Left Tackles

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah - I think Morgan is my guy in the 1st round.

Watched him a bit more and I just don't see a way that guy doesn't have a 10 year career starting somewhere along the OL and make a couple Pro Bowls along the way.

He just has an awfully high floor and I think there's enough skill/athleticism there that the ceiling is absolutely a good starting LT for a team that utilizes deep pass sets.

So yeah - I want to see Morgan slip to us in the 1st. That's my guy.

I like Morgan too, but the question is, will the arm length be a dealbreaker for Andy/Veach?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I like Morgan too, but the question is, will the arm length be a dealbreaker for Andy/Veach?

One of the first truly big deals Reid/Dorsey ever gave out was to Mitchell Schwartz.

Morgans arms are, what, a half inch shorter than Mitch's? If that? And while it's not terribly critical, Morgans hands are quite a bit bigger than Mitch's were. Height/weight is virtually identical. And Morgan has better baseline athleticism than Mitch.

I mean if the arms are a deal breaker, I guess Suamataia is the guy. I don't think he's quite as safe a pick but I'd be fine with that as well.

But I think it's time to invest a little more heavily at OT in this draft and the depth of the WR corps means we'll have some nice options at the back of the 2nd. As such, it just makes WAY too much sense to go OT in the 1st. I think a draft where both Morgan AND Suamataia are off the board by 32 would require...hmmmm.....8 offensive tackles before 32?

Alt, Fashanu, Fuaga, Latham, Fautanu, Mims, Guyton, Morgan, Suamataia. So 9.

With the possibility of 4 QBs going in the round and 5 pretty likely WRs (Big 3, Thomas and Mitchell or Franklin)....boy, I just don't think that's likely.

I think Morgan or Suamataia are there for us and I can live with either guy.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

One of the first truly big deals Reid/Dorsey ever gave out was to Mitchell Schwartz.

Morgans arms are, what, a half inch shorter than Mitch's? If that? And while it's not terribly critical, Morgans hands are quite a bit bigger than Mitch's were. Height/weight is virtually identical. And Morgan has better baseline athleticism than Mitch.

I mean if the arms are a deal breaker, I guess Suamataia is the guy. I don't think he's quite as safe a pick but I'd be fine with that as well.

But I think it's time to invest a little more heavily at OT in this draft and the depth of the WR corps means we'll have some nice options at the back of the 2nd. As such, it just makes WAY too much sense to go OT in the 1st. I think a draft where both Morgan AND Suamataia are off the board by 32 would require...hmmmm.....8 offensive tackles before 32?

Alt, Fashanu, Fuaga, Latham, Fautanu, Mims, Guyton, Morgan, Suamataia. So 9.

With the possibility of 4 QBs going in the round and 5 pretty likely WRs (Big 3, Thomas and Mitchell or Franklin)....boy, I just don't think that's likely.

I think Morgan or Suamataia are there for us and I can live with either guy.

I think the difference with Schwartz was that he was a known commodity and had already proven in the NFL, so it was probably easier for them to ignore him not meeting their arm length threshold.

As far as I know, Andy has never draft an OT that doesn't meet them.

[Chris Meck]

I don't see a big trade up regardless of who's there. We're going to need bodies, sooner than later. We need them picks.

[VAChief]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I think the difference with Schwartz was that he was a known commodity and had already proven in the NFL, so it was probably easier for them to ignore him not meeting their arm length threshold.

As far as I know, Andy has never draft an OT that doesn't meet them.

Morgan has huge mitts (almost 11") and by all accounts once he gets a hold of his man its a vice grip. To me that by far offsets the slightly less than desirable arm length, especially coupled with his athletic traits.

The worst case scenario in my opinion is he gives you competent LT play, if you get a better option, you just plug him into LG when Thuney leaves or RG if you decide not to hang onto Trey.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by VAChief

Morgan has huge mitts (almost 11") and by all accounts once he gets a hold of his man its a vice grip. To me that by far offsets the slightly less than desirable arm length, especially coupled with his athletic traits.

The worst case scenario in my opinion is he gives you competent LT play, if you get a better option, you just plug him into LG when Thuney leaves or RG if you decide not to hang onto Trey.

Good point about his hands. Again, I'm personally good with it.

But we can't just handwave that Andy hasn't ever drafted an OT that doesn't meet the arm length requirement.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

...

I think Morgan or Suamataia are there for us and I can live with either guy.

I've started playing around with the mock draft simulators, and unless a Brian Thomas-type receiver is available, those guys seem to often be available and a logical choice.