Michael Deiters future

[ATL_PHIN_FAN]

Agreed.
Not only that but all year long if you listen to any Monday analysis a constant topic of conversation is the overall drop in quality offensive lines throughout the nfl.

I think that may be because they are being asked to do more than ever before. Pass blocking is hard, and OL who can both pass block and run block well are rare. Thus, teams have to decide which will be their focus.

I think that is why Marino never had an effective complementary running attack? Job 1 for his OL was always to protect him. While I'm sure there were better run blocking offensive linemen they could start, keeping Danny upright got priority. Rightly so, likely. Given the QB's skill set. It's a conundrum all coaches must deal with.

 

[Phinatic8u]

Drafting OL is a lot harder than it seems to be. That's why there is so many terrible OL play in the NFL.

Unless you have an all world player like Tunsil or Nelson then the chances of them succeeding is slim. Tunsil still hasn't played up to his ability, that's how funky OL prospects are.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

Drafting OL is a lot harder than it seems to be. That's why there is so many terrible OL play in the NFL.

Unless you have an all world player like Tunsil or Nelson then the chances of them succeeding is slim. Tunsil still hasn't played up to his ability, that's how funky OL prospects are.

Yup. Posted an analysis a few weeks ago, By far, mid-round OL picks are out of the league by a wide margin. VERY few are starters. Day one picks fare better, but most are backups or 'serviceable.'

 

[Rick Cartman]

Plenty? Not so much. Without doing any research, I would say far less than half. There are some, but not usually rd3 guys.

I'll accept your premise as accurate for arguments sake.

We rank dead last in rush offense and near the bottom in pass protection. Somehow other teams are getting by with this scarcity of talented linemen.

There are GMs and talent evaluators out there that can identify talent and draft them. If the task is too hard Grier should step aside and find someone that isn't going to make excuses.

 

[Mach2]

I'll accept your premise as accurate for arguments sake.

We rank dead last in rush offense and near the bottom in pass protection. Somehow other teams are getting by with this scarcity of talented linemen.

There are GMs and talent evaluators out there that can identify talent and draft them. If the task is too hard Grier should step aside and find someone that isn't going to make excuses.

I can't disagree that our drafts have been far from stellar.

In fairness though, I think Grier saw that he needed help, and brought in two highly respected evaluators in Allen, and McKenzie.

Im not even going to get into the fact that the front office structure was so convoluted for the past decade, it's hard to say with certainty, who did what.

 

[Eesti]

Of course he will get more time as a 3rd round pick but they should not count on him. Always needs to be competition. I'm guessing the only reason he lasted that long was because of his draft status. We will find out next year but gotta hedge your bets.

Connor McGovern is looking like he would have been a better choice since he was taken a few spots after Deiter. The main reason for optimism IMO is the fact that he came from a school that's well coached for OL.

Of course, it's extra hard for any OL to look good when the entire line is made up of guys who would be backups on most teams. Deiter has played next to a sub-par center and terrible LT all year (post-Tunsil).

This is the worst draft class in a long time as far as 1st year contributors and this organization has not found a quality OL'men outside of the first round since the turn of the century.

Better get some linemen in the first round and sign some FA's as well. I'm not optimistic about finding a gem in mid to late rounds. They already cut Prince.

 

[DPhinz_DPhinz]

giving up on oline is early is never good. I would argue that giving up on any player before three seasons is ridiculous if you invest a decent draft pick in them.
with that said we can send Harris and Tankersly packing right now

Post haste!!!

 

[DPhinz_DPhinz]

I was down on ALL Wisconsin o-linemen after I watched the week of practice in the Senior Bowl last year.

They say the 1v1's favor the defense...granted, but I don't think I remember ANY of them even winning a rep. The guy I follow on youtube was as disappointed as I was.

I'll just say this...Ben Banogu went from an unknown to a 2nd rounder off the backs of the Wisconsin o-line...literally. Charles Omenihu might have been the only victory they might have had, and that's because he was probably too tired helping them up off the ground all the time.

He showed up in the game...I'll give him that, but he was getting slaughtered in practice.

 

[Dolphindrew]

Kind of wondered if the benching was to light a fire. We shall see. Either way, I think he's good long-term for depth, if nothing else. He's got time to prove out while he's cheap.

 

[AMakados10]

He's looked like a rookie... have faith and develop. He had the experience and pedigree coming out of college. Use the full offseason to groom him physically and bring in competition.

 

[A1.]

We have money and picks. We need both sides of the line. Grier’s worst at evaluating lineman it seems. So use your money on the lineman and your picks on the skill and scheme fits

 

[fansinceGWilson]

We have money and picks. We need both sides of the line. Grier’s worst at evaluating lineman it seems. So use your money on the lineman and your picks on the skill and scheme fits

This is a trick question. which teams ARE good at picking OL?

 

[Mach2]

We have money and picks. We need both sides of the line. Grier’s worst at evaluating lineman it seems. So use your money on the lineman and your picks on the skill and scheme fits

I think we draft a LT. Good ones in free agency, you have to overpay, assuming any are available at all. It becomes a bidding war.

I'm not sure what FA will look like, in terms of the center position, but we definitely need to get younger, and quicker there.

We should definitely be able to upgrade the right side of the line through free agency, although when you look at what JJ got from Denver, that's not cheap either.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not in favor of bargain basement signings, just because I want to be cheap. I just think that our large amount of cap space needs to be apportioned in a way that makes sense, in terms of the whole team.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I think we draft a LT. Good ones in free agency, you have to overpay, assuming any are available at all. It becomes a bidding war.

I'm not sure what FA will look like, in terms of the center position, but we definitely need to get younger, and quicker there.

We should definitely be able to upgrade the right side of the line through free agency, although when you look at what JJ got from Denver, that's not cheap either.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not in favor of bargain basement signings, just because I want to be cheap. I just think that our large amount of cap space needs to be apportioned in a way that makes sense, in terms of the whole team.

Just a guess, but I doubt Flo/Grier will go after one of the top 2 OLmen at any position. A solid, technically sound guy sounds like what they'll want.

 

[Feverdream]

Traditionally, the Patriots have built their line with later-drafted players who are technically sound and coachable, but...

The Patriots have been good. They've had a base of good linemen BEFORE they've brought in reinforcements. They haven't had to spend picks in this area, and I'm pretty sure that this isn't the case with us. We have more of an urgency in this area and I'm not sure that we can afford to wait here.

While I like the idea of the lower drafted linemen, (who wouldn't) I just don't think that we can throw a couple of young QBs to the wolves like that. I'm going to stick to my prediction that the 'Phins will draft at least three linemen in this draft and that at least one of them will be on the first day.

In my tortured mind, I see a pure OLT taken in the first round and a run blocking ORT taken late second or early third. If we can steal one of the Centers somewhere... even better.