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Around SBN: NFL Roundtable: Which Draft Pick Is Most Likely To Bust?

Bye Dawk from Bleeding Green Nation has crunched the numbers like they were cinnamon toast and ranked all 32 NFL teams in order of offensive line decrepitness. (BD's favorite finding, of course, was that Philly's rival Cowboys have the most ancient line.)

As currently constituted -- Todd McClure, Harvey Dahl, Tyson Clabo, Sam Baker, and Justin Blalock -- Atlanta has the 8th oldest offensive line. This is yet another reason why it's so tremendous that we drafted two versatile OL this year and one last year.

If we replace McClure and Blalock with Joe Hawley and Mike Johnson -- the former will likely happen next year, and the latter could happen at some point this or next year, but let's just say we do it right now -- Atlanta's offensive line is suddenly the third youngest in the league. And all this is assuming Garrett Reynolds doesn't challenge Tyson Clabo, which could certainly happen.

This isn't some sort of "Never trust anyone over 30 (to block for Matt Ryan)" young > old thing, as there's a lot more to a good line than lack of age (duh), but rather another look at how teams like the Falcons have done a good job of investing in the future, arguably better than teams like the Cowboys have. In their past 28 picks, Dallas has picked as many kickers as it has offensive linemen. They have a ton of explosive offensive weapons, but will that count for much if their earthmover of an offensive line suddenly turns into a '72 Skylark on blocks in the side yard with a grindy transmission and a window that won't roll up anymore? Isn't that the question we all want answered in life?

about 2 years ago 181614_735189801813_23210129_40578364_6784501_n_tiny Jason Kirk 10 comments 0 recs  | 

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Interesting

Just more evidence of the Falcons’ “big picture” draft philosophy. We draft for long-term success, not for whoever’s going to come in and make the biggest impact at their position right off the rip.

by ArthurDank on May 2, 2010 2:08 PM EDT reply actions  

that is a great post

helps to explain why Atlanta drafted OL in rounds 4 and 4

He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is

by WarWolf on May 2, 2010 2:27 PM EDT reply actions  

I meant 3 and 4

He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is

by WarWolf on May 3, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

I’m sure we all knew “why” we needed more OL’s and I’m sure we will continue to draft them next year. We have some youth and experience mixed in as a starting line up, I for one value that.

That said, i would love to see some big picks spent on some elite OL talent in the next year or two. Especially a tackle.

by Caviarhound on May 2, 2010 3:29 PM EDT reply actions  

I Love...

The closing remarks involving the ’72 Skylark.

That is all.

by XBEARDX on May 2, 2010 5:21 PM EDT reply actions  

when did you come see my yard?

except my yard has my 75 dodge pickemup truck.

by Funballad on May 2, 2010 8:26 PM EDT reply actions  

#13

Anyone notice that the Giants have a ghost playing as their center (ranked as 13th oldest player)?

by muuzilla on May 3, 2010 12:48 AM EDT reply actions  

Haha, yeah, there are 2 ghosts, actually… Shaun O’Hara is the one you’re referring to. Ryan O’Callahan is the other at 89. For whatever reason, I guess SB Nation doesn’t allow guys with O’ names to appear in spreadsheet form.

by JimmyK on May 3, 2010 8:26 AM EDT up reply actions  

28 is not old

That’s the prime of an athlete’s career, I think. I’m glad we’ve got youth getting experience who will be starters in the next couple of years.

"It's called Thanksgiving for a reason. If I can give and people thank me for it, that's kind of the thing that makes me feel great inside." - Dunta

by TomQ on May 3, 2010 9:27 AM EDT reply actions  

I'm glad we established decent depth at the O-line

that should make Ryan and Turner shine, provided that Mularkey doesn’t screw up.

I doubt though that we’d have the third youngest line in the league – many teams picked up offensive linemen in this draft, so we’d improve overall, but not that much…

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on May 3, 2010 3:14 PM EDT reply actions  

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