There are obviously a lot of ways the Fins can go in this year's draft. In my opinion offensive line is the first priority due to the qb's in this draft (wouldn't mind newton). The first two guys I really liked were Anthony Costanzo from BC and Gabe Carimi from Wisconsin. Scouts at the senior bowl are extremely high on both guys, some of the top performers at camp along with Leonard Hankerson the receiver from the U. Anyways, Carimi and Castonzo will both probably be great o-lineman, however, I don't see either of them being able to move inside. With that being said, if we are indeed keeping Carey at RT, I think both guys are out of the mix. Pouncey doesn't look like an nfl center to me, but his athleticism and our current o-line situation could work well together. Drafting pouncey gives us the most flexibility and the highest number of options. We could put him at RG, LG wit Incognito at C, or C though I think it's doubtful. Thoughts?
It's true. I'm a gator fan and I don't want Pouncey. Edit I guess I should explain myself more. I will admit he is probably one of the best guards in the nation, but he is a better guard then center and I don't want to draft a guard that high. Also I know a former player on the Gator's who stuck around for grad school and he was telling me that Mike isn't a leader and isn't like his brother. Maurkice would work his *** of but not so much Mike (according to him). Also, he told me one of the biggest issues the Gator team had this year was after a loss they didn't take it hard enough. He said back when he played ( I believe 08 was his last year) if the team lost they'd go home and their night would be ruined. On the other hand last years team would shrug off a loss and go party it up. He said Mike was one of the first ones into the club. While that is only one man's opinion, articles have shown that he is a bit lazier. I wish I could find the articles, but I can't. However they came out right around when Maurkice entered the draft and it talked about how Mike would have to change without being with his brother for the first time. One of the things Mike joked about was how he'd go to class and sleep while Maurkice took all the notes.
John Jerry was supposed to be one of the best in the nation last year too and also is not as close to as good as his brother is. Dominic Raiola, center from Detroit has a younger brother, Donnovan that played for Wisconsin as a center. Read for a few years Donnovan was supposed to be the next coming of Dominic. I did not see it but it was plastered all over how great Donnovan was supposed to be. Donnovan was drafted, forget by who and released before camp was finished. bounced around the league on Practice squads and now is annually signed by teams for a camp body. The younger Pouncey is no shape or form close to being half of what his brother is. Not saying he will not make a roster but no way in hell is this kid a first round draft pick.
To be honest, if we're stuck with #15 and go Oline, then it'd be much better to take a RT like Nate Solder who is a stud now with a bunch of upside left. If we're gonna open things up, we'll need better protection so Henne isn't battered all year like Cutler was...... and in case Long goes down, we'll have a top notch replacement at LT. Plus, it's a lot easier to get a quality guard than an Pro-Bowl caliber RT/LT. That way Carey can move inside, or we can trade him for a 3rd or 4th round pick that can be used on a LG, RB, or WR.
if they can trade back to the mid twenties and get a second round pick out of it and then draft pouncey id say go 4 it
Something that I think is being overlooked is the fact that we picked up John Jerry in the 3rd round last year. He had a rough rookie season with missing 4 games, but he did start 10 times. The knock on him wasn't so much his level of play because he did extremely well in the Oakland game and the Detroit game where he blocked Suh most of the day. He needs to work on his conditioning, we need him to be able to stay in for a whole game instead of having to rotate with McQuistan. McQuistan looked over his head at several points this season, and I wouldn't be surprised or upset to see him cut this off-season. Injuries are what killed us. Something that has been brought up that intrigues me is moving Incognito to Center. The guy kept his cool all season and is a damn good straight ahead blocker. He does not have the speed to be a pulling guard though. It remains to be seen if he can play the center position, make the pre-snaps shifts, hike the ball and take on the nose tackle. He has the size for it that's for sure. So assuming everyone comes back healthy I think our ideal line as it stands right now would be Long at LT, Incognito at C, Jerry at RG, Carey at RT. You also have Berger and Garner in the mix, one of them could secure the LG position. There's also free agency where there will be a few options, even though that will come after the draft. All that said, I don't think that our offensive line problems are as exaggerated as some make them out to be. Garner was hurt in pre-season, Long hurt his shoulder early (and still made the probowl), Carey had a couple of injuries throughout the season, Jerry had the illness and the conditioning factor, and McQuistan was playing out of position. Taking these factors into consideration I don't think that offensive line should be a priority for us in the first round. Though I'm willing to entertain the notion, I feel that finding a playmaker on offense in the first round is more important. A lot of people keep saying you can find running backs in the 5th round, and yes you can, but a blue chip talent like Ingram doesn't fall into your lap every day.
I would trade back twice. A see if I could hold Pouncey hostage like the Chargers did with Rivers. Why? The Steelers need a OG and with their emphasis on family, I think they would do it for a reasonable price(2nd-3rd pick)
