(09-18-2021, 09:50 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote:

(09-18-2021, 03:29 AM)JagFan81 Wrote: I get your point but we have invested in the Oline, thats whats worrying. Cam was a high 2nd round pick (getting paid $13.7m this year), Norwell was a big ticket FA and highest paid player on the roster ($15m this year) Linder is our longest serving player ($8.5m this year), Cann is....well Cann ($6.2m this year) and Taylor is a high 2nd round pick.

Don't get me wrong, watching this Oline is like Groundhog Day, same bad stuff every week but it makes no sense, these arent rookies and UDFA, they should be better and Warhop has had years to improve them and he hasn't.

Finding good O-Linemen is a rare feat in the NFL. If you want a premier OT, you need to take them in the first round. Even the premier OG's like Zach Martin, Quenton Nelson and Brandon Scherff were all taken in round 1. Waiting until round 2 means you are normally getting a guy with potential, but they have some issues that they may or may not be able to overcome with good coaching. In our case, Robinson and Taylor were both known to be slow footed and got out of their stances too late. Warhop certainly hasn't help them correct those issues. 

I know we got burned years ago by drafting Luke Joeckel in round 1, but we gotta get over that. (I never liked him to begin with and thought it was a terrible pick.) If we want this O-Line to improve, we gotta start using 1st round picks on elite O-Linemen and/or breaking the bank to bring in elite O-Linemen in free agency. We spent money on Norwell and although he hasn't performed like we expected, he's not been the problem. I have no issue with him or Linder. Both men have been the only saving grace for the O-Line. Norwell is an UFA at the end of the season and we need to use that money that will be expiring, to help bring in some elite O-Linemen in free agency. We gotta protect Lawrence and open up some running lanes without making boneheaded penalties. 

Priority one needs to be to extend Linder and spend whatever we have to in free agency to bring in top free agents like Brandon Scherff, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Wyatt Teller, Terron Armstead, Riley Reiff (who I wanted this past offseason) or Duane Brown. If we can't do that, then we need to start trading high round picks to bring in proven starters. If we just keep using O-Linemen taken in the 2nd to 4th rounds as starters, we'll never get better.

You make some very good points and i agree with you. The standard of Olinemen has dropped in recent years and i think college teams moving to more spread O's and shotgun formations hasn't helped truly developed Oline players come through like they used to. A lot of times they need to learn the skills like pulling and sustaining a block.

You are absolutely right about 2nd rounders not being the same as the guys that go in the 1st. Theres usually one standout Olinemen and the rest arent bad but not at his level. Part of our problem is picking top 5 and those players seen as a reach when you can draft a 'star' and pick up a solid Olinemen in the 2nd but i do think your right about Joeckel being the reason we see that as a bad move.

Completely agree thats where the cap should be going this next off season. Id even try and use one or two of those 6th rounders to try and get someone early rather than waiting for FA. Be aggressive and get the players we want that fit our system. Lawrence is too valuable to have behind an Oline that isnt getting it done and sadly our current group havent shown that they are those guys.

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