Draft OL1, not necessarily OT1

[Icege]

Aside from the obvious need at QB, there is a glaring need at multiple positions on the Panthers OL. Rather than picking a player based on whether or not they can play LT, the Panthers would benefit more from drafting OL1 should they opt to go that route with our only pick in the first three rounds. If we look at draft results for the last decade, we can see that drafting OT1

Year	OT1	OL1
2021	Penei Sewell	Rashawn Slater
2020	Andrew Thomas	Tristan Wirfs
2019	Jonah Williams	Elgton Jenkins
2018	Mike McGlinchey	Quenton Nelson
2017	Garrett Bolles	Ryan Ramczyk
2016	Ronnie Stanley	Ronnie Stanley
2015	Brandon Scherff	Brandon Scherff
2014	Greg Robinson	Zack Martin
2013	Eric Fisher	Kyle Long
2012	Matt Kalil	David DeCastro

Two of the last 10 OT1s have ended up being the top OL from the draft. Three of them have ended up not even being the top OT when all is said and done (keep in mind, Sewell and Thomas can still develop, that's not what the argument is here). Most of these guys were also considered busts (though Bolles turned things around nicely).

Drafting a player because their listed position is one of need is a recipe for disaster that we've seen time and time again (most recently with Greg Little). There are five spots on the OL that need to be filled, with arguably the most important being the center and the tackles.

This is why Tyler Linderbaum should be your preferred draft prospect for 2022 after Jacksonville inevitably drafts Evan Neal who looks to be the next Ronnie Stanley in terms of being able to produce immediately at a high level in the pros.

Thank you for coming to my Tyler Talk.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Icege
Draft Tyler Linderbaum

[Icege]

12 minutes ago, Icege said:

Aside from the obvious need at QB, there is a glaring need at multiple positions on the Panthers OL. Rather than picking a player based on whether or not they can play LT, the Panthers would benefit more from drafting OL1 should they opt to go that route with our only pick in the first three rounds. If we look at draft results for the last decade, we can see that drafting OT1

Not sure what happened to the rest of the paragraph there, but "we can see that drafting OT1 is not the cure all that some of the sad bois here think that it is"

[mickeye76]

Those are some really good players in that chart.  I don't know which your calling busts but I would take most of those tackles over Cam Erving.  I agree though best olineman is better than getting hung up on particular position.  

[mrcompletely11]

7 hours ago, mickeye76 said:

Those are some really good players in that chart.  I don't know which your calling busts but I would take most of those tackles over Cam Erving.  I agree though best olineman is better than getting hung up on particular position.  

Wirfs is a top 3 tackle in the league in his second year already.   Dude is an animal. 

[Icege]

8 hours ago, mickeye76 said:

Those are some really good players in that chart.  I don't know which your calling busts but I would take most of those tackles over Cam Erving.  I agree though best olineman is better than getting hung up on particular position.  

Sewell, Thomas, McGlinchey, Robinson, and Kalil have all been labeled busts. Fisher was never known to be good. Bolles was awful his first 4yrs in the league.

Take a look at the names to the right and compare them to the one on the left.

[mrcompletely11]

Sewell is a bust?  say what?  Who is calling these people busts? 

 

Thomas was playing well until he got hurt.  Mcglinchey has a 70 grade on pff. 

 

Not sure if you are trolling or what

[Icege]

24 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Sewell is a bust?  say what?  Who is calling these people busts? 

 

Thomas was playing well until he got hurt.  Mcglinchey has a 70 grade on pff. 

 

Not sure if you are trolling or what

You must have missed the beginning of the season when folks were pointing out all of the struggles Sewell was having. Before we hop to the whole, "He's a rookie!!!" thing, please keep in mind I already addressed that in the OP.

Austin Thomas was GARBAGE last season and early this season. My wife is a Giants fan, so I see more of them than any other team that isn't the Panthers. Like Sewell, I already addressed in the OP that both have potential to develop and turn it around like Bolles did.

McGlinchey was supposed to be the heir apparent to Joe Staley, but hasn't lived up to the expectations. He also didn't always have that PFF grade: his pass blocking grade previously was 59.1.

You do understand though that the purpose of this thread isn't to argue who exactly are busts, right? The  purpose is to illustrate that the best OL available in the draft isn't always necessarily the best OT (who at times isn't even the best OT). If there's a top flight interior lineman available, take them instead of reaching on an OT like the team did with Greg Little.

[mickeye76]

Our line is so bad we really can't get it wrong whether we draft interior or tackle.   I wish we had Andrew Thomas, McGlinchey, or Sewell.  They are all young and have upside.  Erving has hit his ceiling years ago and is regressing.  Paradis is serviceable but not much else.  I agree with op to a point see first line of post.  But the focus should be on tackle and center.  

[Panthero]

When your oline is this bad, just hit the dart board. Center, guard, tackle? Yes!

[Icege]

This is going to be an exciting second half of the season!!!

The team is in a position where playoffs and higher draft position are all possible, but with Cam now coming back there's a chance that he shows that he's on the other side of his injury history. If that happens, and things mesh well, we could have our franchise QB back with the best weapons that he has ever had, with a defense that can get him the ball back.

Joe Brady also has an opportunity to show that he can adjust to the talent that he has. If we start seeing a creative run game to open up the passing game... ooh wee mayne!

[45catfan]

Agreed we take the best OL regardless of position.  Chances are some other OL besides an OT will be there when we pick.

[mrcompletely11]

2 hours ago, 45catfan said:

Agreed we take the best OL regardless of position.  Chances are some other OL besides an OT will be there when we pick.

The more and more I read about this draft class its sounding like a incredible year for tackles and iOL.  Really crappy qb draft but we can take a step in building our line with our first pick

[Martin]

On 11/22/2021 at 12:33 PM, mrcompletely11 said:

The more and more I read about this draft class its sounding like a incredible year for tackles and iOL.  Really crappy qb draft but we can take a step in building our line with our first pick

I agree, we should be able to get a really good one for our line. Combine that with (hopefully) one good FA signing and we might have a decent to good line ne t season.

[mrcompletely11]

5 minutes ago, Martin said:

I agree, we should be able to get a really good one for our line. Combine that with (hopefully) one good FA signing and we might have a decent to good line ne t season.

Its going to be a process.  Seems we have a lot to replace and not a ton of capital to draft with.  I am still a little leery of rolling into next year with BC as our LT.  Play him this season and lets see.  I just for once want a stud lights out all pro level Left Tackle on our line.  Its been a long long time since Jordan Gross