in Day 2. Or, moving up and getting the guy they value in Round 1. So the more scouts trash a potential stud like this guy, the better.