Glaring Need / Roster

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

OLB is our #1 glaring need because we don't have anyone on the roster that can start in that role. If we had to, we can start Heyer at RT without the line collapsing. We can start Wynn or (if resigned) Daniels for one more year until we address that in the '10 offseason. However, we simply cannot go into the '09 season with HB Blade, all 5'9, 240 lbs of him at our SLB spot. That's just madness.

I know 75% of our fanbase has a love of OL, OL, OL but we need playmakers and at 13 we need to get one.

But, I think you'll agree with this, a defensive player we take at 13 has to not only fit in our scheme, but also fit in anyone elses scheme as his prime years are going to be played likely under a different defensive coaching staff.

In the first round, that's pretty much two players: Orakpo, and Tyson Jackson. Orakpo could help us at OLB next year in kind of a Matthias Kiwanuka type role, but Jackson wouldn't help our LB situation at all, and would likely spend a year as Carter's backup in the defense.

As much as I like to conceptualize everything I discuss, at the end of the day, we're still going to have to draft a player, not just a position. This, obviously, is a reason to not just draft "best available RT" as well in the first round.

BTW, Blades' skill set plays well at SLB. It's because 1) TEs are smaller now then they've ever been in the past and 2) our defense usually puts Chris Horton on the outside of him on most plays anyway.