I went ahead and did some research on the pats and steelers past drafts leading up to their super bowl wins and you would be suprised to know that both teams use nemerous first day picks on 0-linemen. First the Pats- from 1999-present, 1999- 1st round pick- Damien Woody C Boston College 2000- 2nd round pick- Adrian Klemm OT Hawaii 2001- 2nd round pick- Matt Light OT Purdue 2005- 1st round pick- Logan Mankins OG Fresno State 3rd round pick- Nick Kaczur OG Toledo And now the Steelers from 1998-present 1998- 1st round pick- Alan Faneca OG LSU 3rd round pick- Chris Conrad OT Fresno State 1999- 3rd round pick- Kris Farris OT UCLA 2000- 2nd round pick- Marvel Smith OT Arizona State 2002- 1st round pick- Kendall Simmons OT Auburn 2004- 3rd round pick- Max Stark OT Florida 2005- 3rd round pick- Trai Essex OT Northwestern so as you can see a team does need to build up its offensive lines before it can add playmakers. I think the jets did a great job adding a foundation. Here is the link... http://www.theredzone.org/draft_history/index.asp
Thanks for the info. I too am glad we made the picks we did. It's no accident that the elite teams in the NFL have superior OLines.
Kansas City 1993 1st round- Will Shields 1995 1st round- Trezelle Jenkins 1998 1st round- Victor Riley 1999 1st round- John Tait
shields - 3rd rounder brian waters - rookie free agent with dallas casey weigmann - signed from colts practice squad 96 john welbourn 4th round 99 from philly willie roaf - saints first rounder chris bober undrafted free agent
Do you realize how dumb that sounds? There are no O-Line haters. I really don't know what you guys are thinking when you post this stuff. Did you look into how many of the Lineman you named were picked inthe top 5???? That's what the debate is about. It has nothing to do with "O-Line Hating" Damn that just sounds soooooooo Stupid!!!
But Royal Tee, you have to admit, if you have a serious need for a position and you're on the board and the best available guy at that position is sitting there and you know other teams are interested as hell, how do you NOT take him no matter what number? We picked up two starters for the next 10 years with our #4 and #29. I know we have other needs and there were other O-linesmen, but come on! We're going to have an offense built around these two guys for years!
Because IMO you can build the O-Line via FA and in the Later rounds. 2 starters for 10 years??? Just like McKenzie and Thomas??? The #4 should be used for a skill position player. I like D'Brick but not what we used. I love the Mangold pick & the pick we used to get him. I have no problem w/ the draft. Just how we used the #4.
With all due respect, Royal Tee, you can't just 'rebuild the O Line' with late rounders or through free agency, especially when someone like D'Brick is in the draft. The reason being that for certain positions in the O Line there just aren't that many 'specialists' out there. The Left Tackle is a case in point....how many premier LT's are in the league at the moment? I can't name even 5....and the ranks are much thinner as far as aspiring LT's coming through in the draft. D'Brick is easily the best prospect at the position in this draft, and the best Offensive lineman available. Picking D'Brick is not just about picking a potential great player, its also about the scarcity of players around who can actually play his position.....there aren't many, and certainly none available in free agency or later in the draft that are up to his caliber. The Left Tackle position is one that some franchises never find a player adequate enough to fill......you watch New Orleans this season and see how many sacks come through that area against them. The players who can play left tackle and play it well are as rare as hen's teeth....you will not find good left tackles in free agency or in later rounds of the draft because the best ones are either signed to fat contracts by clubs who want them (if they are already playing in the league), or are taken in the first round of the draft, yes even in the top 5. (if they are about to play in the league) It's not just about getting the best player, its also about the number of players who are around who can play the position: in this draft there really is only one standout at the position, and that is one D'Brickshaw Ferguson.
...the idea that a top five pick shouldnt be used to find a long term solution at one of the most important positions, and perhaps the single hardest position to fill... is stupid. Regardless of which teams have won superbowls with what draft choices used at one position. I dont care what any given team has done. You use your draft choices to improve your team to the greatest degree that you can, which means drafting the best player available. If the coaching staff believed drafting a kicker at 4 would honestly be the best way to improve the team, then they should go ahead and do it. No kicker is likely to ever have that kind of an impact... the point is if your getting hung up on what other people are doing or on what X position is worth, your thinking about it all backwards. You dont win or lose a draft, you win or lose football games. D'Brickashaw Ferguson will do more to help this team win football games than any other player that was available with the fourth pick. End of discussion.
Great left tackles are so rare and so important to a team that Walter Jones basically gets to skip training camp every year and report right before the regular season.
OK - the Jets draft Leinart. Who's your left tackle? The Left Tackle is an elite position in the NFL and worth the value of a #4. Very hard to find a late rounder "diamond in the rough" LT - particularly if you want an immediate impact.
Co-sign Nobody hates the Oline, but posting eams who were picking 20th and later just proves the point that both picks being Oline was bad. DOes anybody believe the Oline would be that much worst with Mangold and Winston???? Hell scott could have been had later too, but we filled our plate too early in a draft full of Olinemen
The reality is, like many other positions, the OL can be built in many different ways. You can use top picks on players who have top natural athleticism and have performmed at a high level at OL in college, or you can wait to the later rounds to find developmental guys who you can plug in the plans after 2-3 years in the weight/film room.There are prime examples of success w/ both. W/ our situation, we already have a few developmental guys on our roster w/ Jones, Morley, Snell and Neussle(Jones being further ahead and an earlier pick). None of them w/ the exception of Jones(although I really like Snell) is a gurantee to pan out. W/ the way our OL standed,We needed some top athleticism to add to the fold that we could depend on. Not only did we add that w/ Mangold and Brick, but we also got tremendous value at both spots as both were among the BPA. Brick happens to be the best pass protector to come out of the draft since Walter Jones. Anytime you can add a player like that, you should have no regrets.
