Harrison must be really be killing it to beat out the undrafted OT with 24 starts over 8 years for the starting job.
Exactly. Saying a sentence that makes a player sound good doesn't make the player good. And like I said, sure Harrison could have been a good pick but the OL problems are way deeper rooted than the first round of the 2023 draft.
The OL has been a chronic issue that has been utterly ignored by the GM who chose to attend to "sexier" issues instead. "Sexier" does not imply that they weren't legitimate issues, mind you. Just position players that gain the GM more attention by acquiring.
I don’t think the OL has been ignored … JD spent first round picks on Becton and AVT…and has used mid round picks on OL as well in Mitchell and Warren. That’s already more picks than Mac used. The problem is that Becton has been a bust due to injury, and the free agent signings for the most part have been stop gap types outside of Tomlinson who just flat out underperformed last year So the decisions on a case by case basis have backfired…but it’s not that ignored it. In hindsight Wirfs would have been the better pick (and I love Big 10 OL) but I understand his logic in going with the huge upside LT instead of a RT, but still Wirfs was the safer pick. I think it was a mistake to count on Becton, and I think it was a mistake in not trying harder to keep Moses. So here we are…but to me it’s more bad choices than ignoring OL
I’m suprised Mitchell hasn’t looked good. Early on we had some good reports and last year in the 5 minutes he played, the reviews were directionally positive. Something that’s a touch odd, is that we haven’t heard anything from Carter Warren. 4th round pick and everyone else hasn’t exactly killed it yet, so he should get a look, right? I’m hoping when Brown comes back that helps, and call me crazy, but I have a feeling Becton and brown will be the week 1 tackles.
Becton was a mistake because he was too heavy and JD choose the wrong tackle. Before you say left vs right tackle, Wirfs was rated to succeed in the NFL. Becton was a dice roll, who in 3 seasons hasn't even started 16 games at LT. Harrison was the absolute smart pick at our spot. He addressed the MAIN position of need, on a team that not only has question marks about their starters, but has stanky depth. Adding a decent young tackle to our stanky depth is absolutely what was needed. McDonald is as much, if not more, of a potential bust and he plays a position that is already crowded, including a #1 pick from last year. There should have been another promising young tackle on our roster going into this season. To suggest otherwise is green goggily.
The part that sucks is there’s no clear solution to the problem at this point either. Is there a team out there that’s going to trade us a solid OL for a 3rd? I’m thinking bad things right now…
We should have gotten an OLine coach from a team with consistently good blocking like the Titans or something.
I see what you did there I hope we are installing his blocking scheme, and not just trying to teach Hacketts. I’m not a fan of Hacketts, but his job is ironclad. So I’m hoping there are others in the room improving and morphing it into something better.
Think it’s time to start giving AVT snaps at T. while giving the Centers some reps at G. Then pray like hell between Becton and Brown, someone can remain healthy. Turner shouldn’t be rostered imo.
This isn't a "clear solution" but the Arizona Cardinals are now starting two #1 picks at tackle. This means that both our old friend Kelvin Beachum (4 years younger than Duane Browne; good sustained starting experience at both LT and RT) and Josh Jones (consensus highly rated tackle in the 2000 draft; drafted in the 3rd round) are both scheduled to sit on the bench. Either one of these guys can't be much worse than what we're trotting out now.
I have no inside info but I feel like Hackett knows his role and esp after Denver, isn’t trying to over-extend him self. Watching HK, I don’t think he’s even in the room. He’s doing his job and other people are doing theirs. This is the way I think it might play out. Becton gets dealt before the season, we rock with what we got, at the trade deadline, we trade our 3rd and remove the conditions of the 1st for Bakhtiari. Extra bonus would be to trade our 2nd and what we get for Becton for Adams. I kinda think it’s overkill but the Rams got OBJ and Von Miller for their SB run #FTP and the competition is fierce.
Yeah me too…we drafted two OL this year, 2nd and 4th rounds, and neither is getting run with even the two’s…doesn’t make sense and if they both really aren’t showing much that’s a bad look for JD It’s not like we have superstars on our OL right now…
Good idea! The Arizona RB group is pretty depleted right now, and MC would be a definite improvement over the depth they have now. Hell, even their starter is no great shakes (Conner has never gained 1,000 rushing yards in a season). I generally would think that either of the tackles I mention might be available. Beechum might push to start for a contending team rather than sit on the bench for a poor team in his twilight years. He has trade value because of his starter experience and decent play, but his age detracts from his value. Jones earned a good PFF grade for his 2022 work at tackle (75.8). If he values his career, he won't be content sitting on the bench behind a #1 pick. Arizona would save almost $3M salary cap space by trading him.
From Costello in the Post this morning -- Second-year tackle Max Mitchell looks lost on the field right now. He seems to be struggling with his confidence, and his technique is suffering. Mitchell has had a tough camp as he competes for the starting right tackle spot. It is hard to see how the Jets could trust him to start at this point. -- so now we need a right tackle and a left tackle
