Biggs on loaded O-line draft class & drafting guards in Rd 1.

Biggs on Sulia.com regarding drafting oline interior guys in the 1st.

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LINK to the article

Here is what NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock told me about a loaded O-line draft class & drafting guards in Rd 1.


"I think it’s too early to start talking about specifics of where guys are going. I am so impressed with that Central Michigan left tackle (Eric Fisher) right now. He’s a guy that on paper I think 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. So, I know we’re talking about the Texas A&M kid (Luke Joeckel) being a top-five pick but this Central Michigan kid is the real deal. I really like him. And I think it is a really good draft class. The kid from Oklahoma, Lane Johnson, the former quarterback. I think he is a first-round talent. He is 6-6, he is over 300 pounds. He is a former quarterback and tight end. He’s got natural movement skills. He is a guy at 20 that could be sitting there and I think a lot of people thought he was a second- or third-round guy. From what I have seen on tape, I think he is too pretty with his movement skills to get past there."

Does Mayock have an issue drafting guards in the first round?

"I think football players win football games. If you’re in the first round and pick a number – No. 20 overall – 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 I do value left tackles. But at the end of the day, you better get good football players, especially in the first round. You better not miss in the first round. So, you better bank on a good football player and so that is why 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." about 3 hours ago

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I agree with Maycock. With the exception of LT I think the rest of the position blur together more and that maybe the next most important spot to fill well is not RT or OG but OC. Guys that can handle two of the three are guys you want to look at which makes Barrett Jones a much better pick as maybe the top rated OC and maybe 3rd best OG vs a guy who's the 5th or 6th rated OT and questionable as LT.

We have needs at LT, OG/OC, and LB that should be filled this offseason. Signing a LT in FA would free us up to look at interior linemen and inside LBs the first two days of the draft. If there's a can't miss OT maybe you have to consider that too even if he's a RT only but if that's what we do then there needs to be a plan for the log jam we'd have a RT.

If we run the type of scheme most suited a WCO and our backs the type of lineman we'll want will change as well. Smaller, quicker, more athletic guys work far better in a zone scheme than the behemoths Tice seemed to prefer so that becomes a factor as well. And then there are the question marks about Louis' knee and will Rachal be brought back or not.

So not only is it too early to adequately rank the draftees it's still to early to even rank our needs.