McClendon at Tackle or Guard?

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ArkyRamsFan said:
I'm thinking that he's going to start as a swing lineman between right tackle and guard.
But to become a starter he's probably going to focus on being a guard because he might not have the foot speed and quickness to play tackle.

~ArkyRamsFan~
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kinda what i was thinkin
train
 
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He sure sounds like Havenstein’s successor. But looking at Big Rob’s contract he’s probably here thru 2024?
 
ArkyRamsFan said:
I'm thinking that he's going to start as a swing lineman between right tackle and guard.
But to become a starter he's probably going to focus on being a guard because he might not have the foot speed and quickness to play tackle.

~ArkyRamsFan~
Click to expand...
Plenty of guys come to NFL with the footwork to play tackle in college that don't have it in the pros.

It's a big thing.
I can only think of one guy, (Noteboom) that actually played tackle better than he did guard.

The only thing that can stop a good college tackle from being decently successful at guard in the NFL is if they're too tall and/or can't gain the weight.

A prototype left tackle would be 6'7/ 315.

A prototype guard would be 6'6/325.

Center-6'4/320.

There are always exceptions and team needs of course.

Just spouting off here.
 
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Soul Surfer said:
Plenty of guys come to NFL with the footwork to play tackle in college that don't have it in the pros.

It's a big thing.
I can only think of one guy, (Noteboom) that actually played tackle better than he did guard.

The only thing that can stop a good college tackle from being decently successful at guard in the NFL is if they're too tall and/or can't gain the weight.

A prototype left tackle would be 6'7/ 315.

A prototype guard would be 6'6/325.

Center-6'4/320.

There are always exceptions and team needs of course.

Just spouting off here.
Click to expand...
There are definitely pluses and minuses in doing what the Rams started doing under Kromer, which is drafting OTs and using them for OT or OG.

On the plus side you get flexibility which is very valuable when guys miss time. Kromer always paired that with what I thought was almost excessive crosstraining too. But it works and I think the baseball correlation some have mentioned here is accurate.

On the negative side the tackles aren't always as good as a guard on the interior. We've suffered in our pockets being collapsed for some time now in pass pro. Some of that is due to just missing on draft picks, but overall if you use a round two pick on a guard you're gonna get damn near a first round talent at that position which is what we just did with Avila. That dude was a legit first round talent, he's super polished in pass sets.

I'm more on the side of drafting guards personally. Though I think you can do it either way, they're both viable. But like Jackie said sometimes height can be an issue on the interior. Especially with pluggy and powerful movers like AD playing 3T.

Projecting our OL with Bruss at RG I think what teams will try to do is flip their 3T to his side like the Rams do vs some lines to get the better matchup. Avila is that good. So Bruss is going to need to hold up this year. He's a really important piece for us IMO. We need him to show out in year two.
 
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Physically McClendon would be a OG at this level. But it remains to be seen if he can play the position. The techniques are totally different. My problem with him at RT is his slow feet. He's like Havenstein he's got heavy feet. Like Rob, McClendon would get beat by speed on the edge. As a backup OT he might be okay for a game or two but I wouldn't want him starting at RT permanently. Not when they have a proven commodity like Jackson to play OT. Right now I see McClendon as a backup swing OT/OG until he can prove he can play the positions at this level.

They have Maginn who can play OG on either side. He's a very solid pass blocking OG with a nasty attitude in the run game. Right now Shelton is their option should Bruss struggle. But I don't anticipate Bruss having a problem.

Right now the starting OL looks like:

LT Noteboom
LG Avila
C Allen
RG Bruss
RT Havenstein

Gameday reserves: OT/OG Jackson, C/OG Shelton, ROT/OG McClendon
Roster inactive: OG Maginn, or OT/OG Thomas or OG/C McAllister or OG Toner

Who ever doesn't make the roster 9 will end up on the PS. For the first time this team has some legit depth on the OL. It's going to change next year. With Allen, Havenstein and Shelton gone. I see Jackson moving to RT with Thomas moving to primary swing OT. Avila moving to center with McAllister moving to primary backup at center. If McClendon can make the transition to OG then I see him as pencilled in at LG.

OL 2024 and beyond:

LT Noteboom
LG McClendon
C Avila
RG Bruss
RT Jackson

Swings: OT/OG Thomas, center McAllister, OG Maginn. They could do it this year but Havenstein's $9.7M cap they can't sit him. But they could trade him. Otherwise, it makes sense to release him Post June 1 next year and clear $6.5 M in cap. That OL looks good for run or pass. So I think ultimately they are hoping McClendon gives them that last IOL starter next year.

This draft was interesting because old school was to take your rookie starters on the OL in rounds 2 & 3 and those that needed a bit of polish as a backup for a year in rounds 4 & 5. Last year they took Bruss in the third round looking to start him as a rookie. Avila taken in the second round as a rookie starter. McClendon was taken in the 5th round and looks to be a one year developmental player going from OT to OG. McClendon lacks the feet and length that you want at OT in the NFL.

I also think the Anchrum experiment is over this year. Because of his physical build, center is his only realistic starting position. If they had faith in Anchrum as a backup center this year they would not have re-signed Shelton to basically a one year deal. Shelton could be a starter at C on most teams right now.
 
I thought I read that he's had a hard time maintaining weight north of 300 (Rams list him at 290, other sites at 300 or 306) and I don't expect him to have a lot of success unless he has a little more sand in the pants at OG and even tackle.

Probably a backup this year and while he probably came from a top notch weight program at Georgia, he might be able to pack on a little more muscle in a years time to give him what he needs to hold up at the point of attack at either spot. This, IMO, is probably his biggest impediment to becoming a starter.
 
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Merlin said:
There are definitely pluses and minuses in doing what the Rams started doing under Kromer, which is drafting OTs and using them for OT or OG.

On the plus side you get flexibility which is very valuable when guys miss time. Kromer always paired that with what I thought was almost excessive crosstraining too. But it works and I think the baseball correlation some have mentioned here is accurate.

On the negative side the tackles aren't always as good as a guard on the interior. We've suffered in our pockets being collapsed for some time now in pass pro. Some of that is due to just missing on draft picks, but overall if you use a round two pick on a guard you're gonna get damn near a first round talent at that position which is what we just did with Avila. That dude was a legit first round talent, he's super polished in pass sets.

I'm more on the side of drafting guards personally. Though I think you can do it either way, they're both viable. But like Jackie said sometimes height can be an issue on the interior. Especially with pluggy and powerful movers like AD playing 3T.

Projecting our OL with Bruss at RG I think what teams will try to do is flip their 3T to his side like the Rams do vs some lines to get the better matchup. Avila is that good. So Bruss is going to need to hold up this year. He's a really important piece for us IMO. We need him to show out in year two.
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Like I've been saying, NOTEBOOM SUCKS AT GUARD! People keep saying we can just put him in at LG and that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen for Stafford.
 
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