Another big reason I'm feeling good about the Conerly pick is that pretty much all of the DLs I like are still on the board. This was the loaded position in this year's class. We're going to be able to get a good one if we stay at our pick in round 2.
I think your assesment is good, but when I started seeing people remind what he did against the Edge that the Giants picked Abdul Carter?
This pick makes sense even before Giants make that pick (because of Philly and Micah Parsons)
Although this tweet says those would be holds in the NFL.
I liked the Coleman pick last year but didn't love it. But did think Coleman could be a really good guard. Fits his skill set IMO much better because in short I didn't love how he used his hands and his lateral quickness and instincts. But in a phone booth that mitgates his weaknesses much more IMO.
This is one of the things I've loved about the Tunsil and now Conerly additions. I've been pretty critical of Coleman in pass-pro and didn't think he was a good fit at LT. He played better than I expected last year, mainly because his run block win rate was elite. But the pass pro issues were still a real problem and they kind of reared their head against the Eagles. The team knew we had to fix this, and they sure did. I think Coleman finds a home at RG and becomes a legit good player there, as all of those issues he has with explosive inside counters are pretty much negated by playing inside, and his strength as a run blocker can really shine. This is a strong position group for us now, and a lot of these guys are likely going to be long term members of our team, Coleman included.
My belief is that you need 7 good OLs to head into a season with the confidence to have a truly dominant OL that wins the line of scrimmage against any match up. We've got that heading into next season, I really think we're going to have one of the best OLs in the NFL. It feels good. Redskins/Commanders fans don't trust prosperity from this team unless the OL is strong. It's our security blanket.
Conerly is a dogged competitor that managed to bail water and win reps against players that had more power than him. He kind of made a name for his battle with Abdul Carter in the B1G championship, but I'm not really sure I would call that a lockdown or dominant game from him. Carter took his ass for a ride, and a lot of those "wins" were messy and required Gabriel to feel the rush and move. But he didn't lose. It was an encouraging demonstration of elite raw athleticism, and it does seem like Conerly is a rapidly growing prospect with high end potential once Bobby Johnson and our strength coaches start working with him. I don't know if he'll be able to start next season, he might just need to sit and grow. But we have five starting OLs without Conerly and Cosmi playing, so we have the luxury of bringing him along slowly. But I would bet that our most common OL group next season will be: LT - Tunsil, LG - Conerly, OC - Biadasz, RG - Coleman, RT - Wylie.
Conorly is a good pick. Nothing amazing or sexy but the types of picks championship teams late in the 1st round make.
There were no good OTs left. Personally I liked Simmons a little more than Conorly but he has an injury issue and apparently some character concerns with him as well. Everyone knew the Chiefs were taking an OT, so if we didn't take one at 29 we wouldn't be able to get any. We're trying to build a dominant OL that will keep our franchise QB upright for the next decade and counter our division which is fulled with loaded front sevens.
There are still plenty of Edges left, but with the Chiefs taking Simmons OT is now completely dry(I do like Ersery though). Conorly for sure would have been taken somewhere early 2nd or possibly gone to the Chiefs at 31/32. We can still get a Donovan Jackson or JT Tuomola at 61. I doubt Eziraku will fall. Green won't either, and if he does its because hes a certified criminal and completely undraftable.
Conorly is a great fit for our offense. He's mobile and athletic as hell. No more having to watch Wylie lumber downfield and eff up blocks preventing big explosive runs. Wait till Cosmi gets back healthy and we got him and Conorly killing defenders downfield springing huge runs. It also means we don't have to sweat as much about teams dodging Tunsil by playing their pass rushers on the right side. Now we got both sides covered, and neither will need double teams, so against a team like Philly we can hard double team Carter.
Getting our protection issues fixed is how we unleash Heisman Trophy Jayden Daniels. That and adding an elite deep threat for those slot fades. His most spectacular strength is the vertical passing game, and we should have time to run it even against good defensive fronts now.
So for part 2 of building the offense up, who do we like as a deep threat? Terry's our best one now, but he plays all of his snaps on that left outside alignment. Deebo has some deep threat in him but that's not really his game. Probably true for Luther Burden too (and I am also worried that the fact he fell out of the first round lends legitimacy to the questions about his competitiveness).
I was watching the Pat McAfee draft coverage yesterday since I cut the cord (and I don't sub to Youtube TV until the actual season starts), and he made an interesting point about drafting OL. Basically, you should always look to draft Tackles. Good Tackles are rare in the NFL and almost never hit FA and if they do they tend to be very expensive so you gotta take em early. If they don't pan out, you can always kick em to G and the track record of college Ts playing G in the NFL is really good.
It wouldn't shock me if Conorly played LG either. Keep him on the left side and build a wall to protect JD's blindside. Then in 2-3 years if Tunsil starts to age out or get too expensive, you can move Conorly to LT after he's filled out and grown more (he only turns 22 in May).
Getting our protection issues fixed is how we unleash Heisman Trophy Jayden Daniels. That and adding an elite deep threat for those slot fades. His most spectacular strength is the vertical passing game, and we should have time to run it even against good defensive fronts now.
So for part 2 of building the offense up, who do we like as a deep threat? Terry's our best one now, but he plays all of his snaps on that left outside alignment. Deebo has some deep threat in him but that's not really his game. Probably true for Luther Burden too (and I am also worried that the fact he fell out of the first round lends legitimacy to the questions about his competitiveness).
Tre Harris incoming?
Matthew Golden was the deep threat in this class and he got taken. Don't think anyone else is around unless you're talking late round sleeper like a Tai Felton type.
The next step now is to add a real explosive RB. Robinson is kinda mid and struggled late. Love Ekeler but he's at the end of his career. I'd be thrilled if Henderson or Kaleb Johnson are available at our pick.
I am usually good at Keim code so to speak but color me confused about Green. He said yesterday he knows they are interested in him, suspects they could take him, but if he drops he sees it as a red flag and if so its a signal that this team likewise might consider it a red flag, too. But now he mentions him again. I love that he has Stewart on this list, that's the first time I've seen his name mentioned from him. Sawyer somewhat new too -- his personality fits that whole culture thing. I like him as a player but short arms, didn't run, I wonder?
I haven't watched Kennard, I know some of the PFF guys aren't that high on him.
Landon Jackson is my pick if we go Edge. He's big and strong and can actually play all 3 downs (as opposed to Ez who is a pass rush specialist and too undersized to be a full time DE).
But if Treveyon Henderson is there I'm taking him. A Daniels/Henderson backfield behind our OL is going to wreck the league.
Sure we'll give up 30 points a game. But we'll score 35.
Landon Jackson is my pick if we go Edge. He's big and strong and can actually play all 3 downs (as opposed to Ez who is a pass rush specialist and too undersized to be a full time DE).
But if Treveyon Henderson is there I'm taking him. A Daniels/Henderson backfield behind our OL is going to wreck the league.
Sure we'll give up 30 points a game. But we'll score 35.
I love Landon as a run stopper. Him, JT, and Stewart were my favorite edge setters among the players I watched.
