Exactly what I’d like to see. Get his feet wet in a limited role… shit the guy is 6 foot 8…350 and a former basketball player. Touchdown Manu!!! Woooo
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Special teams. Mitchell was huge on ST blocking.
Ie why they kept cabinda for so long
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Loaded roster
Great problem to have
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I think McKeon best completes the room.
He has experience blocking on the move in college and is a logical choice to be our Cabinda replacement and a defined blocking inline type. He’s also probably an ideal blocker on the new style of kickoffs.
I do think he could be a 4th TE though given that flexibility.
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First year i can remember we have too many good players vs trying to pick the best of the worst
I’m all in favor of getting as many snaps as possible for Rodrigo.
Give him this role.
Can be a Vrabel type if he keeps it up
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Okay. I just don’t think it’s fair to expect him to have the nuanced understanding of blocking angles and technique the way someone like McKeon would. It’s been his role since? High school?
My point in the original post was was to acknowledge our #1 starting O-Line. The best O-Line the Lions have had since the Barry years.
Experience across the unit with at least 30 high level starts from each. The weak link on the line, Glasgow, had arguably his best year as a pro in 2023.
But in assembling that unit, and the rest of the roster, Holmes has had to sacrifice quality depth, especially at OT.
I’m not as concerned at guard, although the quality isn’t high, there are so many in the organization that I’m confident Fraley will find competent reserves to play if a starter goes down.
But even the guard depth isn’t as good.
Last year Glasgow was the first substitute on the interior and he had many years as an NFL starter.
this year it is Sorsdal. A player many of you question whether he is athletic enough to play right guard and say he can’t play left guard.
Last year the Swing OT was Vitae. He was the starting RG as well just like Glasgow is the backup C this year as well as starting LG.
Vitae had many years of NFL starting experience.
This year there is Skipper and Sorsdal. They don’t have a successful NFL OT start between them.
I love the job that Holmes has done constructing the roster, but it does place a lot of pressure on Fraley to coach up the reserves and have them ready.
Holmes has to have some vet OT’s on speed dial ready to sign in August if Sorsdal and Skipper don’t look like they can be competent NFL OT’s for an extended stretch.
This team is too good to have a potential Super Bowl season derailed by one injury.
It really favors smaller, athletic linemen like Eguakun, Duke Clemens and Connor Galvin. Guys who can really move in space. Much less space than it used to be, but still more than a regular snap. That’s their #1 route onto the roster imo.
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What about Manu, Sorsdal, Kayode etc
Or bigger in-line TE types and LB/EDGE type athletes
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Maybe he is a tad better, but to me keep him as a PS guy.
Rodrigo on the field as FB, backup LB, ST
That’s 3 spots from 1 dude
And Rodrigo is a gamer.
25-30 snaps for him some how someway
Manu doesn’t have the lateral juice imo. He’s a horse going in a straight line but he’ll be too easily juked in space. Same with Sorsdal, unless his weight loss has upped his athleticism exponentially.
Coyote’s a good call though, he should be on there as well.
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Right, but those go without saying. They were pretty popular in the old scheme too. Perfect special-teamers.
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Mahogany or Hudson or Egbukan if they make it. I wonder if Wingo is a possibility. He’d add some very real range with respectable pop.
Big V was swing OT to begin season. Significantly better than Skipper or Sorsdal.
Glasgow was back up guard, Again significantly better than Sorsdal or even if Awosika makes roster.
Yeah Mahogany and Hudson are probably right on that cusp of athletic-enough to pull it off. I think Hudson’s path onto the roster probably has more to do with versatility as I think he has the best chance to play OG of the centers we’ve signed, whereas Eguakun and Clemens are strictly C, which is why making it as special-teamers will really help their cause.
More so than Wingo (who I definitely think will be on teams), I think it’s a route for Agude and maybe Lynn or Ukwu.
2023 Big V is significantly worse then these two
Glasgow was and is a starter his entire life
I don’t give a damn what a preseason depth chart said.
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Actually, I think it needed saying.
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Big V got injured so fast I forgot he was even on the team last year. Another brilliant Bob Quinn free agency signing.
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