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Redskins to draft USC G Deuce Latui with first pick?


s0crates

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Why do so many people feel that a 2nd rounder must step in immediately? Seriously, we don't even have an early 2nd rounder. Our team did make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs, and where did we falter? We faltered at depth at guard.

I think any team would falter at depth at guard when they have two guys go down.

Had we had a healthy O-line in the playoffs or someone slightly more servicable than old man Brown our O would not likely have sputtered the way it did.

Old man Brown was quite servicable. Problem is, Portis was hurt, and we went against a couple of the best run defenses in the game. I don't know if we would have done much better with a healthy Thomas.

Passing up a DE, well it is hard to do. I personally believe that we have sufficient talent developing that this isn't a pressing need. Next year I expect Demetric Evans to emerge as our starter and do a heck of a job there. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Nik Clemons turn into a very good player.

Problem is, you can make some of the same arguments for the D-line that you can for the O-line. Our ends are old, one is coming off of an injury. Evans is a free agent, and Clemons is still a work in progress. At DT, if anyone goes down, we struggle. Saleve'a is on the wrong side of 30 as well.

Thing is, it is easier to find servicable OL in free agency than it is for DL, especially guards.

The only way I see a guard being taken in the 2nd round is if a guy drops to that spot that the Skins rated higher. Latui could be a possibility, but I have a feeling he will be gone by our pick.

Jason

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Ryan O'Callaghan OL 6'6 344 California

O'Callaghan is a very good offensive line prospect. With his ability to dominate in the running game, he is going to make a fine right guard or right tackle at the next level. He lacks the ideal athleticism for the league, but his ability as a run blocker will find him a home on someone's roster. He should hear his name called at some point near the end of Day One.

This prospect looks very good because he has the versatility to play both tackle and gaurd positions. My only concern is his mobility, because we have our gaurds pull a lot. In total, though, I'd be happy if we drafted him. As you know, I think we really need to acquire one or two good linemen. It does not really matter to me whether it is O'Callaghan, Latui, or someone else. This year's draft is rich in gaurds which is lucky for us because we need one in a bad way.
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I think any team would falter at depth at guard when they have two guys go down.

Old man Brown was quite servicable.

So what happens now that our primary backup at gaurd has retired? We will be in the exact same situation we were in when our second guy went down last year. If we lose Thomas (which is by no means unlikely considering he is returning from a serious injury) or Dockery (which very well could happen next season when he becomes a FA), we will be reduced to the fella that was (until now) our third gaurd.

Do you see what I mean? We need to pick up somebody of at least Ray Brown's caliber to serve as our 2nd stringer. I would also advocate bringing in somebody with the potential to replace Dockery and Thomas (in the not unlikely event that one will be lost to FA or injury within the next year).

To me, Latui looks like he fits this bill. At the very least, I think we should use our 2nd or 3rd round pick on one of the many quality gaurds available.

Problem is, you can make some of the same arguments for the D-line that you can for the O-line. Our ends are old, one is coming off of an injury. Evans is a free agent, and Clemons is still a work in progress. At DT, if anyone goes down, we struggle. Saleve'a is on the wrong side of 30 as well.
This seems to be right. Maybe we should use our two first day picks to fill these two obvious needs. That is, we should use our 2nd and 3rd rounders on one DE and one G. Of course, I would take the G first but would be satisfied so long as we took one on the first day.
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The skins should wait til like the 4th round and draft Matua out of USC, i think that would be a steal and it would improve our o-line

fred matua is a fat slob. i do not see him being able to get out and pull like a "lightweight" 318 pound randy thomas can. we'd be better off with latui or dock

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First off my optimism about Nic Clemons is based on his athletic ability and the glorious reviews he constantly recieves from the coaching staff (I know that these are not neccisarily accurate). His technique is certainly not good, but his physical tool seem impressive. We have the best coaching staff in the league so if he has the tools, I am confident he will develop the skills.

As for D-line in general.

My argument is based on re-signing Demetric Evans. Evans is a veratile player who filled in admirably at DT when called on. He also has good speed on the edge. he may never become a game breaker, but I do believe he will supplant Wynn.

True Salavae is almost 31 now. But he has not had extensive ation in the NFl until recently. This bodes well for his body holding up at least another couple of years. Also as I posted in a thread a few weeks ago the man is just a tough S.O.B. He performed "self surgery" on himself to deal with his plantar facititis.

As for the need at Guard.

it is true that most teams would falter if 2 guards went down. However as it stands we would falter if 1 went down. Brown is gone, and while it was inspiring to see a 40+ yr old lineman giving his all it was obvious that he wasn't particularly good, especially at pulling which is a big part of this offense.

We have to replace Brown to get back to the depth we had last year while at the same time preparing for the future. We do not have any legitimate young guys developing on the O-line (asides from Dockery). Mark Wilson is no longer with us and Jim Molinaro needs more time.

In no way shape or form am I saying that we do not need to get some help on our D-Line. What I am saying is that we are younger and deeper at D-Line than we are at O-Line. Our D has shown an amazing ability to succeed regardless of personell. When we lost DTs we did have trouble, but it was not nearly as distinct as the trouble we had when we lost O-lineman (see 2004 and post Thomas injury 2005).

It is because of the offensive collapse that have occurred when our O-lineman went down that make this our most pressing need. I do not know how likely it is that Latui will be available when we draft in the 2nd, but if he is I feel that this would be our smartest choice.

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Gotta try to plug the DE hole early on as the odds of finding decent guards are much better later in the draft than finding a real passrusher.

Some combination of DE-WR/TE-OG in rounds 2-4 (assuming either a 3rd or 4th rounder from a Ramsey trade).

Then just BPA for depth with an emphasis on the lines.

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It won't happen, because Miss Cleo can read Joe Gibbs mind. :laugh:

Because of the large signing bonus you pay a 2nd round draft pick, you expect a 2nd round pick to be able to move into the starting lineup in say 1 year or so. Unless of course you draft a bust like WR Taylor Jacobs. So who would a guard push out of the starting lineup in a year or so. Not Randy Thomas or Derrick Dockery.

Thats why Miss Cleo said the Skins would draft either a TE or a CB in the 2nd round. :paranoid: If a CB he would play the nickel until Springs retires in 1 or 2 years and if a TE he would push out Royal.

We might draft a G in the 3rd round, but Latui wont be there in the 3rd round.

I have to disagree with you on this one inmate. I think we draft Ms. Cleo in the second round and Inmate in the third. Then we hit a gold mind through free agency.

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Stop it with this guard nonsense. :doh: A veteran guard who already knows how to play in the NFL is the easiest position to fill in free agency, instead of gambling a high 2nd round pick on a rookie guard.

You can never have enough good CBs. So a CB takes priority over a guard. It makes no sense to gamble our highest draft pick on a guard. We could draft a guard in the 6th or 7th round like we did with Molinaro and develop him over a couple of years. Dockery and Thomas are still too young to be replaced by a rookie. :doh:

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