Expectations for our new LT and RT

[nanomoz]

For me personally, I just want the 2 young OTs to learn and take their lumps early in the year. By the end, if they are on the roll then we got ourselves something.

*Knock on wood, they are healthy and get the ball rolling in the off-season programs.

Exactly! They'll be solid by the time we have our next QB in place. And the Hawks will have a league-leading rushing attack, too. (That's an underrated part of protecting your QB--running the ball exceptionally well.)

 

[jammerhawk]

I don’t know why some here think we didn’t get a steal with Lucas. This guy/was seriously underrated by many draft experts. To me he’ll be an immediate upgrade on Shell and if not will be very good at RT very quickly.

Both new OTs are knocked as some think they aren’t mean mugged road graders in the running game and marked down for some reason b/c they are good at pass protection. The road grading can come easily to two plus level athletes as they already are good at protecting the passer.

I think we’ll see Lucas being the starter at RT when the season opens.

 

[Natethegreat]

I sure hope it doesn't take 3 years for Cross to be good at pass blocking.
I know he will have to add strength but pass blocking is his strength.
He should be the type of player that can play well right away and work on his run blocking.

 

[Natethegreat]

I don’t know why some here think we didn’t get a steal with Lucas. This guy/was seriously underrated by any draft experts. To me he’ll be an immediate upgrade on Shell and if not will be very good at RT very quickly.

Both new OTs are knocked as some think they aren’t mean mugged road graders in the running game and marked down for some reason b/c they are good a pass protection. The road grading can come easily to two plus level athletes as they already are good at protecting the passer.

I think we’ll see Lucas being the starter at RT when the season opens.

Agreed, that's why I think this draft was a win. You get 2 quality tackles in one draft and that's a huge win for your team. Big building blocks going forward. Still would have taken a shot on a QB but it is what it is.

 

[jammerhawk]

Meh, on the QB this draft, I was not unhappy about this at all. To me there still remains the possibility of Mayfield if Cleveland ever comes to their senses about eating his contract, or not.

The underlying strength of the team truly needed to have attention at key positions being OT, Edge Rush, and CB. That was the focus of this draft and the weaknesses were addressed. The QB situation may best be addressed next draft unless they acquire an experienced and capable QB otherwise. Next draft the team will have 2-1st, 2-2nd, 1-3rd picks to use to to work at addressing this problem, and as well the team will have positioned themselves to have almost all of their available cap if needed as the RW dead money will be gone this season.

This situation has the hallmarks of some astute team roster management.

 

[FattyKnuckle]

My hopes for Cross is that he is our cornerstone blue chip LT for years to come.

Pretty sure that’s everyone’s hope.

 

[Own The West]

I think they'll both be fine. They were the two most accomplished pass blockers in the draft, and they both have plus movement. Having tackles that can move will really help our outside zone run concepts.

Oh, and I read somewhere that Cross' run blocking was graded at 87.5 or something like that. Just because he didn't do it often, doesn't mean he can't do it.

 

[toffee]

Meh, on the QB this draft, I was not unhappy about this at all. To me there still remains the possibility of Mayfield if Cleveland ever comes to their senses about eating his contract, or not.

The underlying strength of the team truly needed to have attention at key positions being OT, Edge Rush, and CB. That was the focus of this draft and the weaknesses were addressed. The QB situation may best be addressed next draft unless they acquire an experienced and capable QB otherwise. Next draft the team will have 2-1st, 2-2nd, 1-3rd picks to use to to work at addressing this problem, and as well the team will have positioned themselves to have almost all of their available cap if needed as the RW dead money will be gone this season.

This situation has the hallmarks of some astute team roster management.

Clearly Pete and John sold two years rebuilt to Jody, as they should. They are filling holes this draft, will grab a QB in the next draft.

 

[SeahawksBMX]

Clearly Pete and John sold two years rebuilt to Jody, as they should. They are filling holes this draft, will grab a QB in the next draft.

Pretty easy sell. Show her a PowerPoint slide of the 2011 season and say, “This is where we’re at. Next year, we add the QB and we’re off to the races.”

Pretty sure they get their QB1 with first pick next year, but if Drew/Geno/Other shock the world this season then we’re sitting on a goldmine with 4 picks in the first 2 rounds. I feel like the only thing between right now and utopia is a short rocky road and I’m glad that Jody has faith in PCJS. Had she made reactionary wholesale changes we could easily be looking at a decade of misery. Maybe we will regardless, but I’m surprisingly more optimistic about the Hawks than I’ve been in several years.

 

[Boohman14]

I expect our new O-linemen to struggle the first part of the season, as they adjust to the speed and skill set brought by NFL pass rushers. I think they'll benefit by the style of offense Pete prefers. I loved Russ but his propensity for extending plays put a lot more pressure on the O-line.
I think as a whole our O-line isn't that bad. Remember the group we had under Flores and Erickson? Poor Rick Mier was shell shocked after his second season lol.

 

[Shanegotyou11]

Let them both start and learn.

 

[Maui12thman]

Solid by the end of the year. Better than average by the end of the following year.