[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

I posted this in another thread but to be honest it didn't really fit. This thread is perfect for it.

Basically these are the best lineman drafted (or undrafted) by Shanahan during his days in Denver.



What I learned from this is that rounds 4 through 6 seem to be the sweet spot for interior lineman. The only first round picks Shanahan was willing to use on Lineman was Left Tackles. His two most recent right tackles have come from 3rd round picks (Ryan Harris and Jamaal Brown). It would be nice to see Cook and Capers to become the first successful 7th round lineman under Shanahan.

We can also look at Houston and add Duane Brown to the stack of evidence that says the only first round lineman acquired by a team running the Shanahan/Kubiack offense are blind side tackles. Seeing as how we don't have a pressing need at Tackle (at least in terms of starters) I think it's safe to say that we'll wait this one out.



As for the current state of the line. Well I personally think they have a great foundation with Williams, Brown, and Kory L. Heyer is the very definition of serviceable but I would feel more comfortable if we got a slightly more reliable swing tackle.

We've heard very little about Cook and Capers this year. It would be awesome if one of them could develop into a starter but we should at least be able to turn one of them into a reliable backup.

Montgomery is currently turning out to be a decent find but I would feel more comfortable if we could find someone good enough to beat him up.
out

I think we can all agree that Rabach needs to go. He was very good at one point but week after week we keep on seeing him get put in the backfield.


Personally I'm not to big this year on going after every big name free agent we can fly on Redskin One but if he's available Carolinas Ryan Kalil would be perfect. This is a sub 300 pound guy with a skillset tailored for zone blocking. The fact that he's dones so well in a power blocking scheme is a testement to his talent level. He'll be 26 next year and with his dedication to playing with proper technique he could easily stay productive into his 30's. I don't care if we have to pay him more then Nick Mangold. He's a perfect fit for this team and could easily go a long way towards fixing this line.

Logan Mankins I'm kind of torn on. He's 28 right now so he'll be 29 next year. Plus he would fit into the whole trying to buy a championship win now strategy. He's definetely a top level lineman but by the time we're competitive he would be on the back end of his career. Probably better to try and develop from within unless you can find a Ryan Kalil type player at Guard.

If we can't get Kalil one guy I would love to see us go after is Florida States Rodney Hudson in the second round. I'll post more on him later however safe to say he's a top notch Center prospect that would fit perfectly in the zone scheme.

Anyway based on Shanahan's history I think we would be well served to draft either multiple interior lineman in the 5th round or trade up into the 4th and find a guy that fits our scheme assuming thats where these prospects are valued at. Personally my understanding of the mid round prospects is limited at this point. If we can trade McNabb for a 4th round pick then all the better.

The main thing we need right now is to get a pipeline going of mid to late round prospects that we can develop and eventually form a line thats around 7 players deep. Last year was a great start. We got a cornerstone LT. A great RT prospect for the next 3 or 4 years in Brown (assuming he continues to get healthy), and a decent hard working Shanahan lineman type in Kory L. How Cook and Capers develop will obviously effect how we look back but either way no one can say we ignored the O-Line last offseason. It'll probably be scaled back this offseason but hopefully the effort to keep bringing guys in and developing them will continue in 2011.

The other luxury we have because we drafted Trent Williams last year and didn't trade up for Sam Bradford (the 'ol cornerstone LT), and got the bookend tackle before year one of the Shanny experiment, is that we can spend those late round picks on interior linemen who have slipped through the cracks and project well at the next level, but are raw from a technique perspective.

If our offensive line had no pieces for the future on it, we'd essentially be in the same place record wise, but would be drafting for need the next two years. The smart choice of Williams allows the Redskins to spend the next two years making value picks on linemen instead of drafting them really early and hoping they can play immediately.

We'll have to go tackle early if we don't bring Jammal Brown back. But that's a discretionary choice on the part of our coaching staff, one they'll only make if they know they can improve at RT otherwise. But I really like our offensive line structure that we have in place. Rabach's release will be a big positive move when we make it, albeit three years too late.