good dolphin wrote:
Kirkwood wrote:
good dolphin wrote:
I think we can extrapolate from the value placed on the OG position in FA and in recent years in the draft. Just the year before, Emery passed on the top rated guard who fell to him in the draft while the Bears had an even more extreme need at the position. This year, he had to have the 3rd rated in a nearly identical slot. Overdraft is not just a matter of who else might have taken him and at which spot. It also has to consider what else is available when you draft (as someone else wrote "opportunity cost").
Look at the Steeler draft in that same time. They are a team that consistently takes talent irrespective of need when it falls to them. They are also, year to year, one of the best drafting teams in the NFL. In 2012 #1 rated OG DeCastro falls from a predicted top 15 all the way to 24 on draft day and they scoop him up. This year LB Jones who was a consensus top five pick at the beginning of the year and ultimately the first LB taken in the draft falls to them at 17. That's some smooth operating in my opinion.
If you told me TODAY that I could have DeCastro and Jones for Mc Clellin and Long, I would be happy to make that move.
Even more on point if you told me today that I could have DeCastro and Datone Jones (a OG and pass rusher available at the time of drafting in the last two years) instead of Mc Clellin and Long, I would make that move as well
When Floyd, Eifert and Ogletree fell to the Bears I was in disbelief. Long will be a good player but he's still just a guard. Last year was worse as Emery wanted a pass rusher and passed on Chandler Jones and Nick Perry. Would've been nice if Bears picked Perry so Packers wouldn't have him miscast as a 3-4 'backer.
Just off the top of your head without looking at anything think who the best OG in the league is right now. That's the impact of the position. I'm glad he is doing well and I would love to have top talent at the position if I could but ultimately I think you can find competent players at reasonable prices on the FA market at the position every year. As we saw with Bushrod, the same isn't true for so many other positions in the league.
That said, I have to believe they are projecting Long to be a LT in the future
Who's the best OT though? Supposedly, Trestmen values guards highly, so that may have been a factor. If you're looking at doing a short-pass and rush game, having a guard who can pull and lead block could be very valuable, even if that wouldn't necessarily be the case in other systems (of football).
You and Hub may be wrong on the Long-as-Tackle bet. I'm starting to sense they may have this guy running all over the field, burying would-be tacklers.
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