Quote:
Originally Posted by 53Fan
 I'm not so sure we'd have as much chance of getting quality starters at o-line after the 2nd round either. Unless you're talking about guys like Rinehart. There have been some pretty good QB's taken in the later rounds. What I'd like to see is a comparison of how many o-linemen vs how many QB's taken in the first round, percentage-wise, who went on to start in the last 10 years. Or more importantly, in the first 5 picks. It may not be fair because some of the linemen went on to start at a different position which gives them more of a chance of contributing. |
Many of the lines in Denver were made up of 4th and 5th round picks and were easily considered among the best lines in the league. Shanahans most recent starting line was made up of a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 1st round pick. Ironically this year under McDaniels the line struggled in part because of the switch from Shanahan's scheme to McEgo's. Or as I've seen Denver fans put it, we've gone from one of the leagues best lines under Shanahan to one of the worst under McEgo.
More locally the Giants line was made up of a 4th, 5th, 2 undrafted free agents, and a second round pick.
As far as numbers for QB's. Only thing I can tell you is that many of the QB's at the top and bottom were selected in the top 32 (Brees is considered a second round pick by many but today he would have been the last pick of the first round). 4 out of the 5 best QB's in terms of QB rating were top 32 picks and 4 of the bottom 5 were first round picks.
Ironically as far as the pro bowl goes, it seems to be a mix of first round picks and UDFA's. Same with QB's.
Also worth noting is the last line that Clinton Portis worked with in Denver was made up of a 1st, 4th, 3rd, 7th, and UDFA. Ironically in that group the first round pick might have been the worst of the bunch.
My own personal prediction see's us adding a tackle in the first or second round and maybe an interior lineman in the fourth though it would be better if they could add a second tackle. I personally feel like Edwin Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger are going to work out well for our interior. Heck Casey Rabach might have his best season for the first time in a while. The thing we do know right now is that we need two tackles. Maybe for now the best COA would be to add one this year early in the draft and use Levi Jones as a stopgap at RT but theres a lot of time between now and the draft.
The most important thing however, as far as O-Line is concerned, could be the creation of a pipeline in which we bring in mid round picks on an annual basis to develop and eventually earn a starting job.