I'm struggling on what we do with the OL. They've shown some improvement down the stretch and the same thing happened in 2012 (I don't think we've quite reached that level of play yet).
Okung has looked like one of the best tackles in the league over the past few games, and we're not going to get a better starter when healthy; that's the issue though. Michael Roos becomes a free agent next year and he spent a lot of time in Washington (EWU grad), he could potentially be a viable backup option (he'd probably have to take a 'hometown' discount). Or, if we don't trust Big Russ's health enough to hand him a contract in keeping with what other teams could offer, then it would make sense to draft a future LT early and have him sit/be ready if Okung goes down.
He can't afford another injury between now and next season (we'd save $5m by cutting him), we can't afford to gamble on his health and It's a shame because he was a stalwart at Oklahoma State.
Carpenter's a difficult one. I'm expecting him to hit the open market, and I'd be surprised if we could afford to match his best offers. I think he'd need to take a little discount to stay (he does seem to be settled in Seattle now). Bailey doesn't look consistent enough from what I've seen, but he's been thrown in the deep end a couple of times and he's been no worse than Carp of years gone-by.
Of course, there's also the (decent) argument that says we invested a lot of time and stock into Carp and this year it's finally paid dividends. If we can afford it, it's worth paying a guy who knows our system and is finally playing well in it.
Max Unger's health can also not be relied on, but Lem's one of the better backups in the league. I'm not sure this position needs addressing, though if the right guy falls to us in the draft then don't be surprised if we take them (nothing should surprise us).
Sweezy's forever improving and is already an above average starting RG, I'd expect us to try and extend him next season before he hits free agency as an elite RG in 2016.
Britt's young and is making some rookie errors (duh), but he should continue to show improvement. For all Pete preaches, there's no competition at RT right now. I really wouldn't mind us investing in a swing tackle type to really light a fire up his ass. Drafting that early tackle who could initially back up both would be great. You can never have too much quality depth at OL, and we desperately lack it. It's a real shame we never saw what Garrett Scott could do.
In summation, our OL is probably above average when healthy, and we've got a couple of young guys who should continue to improve. With that said, up until recently (with the addition of Lem) our depth has sucked, and with perennially gimpy starters that's a recipe for disaster.
Wilson's going to be our big investment next year, and we literally can't afford not to protect that investment. We should probably anticipate Beast's departure too (plan for the worst), which would put more emphasis on our passing game. We'll have eleven picks in spring, I'd be surprised if we didn't spend three of those on O-linemen.
