Thoughts on The Cardinals' Offensive Line

[Mitch]

75 Brown, Levi (LT, 6-6, 324, 29, 6): Could absolutely flourish in the new system. Has greatly improved his pass pro, while remaining a mauler in the running game. Unlike in the last system, if he needs help with a difficult matchup, he will get it. BA will line up a TE to his side in that situation.

Projection: Starting LT.

71 Colledge, Daryn (LG, 6-4, 308, 31, 7): The new system fits him perfectly as well. The return of Levi Brown to LT makes a huge difference, and stabilizes the left side of the line. Switches on TEX stunts will be made faster and more decisively this year. Will get a good push in the running game on zone blocks and down blocks. If he gets in tip-top shape this could be his best year as a pro.

Projection: Starting LG.

69 Gibson, Mike (G/C, 6-4, 305, 27, 4): Late season pickup last year who started 8 games and 1 playoff game at RG for the Seahawks in Pete Carroll's first year. Has bounced around since. Gets good leverage, but has shorter than desired arms, and has trouble with counter moves. If he improves in that area, he could be a valuable, versatile backup.

Projection: Roster bubble.

64 Kelemete, Senio (G, 6-4, 301, 22, 1): Played reasonably well for a first ever start at RG versus SF in Week 17. Fits the new system well because he's quick off the ball and can get to trap blocks in a hurry. He gets to the second level quickly but now needs to improve his blocking techniques so that he can finish off plays. His pad level is good, but he needs to develop a stronger base and more effective hand placements.

Projection: Backup G who could wind up starting sometime this year or next.

70 Massie, Bobby (RT, 6-6, 316, 23, 1): After the dramatic improvement he showed during the second half of last season, it's hard to believe anyone would want to move him out of RT. He's long and athletic---whose one real flaw is a tendency to play too high, which he corrected quite significantly the last 8 games---he's a natural fit at the position. This year he needs to get stronger in the running game---a year in the weight-room and improved teaching from the coaches should help him in this regard.

Projection: Starting RT.

76 Potter, Nate (T/G, 6-6,300, 24, 1): Amazing to think of how he helped to settle the line down the second half of last year, especially seeing as he was hardly used in 5 pre-season games. Developed a solid approach to edge blocking---fans out well, uses good hand placement, rides well, but like most tackles, needs to adjust quicker and with greater balance on double moves and stunts. Needs to add strength to improve in the running game. Few young tackles enter the NFL and thrive right away in the running game. He and Bobby Massie should get better and better at it each year.

Projection: Backup T and G with chance to start at either at some point, possibly even at guard right away.

63 Sendelin, Lyle (C, 6-3, 308, 29, 6): Returns to the pivot after injury shortened season, first of his career. Smart player who makes good pre-snap adjustments and calls. Solid is pass pro---but needs to step up in the running game. Struggles most when a NT is lined head up on him.

Projection: Backup C, possible Roster Bubble.

68 Snyder, Adam (C/G, 6-6, 325, 31, 8): Slid down from RG to C at the end of the year and played his best football at C. Was nursing a painful and limiting elbow injury all year---probably shouldn't have been playing, but the lack of depth and confidence in the depth made the coaches want to stick with him. Classic type of center for the new system---is a very good down blocker, can stack up and neutralize a NT, and can pull and trap when asked to. Needs to react quicker to inside stunts---that's his biggest issue. The coaching should be a real help there.

Projection: Starting C.

65 Warren, Jeremiah (G, 6-4, 320, 25,1): Late season pickup from the Patriots' PS. Mauler in the running game---raw and unrefined in the passing game. Needs coaching and time. Might get it this year.

Projection: Roster Bubble, likely PS player.

66 Wedige, Scott (C, 6-4, 310, 24, 1): Re-signed late in the year. Had an up and down pre-season adjusting to the NFL game. Looks the part, however. Has good technique---can play with leverage---needs to get stronger in the legs and lower body.

Projection: Roster Bubble, possible PS player.

Additions:

1. If there is a way to sign RG Brandon Moore to a 2-3 year contract, this line is ready to roll. With Levi Brown back at LT, RG is weak link. Moore's veteran leadership would galvanize this line as well. It would also mean that the Cardinals, having used 3 draft picks last year and 1 free agent signing, could address other need areas early in the draft.

2. Potter, Kelemete, Warren and Wedige offer good potential---so the Cardinals shouldn't over-draft at their positions.

3. The players in the draft who could step in at RG:

Chance Warmack, 6-3, 320, Alabama: mauler at the point of attack, excellent push player---lacks technique and quickness on traps and pulls. Good strong base in pass pro.

Jonathan Cooper, 6-3, 315, North Carolina: excellent puller and trapper who lacks head to head strength at the point of attack---gets knocked backward too often, because he plays too high and lacks ideal lower body strength.

Sleepers:

Dallas Thomas, 6-5, 308, Tennessee
Justin Pugh, 6-5, 305, Syracuse
Kyle Long, 6-6, 304, Oregon
David Quessenberry, 6-5, 294, San Jose St.
Hugh Thornton, 6-4, 310, Illinois
Brian Winters, 6-4, 310, Kent St.
Alvin Bailey, 6-4, 315, Arkansas

Not sure if any of these players, most of whom will be converting from the tackle position in college to NFL guard, can step in and start right away.

Best Case Options in Order of Preference:

1. Sign RG Brandon Moore.
2. Sign Tyson Clabo and move him to RG where he could be dominant.
3. Draft Chance Warmack.

For Winning Now:

A veteran at RG next to RT Bobby Massie would be ideal.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Can't see why Larry Warford in the second round wouldn't be a thought at right guard, and if Fluker slipped to the second, he could be a Leonard Davis type of right guard. (IMO)

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I think drafting Warmack would be the #1 option simply because he would lock down a position on the line for a long time and he could step in and play well as a rookie.

 

[Lagerfilled]

I've sorta cooled on Warmack, not because I don't think he'll be great, but because it limits our versatility some. He is a G plain and simple and an outstanding one at that. However, I think Arians, Goodwin, and Zierlein look for position flexibility to play the DTKO system... Tackles that can play Guard, Gs that can play T, Centers that can play Guard and vice versa. Therefore we should be looking at guys that can swing versus someone that will be "stuck" at a given position. This is why I believe the staff are looking more at versatility than supreme talent / dominance at only one position. Just my two cents of course.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I've sorta cooled on Warmack, not because I don't think he'll be great, but because it limits our versatility some. He is a G plain and simple and an outstanding one at that. However, I think Arians, Goodwin, and Zierlein look for position flexibility to play the DTKO system... Tackles that can play Guard, Gs that can play T, Centers that can play Guard and vice versa. Therefore we should be looking at guys that can swing versus someone that will be "stuck" at a given position. This is why I believe the staff are looking more at versatility than supreme talent / dominance at only one position. Just my two cents of course.

This sounds a little over the top to me. Yes they want to have "some" lineman that can have that flexibility, but flexibility doesn't override talent and thus having a G that can play G at a PB level is much more important than him having position flexibility. Same could be said for a LT because if you can find a lock down LT than you would never even entertain the thought of moving him elsewhere.

 

[Lagerfilled]

Add to that Arians and Keims comments where they've mentioned several times that Massie, Potter, and even Levi could kick inside to G. Snyder can play G and C. Colledge can play G and T. Which means that guys like Johnson, B Jones, Schwenke, and Quessenbury could be very realistic targets for the Cards.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Levi Brown...........he is still Levi Brown. Rated as one of if not the worst offensive tackle in the league for all but 8 games of his career. If Levi Brown is SO much better after not playinf football for a whole year and being injured then he has to prove it on the field because if Levi Brown was a tenth of the player he has talked up to be, he has been talked up every year since he was drafted he would not be rated as one of the worst tackles in the league for the time period he has been in the league.

Daryn Colledge was brought in as the known weak link on the GB line as has performed for the Cardinals as such. Weak, slow, bad technique and poor awareness for a lineman. Gets stood up on pull blocks, whiffs on screen blocks, never gets to the seconf level and my favorite, spends most of his time in our backfield. One of the main reasons the Cardinals have on of the weakest interior lines in the NFL. No scheme is going to fix his sub par skills.

Lyle Sendlien, who is so good a presnap reads that our offensive line constantly looks lost and confused. If you think about how weak the offensive line has consistently been with him at center as the one constant while personel around him is constantly change makes you wonder if it is Sendlien's ineptness at pre-snap, his bad habit of tipping the snap of the ball or his inability to block in the run or pass game that may be the problem. This year will be the first year he will have to earn his job, so my question is, who is this year's center?

Adam Snyder, rumored to be the guy cut if we go offensive lineman. Rated as one of the few and I mean very few offensive linemen worse then Levi Brown. Snyder could be kept for depth since that is what his talent dictates. He should not be starting, and if he is he should be the weak link on the line. But I will give Snyder one thing, he is my solitary example of how poor this interior line is......he is the best one on the roster. A career backup talent is our best guard.

The players above have been on the field because of our organizations poor scouting, planning, and evaluation. All of them have unmanageable contracts and all of them played in the past because of their contracts and not because of their poor skill.

Bobby Massie
Nate Potter
Senio Kelemete

That is where the hope for this unit resides.

The rest of the camp fodder is pure fodder. These are players worse then the 2nd and 3rd string talent currently on the roster.

Look to add at least two offensive linemen in the draft, and the Cardinals need to.

This is the same unit that took the field in 2011 and 2012. Let's not kid ourselves in to talking away the horrific display shown by this offensive line over the last few years.

They are thr weakest link on this roster and needs to be improved or the Cardinals will be a 10 loss team again.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Add to that Arians and Keims comments where they've mentioned several times that Massie, Potter, and even Levi could kick inside to G. Snyder can play G and C. Colledge can play G and T. Which means that guys like Johnson, B Jones, Schwenke, and Quessenbury could be very realistic targets for the Cards.

Don't think Arians and Keim are envisaging "Jacks of all trades, masters of none". Some flexibility is required given game day numbers, but, turning a blind eye to talent in the name of versatility, I don't think is what is in mind. If they consider that a need, then they can select Cooper over Warmack, if considered relatively equal in talent.

 

[CardsFan88]

I tell you what Warmack does that we need above what everyone else is generally thinking of.

3rd and 1

4th and 1

He's the guy you run behind.

If you want one guy who can change your short down running situations to a positive, he's your guy.

Also great for sneaks.

Perhaps they want a tackle. I understand the need. As good as Levi is at run blocking, speed rushers get by him with relative ease. Which is mostly who he faces, especially in the NFC west.

Arians could help protect him, but I'd rather have it 'fixed'. That said, I still want Warmack, because I believe he is by far the better player. You can get a Fisher any draft, you can't get a Warmack every draft. It is a bigger need position. It helps in situations we need help at. If fits given our roster that we do still have Levi and Massie who are better than Colledge and Snyder at guard.

I'm alright with LS, but it would given us the option of then pushing Snyder to center.

I'd also have Warmack at LG. It's his position, and it would put him next to Levi and our left side would be a massive run blocking wall.

 

[HoodieBets]

I tell you what Warmack does that we need above what everyone else is generally thinking of.

3rd and 1

4th and 1

He's the guy you run behind.

If you want one guy who can change your short down running situations to a positive, he's your guy.

Also great for sneaks.

Perhaps they want a tackle. I understand the need. As good as Levi is at run blocking, speed rushers get by him with relative ease. Which is mostly who he faces, especially in the NFC west.

Arians could help protect him, but I'd rather have it 'fixed'. That said, I still want Warmack, because I believe he is by far the better player. You can get a Fisher any draft, you can't get a Warmack every draft. It is a bigger need position. It helps in situations we need help at. If fits given our roster that we do still have Levi and Massie who are better than Colledge and Snyder at guard.

I'm alright with LS, but it would given us the option of then pushing Snyder to center.

I'd also have Warmack at LG. It's his position, and it would put him next to Levi and our left side would be a massive run blocking wall.

When is the last time we had 3rd or 4th and 1's? We usually are third and 3 or greater.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Potter - Warmack - Schwenke - Davis - Massie

Put a TE over there with Potter and we are set.

 

[WildBB]

The rest of the camp fodder is pure fodder. These are players worse then the 2nd and 3rd string talent currently on the roster.

Look to add at least two offensive linemen in the draft, and the Cardinals need to.

This is the same unit that took the field in 2011 and 2012. Let's not kid ourselves in to talking away the horrific display shown by this offensive line over the last few years.

They are thr weakest link on this roster and needs to be improved or the Cardinals will be a 10 loss team again.

How can that be, they wouldn't be starting. Was Wiz and Grimm that stupid?

Having Batiste at LT 1/2 the season certainly didn't help matters any. And Grimm's ineptness in adjusting was just as much if not more to blame, imho.

Having a completely new OL coaching staff should do wonders alone.

Too many positions to address in the draft for taking more than one lineman. Especially since that lineman is going to be a very high draft pick. Likely a starter.

If they take Warmack be very happy.

 

[CardsFan88]

When is the last time we had 3rd or 4th and 1's? We usually are third and 3 or greater.

LOL

It still happens though. Presumably with a better line we'd get into them more as well.

 

[Goldfield]

A QB who can get the ball out will make the line look much better alone.

We also need a good TE to go with Housler.

We NEED atleast one starting guard out of this draft.

 

[Mitch]

Levi Brown...........he is still Levi Brown. Rated as one of if not the worst offensive tackle in the league for all but 8 games of his career. If Levi Brown is SO much better after not playinf football for a whole year and being injured then he has to prove it on the field because if Levi Brown was a tenth of the player he has talked up to be, he has been talked up every year since he was drafted he would not be rated as one of the worst tackles in the league for the time period he has been in the league.

Daryn Colledge was brought in as the known weak link on the GB line as has performed for the Cardinals as such. Weak, slow, bad technique and poor awareness for a lineman. Gets stood up on pull blocks, whiffs on screen blocks, never gets to the seconf level and my favorite, spends most of his time in our backfield. One of the main reasons the Cardinals have on of the weakest interior lines in the NFL. No scheme is going to fix his sub par skills.

Lyle Sendlien, who is so good a presnap reads that our offensive line constantly looks lost and confused. If you think about how weak the offensive line has consistently been with him at center as the one constant while personel around him is constantly change makes you wonder if it is Sendlien's ineptness at pre-snap, his bad habit of tipping the snap of the ball or his inability to block in the run or pass game that may be the problem. This year will be the first year he will have to earn his job, so my question is, who is this year's center?

Adam Snyder, rumored to be the guy cut if we go offensive lineman. Rated as one of the few and I mean very few offensive linemen worse then Levi Brown. Snyder could be kept for depth since that is what his talent dictates. He should not be starting, and if he is he should be the weak link on the line. But I will give Snyder one thing, he is my solitary example of how poor this interior line is......he is the best one on the roster. A career backup talent is our best guard.

The players above have been on the field because of our organizations poor scouting, planning, and evaluation. All of them have unmanageable contracts and all of them played in the past because of their contracts and not because of their poor skill.

Bobby Massie
Nate Potter
Senio Kelemete

That is where the hope for this unit resides.

The rest of the camp fodder is pure fodder. These are players worse then the 2nd and 3rd string talent currently on the roster.

Look to add at least two offensive linemen in the draft, and the Cardinals need to.

This is the same unit that took the field in 2011 and 2012. Let's not kid ourselves in to talking away the horrific display shown by this offensive line over the last few years.

They are thr weakest link on this roster and needs to be improved or the Cardinals will be a 10 loss team again.

Let me ask you this: have you ever seen Levi Brown, Daryn Colledge, Lyle Sendlein and Adam Snyder have good games?

All of them have started in NFC Championship games (3/4 for the winning team), and those three (Brown, Colledge and Sendlein) have started in a Super Bowl.

The potential for this group to be good is considerable. BA believes they will...and he is confident that they will get all the proper coaching and preparation.

Aren't you willing to see what BA and Harold Carmichael can do with this group before you brand them the weakest link on the roster?

For example, I watched and analyzed three of Snyder's games at RG for SF two years ago: the two Cardinal games and the NFC Championship game.

I would give him a B+ in all three of those games. He did an especially good job on Darnell Dockett twice. And versus the Giants in the NFC Championship he played even better, imo.

If Snyder doesn't step up after last year's injury riddled disappointment, then he will be one of the first to go. This coaching staff isn't going to have patience with under-achieving veterans.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

How can that be, they wouldn't be starting. Was Wiz and Grimm that stupid?

Having Batiste at LT 1/2 the season certainly didn't help matters any. And Grimm's ineptness in adjusting was just as much if not more to blame, imho.

Batiste is who Whiz, Grimm & company chose to be the backup.

Where Whiz and Grimm that bad? Uh yeah. They took a very average offensive line and turned it into one of, if not the worst line in the league during their time here. Last year they were so bad that their ineptness overshadowed the story of that great defense we watched last season. So, bad that two rookies came in during the season and played better then the starters that were there before them. Not to mention the long losing streaks, horrible offense, and numerous injuries to all QBs who dared stand in the "pocket" that was ever collapsing.

Still not convinced? They put Rich Ornberger out on the field before Potter or Kelemete & Ornberger may be the worst guard I have ever seen try to play in the NFL. And to make it worse, Whiz just signed him in San Diego.

Still not convinved, name a starter who has been let go by the Cardinals that started elsewhere besides Leonard Davis ? Lutui ? Was a backup for the Titans until injuries got him on the field. Wells? Never saw the field in Philly. Hadnot? Backup.

How about who we have on the roster. Didn't Adam Snyder start for us last year? He was a backup for the Niners.

Yeah, so Whiz and Grimm were that stupid.

Arians and company can talk all they want about this and that. No amount of coaching provides natural talent. This line has PROVEN themselves to be void of NFL talent, with the cautious exception of Massie who gets a pass because he is a rookie.

To expect the offense to be better with the same line as last year is insanity. You know, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

It is not Arians & company's mess. They didn't chose these bums, but it is on them if they don't do something about it.

Furthermore, what holes are there to fill?

OLB
S

Besides those, I am curious what is neede more then a couple offensive linemen.

I will be quite upset if we don't get at least 2 out of this year's draft.

 

[52brandon]

I dunno if Grimm deserves any credit for it, but Massie and Potter improved substantially last year. And now with what? 3 coaches working on the line. I'm excited to see how much more it can improve this year now. I think we're in good shape on offense for the first time since losing Warner

 

[DoTheDew]

The whole FA/Draft thing with OL is really a question of what our run/pass ratio is going to be.

If we plan on passing 65% of the time, Warmack doesn't make nearly as much sense if we plan on passing 55% of the time or less.

I think now with Palmer in the fold, we're not forced to be a running team. I've never really believed Arians wants to be a run first team. So as much as I love Warmack, I don't think he's ultimately going to be the pick if we stay at #7

 

[PJ1]

I will be quite upset if we don't get at least 2 out of this year's draft.

I will be upset if OL isn't taken with 2 of our first 4 picks.

 

[LarryStalling]

Levi Brown...........he is still Levi Brown. Rated as one of if not the worst offensive tackle in the league for all but 8 games of his career. If Levi Brown is SO much better after not playinf football for a whole year and being injured then he has to prove it on the field because if Levi Brown was a tenth of the player he has talked up to be, he has been talked up every year since he was drafted he would not be rated as one of the worst tackles in the league for the time period he has been in the league.

Daryn Colledge was brought in as the known weak link on the GB line as has performed for the Cardinals as such. Weak, slow, bad technique and poor awareness for a lineman. Gets stood up on pull blocks, whiffs on screen blocks, never gets to the seconf level and my favorite, spends most of his time in our backfield. One of the main reasons the Cardinals have on of the weakest interior lines in the NFL. No scheme is going to fix his sub par skills.

Lyle Sendlien, who is so good a presnap reads that our offensive line constantly looks lost and confused. If you think about how weak the offensive line has consistently been with him at center as the one constant while personel around him is constantly change makes you wonder if it is Sendlien's ineptness at pre-snap, his bad habit of tipping the snap of the ball or his inability to block in the run or pass game that may be the problem. This year will be the first year he will have to earn his job, so my question is, who is this year's center?

Adam Snyder, rumored to be the guy cut if we go offensive lineman. Rated as one of the few and I mean very few offensive linemen worse then Levi Brown. Snyder could be kept for depth since that is what his talent dictates. He should not be starting, and if he is he should be the weak link on the line. But I will give Snyder one thing, he is my solitary example of how poor this interior line is......he is the best one on the roster. A career backup talent is our best guard.

The players above have been on the field because of our organizations poor scouting, planning, and evaluation. All of them have unmanageable contracts and all of them played in the past because of their contracts and not because of their poor skill.

Bobby Massie
Nate Potter
Senio Kelemete

That is where the hope for this unit resides.

The rest of the camp fodder is pure fodder. These are players worse then the 2nd and 3rd string talent currently on the roster.

Look to add at least two offensive linemen in the draft, and the Cardinals need to.

This is the same unit that took the field in 2011 and 2012. Let's not kid ourselves in to talking away the horrific display shown by this offensive line over the last few years.

They are thr weakest link on this roster and needs to be improved or the Cardinals will be a 10 loss team again.

Rugby, I agree with your assessment of Sendlien. I don't believe that it is any wonder why the performance of the line improved the last half of the season. A large part of which he missed because of injury.

 

[WildBB]

Batiste is who Whiz, Grimm & company chose to be the backup.

Where Whiz and Grimm that bad? Uh yeah. They took a very average offensive line and turned it into one of, if not the worst line in the league during their time here.

Two on the OL ain't happening, imo. Don't get your hopes all that high when they still need to add , RB (Mendenhall is here for 1 yr., imo, Williams hasn't stayed off the IR), Per BA - WR (4.2 type), DL help (likes the talent there in this draft), TE (do you want J. King starting/playing much?), OLB (high on their priority list), S (also high on their list).

That also doesn't take into account that they could still pull the trigger on a developmental QB as well.

The draft should play out like this, jmho.
1- OL (starter)
2- OLB or DL
3- S or DL/OLB, QB
4- S, QB, RB
5- S, RB, WR
6- QB, TE, RB, WR
7- BPA from above

I think Wiz' main flaw and probably what got him fired was his loyalty to Grimm. He should have let the FO have their way and let him go. They also waited too long after drafting Levi to add more OL men in the regular draft to address deficiencies. They should've added more young talent there, so when the enevitable injury happened like last yr. they didn't have to resort to someone who was undrafted and never started at the position before. Their option last year was Young or Batiste! Pair that with Grimm and you have the perfect )**&%^%# storm.

 

[GatorAZ]

Don't believe that BS from BA about the OL. He knows damn well it's garbage.

7 - Warmack (apparently they love Fisher but he'll be gone)

38 - Watford (basically boosting talent level around Sendlein and next to Levi/Massie)

I'd love to go with Schwenke or Jones in the 3rd but I think we'll address LB and Safety. Colledge should be cut so we're clear in 2014. Re-structure Snyder's contract into a backup G/C. Keep developing Kelemete.

The biggest upgrade to the OL might be Palmer (if he plays motivated)

 

[CardsFan88]

People keep talking about Warmack only effecting the run game. This will be his bread and butter. But if you look at where many of the breakdowns happened last year, it wasn't just speed rushers around the edge.

In previous years our inside wasn't the sieve the tackles were, especially against speed rushers, but they didn't scream competence in their abilities as well. We could really use an upgrade to pass blocking on the interior. This area was really bad last year, and with LS, it's always been a struggle with him to win the trench battles.

I see Warmack as an upgrade in our interior pass blocking AND a massive upgrade to our run blocking on the interior.

I see a guy like Fisher, who has more uncertainty, could possibly and probably would improve our pass blocking at LT, but I doubt he would best Levi in run blocking.

Sure we could possibly kick Levi to RT or possibly even inside, but I see something special with teaming Warmack and Levi together in terms of run blocking.

I wouldn't be mad if we went tackle, because we need to stop the speed rushers in our speed rusher division, but if we only marginally gain on that point and lose on the run blocking point, and still have Colledge and Snyder on the inside with LS manning the middle, I feel, barring improvements from the Arian's OL crew, we would gain less than we would with Warmack.

Also it is a possibility that we would kick Colledge to right guard and Snyder to center, and we'd then be upgrading our center position as well.

With Fisher, we'd probably kick Levi out to RT before sending him inside, and that would mean we would be benching Massie, which in the medium to long term hurts his development.

I want Warmack because to me he is the most dominant lineman in years at any oline position. It makes sense to where we are weakest. It pushes guys around to where they might be more useful (Snyder at center instead of guard). It fits where we have a number of players already and allows Massie a chance to build on the baptism by fire he succeeded in during the 2nd half of the season. You can easily find a guy like Fisher any year. True you can find serviceable to good guards lower in the draft, but it's much harder to identify one. Guys like Warmack come around once in a few years at best and more like a decade or so.

I just don't see the need to pass up a sure stud who is much beyond his peers any given year at a position of more need than an unproven possible stud who is merely equal to a 2nd tier LT that can be had any year at a position of lesser need.

 

[NashDishesDimes]

Im a pretty optimistic guy but i think we are trying to polish a turd here. Potter has "potential", Massie has "potential", Kelemente has "potential". Levi is "serviceable". That is our line, everyone else is more than expendable.

 

[CardsFan88]

Ideally imo we would focus on the interior of the line this draft. If an OT talent drops to the 2nd or 3rd round that should of been in the 1st or 2nd, then great. But otherwise I'd focus on the interior of the line.

But we need to also get a safety somewhere between the 2nd-4th round. I'm more on board with an OLB between the 3rd-6th.

I would like to see how Snyder performs at center now that his elbow injury has healed. If we draft multiple guards in the draft we could afford to cut one of the guards to free up 2014 cap space, and since Snyder has the option to improve our center position, I'd bite the bullet with Colledge and look to give Snyder a shot at being our center. If we only draft one guard, then Colledge should stay unless he gets beaten out in training camp.

I feel a line of Levi/Warmack/Snyder/2nd-4th round pick/Massie would be the best we could be this year. Levi/Warmack/Snyder/Colledge/Massie being 2nd best. If someone can beat out Colledge, great.

Even then we still need to consider some more changes the next year, but we'd have a year for our new staff to figure out what we have. Perhaps in 2014 we could have a line of.... 2014 draft pick/Warmack/Snyder or 2013 draft pick/2013 draft pick or Levi/Massie.

Then by 2015 we should know well about what we have in Massie and whether we need to take another tackle, perhaps the 2013 draft pick can take over for Snyder, and we could have a line of 2014 draft pick/Warmack/2013 draft pick/2013 draft pick or Levi/Massie or 2015 draft pick.

Maybe Potter or Kelemete usurp this plan by panning out. Maybe Levi learns to hold his own at LT. Maybe Snyder settles in as our center. Who knows? I think we could have a pretty good line this year if we hit on all this oline talent in the draft, but still need a couple more steps over the next couple of years to really build it into a top unit.

Many unknowns when attempting to peer into the future, but I feel it's a rough outline of what we need to be steering ourselves towards. This is the draft for OL and safeties. If we can cheaply sign some help, then great. But we really need to use this draft imo as a catalyst to upgrading our talent on the line and placing our current guys in the positions that should make them most successful. Drafting two guards or a guard and a center allows us to cut Colledge.

The wildcard is Bruce Arians and our team of OL staffers that might be able to push some of guys we have up a notch or so. It definitely is an unknown. But we shouldn't count on it. Besides, I'd rather have better talent being coached up to be good or great from all these coaches then lesser talent trying to be coached up to serviceable or slightly better.