Polian and Tucker were discussing offensive lineman this morning and it was really an interesting conversation.
Polian stated that you can't just rely on scouting reports for offensive lineman to determine value - you have to evaluate the evaluater. For instance, he said that because the Colts offense was centered around Peyton Manning, he based his olineman evaluations on pass blocking being wieghed much more heavily than run blocking.
Polian stated that in today's NFL, he did not understand why any team would take an interior offensive lineman in the Top 20 picks.
A OG is a luxury pick IMO
A few weeks ago Polian made another good point about the draft.It was about value and how so called draft experts grade the picks.I believe the example he used was Pat Angerer.He took him a little earlier than expected and some of the draft guys were in an uproar.Saying it was not good value at the time.Polian's argument was he might not be there if he had waited another round to take him,and he didn't feel comfortable taking that chance.
Whenever people go back and look at drafts.Never do you hear "Man,that was a good pick,but not the best value". It's always very simple,was either good or bad.
If your QB is Russell Wilson and he can't see over the LoS whatever you do and 40% of his throws happen on the move then yeah, I take the point.
Lets look at the fantastic job Sean Locklear did shoring up our offensive line. How likely would it be for us to pick up a free agent defensive lineman of similar age and similar track record, who could deliver similar value to the Giants at defensive lineman as Sean Locklear did for the offensive line.
The offensive line is mainly about protecting the quarterback on the pass while occasionally opening holes on running plays. If your opponent doesn't sack Eli, you are mainly doing your job.
Defensive lineman have more opportunities to distinguish themselves. Helping close the pocket, and making a couple of extra tackles has a huge effect. The differences between top defensive lineman and average defensive lineman is easier to see, because instead of mainly protecting the quarterback, they are out there aggressively trying to make plays.
But, there are always excellent guard prospects available in the second round. So I wouldn't grab a first round guard unless I was convinced he was special enough to be a bigger different maker than the other guys available. (I know I keep harping on that point.)
The league has drafted 1 G in the last 12 years higher than 18th. The league has not changed their evaluation on G