Jesse Knows Tackles

[jb]

Fun synopsis to read!

I do have a few questions tho. Some of these guys played guard or other positions in their careers. Some I am certain did, others I can't recall and will need to do some fact checking. But if you draft a tackle very high, and the only contribution he can make is as a guard, is he really a boom?

I mean, to my thinking, considering where Lenny Davis went, I'd have him as on the busty side even as he's been a pretty good guard. Said another way, if JT wases out at OLT but playe OLG as a pro bowler alternate, was he a hit? Or would you have to be a HOFer as a guard?

Takes?

The guys I have in mind who I thought played more guard were Steinkuller & Fralic and Davis.

[swerb]

Yeah, that was a great column Jesse. And when tied with the first two installments (QB, RB) ... very informative, I learned alot.

Hopefully D'Brick and Joe Thomas are the first two legs of a repeat of the '95, '96, '97 power trio of Boselli, Ogden, and Pace.

[pup]

I would say, if Joe Thomas ended up making a couple of Pro Bowls as a guard, we would be fine with that pick.

Leonard Davis as a boom was the only one I really questioned on Jesse's list, but somebody (Jerry Jones) thought pretty highly of him a few months ago, so who knows.

Does Jake Long finsih off the Boselli, Pace, Ogden = Brick, JT, 2008 LT?

[hermanfontenot]

But if you draft a tackle very high, and the only contribution he can make is as a guard, is he really a boom?

Well… and I could be wrong about this, but there are highly-drafted tackles who are moved to guard because of their deficiencies (Mike Williams, Shawn Andrews), and then there are tackles who are moved to guard because of their versatility/weakness/needs at the other positions (Fralic, Chris Hinton). To me, a guy like Chris Hinton is a boom whether he’s at the tackle spot, or at guard, or at center.

I was a little torn on Leonard Davis. But I read a story on Joe Thomas the other day in which JT specifically brought up Davis as an example of a player who, while widely regarded as a bust, is still a quality starter in the league. Leonard Davis is not a dominating player. But he is solid, and he can start for good football teams. If there’s a middle category between boom and bust, he’s it- like Bartkowski or Pastorini at quarterback, sort of. But, since I only divided it into two, I had to pick one. And it seemed harsh to classify Leonard Davis w/guys like Mike Williams or Tony Mandarich.

And thanks for the compliments, fellas. I should have just broken it down into LTs only, but then I wouldn't have been able to drop props for my boi Russ Washington, and that would have sucked royally.

[jb]

I see what yous guys is sayin', but I think draft position and playing field position are still huge in determining boom/bust status. To me, it's unfair maybe, but it is the way it is.


A wehile back when peeps used to tell me how great Courtney Brown was at playing the run and how his draft positin didn't matter, I started glossing him Courtney Camp. Getting a Reggie Camp as a UDFA to be a solid, but non-descript 2 gap 3 - 4 player who supplied zero pass rush was one thing, having the number one overall pick do it is another.

Thomas has to be Paul Gruber, minimum, to not be a bust. Leonard Davis is a bust. As a 2nd or 3rd rounder, good player.