Jets claim OT Antonio Garcia

Tony Pauline's scouting report from before last year's draft.

draftanalyst.com/antonio-garcia

Antonio Garcia
Tackle
SCHOOL: TROY | CONFERENCE: SUN BELT
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-6.5 / 302 | 40: 5.10 | DRAFT YR:2017
Rankings
GRADE
4.00
PROJECTED ROUND
2nd
Bio:
Four-year starter at left tackle who earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors in 2016. Named Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt in 2015. Started the first six games of his redshirt freshman season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Pos:
Athletically gifted left tackle prospect who has been moving up draft boards since September. Bends his knees, blocks with leverage and shows flexibility. Easily adjusts then knocks speed rushers from their angles of attack. Displays terrific footwork off the edge, can redirect or recover and plays with a large degree of quickness. Stays square, keeps defenders in front of him and plays with an aggressive streak. Effectively gets his hands into opponents, jolts them with good punch and blocks with proper fundamentals.
Neg:
Bends at the waist and lacks overall blocking balance. Must improve his strength and learn to finish blocks. Not light on his feet blocking at the second level.
Analysis:
Garcia entered the season graded as a street free agent by scouts but is now poised to be a top-60 pick. He’s a tall athlete with growth potential and a lot of upside to his game. Garcia has the makings of a starting left tackle down the road and will break in with the first team once he improves his playing strength.

I read the guy was skinny to begin with and lost a lot of weight because of the blood clots. Bring in D'Brick to talk to him about nutrition, he had a problem keeping weight on his first year too.

From the Boston Globe:

FOXBOROUGH — The crowded field of candidates to replace left tackle Nate Solder was thinned Friday when the Patriots released second-year lineman Tony Garcia.

Garcia, who was drafted in the third round (85th overall) last year after the Patriots traded up to get him, missed his rookie season as he dealt with blood clots in his lungs. Garcia’s release came with a “failed physical” designation despite a recent social media post from the player proclaiming he was healthy.

“Just got cleared to play again!!! God is good,’’ Garcia wrote on Instagram March 20.

Garcia first reported to the Patriots at 6 feet 7 inches, 302 pounds, but was considerably thinner by the end of last season.

A first-team All-Sun Belt selection for Troy in 2016, Garcia started at left tackle for three straight seasons in college and didn’t allow a single sack in more than 900 snaps his senior season.

At the owners meetings in late March, Patriots coach Bill Belidick was asked for an update on Garcia and fellow third-rounder Derek Rivers, who missed his rookie campaign because of a torn ACL.

“They’re working hard and we’ll see how it goes,’’ the coach said. “When you come back from an injury, sometimes it’s a straight-line recovery, sometimes things go faster than expected, sometimes things go fast and then they slow down, then they pick back up again.

“It’s all part of a long process and all we can do is string a lot of good days together, day after day, month after month, and when they’re ready, they’re ready.’’

As for other possible replacements for Solder, the Patriots drafted Isaiah Wynn with their first pick last month and also traded for Trent Brown. Additionally, LaAdrian Waddle, Cole Croston, and Andrew Jelks will return. The team also signed free agents Matt Tobin and Ulrick John.

I agree. It’s definitely seems worth the risk. The Jets must have seen his reports and decided there was enough of a chance to roll the dice.