Wow, this is the quietest I've seen this forum after a win

[FinSaint]

Originally Posted by papz

Patrick Queen should have been a Saint.

I, for one, am pretty glad they picked Ruiz with all the injuries to the O-line.

McCoy, Ruiz and Ramczyk are studs to build a dominant line upon for years to come.

[papz]

Originally Posted by FinSaint

I, for one, am pretty glad they picked Ruiz with all the injuries to the O-line.

McCoy, Ruiz and Ramczyk are studs to build a dominant line upon for years to come.

To each their own. I've always had the opinion that impact interior lineman are a plenty in the mid rounds as they're often undervalued, under evaluated, and underdeveloped at the collegiate level. With such a shrinking window of opportunity of getting back to a Superbowl, we needed impact help on that second level.

With that said, I have no doubt Ruiz will be a good player.

[Rugby Saint II]

Originally Posted by papz

To each their own. I've always had the opinion that impact interior lineman are a plenty in the mid rounds as they're often undervalued, under evaluated, and underdeveloped at the collegiate level. With such a shrinking window of opportunity of getting back to a Superbowl, we needed impact help on that second level.

With that said, I have no doubt Ruiz will be a good player.

Immediate impact players usually come in the first couple of rounds in my opinion. Payton's philosophy lately has been to draft linemen with a high draft pick then build the rest of the roster with 3rd and 4th rounders needing additional training. We got lucky with Kamara and Cee Dee Duce being available in the mid rounds.

When we drafted Anzalone it was a risk but Payton is a gambler by nature. No one else comes to mind when looking at our picks health record in college. Really, there's not a lot of players who were considered risks when we drafted them. Of course I'm probably missing someone and didn't mention them.

[FinSaint]

Originally Posted by papz

To each their own. I've always had the opinion that impact interior lineman are a plenty in the mid rounds as they're often undervalued, under evaluated, and underdeveloped at the collegiate level. With such a shrinking window of opportunity of getting back to a Superbowl, we needed impact help on that second level.



With that said, I have no doubt Ruiz will be a good player.

True, you can find good linemen even as UDFAs, but good linemen are the building blocks of offense and defense, so spending high draft picks on them is justified in my opinion.

Also, having the fifth year option that comes along with a first round pick gives added longevity to the lines, which is more important to line play chemistry than for skill positions.