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Had injuries not derailed the greater part of his collegiate career, Jake Olson might have been the second Chippewa linemen drafted last year. Olson, when healthy, served as one half of a dynamic offensive tackle duo with last season's first overall draft pick Eric Fisher, whose first starting action was as a replacement for Olson.
Sadly, Olson has missed significant chunks of time in every season since 2009, including suffering season-ending injuries in 2010, 2012, and 2013. According to Mocking the Draft's rankings, Olson goes into the draft ranked as the 22nd best Offensive Tackle.
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Olson has had plenty of time to develop at CMU. Originally recruited by Brian Kelly, he was a part of Butch Jones' 2008 recruiting class. After redshiriting his first year, Olson was a full season starter in Central's dynamic offense during the 2009 season as a freshman, serving as part of a stalwart offensive line that allowed quarterback Dan LeFevour to have his record-setting season. From 2010 onwards, Olson has begun every season as a starting tackle for Dan Enos, starting a grand total of 16 games for the Chippewas from 2010-2013.
Olson has gained respect by persevering through his injuries. Despite not being fully recovered from his wrist injury that ended his senior campaign, Olson participated in CMU's Pro Day in March, going through all activities except the bench press. Olson's participation was a positive for the scouts in attendance, who watched Olson run agility drills full out. Olson's numbers included a 29 inch vertical jump, a 5.28 second 40-yard-dash time, and a 4.94 second 20 yard shuttle time.
Clearly, the biggest issue with Olson is his durability. Olson's laundry list of injuries have included a torn ligament in 2009, a knee injury in 2010 (after which he was granted a medical redshirt), a second knee injury in 2011, a leg injury in 2012, and a wrist injury in 2013. Olson's injury history has scared off most NFL teams; only 10 scouts were in attendance at his Pro Day.
Without the injury history, Olson would possibly rate as high as a middle or late round draft pick. Unfortunately, NFL teams are unlikely to use a draft pick on such a fragile asset. Expect Olson to catch on with a team as an undrafted free agent shortly after the draft.