You’re not the only one over your ski tips on Monroe Freeling, @Thats2
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Yep, six is where I’m starting to see him more and more often. That’s the highest I’ve seen him thus far, but I wouldn’t be startled if he goes even higher. Again, to me, he’s a top 5 draft pick who just came out a year early. You’d like to get value on a guy like that, but in a class this weak at the top, at a position that valuable, he may just go where his upside says he should go anyway.
That’s one of my favorite draft pods, so I knew those guys were high on him. And Cory’s a Cleveland fan; if he’s comfortable going Freeling at 6 over the other guys, then I think it says a lot about the top of the class.
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Yep. I have lots of thoughts and what that would mean for the heir that would even include a trade out of 17 and still getting Miller who would be the guy at RT. We are looking for a player who could walk right in, well, I think he’s that guy. Not someone who is really an OG, just a lunch pail guy that has already proven himself.
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Miller is one of my preferred options too, and I think the FO will really like him.
Max and Freeling are my dudes. I hope we get one of them. They have the best combination of tackle feet + functional strength + pass-pro projection. And both have longer arms and probably the ability to play LT and keep Sewell on the right side (which I know isn’t a concern for some but I like him there)
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You’d be flipping Max to the left side in that scenario. Pretty sure he never played a down at LT. If he did, it was a long time ago. Seems riskier to me - for Goff - than flipping Sewell.
I checked. Over 2100 snaps at RT, zero at LT. Would you really be more comfortable with that?
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Long term I think so. I think they’ll have to give Max some time but he’ll get there. He’s just scratching the surface IMO. I hope they draft one of these guys and Decker still comes back honestly. That is the best scenario for us.
I agree completely that Decker coming back + his young replacement is ideal, I just think that if you add flipping sides to Max’s already-full plate, you’re making the task a lot more difficult. He needs time already; he’ll need even more time if he’s learning completely new footwork.
I’m fine with drafting Max obviously, but my plan would be to sit him behind Sewell to learn the ropes at RT, then when the time came to move on from Decker, move Sewell over and plug Max in on the right. That’s the quickest, smoothest transition in that scenario.
Honestly the same is true for Miller, Mauigoa, Tiernan, Proctor and probably Fano. Some played on the left in college, but project heavily to the right side as pros. Others, like Max, took the vast majority of their snaps at RT. Miller especially is a similar case, since he’s supposed to have like 36 inch arms. He’s built like a LT. But he’s never played there.
The only clear LT options to me are Freeling and Lomu. Crownover is probably better suited for the right side, but this relatively new fleetness of foot gives me pause. Maybe he’s like 70-30 for the right side.
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I suppose I want my cake and to eat it too - that’s fair. I want to pick my guy and I also want Sewell on the right side. If I had to choose, I choose to put Sewell on the left and let one of my fav guys develop. Assuming Decker doesn’t return. Then maybe switch back? Max might not have played LT before but I think its obvious why and its not his traits. Its his football experience. I think his traits are very favorable for LT.
What I don’t want to do is settle because we need a guy now. Something about both Utah guys feels like settling to me. I’m not convinced either have great upside. I kind of like how Fano finishes blocks and moves, but not convince he is big enough and don’t laugh he has oddly small hands for a O-Lineman. I forget exact but sub 9”. Lomu there is something about his build I don’t like. Not enough sand. Moves well enough though. I hope others like both enough to take them before they reach us.
I’ve haven’t looked at Miller much or Tiernan.
I keep coming back to Proctor. He scares me though. But he could easily be the best out of all these guys. He’s played LT and he can play RT. He needs to keep his weight down. A lot of ups and downs in his game. So I have questions, like is this weight thing a learning lesson? Why did you get fat? Is this going to be a struggle? Is he soft? Did he have bad coaching at Alabama? Like, what’s the deal? Part of me is like, yeah, he started as a freshman for Sabin. But then part of me is like, no way Brad is going to take this dude on what he ‘could be’…whereas with a guy like Max I understand the story better.
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They are, undoubtedly. And if we had time to properly blood him I’d be all for it.
BUT, I don’t know why you assume him on the left and Sewell on the right is the higher ceiling outcome? If you’re chasing the best outcome, to me the highest ceiling is the reverse of that. For as good as Sewell is on the right, there’s a chance he’s even better on the left. That’s his more natural position after all. Again, I don’t really understand the hesitation to move him, but I suppose there’s just a fear he’ll be worse as a LT? I can’t imagine that, but I guess it’s possible.
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Do we know how much the Lions save this season if they cut Decker?
I guess I think the smart move is to cut him and use the 18M (??? A number I have seen) on a Center so that they have flexibility to go after best Tackle available on draft with assumption Sewell can flip sides if needed.
Decker was at best mid level last year and he has some serious health issues. The health issues for me are the biggest issue.
I do not think the Lions can “break in” a center next season. For me the preference is a proven Center and development of the youngsters at Guard. And bring in a rookie Tackle
The Line calls are crucial and the Center is so key to a successful functioning Oline
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I would greatly prefer a vet center as well, but sometimes we don’t get what we want. There are only so many of those to go around, and on the plus side, rookie centers hit the ground running at a pretty good clip. Which makes sense, since the mental part of the game is what trips up a lot of guys but centers are already advanced in that area.
For instance I fully expect Sam Hecht to be a plus starter from day one. It’s difficult for me to imagine him not succeeding. Now I don’t expect him to be the best version of himself as a rookie, but I DO expect he’ll be an overall plus for whatever line he’s on.
The tackles in this class - especially in our range - also lean heavily developmental. If you need a guy to hit the ground running, the options are a little more limited imo. It would be great if Decker sticks around another year, provided the health of the shoulder has improved.
I am just not a believer anymore.
Unfortunately these dudes hit a hard wall physically at some point and especially the big guys struggle to be effective after that.
I agree that he was a non-factor last year, and that’s being flattering, but I think/hope it was due to the shoulder injury. I’m hoping that any decision to return means he’s healed.
If not, I think we will get worse at T before we get better. This class has a lot of promise, but the vast majority are not ready to be plus starters from the word go. Even guys I really love, like Freeling. To me Mauigoa and maybe Tiernan are the only plug and play options. Maybe Miller at a stretch, but he’ll struggle against power until he gets stronger too.
Damm look at Fano , short arms and all.
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17 for a smruff CB would be insane. And a terrible move
Why do you assume the team will be better with Sewell at LT though? Why do you think it is Decker, who is perfectly capable of playing RT, and did play RT at OSU before moving over, never moved over there to let Sewell play LT? Doesn’t that seem weird? I am really just following the logic the Lions have already employed. If we can’t find an adequate LT, or the LT bombs and happens to be fine at RT I’m not going to yell if they move Sewell. I would just rather have Sewell stay put and be a bad ass.
I think this is VERY different from that Decker hypothetical, because Decker is not nearly the talent Sewell is, and had not been a 2-time college All-American at the position he would be moving to (and Sewell would have been 3-time All-American if he hadn’t sat out for Covid). That is very much apples and oranges.
Sewell has legitimate bona fides at LT. Decker’s RT credentials aren’t nearly as strong.
And I want to make it clear that in an ideal world I’d prefer Sewell to stay put too. But we’re not dealing with an ideal world. We’re dealing with the cards dealt to us. Which are:
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Leave Sewell put, hope Decker sticks around for another year and isn’t as bad as he was last year, draft a developmental guy to develop behind him (my preferred option).
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Leave Sewell put, draft rookie to play LT right away. I find this to be the riskiest of all of the options. There isn’t a LT ready to play right away.
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Leave Sewell put, sign FA to play LT. Also risky, since FA tackles tend to be average at best and cost a fortune.
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Move Sewell, draft rookie to play RT right away. Less risky because of the specifics of the class, the players ready to play right away are RTs (Mauigoa, Tiernan, maybe Miller). In general, average play at RT is easier than average play at left. Still plenty risky of course, just less so than most of the other options imo.
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Move Sewell, sign FA to play RT. Less risky than option 3, but still carries plenty for the reasons listed there.
The specifics of our situation and the class is limiting us, at least as it pertains to the 2026 season. If this was a class like the 2024 class and there were multiple LT options ready to go, I’d be all for it. But there aren’t.
Freeling is the one option that might make option 2 above palatable, but I personally wouldn’t bet on him to be ready to go right away. He probably has the best chance of it though, and we might be willing to take our lumps and hope he’s a non-liability by the time the playoffs roll around. And there’s also a chance you could get something similar out of a guy like Proctor at RT (I don’t think there’s any way he holds up on the left side and personally think his future’s at guard, but I’ve been wrong before).
It’s not that I want to move Sewell flippantly. It’s that I believe with the options before us, moving him provides us with our best path forward. I also think he would be a complete superstar there and in time everyone would be like “yeah I was worried about nothing.”
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I disagree.
I bet you do, I mean don’t draft a Gibbs because of position value. But Draft Ponds at 17 to play in the NB. And along side fellow Smurf DJ Reed. That would have less positive impact then almost any other move. You seem to fall in Love with the player with out a fit at times. Having 2 smurfs sure had us take a step back this year. Ponds isnt coming in and being any better the Amrik was. I love the player too, just not for us. If we had Davis I would love Ponds for the NB roll but still not at 17. You don’t like Fano because of short arms. But don’t take any consideration of how short ponds is and playing beside Reed.