Could Byron Bell be a franchise Left Tackle some day?

[Guest Bwood]

Just food for thought, but with how fast he's progressed from being an undrafted rookie FA, to a legit Right Tackle in the NFL, do you think he could make the jump to LT some day when Gross is all said and done?

He has great size at 6'5 340, and as the weeks go bye I just see tons of improvement in his game.

What do you think?

[Kuech the Sneak]

I think he could be our RT for many years to come, love his progression this year...barely gets beat when he plays RT. We really need to upgrade the guard spot beside him

[Monday Night Shyamalan]

I think the potential is there with the way he has progressed. Would be nice to lock up a franchise LT that practically fell in our lap...

[Argus Plexus]

I sure hope the new GM doesn't overpay him if he does turn out that way.

[Rubi]

I say just leave him at the spot where he has shown great progress. What's wrong with having a stud RT....I feel like the draft is where we can land a quality LT. He is growing into the RT spot...I say let him hold it down for years to come

However, we will have to address the Line in the near future with Gross declining

[rodeo]

We most definitely need someone to groom to replace Gross. I don't care if it's Bell or a draftee or a free agent, but we need them soon.

If it's gonna be Bell, we should probably switch him now so Gross can teach him. Send Gross back to his natural RT and let him tutor Bell at LT. None of this back and forth Romneying, just make up your mind and go with it to minimize impeding the guy's progress.

[rayzor]

if he's reliable at RT, let him stay there. no gaurantee that he would be as good at LT. no gaurantee that bell's replacement would be as reliable.

if we've got one postition set for years to come, let's not screw that up.

i hate shuffling players around. if it's not necessary, don't screw around. if it aint broke, don't mess it up.

[Guest Bwood]

Luke Joeckel with our top 5 pick this year anyone?

[Chaos]

It would be a great story to see Bell flourish and become a staple for the future of our offensive line.

[Kuech the Sneak]

Luke Joeckel with our top 5 pick this year anyone?

Wouldn't be totally opposed to it....gotta go with value so it'll probably be him or star

[Lumps]

but I thought Bell sucked his rookie year and won't amount to anything...

where are all the Bell haters?

[Ruff]

I think so. As good as Bell is as a RT, the RT is a position that needs to be the run blocker, while your LT is your pass blocker. Bell is a much better pass blocker than run blocker because he is an upright technique player, meaning he can stand straight and push the defender off of him. He isn't the type of player to get low and shove his defender off the ball like a true run blocker should.

Honestly, as good as he has been at RT, I think he could be even better at LT. Guy could be a star.

[Mage]

No.

[Urrymonster]

Read an interesting article today about this very switch.

It may surprise people but switching from one side to the other is a very tough ask for a player to make. According to current OLinemen in the NFL it's much easier to switch to guard than to move from LT to RT or vice versa. So any switch should be very carefully considered to avoid completely ruining one or two players progression.

For the record, gross is playing just fine in both the running and passing game. We don't really need to start grooming a player yet, he should still have several years in the league and when he does wind down just get a first round pick, as they have very high success rates over the last 5 or so years. Gross remains our best lineman in both the passing and running game and has been since he moved to LT.