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Left Tackle options

AU-panther

By AU-panther,
in Carolina Panthers

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AU-panther Mentor

AU-panther

Posted
Posted

So some people thought I was crazy for suggesting trying to resign Okung depending on the price.  I know he has been hurt a lot, but when healthy he is a above average Left Tackle which is very hard to find.

So my question is, if we don't resign him what options do we have?  What would you do?

Here is a list of free agents:

2021 Free Agency: Ranking the NFL's top 100 free agents | NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | PFF

3 left tackles on this list, Trent Williams, Villanueva, and Okung

Who else is there?

Do we move a RT to left? Moton maybe?

What about drafting someone?  Honestly if your answer is to draft someone you are pretty much conceding having a below average player at that position for this year.  Are you ok with that?  Very few rookie LTs are average or better their first year.  Even LTs that are drafted in the first usually struggle.

There is no cheap vet that is going to be good, if they are good they aren't cheap.  We either spend big on someone like Okung or Williams or draft a guy and let him develop or go cheap at the position and hope they are adequate and the rest of the line is good.

For whatever reason, outside of QB, LT seems the hardest position to find above average players at.  They get over drafted, take a while to develop, vet LTs rarely  make it to free agency, when they do they are expensive.

I'm not talking about positional value, that is an entirely different argument, I'm talking about literally being able to find them.  A #1 receiver might be just as important, but its just seems like the tackle is harder to find.  Even if you willing to pay big money you still sometimes can't find one.  Seems like we need to throw more draft resources at the position.

 

 

 

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DeSim Proficient

DeSim

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After signing Taylor Moton, id try my hardest to sign Trent Williams, we’re definitely not a desirable destination so we’d have to overspend to get him, and even if we get him i’d still draft a tackle in the second or third round that can play guard as well, maybe someone like Alex Leatherwood.  First round is going to be QB. 

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Waldo Grand Master

Waldo

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No to Okung unless we are paying for 6 games only vet minimum. 

It's a tough ask to fill that spot with our other needs. I'm hopeful we get lucky in the draft but I think we look to Scott and another vet for a year. Maybe a LT/LG swing guy who is a jag like Scott was. 

Depending on the roster management decisions coming up and the cap implications, I'm not sure we will or should chase top shelf FAs this offseason. I'm preparing for the pain to continue at that spot. 

Edit: Chasing other FAs, not ours ie. Moton

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45catfan Grand Master

45catfan

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Draft a guy in the 2nd round.  Just because Little didn't work out doesn't mean 2nd round tackles typically are busts.  FYI, I was COMPLETELY against the Greg Little pick to begin with.  Re-sign Moton, Scott, firstly and then bring in another lowish FA OT prospect with potential.  Have Moton move to the left side initially, Scott over to the right and Little be a swing backup heading into the new League year.  Thereafter, the 2nd round rookie will be Moton's primary backup at LT and if Little then can't be out a $1M-ish FA OT, then he needs to be cut.  In 2022, hopefully we will have the luxury of having two quality left tackles; one will move over to the right side.

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t96 Grand Master

t96

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1 hour ago, Zod said:

We really skrewed the pooch with the Greg Little selection. Literally every scout knew he was terrible but Hurney went with his gut.

This just isn’t true, @Verge has said numerous times that many scouts thought highly of him as a high ceiling player. He never reached it here partly due to injuries/coaching maybe, and it wound up being a terrible pick for sure. But it’s not like Hurney took a guy that no other team would even draft. He was a highly touted prospect due to his upside.

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AU-panther Mentor

AU-panther

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1 hour ago, Waldo said:

No to Okung unless we are paying for 6 games only vet minimum. 

It's a tough ask to fill that spot with our other needs. I'm hopeful we get lucky in the draft but I think we look to Scott and another vet for a year. Maybe a LT/LG swing guy who is a jag like Scott was. 

Depending on the roster management decisions coming up and the cap implications, I'm not sure we will or should chase top shelf FAs this offseason. I'm preparing for the pain to continue at that spot. 

Edit: Chasing other FAs, not ours ie. Moton

and that is a viable option, sometimes you just have to make due.

You can't fix every position every year.

 

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45catfan Grand Master

45catfan

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Greg Little was in full free fall during that draft.  Hurney caught his big butt.  I have zero doubt we still could have gotten him without moving up (still wouldn't have taken him even then).  That's the insult to injury.  Second round picks will flame out from time to time, but we moved up to get a guy that was plummeting.  His draft stock arrow was pointed down the entire pre-draft process and he kept losing ground the closer the draft came.  Draft day, as predicted, he steadily fell down the draft board. 

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SmokinwithWilly Grand Master

SmokinwithWilly

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12 minutes ago, t96 said:

This just isn’t true, @Verge has said numerous times that many scouts thought highly of him as a high ceiling player. He never reached it here partly due to injuries/coaching maybe, and it wound up being a terrible pick for sure. But it’s not like Hurney took a guy that no other team would even draft. He was a highly touted prospect due to his upside.

He had high ceiling but Hurney jad him rated as a top half 1st round prospect. That's day 1 starter. If you watched the combine his was awful, I mean just awful. He was falling down the boards. In training camp he was getting beaten by UDFAs regularly. He was always a reach, and after the combine he looked more late day 3 or UDFA. 

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