Draft Projection: David DeCastro

In Tip of the Arrowhead's 2012 mock draft of the first round, my friend 'J', who I invited to do his own mock draft to accompany mine, had the Kansas City Chiefs selecting Stanford offensive lineman, David DeCastro, with the 11th overall pick.

DeCastro is a member of that NFL-esque offense that Stanford ran and had great success with, and it's no surprise that four players from that offense are projected to be drafted in the first round (QB Andrew Luck, DeCastro, OT Jonathan Martin, TE Coby Fleener). But just because DeCastro was surrounded by such talent, including the soon-to-be number one overall pick, doesn't make his role on that team any less impressive.

The 6-5 310 lbs Senior, for good reason, is regarded as the best available guard in this year's draft. He was a finalist for the Outland Trophy and a semifinalist for the Lombardi Trophy, as well as helping anchor one of the best offensive lines in college football last season, just giving up 0.85 sacks a game, 7th best in the nation. But awards and statistics don't always tell the story, the tape usually does, and there are a lot of scouts and writers falling in love with DeCastro.

Former head coach and current FOX Sports analyst, Brian Billick, called DeCastro just as much of a "sure thing" as Andrew Luck and "may be the most complete player at his position in the draft." Yahoo Sports' Doug Farrar has even repeatedly said on Twitter that he has a "mancrush" on DeCastro. And the reason why analysts love DeCastro is his ability to do all things well on the offensive line. He is one of the best pulling guards in the nation and can pass protect with the best of them. And while the combine doesn't prove anything, just looking at the numbers DeCastro put up are very impressive:

Forty yards in 5.43 seconds, putting up 34 reps on the bench press - the second most of any offensive lineman invited to the combine -, a 29.5 inch vertical, and not to mention a 8-2 broad jump. For offensive linemen, strength below the waist is key as is technique. DeCastro impressed scouts in both.

So while DeCastro might be the best interior offensive lineman on the board, there still is one question: is there a need?

The Chiefs interior line for 2012 is projected (from right to left) as Ryan Lilja, Rodney Hudson and Jon Asamoah. Out of those three, the one that DeCastro would be looking to replace would be Lilja. Asamoah is young and looking up, while Hudson looks to be entering his first season as a starter. Lilja would be the one on the outside looking in if DeCastro is drafted.

I know there's a lot of Chiefs fans out there that have no problem with replacing Lilja, but I'm not so quick. Lilja is a better guard than many Chiefs fans give him credit for, and Pro Football Focus, a site that focuses on grading players using advanced statistics, made Lilja one of their two All-AFC West guard representatives for 2011 (the other was Louis Vasquez, SD).

DeCastro, much like Luke Kuechly, would be a luxury pick for the Chiefs. And while he might be an upgrade to the aging Lilja, the need is not that high.