Wharton - LG - smokescreen?

In Stan Olen's blog (Charlotte.com) he seems think with all the activity in FA at the guard position, that Wharton may well stay put at LT which gives the team the flexability to go after a DE or HB.

 

I fully expect us to draft a running back but not in the first round. Like has been said over and over, you do not sink two number one picks into running backs two out of three years. We do need depth though, I like Toefield but one other guy in the mix would be nice in case of injuries.

I think the guards we have added do give us some flexibility that we did not have before. We are not forced to try and find a starting offensive lineman in the draft now. I think we will still consider one strongly in the first round but if we see a DE or DT we want more then we can pull the trigger on him.

 

Already having a first round pick at WR didn't stop the Lions from drafting more first round wideouts in the next two drafts. I'm not trying to compare us to the Lions, of course, but I don't think you exclude a potential part-time starter or future starter just because of the draft status of the veteran at that spot. What if DW gets hurt or he pans? Toefield has a one year deal. Besides, DW was a late round one pick. It's not like he was a top five choice. We had seveal centers last year and drafted Kalil. After forking out big money to Hartwig, he didn't seem to work out at all. In hindsight, even though I hated the pick at the time, the Kalil pick makes sense now. It's the "don't put all your eggs in one basket" theory. For the record, I DO like DeAngelo. I just think it's silly to all together exclude drafting a position in a given round because of the draft status of a teamate at the same position.

 

which is easier to get - a backup RB or a starting offensive tackle? a backup RB or a 10 sack end?

That's my biggest issue with pushing RB. The player we draft needs to start, this isn't 2005 where we think we're stacked all over. I'm cool with another playmaker though.


Regardless, every bit of this speculation, media and otherwise, is based on literally very little. They're going to make the decision they think is right at 13. The idea that they're doing this because this back weighs X or because this $800k guard can play tackle is just a load of crap.

 

Exactly. I'd prefer taking a RB in the 1st only if the ONLY reasonable alternative is a QB.

 

I wouldn't sweat too much about us drafting Mendenhall. I think you will see the FO stirring up a lot of rumors on that just to sweat getting an extra pick out of Chicago, who are rumored to have massive chub for Mendenhall; maybe we can get their third and still get Clady/Williams.

For me, I don't see the love affair with Harvey. UF is my second (adopted) college team after living in FL for some years, and I watched a lot of Florida football. Harvey never stood out to me, for that matter neither did Jarvis Moss (last year). He only had 8.5 sacks last year. I just don't get the infatuation with him, to me, he has bust written all over him.

Saw the Vandy game, thought Chris Williams was pretty quick, he reminds me a lot of Gross actually; nimble enough to stay in front of his guy in pass pro, doesn't overwhelm or pancake his guy in run blocking. Never saw Clady play, so I can't weigh in on that. But if Williams is as good as Gross, as we know, you can do a hell of a lot worse.

 

I thought the most interesting part were the comments on Micheal Turner. I wonder if he was asked specifically about not signing Turner or if that was just something he offered up in defense of Foster or if it was simply a dig at Atlanta. Either way I find it weird he'd call him unproductive when we all know who's ahead of him on the debth chart in SD. Its not like Turner didnt make an impact when given an opportunity. He got tagged for a reason.

 

That championship game he had was stellar. That put him on the map. Probably some comparisons to Kearse and his freakish arm length have teams salivating. But he put in a great Pro day workout from all accounts too.

How do ya'll feel about the DE from Clemson if he's the one that slides?

 

In an radio interview in Columbia, Wharton said he will be moving to Guard. I think Fox is just saying that if everyone we like as a probable starter gets picked before us, we still have the option of keeping Wharton at LT. But his preference seems to be to make the switch.

 

If we take a RB at 13, that tells me they do not believe DW is able to be the every down back. In that scenerio, DW may initiallt start, but the new back will probably eventually replace him, relegating DW to the change of pace/3rd down role.

I liked what I saw fron Johnson at the end of last year, and felt he could be the eventual starter (although, maybe after another year backing up to learn and grow). However, I have now seen several instances in which Fox has stated we still need to upgrade DE, and the pass rush in particular...giving the impression that a DE early is a distinct possibility. IMO, that implies Fox is not confident that Johnson will be anything more than a situational guy.