(02-01-2023, 04:40 PM)Caldrac Wrote:

(02-01-2023, 04:26 PM)IKhan't Wrote: He's serviceable as a RT and the more reps he gets at the position, the better he should get. What's the alternative? We can't re-sign Taylor and Engram. Both will command pretty decent contracts on the open market and I would MUCH rather have Engram. Maybe we get lucky and find an OT in the middle rounds of the draft who plays better at RT than Little does and Little can stay at Swing Tackle. Who knows?

The alternative is getting your QB's teeth kicked in or worse. I could see them drafting a RT or signing a cheap veteran at this point if Taylor ends up walking. 

Little CLEARLY looks, feels and plays more naturally at the LT position. I honestly think he's a lot more faster and can benefit the offense more at LT than Robinson. 

Baalke blundered this situation a bit IMHO. I can't say I blame him though. I don't want to say he panicked but if you factor in that Robinson can't stay healthy, Taylor, really up until last year had been a huge letdown as a 2nd RD pick and then Little being pretty much mismanaged like the whole team in 2021 by Meyer. 

It was hard to find a solution along the line short of drafting a tackle number one overall over Travon Walker. I still think they figure out a way to extend Engram to a fair deal. I think they'll try and work something out with Taylor but they won't break the bank for him because they can't afford it.

Trust the process I guess. Maybe they'll look at a guy like Paris Johnson, Broderick Jones or Anton Harrison in RD2.

Totally agree. Robinson should've never been extended given his history with us. Both he and Taylor had been disappointments. Taylor is just now turning into an average RT and you're right, Robinson can't stay healthy. We definitely need to work on our O-Line and hopefully, we invest in this area heavily via the draft. We cannot afford to invest a lot of money in an average RT like Taylor when we are so far over the cap and we need to re-sign the best TE we've ever had for this franchise. It's just a bad situation all around, but I still consider us in re-building mode. Some areas are gonna have to be "tinkered" with. Unless we strike gold on a mid round OT, the situation is what it is. I just don't see any possible way we keep both Taylor and Engram and Engram is the definite priority. 

I would love it if we selected someone like Paris Johnson, Broderick Jones or Anton Harrison in round two, but it would be a miracle if any of these players fell all the way to our pick. I think there is a good chance they all get taken in round 1, certainly Johnson and Jones. I believe if Harrison falls to round 2, he would almost certainly be selected within the first 10 picks of the round. Along with Peter Skoronski, these are the top guys at the OT position from what I'm reading. OT's, especially LT's are in huge demand around the NFL.

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