3. OT Dontavius Blair
He’s been a fixture on most lists similar to this one. The 6-foot-8, 300-pounder has been a source of perpetual hope for the offensive line, but didn’t see the field at all in 2014 as the coaching staff decided to redshirt the junior college transfer who many thought would be the Day 1 starter at left tackle. That leaves Blair two years to make an impact, and he needs to take some big steps to move past the things that kept him off the field in 2014. He’ll need to add strength, grasp the playbook better and become a player coaches feel comfortable with at either left tackle, where he started his career, or right tackle, where he was getting reps in practice at the end of 2014. It’s reasonable to expect the offensive line to be better next year, but his development could be the wild card in determining if that’s a small step or a huge leap.
