What to do about the trenches?

Is Alaric Jackson really that good though? ESPN has him ranked as the #40 Free Agent, which is lower than Chase Young and Justin Fields.

40. Alaric Jackson, OT

Best team fit: New England Patriots

We've already matched a few players to New England, but the Patriots have the most cap space in the NFL and can continue to spend by adding Jackson to play left tackle. With his 6-7, 345-pound frame, Jackson has the play strength to anchor against power off the edge, and he understands how to win with positioning. His experience (35 career starts) would be great in New England as the team builds up front to protect quarterback Drake Maye.
I think Jackson should be rated higher after going through other pundits view of him. I think he would be a great addition.
 
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Is Alaric Jackson really that good though? ESPN has him ranked as the #40 Free Agent, which is lower than Chase Young and Justin Fields.

40. Alaric Jackson, OT

Best team fit: New England Patriots

We've already matched a few players to New England, but the Patriots have the most cap space in the NFL and can continue to spend by adding Jackson to play left tackle. With his 6-7, 345-pound frame, Jackson has the play strength to anchor against power off the edge, and he understands how to win with positioning. His experience (35 career starts) would be great in New England as the team builds up front to protect quarterback Drake Maye.


Jackson is coming off of a good season where he had a PFF grade of 78. In his first two seasons as a starter he has PFF in the low 60's which would put him in the range of Andrew Wylie. Brandon Coleman had a 59 PFF grade as a rookie and probably could be expected to improve some. So I guess, how good you think he is depends on if you think last season is predictive of his future play or whether his first two years as a starter is more predictive. At minimum you are probably getting an Andrew Wylie level player. But if last year is representative you are getting a Morgan Moses level player. I think realistically probably the best expectation is something in between, maybe a Charles Leno level player.
 
ESPN has T. Smith ranked as the number 2 free agent. I wonder if he was part of their OL problem vs the Eagles though.

From ESPN
2. Trey Smith, G

Best team fit: Chicago Bears

The top interior lineman on the market, Smith would upgrade a critical position of need in Chicago. Smith is a powerful mover in the run game, as his run block win rate of 75.1% ranked sixth among guards. Plus, he has the foot speed to mirror interior defenders and the strength at 6-6 and 321 pounds to anchor against bull rushes. Bears general manager Ryan Poles could make a splash move to rebuild the front for Ben Johnson's new offense. The Bears allowed a league-high 68 sacks in 2024, so this area has to be addressed.
 
ESPN has T. Smith ranked as the number 2 free agent. I wonder if he was part of their OL problem vs the Eagles though.

From ESPN
2. Trey Smith, G

Best team fit: Chicago Bears

The top interior lineman on the market, Smith would upgrade a critical position of need in Chicago. Smith is a powerful mover in the run game, as his run block win rate of 75.1% ranked sixth among guards. Plus, he has the foot speed to mirror interior defenders and the strength at 6-6 and 321 pounds to anchor against bull rushes. Bears general manager Ryan Poles could make a splash move to rebuild the front for Ben Johnson's new offense. The Bears allowed a league-high 68 sacks in 2024, so this area has to be addressed.
I heard he had a bad game and also, very likely resigned by Kansas City.
 
Jackson is coming off of a good season where he had a PFF grade of 78. In his first two seasons as a starter he has PFF in the low 60's which would put him in the range of Andrew Wylie. Brandon Coleman had a 59 PFF grade as a rookie and probably could be expected to improve some. So I guess, how good you think he is depends on if you think last season is predictive of his future play or whether his first two years as a starter is more predictive. At minimum you are probably getting an Andrew Wylie level player. But if last year is representative you are getting a Morgan Moses level player. I think realistically probably the best expectation is something in between, maybe a Charles Leno level player.

We are not signing Jackson. The guy has major character red flags dating back to his days at Iowa. It's a shame because he is what we need but it's a real tell that the Rams didn't extend him.

I wouldn't be surprised if our starting tackles next year are Coleman and Wylie. If we can't get Ronnie Stanley, I don't know which other FA would be a fit/upgrade over what we currently have. Robinson and Jackson have character red flags, Moses doesn't give us what we are looking for in the run game from an athletic standpoint, Moore/Mekari suck and Tyron Smith will be good for 6 games before he suffers a season ending injury

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely we find a day 1 starter at tackle where we are picking
 
Furthermore, it is highly unlikely we find a day 1 starter at tackle where we are picking

They found one in the 3rd last year though. Maybe they do it in the second this time.
 
They found one in the 3rd last year though. Maybe they do it in the second this time.

Last year’s class was the deepest tackle class I can remember. It was so deep that it wasn’t just Coleman but also Goncalves who started at tackle and did well as a 3rd rounder.

This class is overall light in tackles and many of the top “tackle” prospects are seen as better guards at the next level (Campbell, Banks and Membou).

You had 1 good starting tackle come out of 2021 (Spencer Brown), 2 in 2022 (Lucas and Raihman) and 0 in 2023. It’s a hard bet to count on getting a day 1 starter that late in the draft
 
Maybe Emery Jones would still be there in the 3rd. He could possibly start day 1 at RT.

Also what’s the chances that we could see someone from the practice squad take a leap this year? At tackle we have Anim Dankwah. He looks like he has all the physicality you would want. Will it click for him?
 
My biggest want going into the offseason is a major upgrade on the O line, JD and this offense would be very hard to stop, and that's without upgrades at WR and RB. Having said that if it proves impossible to get that stud tackle and guard Im certain we will still make "some improvements" to the O line. We averaged 28.5 points a game last year, solidifying the defensive line would go a long way to making that 28.5 points difficult to beat. Long story short if we cant significantly upgrade the O line this year...significantly upgrading the D line (MG etc.) would probably suffice for this year.
 
I wish I had a little more faith in our O line coach. I don't think he's the bum he looked like in New York with the Giants, but I suspect he's average. What he did with what he had last year suggests he's at least average, but I don't think he's the kind of teacher/coach that really elevates players and turns lead into gold.
 
I wish I had a little more faith in our O line coach. I don't think he's the bum he looked like in New York with the Giants, but I suspect he's average. What he did with what he had last year suggests he's at least average, but I don't think he's the kind of teacher/coach that really elevates players and turns lead into gold.
I honestly thought I was in the minority on this one.
 
I think the OL coach might be pretty good but there just isn't much talent on the OL right now.

Watching them play the Eagles it looks obvious that they are several years behind in drafting on both lines actually.

AP has a lot of work to do this year.
 
Late to the game, but a few thoughts on OL:

  • I'm with those who think Coleman has a good shot at developing into a quality LT; there was a mention of his stiff hips/center of gravity (Burgold?) and that is a consideration since a higher center of gravity allows a DL to pull you forward and down or topple you backwards, but that kind of thing is somewhat coachable; I've seen coaches correct things like that by essentially torturing the lineman into doing it correctly. :ROFLMAO:
  • From what I saw I agree with the idea that we need better starters and a lot more depth.
  • I'd place a priority on depth since a well-coordinated OL unit is better than great players who don't communicate well; think of the OL as an organism with 5 parts - in order for the organism to function properly, the parts all have to do their jobs; the best OLs have a bit of a hive mind.
  • It also means you improve the backups and thus have less drop-off in quality when someone can't go.
  • Continuity is important - think in terms of a band, say the Rolling Stones: Keith Richards and Ron Wood don't have to even think about what the other is about to do since they've played together so long that there's an instinctual knowledge. That lets them focus on their execution instead of worrying about someone else's execution. They know that when they have to coordinate, they'll both be right there together. It's similar with OL.
  • I'm hoping the FO uses a combination of smart draft moves and FA to add 1 or 2 quality starters and several better backups.
  • With OL small personnel upgrades can have a bigger impact than in other areas of the game, though I'd of course prefer large personnel upgrades.
  • Let's put together Hogs 2.0!
 
Am unable to post in Free Agent thread- but it applies here too- What about Poona Ford DT as a free agent-Also like Becton- both projected in the 7 to 8 million dollars a year range. That leaves us a lot of money - We could pick another OL in FA, and draft a DL in 3rd or 5th round. For a min of expense we would be set for a great draft (this leaves enough money in free agency CB, Edge, WR- .
 
We are not signing Jackson. The guy has major character red flags dating back to his days at Iowa. It's a shame because he is what we need but it's a real tell that the Rams didn't extend him.

I wouldn't be surprised if our starting tackles next year are Coleman and Wylie. If we can't get Ronnie Stanley, I don't know which other FA would be a fit/upgrade over what we currently have. Robinson and Jackson have character red flags, Moses doesn't give us what we are looking for in the run game from an athletic standpoint, Moore/Mekari suck and Tyron Smith will be good for 6 games before he suffers a season ending injury

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely we find a day 1 starter at tackle where we are picking
Good breakdown. Makes Stanley even more valuable, so maybe it’s worth offering him a little bit of an overpay? His experience blocking for a mobile QB like Lamar adds value for us as well.
If not though, we may have to reinforce the inside this year and punt tackle until next off-season. Maybe we get lucky with a draft pick at tackle, but definitely can’t count on it.
 
I honestly kind of love the idea of signing Ronnie Stanley and moving up just a little in the draft the grab Josh Simmons. I think Simmons could be a pro bowl caliber LT.

Put Simmons at RT and Stanley at LT, then when we move on from Stanley, Simmons can slide over to LT. bookend tackles for 2-3 years and LT locked up for a long time.

Think about what a massive OL upgrade that would be next year.
 
I honestly kind of love the idea of signing Ronnie Stanley and moving up just a little in the draft the grab Josh Simmons. I think Simmons could be a pro bowl caliber LT.

Put Simmons at RT and Stanley at LT, then when we move on from Stanley, Simmons can slide over to LT. bookend tackles for 2-3 years and LT locked up for a long time.

Think about what a massive OL upgrade that would be next year.
Not sure if we can move up to get Simmons. If he has recovered from the injury he is probably top 10 or 15. I would like to sign Stanley and Becton and trade back from our first round pick. There are some very good DT's and some decent guards-50-70 as well as some good edges dropping to that area. Next years draft is supposed to be better so if we traded to New England for their 38 -- 77 and a 5th round next year (PFF accepts trade) we would be well set up. I could see another trade back from the picks we have in the second and third round too.
 
It's interesting. I hear people saying it's both a bad draft and a bad free agency crop. Doesn't mean you can't unearth great players, but it's interesting.
 
I pointed this out in the FA thread but it is looking like Braden Smith, the longtime starting RT of the Colts, will be released. Goncalves who is on a rookie deal played well last year and they will hand him the starting RT job. By cutting Smith, they'll save $16M in cap room, which may help them resign their Pro Bowl caliber guard Fries.

Smith is kind of our Daron Payne. He was a guy who was signed to a top dollar extension a few years ago with the expectation he'd become an elite RT. That hasn't happened and he's missed games but he's been a very good RT (above average pass blocker and a great run blocker) and he is 28 so a 3 year deal could make sense.

If we can sign him to a deal at a $10M-$15M AAV, that is probably more interesting to me than signing Stanley up for a $20M+ AAV deal.
 

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