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Saguaro
1. In this football era, which would be better to have, a probowl LOT, or a probowl DT?
2. The Donald pick was a good one, but not even the Rams must have known he would be this good or he would have been picked sooner. Therefore, there was an element of luck in that pick. Lucking into a gem in the middle of the first round is really nice, but does not negate the wrong call on the #2.
3. You've got to get the #2 overall pick right, or it really hurts you. Although the GRob pick wasn't considered a bad pick at the time, there were concerns, a debate on the "safer" pick of Matthews, and it was known that he would be a project. I agree with those who say you don't pick projects at that draft level.
So I voted in the small minority - Yes, it does.
On the other hand, not even a competent or star LOT would have been able to save the Fisher offense.
But when Whitworth is soon done, the Rams will still be looking for that left tackle.
I have an opposite viewpoint. A HOF caliber player far outweighs anything else for me. But the rationale for your yes vote is solid and warrants a response.
1. In this football era, I’d argue that a probowl DT is more valuable than a probowl LT. And I believe the NFL decision makers feel the same. Why? Follow the money. A few weeks ago, I posted average salaries for each position. DTs were 3rd after QBs and Edge Defenders. NFL GMs are choosing to compensate pass rushers more than pass protectors. That should tell you something.
2. Not necessarily. The logic doesn’t follow and it may be unfair to the Rams scouts. Every NFL teams doesn’t have the same opinion on picks. Dave TE Thomas said prior to the draft that in a few years when we look back Donald may be the best player from this draft. If a routine scout could make that prediction, who’s to say the Rams scouts didn’t feel the same way? In fact, they did say after the draft that they had him ranked in their top 5 players. (IIRC, it was also reported that they had Zach Martin ranked in their top 8.)
3. I agree on not drafting projects that high. I hated the GRob pick precisely for that reason. The fact they drafted a project LT that was extremely raw in pass protection - which is the primary job function of a LT – was asinine IMO. But ultimately that error is forgivable because of the draft philosophy that year that led to drafting them both. They were swinging for the fences. GRob and Donald were considered extremely high upside players and they both had some risk to them. I understand that home run hitters strike out a lot. A HR more than offsets a strikeout.
I appreciate the dialog though.
