Thursday, January 8, 2009

No O-Lineman in the first?

by: Chris Sullivan

Eric Williams caught a nice juicy tidbit from Ruskell's talk with the media this afternoon. In mentioning how the scouts were full of energy being able to look at all the top-tier guys for once, Williams pulled out the following little gem:

On his strategy, he said all options are open for the No. 4 pick, but that he
doesn't necessarily like drafting offensive lineman that early because he
believes he can get a talented guy later in the draft and the success of an
offensive line has more to do with the cohesion of the entire group. He pointed
to guys like Ray Willis, Rob Sims and Mansfield Wrotto, all guys Seattle drafted
in the fourth round.

Now, I'm not sure it's fair to say that this excites me, as still have a flame in my fanboy heart for Michael Oher, but it is interesting to hear Ruskell's position actually stated. I am also skeptical that we can find a dominant left tackle in the late rounds, but it seems if we do not go with Smith or Oher early in the first, that there's a good chance Ruskell feels Jones can continue his dominance for years to come. I'd say the most important thing as far as Jones goes is insuring we have a solid left guard lining up next to him.