Trading Players for Draft Picks Game

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

Here's something I've been thinking about but haven't come to a solid conclusion on, let's say by some miracle the FO doesn't pull a Plax and shoot itself in the leg, Orakpo falls to us and we take him at 13. IMO he isn't LB material and must be used at DE. Do you plug him at RDE (Carter's spot) where he'd be most effective and could be a bigger, stronger, although slightly less explosive D. Freeney and move Carter to LDE? Or do we put him at LDE and move him over to RDE in a year or two when/if Carter declines? I'm leaning to putting him at RDE and moving Carter.

Nothing like a huge bit of pre-draft speculation, but it's better than constant QB talk. LOL.

With Orakpo I think you'd be looking at having him playing some DE and some Sam, especially in rush situations. In Blache's scheme you are going to get a lot of rushes from the Sam anyway so you could try to cover any liabilities in pass coverage that way and let him learn LB in the process. Something like what the Giants did with Kiwanuka.

But to answer your question, I think Orakpo is a better fit at RDE where he will see fewer double teams and can better utilize his athleticism. We kind of got a preview of what it looks like to have an undersized guy manning the LDE last season, though I suspect Orakpo would prove a better player against the run than Taylor was. It seems that if Orakpo is there, and the Skins take him, then they envision him playing a good bit of OLB next season.

Also, unless Curry falls for some unknown reason it seems like most anyone the Skins would take at #13 would offer liabilities in the pass game. The guys they have on the team currently, including if Marcus Washington came back, also offer matchup problems in the pass game. The question becomes whether they can find someone with the juice to help get after the passer at that position.