(03-22-2021, 08:09 PM)Bullseye Wrote:

(03-22-2021, 05:52 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: Cam Robinson is on a one-year deal, Norwell is on a 2 year deal and getting old, Linder is on a 2 year deal and is getting old and is somewhat injury prone, AJ Cann is on a one year deal and is mediocre at best, and Jawaan Taylor is still trying to reach some potential.  I would invest a high pick or two in offensive linemen, even if they don't play this year.  A year in an NFL training program does wonders for a young offensive lineman.  Offensive linemen take time to develop.  I'd be building a pipeline now.  Don't wait until next year's draft to find some replacements.

Exactly right.

If you put off the O-line for a year, you run the risk of making matters worse.

Instead of a rookie T protecting TL, you could see multiple rookies protecting TL.

Drafting and grooming as you suggest would, at a minimum, improve the depth at OL.  Richardson has been a wash-though how much should we have expected from a 4th round pick?  Bartch is another 4th round pick who didn't get much PT and was shaky.  The only backup I have any real faith in is Shatley.

Hopefully, if we draft a couple of OL, they will at least be good enough to provide adequate competition for the starters.  Maybe they can upgrade those positions.  At least it will give the FO a one year audition for those positions, so they can decide whether to re-sign any of the guys that are up for new deals, let them walk and sign experienced free agents, or draft more to provide depth and competition.

Richardson played RT in college, but the team tried him at RG and then made him a swing tackle, which I knew didn't suit him. Some guys just can't make the conversion from the right side to the left, but most LT's can make the switch from left to right, fairly easily. With Cam being injured, Richardson had to play more on the left side and it really wasn't pretty. I'm never a fan of making a pure college RT into a swing tackle. IMO, swing Tackles should always either have experience in college playing both Tackle positions or exclusively LT. 

I'm hoping we draft an O-Linemen or two, but depending on the round, it might not help. We might be able to find RT competition in the 2nd or 3rd round. One guy I like a lot is Spencer Brown of Northern Iowa. He was exclusively a RT for the Panthers and was dominant. He had a fantastic Senior Bowl week and showed extremely good footwork and balance. He's very tall, so I wanted to see how stiff he played, but he did a really good job keeping low and getting under defenders' pads, stuffing them at the line. His quickness and strength really impressed me. 

As for the LT class, that's gonna be trickier. If we don't move up, we can pray Eichenberg is there at #25 or take Radunz at #33 or #45. I think a lot of people are sleeping on Eichenberg. I like this kid a lot, but he may be gone by #25. I like Radunz as well, but he's far from ready. He's more a developmental type that could take time to reach his potential. He started out shaky during Senior Bowl week, but got better as time went on. I wouldn't consider him a day 1 starter though. Maybe more of a year 2 starter at best. Once you get passed him, the LT class is pretty void. I am intrigued by D'ante Smith and Josh Ball, but again, they are pretty raw with high upside, so it may take longer than we need for them to develop and Ball in particular, might be better suited for the right side.

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