It doesn't really bode well for all of the interior players hold over from 2023.
It doesn't bode well for any player not named Terry, Jon or Daron, honestly.
Chris Paul was rated a 37 by PFF as a guard in 2023, among the worst in the league.
Chris Paul should never have been in line to be a starting guard. The fact Ron thought he and Sadiq could compete for that spot and be succesful shows how behind the times he was.
He wasn't very good, and was hurt a lot.
At center, you have Tyler Larsen as a free agent but he is 32/33 years old and looks to be more past than present. He also is a guy that comes in and plays decently and then gets hurt and misses time.
Larsen is not coming back, though I think he's a really good backup center. But he shouldn't be a starter. Somebody should pick him up. Honestly, I have literally no idea about their depth, but if either the Chiefs or the Jags needed a backup center, I'd give him a ring. Pederson runs a variety of Reid's system, and Reid runs Reid's system, and Biennemy tried to run Reid's system. So, at least he knows the system and a lot of the terminology.
The fact Deiter has starting experience and can flex to both positions is a bonus. At 27, he's another competitive candidate.
Peters clearly looked at the OL, held his nose, and looked away. I'm figuring they don't think Paul will be on the roster after roster cuts. There's literally no reason for them to cut him now, though, so they'll let him compete.
Based on the team's website:
Tackle:
-
Cornelius Lucas
-
Andrew Wylie
- Alex Akingbulu (I honestly didn't remember who this was, apparently he was in camp, was cut, signed to the practice squad, and elevated to the active roster the final game.)
- Trent Scott
- Braden Daniels
- Mason Brooks (He's listed as "OL" on the website. I think he was practicing at Tackle though.)
Guard
-
Sam Cosmi
- Chris Paul
-
Nick Allegretti
-
Michael Deiter
- Julian Good-Jones (I had no recollection who this was)
Center
-
Tyler Biadasz
-
Ricky Stromberg
-
Michael Deiter
I bolded the ones who most likely make the roster. There are 7 names on the bolded list. 1 was re-signed as a backup (Lucas), 1 is a solid starter (Cosmi) and 5 are new signings.
IMO, you will probably see the team move on from Braden Daniels and Stromberg either in camp or after the 2024 season. These were Ron's picks and neither player seemed to stand out enough to beat out what was in fact one of the weakest interior line groupings in the NFL.
They're clearly going to draft a starting LT. They're also going to probably draft another OL, and most likely another tackle, at some point in the draft.
Everything I've heard about Ricky Stromberg has been positive. It's possible Peters didn't have him highly graded before he came out, or they clearly didn't see enough last year to factor him into their plans. However, I think he most likely gets a season under the new regime to prove himself somewhere.
My guess is they are going to assume Paul is a camp cut, Allegretti and Dieter will battle for LG with a possible draft pick, Stromberg will compete for the backup cetenter spot.
Braden Daniels better show that he's come a LONG way in order to make the team or he'll be a final roster cutdown for sure.
Teams typically carry 9-10 OL. Right now, they have 7 guys you can be sure will be on the roster. I think Stromberg is going to make it assuming he's healthy. FWIW, Leno spoke glowingly about him in the interview with Keim.
There are 2-3 more spots available. One could go to Stromberg, though it's not a sure thing. One for a starting LT. I don't think those other 2-3 more players are on the roster yet. I think everybody else is being cut.
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