D. Orlando Ledbetter takes his first crack at a 2011 depth chart, and it's sure to raise a few eyebrows.
It's worth breaking down in full some other day, but for right now, I'm interested in what I view as the single most random starter on the entire list. That would be practice squadder Jose Valdez, a guy I thought could be a candidate as a backup inside at guard. He also happens to be the starting right tackle on DOL's depth chart.
Whoa.
What gives? DOL is operating under the assumption that Tyson Clabo is walking, which is an entirely fair assumption. He's also operating under the assumption that the 6'6", 324 pound Valdez can jump off the practice squad and leapfrog the 6'7, 317 pound Garrett Reynolds, who was Clabo's backup in 2010.
Getting Valdez on the active roster probably isn't far-fetched. He's got prototypical right tackle size, dabbled in guard enough to carry some versatility and the coaching staff appears to like him. If he's improved his footwork since college, Valdez unquestionably has an NFL future.
But it is a leap of logic to assume he's going to bypass Reynolds, who has been on the active roster longer and is actually younger than Valdez. In my mind, a more likely scenario involves Reynolds starting if Clabo leaves and Valdez backing up at tackle and right guard.
What do you think?