NorthHawk wrote:Nope. We drafted a few OL here and there but no Center of note during JS tenure and we've continually signed older cheap FAs at Guard. Is Cross worth re-signing to a top contract - how about Lucas, can he stay healthy?
The IOL under JS has for the most part been a collection of other teams castoffs and older players drafted high by other teams but at the end of their careers - 1 year rentals then gone the next year.
But after 15 drafts under JS, I doubt the script will change and we will again look for the Tomlinson types to fill out the IOL instead of drafting good young players and develop them in house.
Unger was a good center. Carpenter was a 1st round pick that didn't work out at guard. We also drafted that guy from Wisconsin in the 3rd round at guard, but he didn't want to play football.
The only first round guard we drafted was Carpenter I think. I'd have to review the draft picks. We mostly spent high draft picks on left tackles.
Most of our inside O-line was lower level draft picks. That I agree with.
Even with this rebuild, we drafted a high round left tackle and paired with a low round guard pick. How about John change things up and draft a proven left guard or sign a proven left guard to pair with Cross? Maybe Cross would be better if paired with a good left guard.
We always talk about how much the O-line needs to work together for a longer period of time to do well, but Cross has had a rotating left guard and center almost his entire career. How is he supposed to develop when he's a good a new guy next to him multiple times a year and a new center?