Just a thought, here are some guys that could really add to our o-line depth. Most will still be avaliable in the late 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds. This is where we will start to rebuild, in the trenches!! GUARDS 1. DAVIN JOSEPH, OKLAHOMA Positives: Plays with considerable power that allows him to consistently rock defenders with hand punches. ... Does a good job of maintaining leverage. ... Shows an aggressive mentality, especially in pass protection. ... Superior mobility and body control allow him to pull and trap well, and make blocks in the open field. Negatives: At 6-2, lacks ideal height, although 311-pound frame is plenty wide for an NFL guard. ... Blitz and stunt recognition. 2. CHARLES SPENCER, PITTSBURGH Charles Spencer is a little raw as a converted defensive tackle, but his skills are impressive. Positives: Good size (6-4 and 352 pounds). ... Highly athletic, which allows him to be effective in small areas as well as in the open field. ... Explodes out of stance and gets to linebackers and safeties quickly. ... Good arm extension and powerful enough to rock defenders with hand punches. ... Remarkable progress since switching from defensive tackle as a junior, and impressed many NFL scouts during Senior Bowl workouts. Negatives: Lack of offensive line experience. ... Must work at taking better advantage of size and strength when run-blocking at point of attack. 3. ROB SIMS, OHIO STATE Positives: Toughness and strength, especially when it comes to locking onto defenders. ... Plenty of width in 307-pound frame. ... Quick feet. ... Takes good angles on blocks. ... Recognition of blitz and stunts. ... Versatility, with collegiate experience at tackle. Negatives: At 6-2, lacks ideal height. ... Agility. ... Must improve physical conditioning. 4. KEVIN BOOTHE, CORNELL Positives: Good size (6-4 and 316 pounds). ... Nice combination of bulk and athleticism. ... Long arms and powerful hands that he uses well to knock back and lock onto defenders. ... Superior lateral movement. ... Intelligence and blitz/stunt awareness. Negatives: Durability after suffering ankle and hand injuries in high school and again in college. ... Lack of top-level speed is a concern, especially in terms of getting to linebackers and safeties in the open field. Centers 1. NICK MANGOLD, OHIO STATE Positives: Good size (6-foot-3 and 300 pounds) and upper-body strength. ... Shows considerable toughness and will battle to the whistle. ... Possesses intelligence to recognize stunts and blitzes, and consistently makes proper line calls. ... Takes good angles on blocks. ... Does a nice job of pulling and trapping. ... Sets up quickly in pass protection, which gives him an edge vs. speedy inside rushers. Negatives: Must enhance lower-body strength to deal with massive, bull-rushing tackles. ... Needs to work on change-of-direction skills to become better able to block defenders on the move. 2. MIKE DEGORY, FLORIDA Positives: Excellent size (6-5 and 305 pounds) and arm length. ... Superior technique in pass protection. ... Excellent overall strength. ... Great desire to improve his game, as reflected by steady development throughout his collegiate career. ... Shows a great deal of intelligence and savvy in stunt and blitz recognition, and consistently makes proper line calls. ... Willing and coachable enough to work at guard and center, which will make him a more valuable backup early in his NFL career. Negatives: Athleticism. ... Needs to improve body control and balance when making blocks in the open field. 3. GREG ESLINGER, MINNESOTA Greg Eslinger won the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman last season. Positives: Good size (6-3 and 292 pounds) and athleticism. ... Superior techniques. ... Outstanding footwork that allows him to get consistently good leverage. ... Makes excellent use of hands to separate from defenders. ... Shows superb recognition of stunts and blitzes and consistently makes proper line calls. ... Perfect fit for any zone-blocking running scheme. Negatives: Needs to develop more lower-body strength. ... Although he is built just right for lateral movement in a zone-blocking scheme, he could benefit from adding some bulk and strength, especially when he has to take on a power-oriented inside rusher. 4. JASON SPITZ, LOUISVILLE Positives: Good size (6-3 and 313 pounds), speed and toughness. ... Makes good use of hands to gain separation. ... Solid run blocker. ... Good recognition of stunts and blitzes. ... Versatility, with more experience at guard than center. Negatives: A converted guard who still is learning the center position. ... Must work on improving change-of-direction ability and maintaining balance when blocking on the move. 5. RYAN COOK, NEW MEXICO Positives: Tremendous size (6-6 and 328 pounds). ... Good upper-body strength. ... Considerable arm length allows him to consistently lock up pass rushers. Negatives: Needs to add lower-body strength. ... Has work to do in gaining better stunt/blitz awareness. ... Must do a better job of maintaining leverage and adjusting to make blocks in the open field. Tackles 3. MARCUS MCNEILL, AUBURN Positives: Amazing combination of abundant size (6-7 and 336 pounds) and speed. ... Ability to consistently dominant defenders. ... Does a good job of utilizing long arms and strong hands. ... Sets feet quickly and has footwork to handle speed rushers. ... Bulk and strength allow him to take on bull rushers with little problem. Negatives: Must work on improving technical aspects of his game, especially maintaining good leverage. ... Concerns over his ability to keep his weight under control. 4. ERIC WINSTON, MIAMI Eric Winston has overcome a learning curve and a serious injury to become a possible first-rounder. Positives: Former collegiate tight end brings considerable athleticism to the position. ... Impressive performances in Scouting Combine drills and at the Hurricanes' Pro Day on May 4 figure to do wonders for his draft stock. ... Shows good football temperament and physical style of play that matches the mentality of his opponents. ... Good size (6-6 and 310 pounds) and strength. ... Long arms and strong hands. ... Superb body control and footwork. Negatives: Suffered a torn knee ligament that ended his season in 2004, although pre-draft workouts have put to rest many of the lingering concerns. ... Pass-protection technique needs work. ... Must improve lower-body strength. 5. JEREMY TRUEBLOOD, BOSTON COLLEGE Positives: Ultra-large frame (6-8 and 316 pounds), arm length (34? inches), and hand size (10? inches). ... Better athlete than size might indicate. ... Good quickness and footwork. ... Takes good angles on blocks and finishes well. Negatives: Plenty of work needed on techniques, especially when it comes to preventing defenders from getting under his pads and maintaining balance. ... Needs to develop better lateral movement and body control in the open field. ... Could add some lower-body strength. I got this from NFL.com-----but I really believe that we will not take a QB, RB or DE at #4. I think we trade abe for late 1st early 2nd and trade the 4 pick to middle of the 1st round and add a 3rd. This will allow us to stockpile picks and pluge people in. As you can see there is tremendious depth on th LINE
Nice read. The O-line depth is well known. I want to see them trade down, but if they can't find any takers, I think go Brick. At least that is what I would like to see happen.
Considering we are dumping Abe and DRob has a knee issue and is costing us a fortune and will have to be unloaded at some point why would you give up a chance to take Mario Williams at 4 and use all that OL availability later?
I like Brick as well, but to me it is about getting more BANG for the Buck. We will still get a quality starting players later in the draft. Question for all you Brick fans...would you rather have just 1 Bently--------- or a Porsh, Hummer and BMW...my point is we can more for our money wich makes us a better TEAM...no 1 person can fix what problems we have
I agree with you, I would like to focus on the OL as well. And DL if possible. Screw taking a QB and/or RB this year.
While I am not sure I want to trade down, I would consider it if D'brick is not avaiable at 4 Agree with you on our need to build up the o-line. I defintely do not wnat ot see us draft Jay cutler. I would rather get croyle from Bama in the second round.
Croyle is not a second round talent. You can argue you don't want a QB but at least Cutler belongs in the 1st round. Croyle is a late 3rd/4th round talent, taking him in round 2 would be a much worse move than taking Cutler with our 1st.
That would make more sense if you said a Porcshe, Honda Civic and a VW Bug. You don't trade the #4 pick and get back 3 almost equally good picks, you get one that is close and some other stuff that drops off.
Because LT is an extrememly important position that not only helps ensure the longevity of any QB you put back there, but opens up the passing game. I believe Brick will be an elite LT, and there are not many of those. WHen you have an opportunity to get someone like that to fill such an important position, you take, and not leave him on the table. DRob will be around at least another year, so focus on finding someone to replace him next year if need be.
Mario WIlliams will replace Abe not Drob and we allready have a good young LT on the team who will be with us for the next 10 years baring injury. Brick may become an elite LT but after watching the Senior Bowl, he has a long way to go.
I fail to see how these are reasons we don't need #4. if these guys, as you admit, will still be available in the 2nd or 3rd, we can still use the #4 for the best player available and still get a couple of these guys in the 2nd and 3rd. I don't see the correlation.
Come on brick is a cant miss tackle, which is why we should not take him because other people would want him. Trade him and get the most value. He is not going to be our savior.
GH, I saw that list on NFL.com, Max Jean Gilles is on it as the #1 guard. I believe this post just listed the guys who may be available after the 1st round, and Gilles will probably go in the 1st. Here is a link: http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/9312084
There is NO such thing. Mike Williams, total bust, Gallery, still under performing to his lofty #2 overall. Only ONE O lineman taken in the top ten since the year 2000 has played in the pro bowl.... Chris Samuels, once. I have ONE reason that this thread topic is wrong. We don't have a QB. They take a year, at a minimum to get NFL ready. By 2008, Leinart or Cutler might be ready to be a playoff QB. I agree we need O linemen desperately, but not as badly as we need a franchise QB to develop. Thsi is one pick we can't screw up.... get a QB.
You are correct. My mistake. The only reason I focused on DRob because you mentioned him. However, the FO brought in Oelhoffen (sp?) to take over for Abe. But my point is the same. Focus on the position next year if need be. I don't agree about Jones at all. All I see is career back-up at RT and LT. He has shown me nothing that would suggest he would be anything other than servicable/good. And if the FO is going to get a young QB, or go with Penny with the injury, I want something better protecting their blind side. He might need a little work (as most college players do) but he has a helluva lot more upside than Jones, IMO.
you're making a statement contradictory to the point you're trying to make. BECAUSE of the depth at the O-Line positions, is all the more reason we aren't going to trade down. It's more likely we trade up this year!
I saw Jones look okay some times bad sometimes and good sometimes against NFL talent. I saw D'Brick once in the Senior bowl and he sucked. He gave up a sack and got zero push in the run game. I don't get how any one of us on the board can say D'Brick has more upside than Jones at this point. D'Brick isn't Orlando Pace coming out of college and people talk about him as if he was.
