Om Field: Okung, All Ye Faithful

[Om]

If William of Occam were handicapping Thursday night’s first round of the NFL Draft, this is what he would say about the fourth overall selection ...

Forget the endless analysis, subterfuge and misinformation. Washington Redskins fans will wake up Friday morning comforted to know that QB Donovan McNabb will be protected from blindside mayhem for the foreseeable future by Oklahoma State LT Russell Okung.

(It works better if you read it with an Italian accent.)

Old Bill's old saw would be right. The simplest explanation is almost always the right one, and in the case of the 2010 Redskins, the simplest explanation (as well as logic and common sense) points toward the selection of the draft's most highly-rated offensive lineman.

Down and dirty, here's why ...

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[Neophyte]

Nice one, brother. I think I am leaning more toward them grabbing Trent Williams from OU at this point but I would not be surprised by Okung either. Pretty sure I will be happy with either of them too.

 

[chrisavery72]

Lineman Lineman and more Lineman please and thank you.

 

[Om]

Nice one, brother. I think I am leaning more toward them grabbing Trent Williams from OU at this point but I would not be surprised by Okung either. Pretty sure I will be happy with either of them too.

As a prediction or preference?

I'm not familiar enough with Williams to speak confidently ... I do think I like what I hear about Okung's motor/attitude a little more, but then, I never did a soup-to-nuts research job on Williams, either. Agree with you though, if either one ends up a Redskin it means Bruce and Mike like him enough to pull the trigger, and that will be enough to let me sleep well Thursday night.

Lineman Lineman and more Lineman please and thank you.

With you up to a point brother. Bodies for the sake of bodies is comforting to a degree, but leaves me a little queezy if it means trading down and simply accumulating bodies hoping to find a diamond or two in the rough. I'm all about getting as close to a sure thing at LT as we possibly can, and at least in my mind that's Okung.

I'm figuring if they end up going just with the four picks they have, it's Okung at #4, and another OL, RB and probably BPA with the other three.

Also hoping we'll find a creative way to bag a few more picks via the trade route (Jason!) that can also translate into slobberknockers.

 

[chrisavery72]

The Bruce Allen press conference on Monday worried me a bit.
Do they have something up their sleeve? Maybe.
Are they going to stay put? Maybe.

One thing for sure I will be watching every draft day as if we have a pick in every round, because as soon as I think we are done...something happens.

 

[Sassy Gretsch]

Joyful and triumphant
Okung, ye, Okung, ye to Washington.

Thanks, Om.

 

[Neophyte]

As a prediction or preference?

I'm not familiar enough with Williams to speak confidently ... I do think I like what I hear about Okung's motor/attitude a little more, but then, I never did a soup-to-nuts research job on Williams, either. Agree with you though, if either one ends up a Redskin it means Bruce and Mike like him enough to pull the trigger, and that will be enough to let me sleep well Thursday night.

As a prediction. More and more of the prognosticators out there who know Shanahan and what he likes in a lineman seem to think Williams is more his type of player.

I don't know enough about the both of them to figure out which is "the guy" I prefer. Like you, I prefer the guy Mike and Bruce prefer, which is good since they are ones working with him.

 

[Hog Fever]

Trent Williams seems to be the guy who fits the Shanahan scheme a little better than Okung because he's faster and should be able to get to the second level easier. Who knows how this will all play out though.

The fact that several teams are in desperate need for LTs has pushed Okung and a couple of the other LT's up the board higher than they would have in years where there was a clear cut #1 can't miss LT in the draft. In other years they would not grade out nearly as high and would go somewhere just outside of the top 10. Again, from what I've read.

If the experts are to be believed Okung is considered the safer pick when you combine his skill set and his attitude. He has some upside but not as much as a guy like Williams. Right now though he's a better player than Williams by almost all accounts.

Questions regarding Williams' motivation seems to be the one thing I'm hearing questioned in a lot of write ups. Will he still be hungry after getting paid? I guess that's a legitimate question for any of these guys in the top of the first round. What isn't being questioned is Williams' athleticism and the feeling that he still has room to get a lot better since he only played on the left side his senior year.

I don't think we could go wrong with either guy honestly. Either would be a nice upgrade from our current LT, whoever that is. You read enough of the draft analysis of players and you could find reasons to love or hate just about any of these guys. I can't wait to see how this plays out.

 

[Aston Gambino]

I think trading down or out of that pick is their priority. Barring that, my prediction is Williams, for the same reasons Hog just mentioned. Two places I've read say similar things. CBS was one, can't recall the other.

Okung would be great as well, really like his attitude and think he'll be an excellent long term asset for someone.

 

[Elephant]

I must not be reading the same stuff you guys are reading, but I just checked a number of mock draft sights and everyone I see has Bulaga going before Williams. Last night I mentioned my support for Bulaga and I had a couple people tell me they saw differing reports about him dropping down the draft board and/or being a candidate for Right Tackle.

I will admit that I have not seen much on Williams. I have mentioned before that I have watched Okung and he was good but unspectacular. Maybe the lack of attention from his side of the ball is exactly what one is supposed to see? But I still have a hard time getting the performance Bulaga had against a prospective top ten draft pick defensive end in Derrick Morgan at last year's Orange Bowl. I know I am being repetitive, but what are you guys reading that says Williams is a better prospect than Bulaga and possibly Okung?

 

[Skinsfan76]

I think since we have just one pick in the top one hundred that it needs to be the safest pick possible and I think that is Russell Okung.

Trent Williams has some questions about his work ethic. No questions with Okung.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

I'd like to stay at #4 and guarantee we get the best LT according to Shanny's board (either Okung or Williams).

Get your picks by trading Jason, Haynesworth and Rocky Mac.....

use said picks to find another ILB, maybe a QB to groom and use the rest on O-linemen.

we do something like this, it won't be splashy but I'll be happy.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I know I am being repetitive, but what are you guys reading that says Williams is a better prospect than Bulaga and possibly Okung?

EDIT: these two links say he is a RT:
http://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/status/12175053713

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2010/4/7/1408900/consensus-is-that-bryan-bulaga-is


EDIT: This link has him rated behind Okung and Willams: http://www.draftcountdown.com/Rankings/OT.php

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

From what I've seen of Bulaga, he'll be a very good RT.

Short arms and I think he'll struggle at the next level against good RDEs. RT I think he'll do well, LT not so much.

 

[Aston Gambino]

I know I am being repetitive, but what are you guys reading that says Williams is a better prospect than Bulaga and possibly Okung?

Rob Rang's latest mock has us taking Williams, followed immediately by Bulaga than Okung, so according to him, all three are Top Ten tackles, but Williams is a better fit for the zone blocking.

Edit: Prisco sees the top 6 going the same way.

After this, they expect the next tackle taken to be Anthony Davis at #17 to San Fran, so if we want one of those top 3, we might want to stay pretty close to where we are.

Edit 2.0: Hogs Haven just dropped this piece on the Shanaplan, summarizing notes they've collected, including Charles Robinson and Rick Maese's preference for Williams. Cerrato also apparently called Williams an underachiever on a radio show this week, so that moved him up many peoples boards as well.

 

[Elephant]

Rob Rang's latest mock has us taking Williams, followed immediately by Bulaga than Okung, so according to him, all three are Top Ten tackles, but Williams is a better fit for the zone blocking....

And this is another point of contention, Iowa ran a zone blocking scheme and Bulaga excelled in it. One report I saw had Seattle grabbing Bulaga because he fits Gibbs' ZBS well. I don't know, I guess I just can't get his performance against Morgan out of my head. When you talk about transferring to the pros, you gotta see how they performed against a player that is slated to go top 10-14 like Morgan. Bulaga simply dominated Morgan.

 

[Neophyte]

Brian, I started seeing stuff with Don Banks last mock draft on SI:

An important caveat for this pick right off the bat: Bulaga has slipped down some teams' draft boards and there's real volatility regarding opinions about his potential. One talent evaluator even told me some clubs have given him a third-round grade. The rub seems to be the tapes that show him getting soundly beat by some of the best pass-rushers in this year's draft. But unless Seattle decides it has to pull the trigger on Clemson running back C.J. Spiller this early, replacing left tackle Walter Jones remains the priority.

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Then Peter King had quite a bit about him in this weeks Monday Morning QB column. Including the following bit:

Bulaga had a sub-par season in 2009, missing three games due to a thyroid condition and not regaining top form until Iowa's bowl game. A couple of scouts told me they're not sure he's even a first-round talent after watching Michigan's Brandon Graham abuse him on tape last fall.

Throw in the arm length thing (which King debunks and pretty much dismisses, btw), the comparisons with Gallery, and you start to get the picture of why he might be dropping.

 

[Hog Fever]

I watched that game as well and I agree completely. Bulaga dominated. I think the Robert Gallery comparisons are hurting him some as well as some of the measurables like arm length and 40 times. Some of it is just gamesmanship from teams who would love to draft him and are hoping to make his stock fall.

 

[Elephant]

Bob, I gotta question who is giving that report after seeing tapes of Bulaga? Of the top 4 DE's that are projected in the 1st round of this draft, Bulaga faced 2 of them. I saw him against Morgan who is rated either 1st or 2nd as far as DE's and Bulaga dominated. The other is Graham from Michigan who is slated somewhere around #20-25.

Edit: Just saw the King report about how Graham abused him, but I question if it was part of his illness slowing him down.

So I am starting to wonder if this year's touted OT class is a bit over rated? Has the need to fill such an important role accelerating their value? What has me concerned is the Cowgirls are sitting in the latter part of the 1st round. Watch them pick Davis or Brown and end up with the true 10 year all-pro LT. UGH!

I do not like this draft! I do not like this draft! I am starting to think that if we can't trade down and Bradford slips to us, we take him.

 

[Neophyte]

I think you are right when you talk about the value of a LT accelerating the value of the guys in this years draft and the available LTs not being quite up to the same level as past drafts. It would not surprise to hear later on that this years class of LTs was made up of guys who should have been late 1st, 2nd and 3rds but due a lack of true blue chip guys, they all got drafted higher than they should.

Also interesting is the lack of many legit pass rushers. Sort of makes me wonder if there is a correlation between the two.