Offensive Line -- Today 4/19/21

[SetfreexX]

A lot of talk of ''If SeWell falls, or Rashawn Slaters the pick'' indulge me for a few...it goes without saying that if you watched the Panthers last season the weak points of the OL were -- LT (Due to Okung being out half the games), and LG -- Chris Reed (UDFA), and Schofield. 

For the most part C - Paradis, RG - John Miller, and RT - Taylor Moton were above average and in Moton's case FT worthy. 

Enter - Cam Erving (2 yrs / 10M / 8M Guarateed), and Pat Elflein (3 yrs / 13.5M / 6M Guaranteed)

These are not break the bank values but they are amounts that suggest the team at least can ''see'' them as starters, especially as quickly as we acted on the acquisitions. 

When you look at LT depth currently - Greg Little / Trent Scott -- Cam Erving should be viewed as an upgrade 

When you look at LG depth currently - Dennis Daley / Guys you likely never heard of -- In this case Elflein is an upgrade over the depth and Chris Reed as a starter last year. 

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With these items in mind and the OL depth in this years class at the top of 2nd and 3rd where we will be, and maybe even into the 4th for IOL help, I really think we are in for a bit of a surprise in the 1st round as we don't HAVE to take a LT in the 1st. 

A few things to think about:

QB - Sam Darnold is likely not the answer, we're also likely going to be good enough with Sam to play our way out of the top 10, which means if we need to make a move on a future QB, we'll have to pull a SF / PHI type of deal to move up down the road. Smart money takes Fields, or Lance if they fall with a year to develop. 

WR - After DJ Moore, and Robbie (more on him in a dew) name a starting caliber receiver...David Moore is nice, but he's a piece to the puzzle, he's a good 3rd guy. Robbie is 30 after this season and is in the final year of his 2y / 20M deal, and is making 12M this season. DJ is coming up on his 5th year option. We will probably be staring guys like - JaMarr Chase / Jaylen Waddle / DeVonta Smith in the face. I could see the argument to select one of these guys as well if a QB is gone. 

TE - Darnold to Arnold sounds fun, and the depth after him is Ian Thomas, and a TE/DE/UDFA in Stephen Sullivan. If Pitts is there, you take Pitts if a QB is gone. 

CB - I'm pretty happy with what we've done here and if we see growth from Pride this could be a solid group - Jackson / Bouye / Pride / Melvin -- we have a nice representation of size / speed / experience, but in a trade back scenario where none of the above are available, we could turn our corner depth into a true strength. 

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So while a lot of the media talk / mock drafts are dialing in on OL, there are some other options available that may surprise a lot of people if called upon on draft night. 

[CarolinaLivin]

Great post, definitely a lot to think about. A lot of our off-season pickups shifted our selection at 8 to more of a WANT pick than a NEED pick. 

meaning... BPA baby!

[Daddy_Uncle]

I'm not relying on Erving to be the answer. If a top tackle is there you take him. It has been an overlooked position since Gross retired and the results have been obvious. Can't just keep plugging in average or less than average veterans every year and hope that's good enough. Its not in the NFL. You have to have a stud left tackle and we should be in great position to get one. Its the hardest position to fill in the draft. So you do it when you can. 

[MHS831]

15 minutes ago, SetfreexX said:

A lot of talk of ''If SeWell falls, or Rashawn Slaters the pick'' indulge me for a few...it goes without saying that if you watched the Panthers last season the weak points of the OL were -- LT (Due to Okung being out half the games), and LG -- Chris Reed (UDFA), and Schofield. 

For the most part C - Paradis, RG - John Miller, and RT - Taylor Moton were above average and in Moton's case FT worthy. 

Enter - Cam Erving (2 yrs / 10M / 8M Guarateed), and Pat Elflein (3 yrs / 13.5M / 6M Guaranteed)

These are not break the bank values but they are amounts that suggest the team at least can ''see'' them as starters, especially as quickly as we acted on the acquisitions. 

When you look at LT depth currently - Greg Little / Trent Scott -- Cam Erving should be viewed as an upgrade 

When you look at LG depth currently - Dennis Daley / Guys you likely never heard of -- In this case Elflein is an upgrade over the depth and Chris Reed as a starter last year. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

With these items in mind and the OL depth in this years class at the top of 2nd and 3rd where we will be, and maybe even into the 4th for IOL help, I really think we are in for a bit of a surprise in the 1st round as we don't HAVE to take a LT in the 1st. 

A few things to think about:

QB - Sam Darnold is likely not the answer, we're also likely going to be good enough with Sam to play our way out of the top 10, which means if we need to make a move on a future QB, we'll have to pull a SF / PHI type of deal to move up down the road. Smart money takes Fields, or Lance if they fall with a year to develop. 

WR - After DJ Moore, and Robbie (more on him in a dew) name a starting caliber receiver...David Moore is nice, but he's a piece to the puzzle, he's a good 3rd guy. Robbie is 30 after this season and is in the final year of his 2y / 20M deal, and is making 12M this season. DJ is coming up on his 5th year option. We will probably be staring guys like - JaMarr Chase / Jaylen Waddle / DeVonta Smith in the face. I could see the argument to select one of these guys as well if a QB is gone. 

TE - Darnold to Arnold sounds fun, and the depth after him is Ian Thomas, and a TE/DE/UDFA in Stephen Sullivan. If Pitts is there, you take Pitts if a QB is gone. 

CB - I'm pretty happy with what we've done here and if we see growth from Pride this could be a solid group - Jackson / Bouye / Pride / Melvin -- we have a nice representation of size / speed / experience, but in a trade back scenario where none of the above are available, we could turn our corner depth into a true strength. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So while a lot of the media talk / mock drafts are dialing in on OL, there are some other options available that may surprise a lot of people if called upon on draft night. 

Lotta this is what I have been saying.  You have to read the tea leaves--although i think they are hoping Darnold is the guy, and I think he will be better.

[MHS831]

4 minutes ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

I'm not relying on Erving to be the answer. If a top tackle is there you take him. It has been an overlooked position since Gross retired and the results have been obvious. Can't just keep plugging in average or less than average veterans every year and hope that's good enough. Its not in the NFL. You have to have a stud left tackle and we should be in great position to get one. Its the hardest position to fill in the draft. So you do it when you can. 

I am not either, but I bet the man that paid him $10m for 2 years might think differently. Still, this is a solid OT draft, so we are dumb not to get one.

[Your GFs favorite huddler]

Ideally, in a perfect world Erving is a versatile backup who can literally fill in if needed at any spot on the OL. 
 

elf has some marginal upside and I could see a scenario where he starts, but again best case is a solid back up you feel comfortable plugging in if starter goes down. 
 

bottom line the additions gave us the flexibility to draft truly BPA. If Pitts falls we can take him without hesitation. If Sewell is there,  great take him. It also allows a 2nd or 3rd day OL pick to not be faced with the immediate pressure of having to start day 1. 
 

im seriously stoked for this draft. 

[SetfreexX]

12 minutes ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

I'm not relying on Erving to be the answer. If a top tackle is there you take him. It has been an overlooked position since Gross retired and the results have been obvious. Can't just keep plugging in average or less than average veterans every year and hope that's good enough. Its not in the NFL. You have to have a stud left tackle and we should be in great position to get one. Its the hardest position to fill in the draft. So you do it when you can. 

This isn't to say ignore it, it's to say the OL group is deep, so the OBVIOUS pick, may not be THE pick in the first. 

Moton / Trai / Norwell -- some of our best OL in recent times were 2nd, 3rd, and UDFA. I'm not against upgrading the OL.

BUT we don't have to, that's what this is about -- SeWell is the only LT I want at #8 -- Slater does not seem to be heads and shoulders above the rest. At #8 I'd want a little more than that, if we traded back and got him that would be easier to digest. 

[Missouri Cat Fan]

I keep seeing people say take Slater if he is available. Multiple reports believe he will be moved to being a guard. Do we want to waste a pick at #8 for a guy who projects at guard for the long term? He is smaller than some and size has been a big topic for tackles this year. If we had a dual threat quarterback I could see that as a choice as he would be quicker as the pocket moves. However Sam or Sam 2.0 ( next years first rounder) aren't specifically considered dual threats. I'd like to see 2nd and 3rd picks to be LT and LG. Trey Smith is my sleeper. Dude is fast and can get to kick out blocks/screens quickly. Opening the door for CMC to do his thing.