We know that Reese prefers playmakers and we are all excited about the potential showned by OBJ....which is now viewed as the best pick in the draft.
Not that long ago, another 1st rd. WR lead us to the Super Bowl, Nicks....but his fall from grace was quick and eye opening......which leads me to longevity.
We can easily assume 10+ year career from top OL...they usually age well by NFL standards and yes....we can argue if they are elite athletes. The George Young theory certainly views them as rare.
But for this, we will view elite athletes as the playmakers.....WR, edge rusher, Corners and Rb........and how the ware and tear of the NFL limits their longevity and how it relates to overall value of the draft.
Nick's hail mary catch vs. GB that propelled them to the Super Bowl will justify his draft status......but his short career hurt the Giants. Especially compared to the value that Diehl brought to the table as a 5th rounder as a 10+ year starter.
OBJ meteroic rise to stardom scares the heck out of me. He seems to be level headed but I sure hope he career outlasts Nicks.
Which leads me to the Cooper vs Scherff argument.
I feel Cooper will have a much greater impact in the shorterm vs. A plug and play 10 year OL.......that anchor the line. But Scherff value goes up when one consider the higher risk of playmakers.
Cruz might come back fine.....but to return to the level that made him special is extremely unlikely.....maintaining elite skillset is not easy.
Scherff seems like a guy that could jump right in at LG and potentially move to tackle and if the Giants feel that he can play LT he may be the pick. They love versatility in their linemen. However, I am hoping for a Defensive player that could have a similar impact that OBJ had to our offense. That should be the objective of Reese and Ross. That is why I am hoping Beasley is available and the pic. I feel he has the desire, skill set and production to be that decade long menace for our front 7, I don't care if he plays OLB or DE. The kids is a football player. Watch the film. In fact if I were Reese I would move up a couple of spots to get him.
Chris Snee was totally beat up after his 8th and hung on for 2 more
Deihl played 11 - a most of BBI thought he was done after 8
Suebert - 9 w/only 5 full years
Jake Long has played 7 years and people thought he was done after 5. His body is done
It is hard to find a guy who can play 10 years on the OL
Unless you're talking about a franchise QB who you would repeatedly Tag to retain, it's pretty pointless to consider much beyond the player's rookie contract.
Nicks for us was a freak thing - No other team in recent NFL history has had a top 10 level WR, get hurt and not come back, while that player was 25.
They don't make them like that anymore.....
The guys today are much bigger(wink, wink), and faster.....their bodies just can't handle the constant impacts, that those two factors create.....
Is it any wonder, these guys leave after rookie contracts for the big guaranteed money?
Sure, players on the line can play well into their 30's as well, but just because Nicks had a freak injury that really derailed his career doesn't mean that happens to most WR's.
I think the pro-OL crowd is looking too hard at reasons to go OL at #9. If the best player is an OL when they're on the clock, pick him and move along to #40. With this regime, the chances are better than 50/50 imv it won't be an OL unless they feel really strongly about Peat or Scherff.
Chris Snee was totally beat up after his 8th and hung on for 2 more
Deihl played 11 - a most of BBI thought he was done after 8
Suebert - 9 w/only 5 full years
Jake Long has played 7 years and people thought he was done after 5. His body is done
It is hard to find a guy who can play 10 years on the OL
Good points and I will add :
Marvin Harrison
Terrel Owens
Micheal Irvin
Cris Carter
Donald Driver
Reggie Wayne
Isaac Bruce
torry Holt
TIM BROWN
JERRY RICE
Randy Moss
Steve Smith
Andre Johnson
Hines Ward
Anquan Bolden
Joey Galloway
And the list could go on and on. I'm sure the same could be said for some lineman as well .
I just wanted to point out , career length has much more to do with a players drive to be great , willingness to keep his body in peak shape and avoidance of injury. Aside from kickers , there is no position that can stand out for length of careers .
For every Jerry Rice there is a Hakim Nicks , for every Kellen Winslow there is a Tony Gonzales .
According to this study from 2013, OL play 3.91 years, whereas wide receivers play 3.52 years. Not a huge difference. See chart titled 'Average Number of Yers iN NFL by Position'.
http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/rashard-mendenhall-played-almost-twice-as-long-as-the-average-nfl-running-back/
This study by the NFLPA and Dartmouth, from 2002 shows Oline lasting 5.95 years and WR lasting 4.54 years. Scroll down to the grid with 2 columns, position and career length.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/chance_news/recent_news/chance_news_11.02.html#item3