Draft Prep: The Offensive Linemen
Year-in and year-out there is one truth in football: if you can’t win the battle at the line of scrimmage, you probably won’t win many games.
The big men are key for many reasons. If they can’t open up holes, then running backs can’t get yardage. If they can’t keep the quarterback upright, then he can’t make passes. Offense is based on the idea of moving forward, and the guys who do the moving are the linemen.
Let me start by saying I’m not going to differentiate between tackles, guards, and centers. They are all lineman, and I’ll deal with them position-by-position if need be.
Why?
Because, much like the quarterbacks, this isn’t the strongest draft for offensive linemen. As with our last Draft Prep piece on quarterbacks, this isn’t a position of need for the Steelers. I hear you “Pouncey is injury prone” guys out there. I hear you… be quiet please, the grown ups are talking!
For those of you convinced we need another tackle so Alejandro Villanueva can be converted to tight end, please, go with the nice men in the white suits and take the pretty pills they give you.
With all that being said, I think we can all agree that, while depth is always good, it appears we have a considerable amount of depth on the O-line right now.
This. Is. Not. A. Position. Of. Need.
Period.
Regardless, let’s take a look at who is available, broken down into three categories – the Cream, the Crop and the Dregs.
The Cream
The Cream of this draft are:
- 3 tackles Ryan Ramczyk (Wisconsin), Cam Robinson (Alabama) and Garett Bolles (Utah)
- 3 guards Dan Feeney (Indiana), Forrest Lamp (Western Kentucky), Dion Dawkins (Temple)
You could maybe add in Dorian Johnson from Pittsburgh as well.
The center group is just not that dynamic or exciting. The only reason a center goes in the first round this year is if a team has a dramatic need, and they think Pat Elflein(Ohio State) or Ethan Pocic (LSU) are going to address that need.In most of the mock drafts I have done (using Fanspeak’s draft simulator, which is way too much fun incidentally), the first round has been very quiet with regards to the big men. They haven’t gotten much love until late, and then in the 2nd round.
Now understand, things may change as free agency hits, and as the Combine gets people all yinz’ed up. But the truth is, other than maybe Robinson, Ramczyk and Feeney, all of these guys are likely to be around when the Steelers draft at 30. While I really like two of these guys (Cam Robinson and Dion Dawkins), as stated above, it’s not a position of need. This isn’t a tremendous draft for any of these positions, so the bottom line is – pass.
Here is my one caveat: if Cam Robinson, who is (my favorite among this group) is there when we draft, I have to think about it. He’s an Outland trophy winner and has been a starter since he was a freshman. Dawkins may survive even into the third round, but he’s not worth the grab here because I think Robinson converts to a better guard than Dawkins is.
That being said, it would be a real luxury pick and unless the guy I really want (not telling you yet) is going to be there in the second round, I’m not pulling the trigger.
The Crop
There are a lot of second-tier type guys in this draft, and as things progress, they may flip-flop with some of the guys in the Cream group. For now, let’s say keep it to these guys:
- Roderick Johnson (OT, Florida State)
- Taylor Moton (OT, Western Michigan)
- Antonio Garcia (OT, Troy)
- the aforementioned Pat Elflein (C, Ohio State)
- Ethan Pocic (C, LSU)
Frankly that about does it.I think these guys could go anywhere from round 2 to 4, and because of that, there is nobody here that I like better than the guys we already have on the roster. As I said, it’s not a position of need, and I don’t see wasting picks that could be used on more important items at this point.
The Dregs
There are so many guys who fall into this category in this draft. Far too many to list.
If someone like Isaac Asiata, a guard from Utah were to be around in the 6th, I might take a stab. If he’s there in the 7th, and I’ve got everything else I want, maybe.
Same for Nico Siragusa (G, San Diego State) or David Sharpe (G, Florida). I might look at Will Holden (OT, Vanderbilt) or Julien Davenport (OT, Bucknell) if they fall into the late rounds. These guys all have decent size, and potential upside, but are generally risks.
Conclusion
I will not be surprised if the Steelers give the O-line a pass this draft. If we pick someone in the first 3 rounds, then it better be an extraordinary value pick, like Cam Robinson dropping to the 2nd round, or something crazier. The team really has one “need” and it’s on the other side of the ball.
I am, by no means, an expert, or even a draftnik. I do watch a good bit of college ball, and I do a lot of reading for these articles. But I am not going to pretend that I am better at this than the guys who get paid to do it.
I’m not.
But I am just like everyone else, and I do have a big giant opinion.
This. Is. Not. A. Position. Of. Need.
Next up: Running Backs
