2025 Draft Class: OL

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Extremely underwhelming

LT: Trent Williams is still a premier talent, but he's getting older, has already showed signs of (relative to his standard) decline and that's before you take into consideration injury concerns. No one behind him on a so called deep OL.

LG: Burford has shown to be, at best, league average in spurts. Zakelj has shown nothing thus far. Bartch is a promising journey man at this point.

C: Brendel is a bottom of the league starter. Hennessey lost his starting job at his old team and never got one back. Nugent has shown nothing thus far.

RG. Puni, yay! Where's the so called depth tho?

RT: McKvschitz has really ascended!..into a league average starter. Pleasants has shown nothing thus far.

Not that deep OLs are really a thing in the NFL, but I definitely don't see one here, and so if that's what we're using to cope with having very little top end talent?? Being "regular-season good enough" will continue to bite this team in the ass

We don't run a power scheme so we can get away with these guys at Oline. And Shanahan has shown he can scheme an offense with this Oline. We put up yards and points with guys like Jaylon Moore at LT and Nick Zakelj at LG.

But like I said, draft a future LT and play him at guard but I don't think it will be in the first 2 rounds. Anthony Belton in round 3 has potential. Or Josiah Gray who is a perfect fit but as a guard only.

And I hope we move on from Brendel too. Like I said, Ryan Kelly on a 2 year deal makes a lot of sense.

And either resign Jaylon Moore if the price is right or sign a Vet as a backup swing tackle.

LT- Trent Williams / Vet
LG- Anthony Belton / Nick Zakelj
C- Ryan Kelly / Matt Hennessy
RG- Dominick Puni
RT- Colton McKivitz

Backups:
Anthony Belton / Spencer Burford / Nick Zakelj / Ben Bartch compete for the LG position.

Practice roster:
Drake Nugent
Austen Pleasants

I like Belton a lot.

And again, i understand your point, but its a difference in philosophical opinion. You continue to use terms such as "get away with" "scheme around" "good enough"

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

LT- Trent Williams
LG- Spencer Burford / Nick Zakelj / Ben Bartch
C- Jake Brendel / Matt Hennessy / Drake Nugent
RG- Dominick Puni
RT- Colton McKivitz / Austen Pleasants

Extremely underwhelming

LT: Trent Williams is still a premier talent, but he's getting older, has already showed signs of (relative to his standard) decline and that's before you take into consideration injury concerns. No one behind him on a so called deep OL.

LG: Burford has shown to be, at best, league average in spurts. Zakelj has shown nothing thus far. Bartch is a promising journey man at this point.

C: Brendel is a bottom of the league starter. Hennessey lost his starting job at his old team and never got one back. Nugent has shown nothing thus far.

RG. Puni, yay! Where's the so called depth tho?

RT: McKvschitz has really ascended!..into a league average starter. Pleasants has shown nothing thus far.

Not that deep OLs are really a thing in the NFL, but I definitely don't see one here, and so if that's what we're using to cope with having very little top end talent?? Being "regular-season good enough" will continue to bite this team in the ass

I am in 100% agreement with you. I would draft Campbell, Membou, or Banks in the 1st and follow it up with another OL in the 4th. Great teams are built with great lines and ours is far from that. I wouldnt mind if our first 5 picks were linemen to be honest.

We never take enough OL in the draft. I always come away hoping for a lucky break or two UDFAs or maybe an old free agent with a year or so left in the tank. OL and DL this year please.

Originally posted by English:
We never take enough OL in the draft. I always come away hoping for a lucky break or two UDFAs or maybe an old free agent with a year or so left in the tank. OL and DL this year please.

So much of this.

Originally posted by Jakemall:
So much of this.

LT- Trent Williams
LG- Spencer Burford / Nick Zakelj / Ben Bartch
C- Jake Brendel / Matt Hennessy
RG- Dominick Puni
RT- Colton McKivitz / Austen Pleasants

Compared to:

5T- Leonard Floyd / Yetur Gross Matos
1T- Evan Anderson
3T- Jordan Elliot / Khalia Davis
9T- Nick Bosa / Sam Okuayinonu / Robert Beal

That is arguably the worst defensive line in the league.

It appears that almost every NFL team views this OT class as almost non-existent at the very top of the draft. Campbell, Banks, and Membou all have question marks attached to them as NFL ready OT's. Campbell's and Banks arms are too short, Membou isn't tall enough, Simmons has injury issues and everyone else has some sort of trait that will make them better guards at the next level. Makes you wonder how the top 15 picks will go based on the fact that there aren't any "perfect" prospects for an important part of any team's OL.

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by Jakemall:
So much of this.

LT- Trent Williams
LG- Spencer Burford / Nick Zakelj / Ben Bartch
C- Jake Brendel / Matt Hennessy
RG- Dominick Puni
RT- Colton McKivitz / Austen Pleasants

Compared to:

5T- Leonard Floyd / Yetur Gross Matos
1T- Evan Anderson
3T- Jordan Elliot / Khalia Davis
9T- Nick Bosa / Sam Okuayinonu / Robert Beal

That is arguably the worst defensive line in the league.

So trade down a few spots if possible and use their top 5 picks on lineman. 2 OL, 2 DT, and 1 edge. Both lines need to be fixed and the draft along with free agency can hopefully do that. Who knows. Maybe they land Bosa and Allen.

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by Jakemall:
So much of this.

LT- Trent Williams
LG- Spencer Burford / Nick Zakelj / Ben Bartch
C- Jake Brendel / Matt Hennessy
RG- Dominick Puni
RT- Colton McKivitz / Austen Pleasants

Compared to:

5T- Leonard Floyd / Yetur Gross Matos
1T- Evan Anderson
3T- Jordan Elliot / Khalia Davis
9T- Nick Bosa / Sam Okuayinonu / Robert Beal

That is arguably the worst defensive line in the league.

I don't understand your point. He was asking for OL and DL and I agreed.

Originally posted by m_brockalexander:
It appears that almost every NFL team views this OT class as almost non-existent at the very top of the draft. Campbell, Banks, and Membou all have question marks attached to them as NFL ready OT's. Campbell's and Banks arms are too short, Membou isn't tall enough, Simmons has injury issues and everyone else has some sort of trait that will make them better guards at the next level. Makes you wonder how the top 15 picks will go based on the fact that there aren't any "perfect" prospects for an important part of any team's OL.

I would prefer to get a DL in the 1st and OL in the 2nd or 3rd...as opposed to deep in the draft.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Kyle Shanahan is going to get to Charles Grant's wide zone cut up sometime this month and fall out of his chair.

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) March 12, 2025

Yes, the tape on Grant is fun to watch. First, William & Mary just run a fun offense with alot of moving parts. The Athletic has claimed them the most creative offense in college football.

Grant is a late bloomer. Previous wrestler, played football for the first time as a high school junior. 3 year starter at LT for William & Mary, only allowing 2 sacks in that time. Physically, he appears to have the tools to eventually be a LT. We'll need some pro day numbers to be sure, but he looks like a plus athlete on tape. 6'5, 34 and 3/4' arms are ideal for the position. He does however look narrow. He weighed in at 311 at the combine. I think he bulked for that. Williams & Mary listed him at 300. I wouldn't be surprised if he's under that on his gametape. He needs to put on at least 20 pounds of muscle. His 19 reps at the combine were the worst of all testing OL , DL, and LBs. I know the arms are long, but he has to get the strength up.

The movement skills are there though. Foot work and mirroring are good. He's got some feints and solid hand swipes. Laterally, he gets out in space and seals edges. He seems to have great hand strength and can lock and turn defenders. The offense requires alot of pulling and climbing to the second level and he does well in finding his targets and sustaining blocks. There are legitimate questions about the level of competition. His advanced stats are very good, but on tape hes more of a dancing bear and a technician. I'm not seeing that road grader mentality. When it looks like he has a linebacker in space im expecting a bulldozer and sometimes that wrestling background will grab and lock or occasionally throw a shoulder. Maybe thats a good thing as he will be more technique dependent at the next level, but I want to see more nastiness there.

A very intriguing prospect indeed. I dont think hes a plug and play RT yet. Feels like he will need a red shirt year. But where so many of the tackle prospects in this class look more like guards, or look physically limited to RT, he has a chance to be a longterm LT.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Kyle Shanahan is going to get to Charles Grant's wide zone cut up sometime this month and fall out of his chair.

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) March 12, 2025

Be a nice R3 guy

After reviewing the tape.. Not sold on Will Campbell. Looks very boom or bust. Didn't like the way he looked in run blocking.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
After reviewing the tape.. Not sold on Will Campbell. Looks very boom or bust. Didn't like the way he looked in run blocking.

That's what caught my eye is his run blocking as-well. Not impressed for a 1st rounder. I'd rather wait later if we need to.