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Per Chris Brown, Dion Dawkins has a “virtual lock on the starting LT position”


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9 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I thought Nsekhe was a virtual lock at RT until we drafted Ford.  Now I wonder if Ford starts at RG/LG to get all 3 on the field?

 

I don't know.  I guess it depends on if they want him to work at RT all summer or not.  If he starts to get a lot of snaps at G with the 2's

then maybe what you said may happen.

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6 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Hoping Cody Ford can win the RT job.  If Dawkins is a lock at LT, that means Ngeski may not be quite what they thought.  Still seems very early to make this determination.

 

Or that Dawkins is a pretty decent player at a tough position and when you have a multi year starter like that it’s their job to lose 

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I figured they would give Dawkins every chance to earn the starting LT spot because he's the only young guy who can do it.  Having Nsekhe start there only puts them in a bind a few years down the road.  And I'm sure having a competent LG next to him is helping a lot.

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5 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Not sure that's true.  Sure, he may want to be paid like a tackle, but it's not exactly a rarity for a tackle to get moved to guard and subsequently paid like a guard.  Off the top of my head I can tell you that it's happened with Rodger Saffold, Marshal Yanda, Kelechi Osemele, and James Carpenter.

 

Point is: if you are going to pay him like a LT, then great, leave him at LT.  If you aren't going to pay him like a LT, then wouldn't you at least entertain the possibility of getting better play out of him at guard in the hope that he'll stay there long-term?  I mean, the difference between guard money and tackle money isn't much these days anyway; 2 of the 10 highest paid OLmen in the NFL are guards.

 

Ultimately, I think you can make a case to a player if you think they will be more impactful at the new position.

 

”we think LG is your real calling and you will be elite there” plays better then “if it’s all the same to you, we’d like to kick you inside since we have a decent backup tackle and you can probably fill a hole elsewhere”

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6 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

 

The idea of moving Dawkins to guard was more focused on (a) getting the best combination of 5 on the field and (b) putting Dawkins in a position to be the greatest asset to the team.

 

And it wasn't a hard and fast "move him to guard"...it was that the team should be open to trying him at guard as part of their tinkering to see if that combination gave them a better set of 5.

 

If he stays at LT, then the team better be willing to pay him LT money in another year.  If they're not, then they should at least be willing to try him at LG to see if he's worth a premium contract at that spot.  Because one way or another, Dawkins is going to want to get paid after the 2020 season.

 

I think he will play well this season.

 

Some talented players are competitive and driven by their nature and some you have to light a fire under, but the talent is still there.

 

If he is the latter will he still play at a high level after a big contract?

 

Only time will tell, but Bean should have a healthy cap to retain key players.

 

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

I mean, its fun to brainstorm as fans, but did anyone actually think this was a possibility? 

I did. Dawkins was listed as a guard when we drafted him. Add to that the Nsekhe signing, whom, by his own admission, is less comfortable on the right side. 

And this isn’t some fan-based brainstorming. There were several articles written in the subject:

https://buffalonews.com/2019/04/26/cody-ford-buffalo-bills-right-tackle-nfl-draft-offensive-line-new-starters-analysis/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buffalorumblings.com/platform/amp/2019/1/11/18177359/buffalo-bills-not-ruling-out-a-position-switch-for-left-tackle-dion-dawkins-in-2019

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Ive said it before and Ill say it again: The Bills did not give Ty Nsekhe $6.5M this year to be a backup.  If he is a backup, then it was a really bad signing, that is not a backup contract.

 

Whether its LT or RT I fully expect Nsekhe to be a starter come week 1.

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4 minutes ago, Estro said:

Ive said it before and Ill say it again: The Bills did not give Ty Nsekhe $6.5M this year to be a backup.  If he is a backup, then it was a really bad signing, that is not a backup contract.

 

Whether its LT or RT I fully expect Nsekhe to be a starter come week 1.

Then you are expecting Cody Ford to start at RG. I think the Ford pick changes their plans. Nsekhe becomes a high-priced swing tackle imo, but we'll see.

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20 minutes ago, Estro said:

Ive said it before and Ill say it again: The Bills did not give Ty Nsekhe $6.5M this year to be a backup.  If he is a backup, then it was a really bad signing, that is not a backup contract.

 

Whether its LT or RT I fully expect Nsekhe to be a starter come week 1.

I have to agree. Cody goes to Guard for a bit. That's a lot of coin to pay a back up.

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If there is a real reason to say that Dawkins has the job locked down, it is because he earned it. Which is rather hard to do for an offensive lineman without pads on. 

 

If I am not mistaken, Levi Wallace played the CB spot opposite White in OTAs, as well. Does that mean Wallace has that CB spot “locked down?”

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3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Why is that?  He’s employed by the team...  whether you agree with what he’s saying or not, it’s probably happening if he’s saying it 

 

Thats so not true.  He makes ridiculous predictions all the time that never happen - same with John Murphy .  I’ve known this for a while.  I believe it was right be for Chan was fired he alluded to the fact that Chan would be returning.  Fortunately no one took his word as gospe just because he works for the team.    

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10 hours ago, MichaelAbdallah said:

I'd also like to see the Bills try rolling with 10 OL on the roster. An entire backup line of Nsekhe - Spain - Bodine - Feliciano - Waddle would be the envy of the league! 

That backup line is probably a bloated use of roster spots, as Feliciano and Long both have C flex, making Bodine (who doesn't really play G--not a big, strong dude) expendable. If only one of our depth guards also had T flex, we could do away with a 4th T as well. I think nine linemen is the max we'll carry, eliminating Bodine. I could listen, albeit un-enthusiastically, to an argument for eight, even, with either Waddle or Spain being cut (as neither has position flex--that I know of).

 

It's all about position versatility for oline backups. Just like it's often about special teams utility for WR/RB/TE/LB/DB backups. 

 

P.S. Sometimes I feel like an a-hole predicting cuts or critiquing players like this, when my 2nd job has me interacting and getting to know them, their families, and the staff (of PSE/Buffalo sports teams in general) fairly well over time. Bodine is a smart, cool guy. I wish him the best. (He's NOT very large by linemen standards, btw. Listed at 6'4" 311, which might be a bit generous for both measurements.) 

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3 hours ago, Estro said:

Ive said it before and Ill say it again: The Bills did not give Ty Nsekhe $6.5M this year to be a backup.  If he is a backup, then it was a really bad signing, that is not a backup contract.

 

Whether its LT or RT I fully expect Nsekhe to be a starter come week 1.

 

Plans change.

 

2 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

Then you are expecting Cody Ford to start at RG. I think the Ford pick changes their plans. Nsekhe becomes a high-priced swing tackle imo, but we'll see.

 

Right. Circumstances now dictate that Nsekhe might be best utilized a swing tackle, which he does quite well. The Bills can afford a highly paid swing guy with their cap situation. No sweat. 

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5 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Plans change.

 

 

Right. Circumstances now dictate that Nsekhe might be best utilized a swing tackle, which he does quite well. The Bills can afford a highly paid swing guy with their cap situation. No sweat. 


This.

Nsekhe was signed as insurance, in case Dawkins didn't bounce back at LT or they couldn't land a top RT in the draft. Luckily for the Bills, both things happened. Dawkins "has a lock" on the LT job and Ford has yet to play himself out of the starting job at RT. Nsekhe will push both to be the best they can be, and he'll either beat one of them out or be one if (if not THE) best swing tackles in the league. And best of all, if Ford or Dawkins go down with injury at some point, the o-line shouldn't miss a beat.

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4 hours ago, Logic said:


This.

Nsekhe was signed as insurance, in case Dawkins didn't bounce back at LT or they couldn't land a top RT in the draft. Luckily for the Bills, both things happened. Dawkins "has a lock" on the LT job and Ford has yet to play himself out of the starting job at RT. Nsekhe will push both to be the best they can be, and he'll either beat one of them out or be one if (if not THE) best swing tackles in the league. And best of all, if Ford or Dawkins go down with injury at some point, the o-line shouldn't miss a beat.

 

 

...sure as hell is nice to have all of these "OL personnel conundrums (FINALLY)"..................

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15 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

 

The idea of moving Dawkins to guard was more focused on (a) getting the best combination of 5 on the field and (b) putting Dawkins in a position to be the greatest asset to the team.

 

And it wasn't a hard and fast "move him to guard"...it was that the team should be open to trying him at guard as part of their tinkering to see if that combination gave them a better set of 5.

 

If he stays at LT, then the team better be willing to pay him LT money in another year.  If they're not, then they should at least be willing to try him at LG to see if he's worth a premium contract at that spot.  Because one way or another, Dawkins is going to want to get paid after the 2020 season.

 

I don't think they know yet whether he is their left tackle. But I have said all offseason that as much as I think he would be borderline elite at guard, you don't move a young guy who was a 2nd round pick from LT to put a mid 30s journeyman there unless you have made your determination that the guy you are moving (ie. Dawkins) is not your franchise left tackle. I think the Bills feel like they were not able to further that evaluation last year because of what they put around him. This year is when they will have to decide. Is he our guy (in which case they might even start extension negotiations after this season) or do we need to move on at LT? If they decide the latter the smart money is Dawkins plays LG in 2020 and then walks. 

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I like Dawkins. I am completely comfortable with him as the franchise LT for the foreseeable future. He’s the biggest reason I didn’t want us to take a Lineman in round 1 of the draft. I couldn’t understand why so many people (on here) were down on him. He’s very solid. I think Dawkins is one of the cornerstones of the offense and I havent felt like it needed an upgrade at all. I fully expect him to start and stay at LT for a while.

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