Can Beatty play RT?

[mayoclinic]

I think Britton vs. Beatty is a mighty interesting debate. I had been lukewarm on Britton simply because he's not the classic Patriots type -- more big & forceful than nimble on the move. But if you call him a pure RT, he's one of the surest, readiest contributors likely to be found anywhere near pick #23. Smart, hard worker, strong leader, plug him right in.

Beatty, in contrast, has the positives of a classic Pats o-lineman with those ballerina feet. (Maybe he and Light could share leotards?) And that's a rare and invaluable trait; natural LTs don't grow on trees. But..."not agressive" "must develop some nastiness" are the last words I want to hear about a top OL. No, make that second to last. Another poster has said that "raw" is not a word he can accept in a first-round draft pick. For me, it's "unmotivated" or "must be monitored" in training.

So today, if the choice arose, I'd take Britton. Ask me again tomorrow.

O ye of little faith! Patchick, have you abandoned me on the Beatty bandwagon as well?

So let's look a little closer at Beatty's supposed shoddy work ethic and lack of motivation.

- He was redshirted his freshman year and put in the weight room to get stronger and bigger, and reportedly responded well.
- According to Randy Edsall, his head coach, he responded well to his coach being "tough" on him his first 2 years.
- He came into the Senior Bowl at 291 lbs. and showed great feet but got pushed around, so he came into the combine at 307 lbs. with no apparent loss of agility.
- He put up 27 reps of the bench press at the combine with the 2ng longest arms of any top OT prospect, then upped it to 30 reps yesterday at his pro day (he was visibly struggling after 27, but pushed to 30). That compares with Eben Britton at 24, Michael Oher at 21, and Andre Smith at 19. Jason Smith did 33 reps. So he appears to have decent natural strength for his long arms, and to be willing to work in the weight room and get better.

His parents are both pastors. He's a solid kid with no bad raps on his character. He's been a 3 year starter, and has done very well against speed rushers like George Selvie during that time. He has never been considered inconsistent as a performer, and has gotten better and better over time.

Of course he's not without risk. But how often do you have the chance of drafting a potential Walter Jones at the end of the 1st round/beginning of the 2nd?

Britton will be a nice replacement for Kaczur, and probably a slight upgrade. I have no doubt he'll be a more ready contributor from day 1 than Beatty. But I'm going to stick with Beatty, thank you. After all, natural LT's don't grow on trees, as you said.

If Barwin and Beatty are both on the board at 23 I would seriously consider taking Barwin at 23 (because he's more of a sure thing, has a higher floor, and because I think Parcells may well take him at 25). There's no team that's a threat to take an OT until Philly at 28. I would then seriously consider packaging #34 and 89 to trade up with Baltimore at 26 or Indy at 27 to get Beatty.

 

[patchick]

Here's an interesting read on OT arm length, with some measurements:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ys-heightvsarmlength031209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Britton has short arms at 32 1/2" compared to Andre Smith (35 3/8), William Beatty (34 3/4), Eugene Monroe (34), Jason Smith (33 3/4) and Michael Oher (33 1/2).

Here's a direct link -- useful Bunting article, surprised it hadn't been hashed over here before:

The National Football Post | Behind The Measurements: Height vs. Arm Length

With that reach, Britton would certainly appear to be RT material only. And Kaczur will be a RFA in an uncapped 2010, right?

 

[mgteich]

Should we draft presuming that we have an uncapped year? Yes, Kaczur would be an UFA. It seems that many are interested in drafting our 2011 LT. Personally, I expect to extend Light. There seems to be more value in drafting 2009 competition for Kaczur, and insure having a quality 2010 starter. There is absolutely no indication that Belichick is not satisfied with our sometime pro-bowl left tackle.

Here's a direct link -- useful Bunting article, surprised it hadn't been hashed over here before:

The National Football Post | Behind The Measurements: Height vs. Arm Length

With that reach, Britton would certainly appear to be RT material only. And Kaczur will be a RFA in an uncapped 2010, right?

 

[ayjackson]

So what if Oher slips to 23, does he garner any consideration?

 

[everlong]

I would then seriously consider packaging #34 and 89 to trade up with.....Indy at 27 to get Beatty.

Hi Bill it's me Bill.

Hi Bill how are you?

Great Bill.

How may I help you today?

We're looking to move up to get a tackle to help out on Freeney and Mathis.

That sounds great we could use some extra picks to abuse your secondary.

Awesome I'll send the details Roger Rabbit-ears at the league office.

Great good luck.

You too.

 

[mayoclinic]

Hi Bill it's me Bill.

Hi Bill how are you?

Great Bill.

How may I help you today?

We're looking to move up to get a tackle to help out on Freeney and Mathis.

That sounds great we could use some extra picks to abuse your secondary.

Awesome I'll send the details Roger Rabbit-ears at the league office.

Great good luck.

You too.

Sounds perfect to me.

 

[JoeShmoe]

So what if Oher slips to 23, does he garner any consideration?

Or indeed if he slips to the 18-20 range and we can move up. Given were likely to be back in the 25-32 range again next year and we have the ammo to move up Id be looking at OT's since they are usually the gold dust in most drafts and where there's the biggest drop off as you go down through the rounds

Saying that then if the draft follows the usual pattern we'll see OT's all go by #20 and all the OLB's and CB's drop

 

[woolster22]

Matt Light didn't deserve the '07 probowl nomination he got. Mankins was the only one that did of the 3(?) that were named. I would rather see us go after a pure LT and let Light/Kaczur battle it out for RT/G duty.

 

[mayoclinic]

Matt Light didn't deserve the '07 probowl nomination he got. Mankins was the only one that did of the 3(?) that were named. I would rather see us go after a pure LT and let Light/Kaczur battle it out for RT/G duty.

My sentiments too. The potentially elite LTs that I see in this draft are Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, and William Beatty, and of those, Beatty is the only one likely to go close to our range. Frankly, I think I would prefer Jamon Meredith in the mid-2nd round to Eben Britton in the 1st, given Meredith's superior athleticism and positional versatility.