-
Offensive linemen standing out at Senior Bowl
Hope we get some good ones in this draft.
LINK to the article Offensive linemen standing out at Senior Bowl Tackles Fisher, Johnson could be tempting for Bears at No. 20 By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter8:27 p.m. CST, January 23, 2013
MOBILE, Ala. — Conventional thinking is the Bears will take a long, hard look at drafting an offensive lineman in the first round for the third time in six years.
There could be multiple options when their turn comes at No. 20, and it's a deep class with players certain to be available in later rounds, although general manager Phil Emery will be operating without third- and seventh-round picks.
Some of the elite talent is on display this week at the Senior Bowl. Central Michigan tackle Eric Fisher and Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson, a former quarterback and tight end, have stood out. Alabama tackle D.J. Fluker backed out of Saturday's game with minor injuries after measuring 6-foot-4 7/8 and 355 pounds Monday. Kent State's Brian Winters projects as a tackle-to-guard project who could go early.
Texas A&M junior tackle Luke Joeckel is projected as a potential top-five pick, and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper is a first-round prospect who passed on the Senior Bowl.
Fisher received only one other scholarship offer, from Eastern Michigan, so he is soaking up the spotlight after an impressive career in which he added 65 pounds to the 6-7, 240-pound frame he had when graduating from high school. He's still working to develop his body and said he's consuming between 5,000 and 6,000 calories per day.
"It's always been my dream to be drafted," Fisher said. "When I started getting wind this could happen, I took it and ran with it. I'm looking forward to the next three months. I am a very competitive person. I wasn't very highly recruited out of high school at all. I am down here to show everybody I am one of the best tackles in the nation."
Johnson, who played one season at quarterback at Kilgore Junior College in Texas, moved to tight end when he got to Oklahoma before switching to defensive end and then right tackle in 2011. He moved to left tackle this past season and has been highly regarded this week.
He might be a little raw at the position, but his fluid athletic ability makes him stand out as a pass protector, and his experience as a self-described "gunslinger" makes him appreciate protecting the quarterback.
"It's a bad feeling when you get blindsided," Johnson said. "I try to never let that happen to my quarterback."
Teams want to see Johnson add to his 6-6, 302-pound frame and he needs more experience, but he has had three days of strong practices.
If the Bears go for a left tackle in the draft, they can allow 2011 first-round pick Gabe Carimi and J'Marcus Webb to compete for the job on the right side. But it's premature to start shifting players around, and it's impossible to say how draft boards will be stacked.
"I am so impressed with that Central Michigan left tackle right now," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "He's a guy that, on paper, a lot of people thought might be available later in the first round. Central Michigan isn't a big school, but he is out here stoning everybody.
"I know we're talking about the Texas A&M kid being a top-five pick, but this Central Michigan kid is the real deal. And it is a really good draft class. The kid from Oklahoma, Lane Johnson, has got natural movement skills. He is a guy at 20 that could be sitting there, and a lot of people thought he was a second- or third-round guy. From what I have seen on tape, he is too pretty with his movement skills to get past there."
It's possible the Bears could consider an interior lineman as the new coaching staff with Marc Trestman and Aaron Kromer has to be looking to revamp the unit. Some are opposed to taking a guard in the first round because the saying is "guards don't win Super Bowls."
"Football players win football games," Mayock said. "If you're in the first round ... and you've got a guard that is rated as the 11th-best player in the country and you are at 20 and you've got a tackle that is rated as the 27th-best player in the country, I am taking the guard every single time. He is a better football player.
"I understand the whole thing about you can get linebackers later and you can get running backs later and you can get guards later. I get all that stuff, and I do value corners and left tackles. But at the end of the day, you better get good football players, especially in the first round.
"I don't care as much at that point what position he plays. Just get me an All-Pro. If I am 20 and I am drafting an All-Pro, nobody will ever criticize that."
bmbiggs@tribune.com
-
-
Junior Member
Eric Fisher only consumes 5,000-6,000 calories per day? J'Marcus Webb would be disappointed...
-
High Fives / Like - 4 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Fisher is quickly moving up the list and I agree wit Maycock. If you have needs at multiple positions you take the better player of the two or three you're trying to fill. We still won't know much as far as what need to fill until FA is through and I still think that getting a starting LT with the #20 is a pipe dream. We once thought that about Carimi at this point in the draft year and as it turns out he not even seen as LT in the pros. Let's not get too excited just yet.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
Member
Whos the guy from Alabama i think hes a RT that was said could be an outstanding LT. Wingspand was 36" per arm 
and weighed in at 335lbs, and 6'6.
-
Member
Originally Posted by
soulman 
Fisher is quickly moving up the list and I agree wit Maycock. If you have needs at multiple positions you take the better player of the two or three you're trying to fill. We still won't know much as far as what need to fill until FA is through and I still think that getting a starting LT with the #20 is a pipe dream. We once thought that about Carimi at this point in the draft year and as it turns out he not even seen as LT in the pros. Let's not get too excited just yet.
Yeah Soul, I watched the highlights of Johnson & Fisher practices & they both look very good. Quite honestly I doubt either will still be on the board @ #20. We'll see. Like you said it all depends on how FA goes.
-
Originally Posted by
BearJim Yeah Soul, I watched the highlights of Johnson & Fisher practices & they both look very good. Quite honestly I doubt either will still be on the board @ #20. We'll see. Like you said it all depends on how FA goes.
If either of these guys is seen as a legit NFL LT when the dust settles per-draft, then the chance of them still being on the board at #20 is nil. I could easily teams like Arizona, Detroit, New Orleans, and Dallas going after them and they're all before us. If these guys turn out to be RT > LT prospects only, then we need to pass. We already have 2-3 RT candidates on the roster anyway. And we won't even need an LT if we sign a FA vet. I think it's much more realistic OL-wise to be targeting interior guys in the 1st at 20 or maybe even with a small trade-down.
-
Originally Posted by
VJ18 Whos the guy from Alabama i think hes a RT that was said could be an outstanding LT. Wingspand was 36" per arm
and weighed in at 335lbs, and 6'6.
Fluker and he is a RT or as a LT may very well = JWebb. There are a lot of similarities. One thing we don't need is another RT so unless somebody like Kromer can look at that kid and know 100% proof positive that he can make a LT out of him this year then we should pass. From what I've seen and heard so far he sure reminds me a lot of Webb.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
Originally Posted by BearJim
Yeah Soul, I watched the highlights of Johnson & Fisher practices & they both look very good. Quite honestly I doubt either will still be on the board @ #20. We'll see. Like you said it all depends on how FA goes.
Originally Posted by
MPBears68 If either of these guys is seen as a legit NFL LT when the dust settles per-draft, then the chance of them still being on the board at #20 is nil. I could easily teams like Arizona, Detroit, New Orleans, and Dallas going after them and they're all before us. If these guys turn out to be RT > LT prospects only, then we need to pass. We already have 2-3 RT candidates on the roster anyway. And we won't even need an LT if we sign a FA vet. I think it's much more realistic OL-wise to be targeting interior guys in the 1st at 20 or maybe even with a small trade-down.
Well guys that's the way I'm looking at this too and MP is spot on. One thing we do not need is another RT we're gonna try to make a LT out of. We've been doing that for years going all the way back to the days of John Tait who you all remember was a RT in KC when we signed him.
This looks like it may be a deeper draft for lineman than anyone thought a few months back as some underclassmen have declared for the draft but I'l still stand by what I've said in the past. Any OT who falls as far as #20 would be very suspect as far as a day one 2013 starter goes. Even the top guys like Kalil will grade out neutral their first year.
Somewhat in deference to Webb it is a very tough position to learn and play well and I do give him credit for improving somewhat but he's still far more inconsistent than is needed. One thing that will help is that by going to more of a WCO and designing blocking schemes around that Trestman may improve the pass protection even with the same guys. Tice may have been a good coach on the technique side but his blocking schemes were all wrong for the players he had.
The ONLY way we assure ourselves of better play at LT this year is to sign an established vet who is better than Webb. That's it period. But I think we have to acknowledge that it may not be possible. They may be out of reach or the best simply are resigned by their own teams. That's why Emery and Trestman are down there looking these guys over and looking to see whether or not there is a guy who might fall.
There's always a chance that a guy from a smaller school might get passed by early on in favor of guys from bigger programs playing against tougher competition and if Fisher is there and they honestly feel he's there guy then I don't think Emery would hesitate one minute taking him but I wouldn't count on him being there.
Like I said at best we need to wait until after FA before we'll have any idea of what they might do and in the meantime I'll be satisfied just knowing that THEY know what they intend to do. Phil has a plan that much I'm sure of. I doubt he gets out of bed in the morning and shave, showers and shits without one tucked in his robe so I'm gonna trust in that. JA ain't runnin' this show anymore.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
High Fives / Like - 2 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
The Bears have drafted O line in the first before, and the last 3 have been pretty much busts - for their position.
If the Bears can not get one of the 3 highest rated, they should look to poach a couple of veterans.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
