Is Jackson Carman "Your" Starting LG

[*ochocincos*]

(04-09-2022, 02:34 AM)Whatever Wrote: Carman is an unknown at this point.  We've seen a small sample size of a guy recovering from injury who was not put in a good situation to succeed.  He was asked to move from LT to RG and switch both positions and sides at the same time.

However, any draft pick you add will be an unknown, too.  It's just as easy to speculate that a 2nd round pick from a historically good OL class with a year in the NFL will beat out a fringe 1st rounder from a weaker class as a rookie.  

Spending a 1st on a LG is unappealing because it's wasteful.  If the draft pick wins the job, we just blew a 2nd round pick on a guy who will be a backup his entire rookie contract.  If Carman wins, we just spent a 1st on a guy who will ride the pine his first three years, then might get a chance to play if Carman isn't resigned.  OL is especially bad in this situation because you don't rotate OL like you do at other positions.  

This is why I'd like to not spend more than a 3rd round pick on an OL this year. About the only guys I'd be willing to do so would be Linderbaum or Johnson, but that'd be because of BPA.

I've always had the philosophy that Rds 1-2 should be guys you're looking to become starters by the time they are going into their 3rd year.
If you draft a new IOL super early, you're basically relegating Carman or the new draft pick to backup for 3 years given all of Karras, Cappa, and Carman are all signed through 2024.

People just need to accept that Carman was not a Pro-Ready RG when drafted. He was coming in injured (like many Bengals picks in recent years), plus he was going through a pretty big position change (LT to RG).
The best course of action is to bring in a decent vet to compete with Carman for a year. If the vet wins out, then Carman only has to be a backup for one more year. If the vet has to be a backup, that's fine too, since they'd only be on a 1-year deal. Someone like Spain (or Ereck Flowers) would be perfect for that. Ideally someone who can play multiple positions.