Dave Boling on the state of the offensive line 4/11/15

[RichNhansom]

I agree that the O-line (at this point) is a MAJOR priority.

I am NOT sold on Okung. Pro bowler-or-not,.................this guy sprains his "mangina" (at least) once a year.

He ain't Walter (by a long shot).

Defense may win Superbowls, but a stud O-line puts points on the board.

I say, draft the (seriously) "big uglies".

'Nuff said.

I do believe Okungs injury history is part of the reason for letting Carp walk and trading Unger. Okung has the skillset to be amongst the best in the league if he could stay healthy and get up to full speed along with gaining cohesion but with Carp constantly out of shape and Unger constantly injured, there was a constant rotation on the left side and I believe that is part of the reason Okung has had so many ankle issues.

I know it will be difficult to replace the talent that Unger and Carp were capable of but even if we lose a little talent but gain health it becomes a wash at the worst. Hopefully we get the talent and the health,

The biggest thing I hope for though is health. Replacing talented injured players for less talented injured players would really hurt the team.

On a positive note I also believe a big part of our o-line struggles and injury history are do to protecting a mobile QB and having to do it sometimes for 7 seconds. That is a recipe for disaster. A big part of the reason for that was the lack of a quick passing game which stems from Wilsons learning curve and the lack of talented receiving options that get open consistently. Adding Jimmy could potentially do wonders for that as it moves opponents best DB away from Baldwin and Jimmy should be on auto pilot.

I think we were already seeing Wilson improving at the 3 step drop and pass but when P-Rich went out it really hurt us. I think we will see this progression improve dramatically this year and when\if P-Rich comes back we could be potentially dangerous.

If we improve on the quick release we will also improve on O-line production and health.

 

[McGruff]

Perfect year to have a lot of picks, there is a lot of OL talent in this draft.

This is contrary to reports that I've been reading that state that this draft is low on NFL ready oline and especially guys capable of playing the left side.

Its a deep draft at guard and center, with some good RT prospects. There are some interesting developmental LT propsects in the middle and late rounds as well. Raw but long athletes.

The good news is that I don't think Cable and Pete look at LT like other team's do. I think they are willing to make compromises even there if the players presents special run blocking characteristics.

 

[Year of The Hawk]

It seems like everyone think Pete will go O-line early on. IMHO I think he will will go defense or Running back early on and go for O-line later picks. Look at his history of that stuff. You have to look at what is most important to him. Defense and running the ball. He will want depth at defense and will be looking to find a power back to replace ML since it will probably be his last year (my guess). Everything else is just filler and he will make do in later rounds. How long has he "neglected" the O-line in the draft? Although he will probably take best man up if he finds a gem.

I think he should take O-line as well early on to get best results but who am I to question what he has done to get us where we are?
I think the most important need for the draft is to find players that fit our mentality and system. Sometimes no matter who they are and how good they are you cant fit a a square peg in a round hole. This is what makes JS and his crew so important to us.

 

[brimsalabim]

Maybe with some luck the BC center falls to us.

 

[LickMyNuts]

Perfect year to have a lot of picks, there is a lot of OL talent in this draft.

This is contrary to reports that I've been reading that state that this draft is low on NFL ready oline and especially guys capable of playing the left side.

Not sure about the talent overall but LG/RG doesn't make a big difference. If were talking about tackles that is a different story. Not much of a problem to convert a RG over to LG.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Perfect year to have a lot of picks, there is a lot of OL talent in this draft.

This is contrary to reports that I've been reading that state that this draft is low on NFL ready oline and especially guys capable of playing the left side.

Its a deep draft at guard and center, with some good RT prospects. There are some interesting developmental LT propsects in the middle and late rounds as well. Raw but long athletes.

The good news is that I don't think Cable and Pete look at LT like other team's do. I think they are willing to make compromises even there if the players presents special run blocking characteristics.

Yeah, there's quite a few prospects that played LT in college projected more a fit at Guard this selection meeting.

 

[Exittium]

I'm anxious to see what exactly Seattle does with its draft picks, but even more so in how they use them. I.e. how many trade downs/ups do you think we'll see and how many Offensive players do we pick over Defensive. Especially given that we have an injured Simon, no Maxwell, and who's going to back up for Kam/Earl?

 

[hawknation2015]

Good article by Dave Boling. It was like he took the words right out of my mouth.

I will add that it's not just Okung who is in the final year of his deal. Sweezy is also in a contract year -- with somewhat indeterminate value due to radically inconsistent play. One moment he looks like a Pro Bowler and in the next he looks like the 7th Round former defensive tackle that he is. UDFAs Bailey and Lewis would also need to be re-signed after this year. That is 4/5 projected starters on the offensive line who are up for new contracts.

There is a lot of versatility in terms of what positions on the offensive line they decide to draft. Center is an obvious target after the Graham-Unger trade because it is now our position of least experience. But they could also draft a LT prospect to provide needed depth behind Okung. Or they could draft a starting RT and move Britt inside to LG, which may be a more natural position for him; this would also allow Bailey to provide needed depth at LT. Lastly, they could use another guard to provide competition for Bailey at LG, as Bailey has struggled with weight gain and inconsistent effort as a run blocker. I'm not saying they will draft a player for each position on the offensive line, only that they have room to add a linemen at any of the five positions.