Stanford has a long tradition of producing outstanding football players with many of them finding success in the NFL. The Cardinals have produced several first and second-round picks including on the offensive line with David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin being selected recently. Now there is another Cardinal to follow in the footsteps of his teammates and it’s their right tackle Cameron Fleming. While Fleming is a senior he still has another season of eligibility and in a deep offensive tackle class the question is, should Fleming leave early or stay at Stanford?

First I’ll take a look at Fleming the player and some of the things he does well and needs to improve on to be a successful player. He is obviously far from a perfect prospect and could use another year to refine his game and fundamentals, but it’s hard to pass up an early shot at the NFL and the paycheck that comes with it.

Fleming has ideal size at 6’6” and 318 pounds for a right tackle and plenty of experience to go with it. He also comes from a program where players have to be incredibly smart, and Fleming follows that trend as he begins to finish up his major in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Fleming has started at right tackle for the past three seasons for the Cardinals helping protect Andrew Luck in 2011 and later paving the way for Stepfan Taylor to rush for 1,530 yards last season. Fleming is a powerful blocker who has done a nice job recognizing how to use his strength especially in the run game. He has steadily improved in pass protection every year and doing a better job squaring up the defender and not letting him get to his outside shoulder. Fleming is a very solid right tackle prospect with the size, strength and intelligence teams look for in a starter, but he still has plenty of room to grow.

While Fleming has been a fixture on Stanford’s offensive line for three years he still is struggling with consistency and isn’t as developed as you would expect to see. He is starting to learn how to use his strength and punch to get the advantage on his opponent and not let him escape, but at times he still struggles with his punch and consistency. He still struggles with allowing speed rushers to the outside and a part of that has to do with his limited athleticism and slower movement. Fleming needs to do a better job in pass protection because if he can achieve success he will be a long-time starter in the NFL.

There is a lot to like about Fleming and it’s more than just his size and instincts. He has been coached very well and has a very sound technique and he is clearly a player who is committed to putting in all of the extra work it takes to improve. Getting to the second level is something he struggled with in previous years but he has sown very nice improvement this season and has helped open up holes that resulted in touchdowns. As he continues to improve stopping outside pressure his stock will continue to elevate and he will become a major commodity for NFL teams.

Fleming is eligible for the 2014 NFL Draft but does have the option to return for a final season at Stanford. The 2014 class is loaded with talent along the offensive line especially at offensive tackle. Jake Matthews, Taylor Lewan, Antonio Richardson, and Cameron Erving are the top names with plenty of depth below them. Fleming right now would potentially be looking at hearing his name called in the second round or at worst the third. But if he were to return for the 2015 season he would have a chance to prove himself as a first-round talent and be one of the first offensive linemen taken in 2015. Staying another year could give Fleming a chance to elevate his stock even more but he will have his degree at the end of the year and could head to the NFL to cash in early. While I really like Fleming and think he will be a starter at the next level, I think he would be better off staying in school for one more season and coming out in 2015 as a first-round pick.