Tag: left guard

James Palmer: Broncos think Dalton Risner can become a 10-time Pro Bowler

Broncos coaches have big expectations for Dalton Risner in 2020.

The Denver Broncos’ coaches loved what they saw from guard Dalton Risner last season and they have big expectations for him in 2020. Denver’s staff believes Risner could be an all-star player for the next decade, according to NFL Network’s James Palmer.

“They believe as a rookie last year [he] was their best offensive lineman,” Palmer said on NFL Network last week. “So in Year 2, they’re expecting a big jump. They think he’ll be a 10-time Pro Bowler.”

After being selected by the Broncos in the second round of last year’s draft, Risner went on earn a spot on the PFWA’s All-Rookie Team. Risner started all 16 games for Denver last season and was penalized three times and allowed 2.5 sacks, according to STATS LLC.

Those are pretty good totals for the Kansas State product — numbers that he will look to build on in his second season as a starter in the NFL.

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Seahawks agree to terms with left guard Mike Iupati

The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran left guard Mike Iupati.

The Seattle Seahawks are keeping another one of their own after agreeing to terms with left guard Mike Iupati. The terms of the deal have yet to be announced but the contract is for just one year, according to a number of reports.

Iupati first signed with the Seahawks an undrafted free agent last spring. For Seattle in 2019, he started 15 of 16 regular-season games played before sitting out the playoffs due to a neck injury.

The Seahawks have been busy beefing up the offensive line this offseason, having signed center B.J. Finney, guard Chance Warmack and tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to the roster. As a result, center Justin Britt could easily result in a cap casualty, saving Seattle much-needed space.

Iupati will join a plethora of guards to compete to regain his starting position once facilities open back up and teams can resume offseason activities. For now, the voluntary virtual program is set to kick off on April 27.

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Seahawks carousel of starters at left guard likely to continue

The Seattle Seahawks have had a new starter at left guard in each of the last six seasons, a streak that will likely continue in 2020.

Russell Wilson has been the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks since the 2012 season. Who has lined up in front of him, particularly at the left guard spot, has been new nearly every single year.

With Mike Iupati set to hit free agency, and seemingly an unlikely candidate to be re-signed, the Seahawks are almost certainly going to have a different starter at left guard for the seventh(!) consecutive year.

Since James Carpenter made 39 starts for the Seahawks from 2011-2014, most of them at left guard, the team has cycled through Justin Britt (2015) Mark Glowinski (2016) Luke Joeckel (2017) J.R. Sweezy (2018) and now Iupati (2019).

Wilson will never talk badly about anyone or any situation he is faced with, but considering how often he has stressed the importance of continuity along the offensive line, this has to be a source of chagrin for the franchise quarterback.

The streak likely won’t end in 2020, unless the team re-signs Iupati, but there is hope that it won’t extend beyond that.

Assuming Iupati is not retained, the Seahawks could look to replace him with one of the many young, internal options they have been collecting over the past few years.

Jamarco Jones, originally drafted as a right tackle, filled in for Iupati and Fluker a handful of times this year, and looked really good as a potential NFL guard. Considering how much he struggled when he was asked to play tackle, his future may be on the interior, and he seems like a prime candidate to challenge for a starting job next season.

He’ll have to compete with 2019 rookie Phil Haynes, who thanks to a sports hernia only managed to play in two games last year. He looked pretty good in the second half against Green Bay however, and is primed to take over a bigger role in 2020.

Haynes and Jones are the primary competitors, but Ethan Pocic could be in the mix if he is not handed the starting center job by virtue of Britt’s release. Jordan Simmons and Demetrius Knox missed the entire season with injuries, but Simmons in particular looked good as a fill-in in 2018 and could be in the mix as well – and of course Seattle could use an early pick in the 2020 NFL draft to bring in some starting competition.

Seattle will almost certainly have a new starter at left guard again in 2020, but Wilson and the fans can hope whoever it is ends up sticking around for a while, creating continuity up front for a team that sorely needs it.

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Could Patriots left tackle Isaiah Wynn be in for a position change?

Patriots tackle Isaiah Wynn could move positions to fill a hole potentially left by an impending free agent.

During the 2018 NFL draft, the New England Patriots were looking to upgrade their offensive line. They had just lost their longtime left tackle Nate Solder to the New York Giants in free agency, so it was clearly the biggest hole on the roster. With their first of two first-round picks, the Patriots drafted offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn out of Georgia.

The scouting report on Wynn was that he was undersized. He had played both guard and tackle in college, and while he was athletic, it was said he may be better suited for an interior position. Right guard Shaq Mason’s contract was up at the end of the season. Some suggested that Wynn could’ve been a longterm plan to replace him or that he could start over third-year left guard Joe Thuney. But, at the time, it was all but guaranteed that Wynn was going to play offensive tackle due to the obvious need.

Then, the very next day, the Patriots made a trade for San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Brown. It was set to be a training camp battle to decide who would stay as the starter. However, Wynn would suffer a torn Achilles in the 2018 preseason to end his rookie season, handing the job to Brown.

Less than two weeks after Wynn’s injury, Mason received a monstrous five-year, $50 million contract extension, effectively ending the guard future of Isaiah Wynn.

After a tremendous 2018, Trent Brown cashed in on the first day of free agency with the Oakland Raiders. With Wynn still recovering, the Patriots tried to bring in veteran free agent Jared Veldheer, but he retired prior to the season. After Week 1, the Patriots brought in journeyman offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse who needed to start more than half the season when Wynn suffered a toe injury that kept him out for nine weeks.

When he’s been on the field, Wynn’s been coming along. He’s hasn’t been great, and he hasn’t terrible. That’s pretty much what’s expected out of a young offensive lineman who essentially missed the first season-and-a-half of his career.

For reference, Wynn graded out at 69.9, according to Pro Football Focus, which put him 19th at the left tackle position. PFF grades aren’t everything, but they can help. What they’re not accounting for is the poor play of the rest of the Patriots’ offensive line (with the exception of Thuney who was named to the All-Pro Second-Team). It’s the one unit that really needs to be on the same page, and it was evident that that was not the case this season.

Now, Thuney is heading to the open market this off-season. He’ll likely get a huge deal because of his consistency and availability. It would be surprising to see Belichick pay top dollar to both of his guards. So, it looks like the Patriots would be in the market for a guard this off-season. Could Isaiah Wynn be that guy?

His smaller frame and experience playing left guard at Georgia could make him a great candidate. Moving him to guard could allow for more mobility and deception with pulls on the offensive line. Mason is already great on the move, so adding Wynn’s skill set could make that a dangerous combination.

If the Patriots want the prototypical 6-foot-5-and-above offensive tackle, Wynn’s versatility, allowing him to kick inside, would give them the freedom to go after their guy. Belichick may go out in the draft and take Louisville left tackle Mekhi Becton (6-foot-7) in the first round. He could sign Eagles tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (6-foot-6) in free agency. Of course, this is all decided by Belichick, and maybe more important, offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia.

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How has rookie LG Max Scharping progressed for the Texans?

Houston Texans left guard Max Scharping takes coaching to heart, as Bill O’Brien said on Monday. The Northern Illinois product has impressed.

Max Scharping didn’t play left guard in training camp. He didn’t play left guard at Northern Illinois. Yet, the Houston Texans rookie is a left guard.

A tackle playing in the MAC at Northern Illinois, Scharping became a second-round pick for the Houston Texans in April. He played around the offensive line in the preseason before, in stunning fashion, earning the starting gig at left guard in Week 3.

Scharping’s ability to switch positions is a testament to his work ethic and ability to take coaching.

“Max works very hard, works hard in the weight room, works hard to improve, very coachable,” coach Bill O’Brien said on Monday. “You’re really looking for coachable guys. He takes the coaching to heart, he tries to get better every week and I do think you’re right, I think he’s improved. I don’t think it’s easy to play left guard as a rookie when you’re blocking grown men.”

In recent years, the Texans have keyed-in on versatile players in the draft. They saw that in Scharping, who measures in at 6-6, 327 pounds. His length at 33-five-eight-inch arms dissuaded some from him playing at tackle. In Houston, they don’t see that.

In practice, Scharping flashes that versatility.

“I think he’s definitely one of those guys that’s a five-tool player,” O’Brien said. “I think he can play center, I think guard is his best spot, but I think in a pinch he can play tackle for us and he can play center. He trains at center in pre-practice and we used him at a lot of different places in training camp.”

Scharping has his struggles, as all rookies do. However, as Aaron Reiss of The Athletic notes via Pro Football Focus, his play does not resemble a rookie as of late. One of his 27 pressures has occurred in the last two weeks.

Though not a flashy pick in the second round in April, Scharping may be the right one. Alongside Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard and Nick Martin, the coachable Northern Illinois product should be a mainstay for the Texans’ offensive line for some time.