The Fans Draft Strategy Part 2
by Nick Cast on Mar 18, 2010 6:19 PM MDT
18 comments
Last post, I asked the question what we should do to address the center position. Surprisingly, there was no definitive answer. After 151 votes, Drafting Matt Tennant in the 2nd round was the most popular vote, but not by much. Tennant garnered 25% of the vote, J.D. Walton garnered 21%, Kevin Mawae garnered 21% and Maurkice Pouncey got 19%. It is interesting how different everyone's opinion is on how to address the Center position.
Now we are going to talk about another position of need: Guard. Last year, this was one of the worst places on our team. So far, we signed Russ Hochstein to a 2 year contract. The only Guards on our team right now are Russ, Seth Olsen and according to the Denver Broncos roster on NFL.com. So we obviously need help at the position. In the options, I am not going to include restricted free agents. If you think we should go after a restricted free agent say so in the comments. So Bronco fans, what do you think?
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You're talking about left guard, right?
Cuz we’ve still got Kuper unless somebody is willing to give up a first for him.
Technically
we don’t have him until he signs his tender. But in theory yes I am talking about left guard
No problem.
It’s definitely something I kept forgetting too. Hopefully we sign the guys we need to to their tenders so we can get down to football.
Hamilton
While no one was happy with his play last year, Ben Hamilton is still on the roster and still listed as a G/C. Matt McChesney is also a current option at 337 lb. if we want to go much bigger. Interesting side note – Mike Shanahan is going with massive players on both O and D lines. I guess he got as tired of players wearing out as the fans did.
It all starts with the lines
I thought
Ben was a free agent this off season. Never even heard of Matt McChesney to be honest. Definitely an interesting side note. While guards who weigh less generally move faster, the wear and tear over the season is just too much for them.
Not always
Look at Ryan Clady. He’s 325, light on his feet, very powerful and no issues with injury so far. It’s as much about the genetics as it is the size.
It all starts with the lines
Dustin Fry also
He’s a Big un.
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the OG/OT solution
There’s a number of quality OLs in this draft crop who are OTs. I would expect us to draft 2 OLs (at least), and there’s a strong likelihood that one will be a Tackle, and he also may not stay at OT permanently .
We’re actually in better shape at OG than OT is some ways. Putting Bulaga’s name in the poll is the right idea. I’ve been contemplating Trent Williams in the 1st, Roger Saffold in the 2nd, and a number of other OLs besides the ones that are more frequently mentioned. Marshall Newhouse is another.
The only Guards on our team right now are Russ, Seth Olsen and according to the Denver Broncos roster on NFL.com.
I don’t think you should forget about Fry and McChesney, nor Hamilton (at OC). The NFL site isn’t accurate if it failed to list McChesney (besides Kuper, who we also retain the rights to).
no goats, no glory.
The Nfl site
http://www.nfl.com/teams/denverbroncos/roster?team=DEN
is what I am referring to. I didn’t see them but maybe I just missed them. I would say it is accurate that we are going to address the o-line in the draft. However, I think that we are going to be looking for a starting guard who can play tackle if one of ours gets injured. With that being said, Bulaga fits that bill perfectly. Iupati didn’t have a great showing at tackle, but he is a great guard. I haven’t heard much about Fry or McChesney to give a valid opinion, but Hamilton I thought was a free agent.
reply, more on OG/OTs
Bulaga is fine but most MOCKs have him going before we pick. I also like Trent Williams more because of the fluidity he exhibits and his size (not too big) and speed, which probably will serve him well in moving inside. All of this thinking applies to Saffold, too, as well as to Newhouse.
The strategy was a a hedge against Harris being unavailable at the beginning of the season, and we also need to develop greater quality depth at OT. Many OTs are moved inside (such as Kuper and Erickson, off the top of my head) so there’s no reason to be rigid in thinking. Some OGs, such as Iupati, are not good prospects for moving outside, but moving inside is a little different story.
Both Fry and McChesney are talented enough to have stuck around since coming into the NFL. Fry was a 5th rounder in 2007, McChesney was a UDFA in 2005. Both have been on rosters in some capacity each season since coming in and both have seen some action in the regular season. Perhaps what is more important, both fit into a power oriented blocking scheme and may stand a better chance of making the final cut this season because of that.
You should note that neither spent a particularly long period as a UFA. Other teams picked them up almost immediately (in most cases) when they became available. It’s common for OLs to bounce around for a while before finally making it, so, although not an indicator of their prospects, it’s consistent with the path that other successful OLs took and reason for optimism.
Re: Hamilton. He could still help at OC if he decides to play at a reduced salary (the minimum salary would still be substantial). I think the pairing of Wiegmann and Hamilton was simply too great a vulnerability last year. Opposing defenses could overload the area. He may want to skip the offseason workouts before deciding (a la Favre) but he could still help us — IMO. He wouldn’t be the only OC on the roster so his contribution would be more in the area of providing depth and experience. And that assumes that we wouldn’t have picked up a vet by that time.
no goats, no glory.
The issue I have is taking a guard top 15 is a waste
Paying a player that type of money to be a guard is not how great teams are built, I think you can find plenty of guards/tackle prospects that could be turned into gurads later in the draft that would have the same impact as drafting someone like Buluga. I much rather have the Broncos draft someone that will have an impact, even someone like CJ Spiller.
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I agree
I would rather spend top 15 money on someone who will make an immediate impact. I voted for drafting a guard in the 3rd round. Jerry, Asamoah and Johnson all can be very productive guards in this league and they can be gotten for a 3rd round pick. We don’t necessarily need to draft Iupati or Bulaga in the 1st. However, I wouldn’t totally be opposed to it. I do hope we go elsewhere but I would understand why they did it.
taking a Tackle may not be
I’ve made your argument before in the context of selecting Iupati, who I like but can’t justify picking that early, but the argument here — specifically as it relates to picking Trent Williams — is that a top-flight OT might be the best choice.
Part of the problem with the 1st pick is draft projections don’t provide anyone who does meet the criteria for both a top ten pick and someone we could reasonably use or feel comfortable drafting (e.g., Bryant). If we’re given a situation is which McClain, etc., are off the board then we’re stuck with a selection which may not meet the standard wisdom of what a top ten pick should be (now eleven).
A Tackle who isn’t used as a Tackle is a Guard for all intents and purposes, but there’s added value when that Guard can also play as a competent OT. Moreover, the real logical course may be to take the BPA and worry about what to do with that excess talent later, once Harris has returned and we’re satisfied with the situation at Tackle.
My feeling at this time is that Trent Williams is a special talent, and I’d feel quite comfortable selecting him over some of the other talent that should be available even though it could lead to crowding at the position. Ryan Harris’ prospects for a full recovery by next season are still uncertain enough to tip the decision in favor of Williams — tentatively, since we still don’t know who else will be available. The point of this analysis is to examine contingencies that might occur and pre-decide on what to do. I think it would be interesting to see who people would choose at #11 if the choices were:
Clausen, Jimmy (QB)
Bryant, Dez (WR)
Williams, Trent (OT)
Morgan, Derrick (DE)
Mays, Taylor (S)
Iupati, Mike (OG)
no goats, no glory.
You
have very good thoughts Colinski. My personal feeling is that Trent isn’t necessarily the best player available for us. There has to be a mix of BPA and team needs.
Lets assume that Bradford, Sue, McCoy, Okung, Berry, Bulaga, Davis, McClain, Clausen and Spiller are all gone in the top 10. That would leave
Maurkice Pouncey C
Joe Haden CB
Dan Williams DL
Trent Williams OT
Mike Iupati G
Dez Bryant WR
These are the people that I think we might pick with the 11th pick. Trent is a good player but there are players that we can get instead of him that would help us a lot more such as Pouncey and Haden IMO
it's possible, that's why I qualify my comments as contingency planning
I’d probably take Haden. I also have no problem moving for the other picks. The scenario that I’ve discussed previously is to go ahead and take Williams and bargain with Green Bay (or another team) to take Wiliiams and trade us their #23 pick and other considerations.
This is going to be a much longer draft because it’s spread out over a number of days so we’ll have the chance to negotiate with teams.
My point on drafting has always been to have greater utility for the entire draft. One obvious way for us to do that is to trade back and fill a greater number of positions, which we are capable of doing. There’s still more than six openings on our roster, so I’d be quite happy if we could trade back for extra picks — especially in this draft. BTW — those picks need to be in the 2-5 range.
no goats, no glory.
good plan
Another one is Joe Haden. If Joe Haden falls to us, look for Green Bay to try and trade up to get him. They can really use a corner. A few pieces and Green Bay will be a legit contender. Williams and Haden could be the players Green Bay would want to trade up with us and get. We could get a nice bounty for the trade up too. If we can get additional picks in rounds 2-5 then we would get good bargains.
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