Andrus Peat Declares for 2015 NFL Draft: Latest Details and Reaction

Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat, considered by most a lock for the first round, officially declared for the 2015 NFL draft on Tuesday.

The Cardinal announced the news on the team's website:

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All-America left tackle Andrus Peat announced Tuesday that he will enter his name into the 2015 NFL Draft.

"It's been a long and hard decision, but I have decided to forgo my senior season of eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft," Peat said. "I would like to thank all of my Stanford teammates, coaches and the faculty for helping me grow and enjoy an amazing experience at Stanford University. I'm excited and ready to take the next big step of my life."

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Peat, a junior, will forgo his final year of eligibility. The 6'7", 316-pound tackle is viewed as one of the draft's top offensive linemen. He was named to six All-American teams in 2014 and was also named the top offensive lineman in the Pac-12.

Peat came into 2014 with high expectations. Most had pegged him an early entrance candidate, and the Cardinal football program did all it could to talk its star up as a potential NFL great, as Stanford coach David Shaw did in July when he talked to reporters, according to NFL.com's Bryan Fischer.

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I don't know if there's been anybody else in our conference, in the last eight years, that is as good as Andrus Peat has been and can be. In my entire career, nine years in the NFL, the only offensive lineman that was a step above of where Andrus can be is Jonathan Ogden -- one of the best tackles to ever play.

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Stanford's 2014 season fell short of nearly all expectations. The Cardinal, ranked No. 11 in the preseason Associated Press poll, finished 8-5, by far the worst record of Shaw's tenure. Stanford's defense remained one of the nation's best, but offensive struggles mired the campaign.

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Quarterback Kevin Hogan underperformed against breakout expectations, and the running game faltered without an anchor. Peat has largely avoided criticism amid Stanford's descent, with most viewing his play as a rare offensive positive.

It will nonetheless be interesting to see how Peat handles the draft process. Stanford has not had a first-round selection since Andrew Luck and David DeCastro went off the board in 2012, and before that, there was nearly a decade-long drought.

Peat is a little slight for his size and lacks elite foot speed. There is a chance he'll come across far better on tape than in workouts, where it's unlikely he'll wow scouts with jaw-dropping numbers in the 40-yard dash or bench press—the two most often cited combine metrics for offensive linemen. Doing individual position drills to flash his solid skills against the run and pass would be helpful, but it's always a crapshoot in guessing which players fully participate.

Either way, Peat has a first-round grade for now. We'll see over the next couple months what he does with it.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.