Redskins Reportedly Bringing OLs Elton Brown and Ray Willis in for Visit

[CRedskinsRule]

I have a 2 part question:
If the Skins FO were to trade our #1 pick and 1-2 picks next year, to move up during the draft and for sure pickup an OT Stud, or Orakpu-
1) would you like that trade,
2) what pick(s) next year would people be willing to part with to move up to between #6 and #9 this year?

[Paintrain]

I hope they don't let Willis out of the building without a contract offer. Jansen's been done for years so it's about time we're getting around to replacing him. If we make that move we can make Jansen a backup RT and RG, Heyer our backup LT, Rinehart our backup LG and we can focus on LB/DE with #13 taking Orapko or Rey M.

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I hope they don't let Willis out of the building without a contract offer. Jansen's been done for years so it's about time we're getting around to replacing him. If we make that move we can make Jansen a backup RT and RG, Heyer our backup LT, Rinehart our backup LG and we can focus on LB/DE with #13 taking Orapko or Rey M.

unless he spent the night, i'm pretty sure Willis left the building without a contract yesterday.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

unless he spent the night, i'm pretty sure Willis left the building without a contract yesterday.

Oh, my bad. Well hopefully an offer is forthcoming.

[freddyg12]

Let's not get carried away & think that even if both of these guys sign that our O line is set. I'm all for signing both (if reasonable $ wise) & drafting an OT w/the #13 if one of the top 4 is there. We need an immediate solution to RT (which I think could be a rook) & a long-term replacement at LT.

I remember E. Brown at UVA. I thought he was a farily highly rated prospect, but I haven't heard much about him in the nfl.

[Ruhskins]

The team is taking a look at young offensive lineman with potential and I bet some people are going to be upset about it. I swear, you can't win with the fans.

I'm glad the team is looking at these players. I hope they can sign two players of this caliber to add youth and depth to the line.

[Hamoskinz]

We should sign Ray Willis over Elton Brown. Brown sounds like a guard and would get exploited by Ware and Osi if he gets to man the RT spot. I was hoping I'd check Warpath today and see that we have signed Willis. With him locked down, we will have options with the 13th pick, to see if one of the big 4 falls to us then we go with Dbags scenario

...I would love to see the team sign Ray Willis then draft Andre Smith in the first and a Center in the third. Then have a starting lineup like so:

LT - Chris Samuals
LG - Derrick Dockery
C - Casey Rabach
RG - Ray Willis
RT - Andre Smith

Backups - Stephon Heyer, Jon Jansen, 3rd Round Center, Chad Rhinehart, Randy Thomas

BUT
If big 4 are gone then we can look at Brian Orakpo or Rey Maualuga @ 13
OR trade down if someone wants to move up.

However, if we go into the draft with RT unaddressed, we would be limited in our options because we would either have to take one of the big 4 or trade down to nab Beatty or Meredith. I am not confident in our scouts and Vinny to get us a solid RT in the 3rd round after the Rinehart pick.

[That Guy]

i think willis may be getting pumped up a bit too much. i'm not sure he's really a HUGE upgrade over heyer, he's just the best of a (weak) OT market that may have some upside... still, he wouldn't be expensive, but if I wanted to draft an OT and we signed him, I wouldn't hesitate to draft an OT anyways.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by That Guy

i think willis may be getting pumped up a bit too much. i'm not sure he's really a HUGE upgrade over heyer, he's just the best of a (weak) OT market that may have some upside... still, he wouldn't be expensive, but if I wanted to draft an OT and we signed him, I wouldn't hesitate to draft an OT anyways.

Willis to me is a very attractive option, more so then a lot of people seem to be giving him credit for. Anyway heres a few things that Willis brings to the table

The Good

1. Size - Bugel has said in the past that as long as you give him players with size he'll be able to do the rest. Dockery is a testement to this as lots of people seem to forget how much Dock struggled early in his career. Then again even Samuals looked like a liability in Spurriers system. Anyway Willis definately has the size at 6'6 315 pounds.

2. Run Blocking - A must for any RT. In scouts evaluation of him, before he got to start 10 games, he was touted as a powerful run blocker that just needed to work on his footwork. Still he creates lanes and in the end thats what matters. I would say that he's probably a step below Jansen in terms of run blocking. Or at least 1st half of the season Jansen which brings me to my next point.

3. Age - At 26 Elton Brown is pretty much at his peak physically. On top of that he is more likely to maintain a high level of play throughout the season, where as a lot of our older lineman broke down last year during the strech.

4. Cost - Probably one of the main draws towards Willis. I think the estimates right now are about 3 millions a year which will probably end up being $1.5 million against the cap next year.

5. Production - The Seahawks two main runners were able to average over 4.3 YPC. Granted that Julius Jones and Maurice Morris are average at best I'd say those numbers end up working in favor of Willis.

6. Knowledge - All he'll have to learn is our run blocking schemes. Still he'll be pretty familiar with the terminology and will already have a grasp on the protection schemes Zorn wants to run.

7. Versatility - Should Rhinehart end up not being a starting quality player Willis will be more then ready to fill in at RG should Thomas go down. Ironically he might be better then Thomas at this point.

8. More Freedom Come Draft Day - Not that I'm opposed to taking a guy like Andre Smith should he fall, and given Vinny's run on pass catchers last year no one should discount the Vinny overkill factor. However the fact of the matter is we won't have to reach.

The Bad

1. Limited Experience - Granted he has 10 games of starting experience we can't say we know to much about him.

2. Pass Blocking - Definately an upgrade over Jansen but he doesn't have the feet, at least not yet, to be left alone on an island vs speed rushers so on that note he's not an option at LT should we lose Samuals (knock on wood). Some will point to the Dallas game as evidence that Willis struggles in pass protection but out of the 7 sacks Willis seemed to hold his own and was not one of the reasons the Cowboys were able to do that annoying turkey dance so often. To his credit he also allowed only 1.5 sacks last year so it's not like he's a liability. Just don't expect him to play LT short of an emergency.

[KI Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

Willis to me is a very attractive option, more so then a lot of people seem to be giving him credit for. Anyway heres a few things that Willis brings to the table

The Good

1. Size - Bugel has said in the past that as long as you give him players with size he'll be able to do the rest. Dockery is a testement to this as lots of people seem to forget how much Dock struggled early in his career. Then again even Samuals looked like a liability in Spurriers system. Anyway Willis definately has the size at 6'6 315 pounds.

2. Run Blocking - A must for any RT. In scouts evaluation of him, before he got to start 10 games, he was touted as a powerful run blocker that just needed to work on his footwork. Still he creates lanes and in the end thats what matters. I would say that he's probably a step below Jansen in terms of run blocking. Or at least 1st half of the season Jansen which brings me to my next point.

3. Age - At 26 Elton Brown is pretty much at his peak physically. On top of that he is more likely to maintain a high level of play throughout the season, where as a lot of our older lineman broke down last year during the strech.

4. Cost - Probably one of the main draws towards Willis. I think the estimates right now are about 3 millions a year which will probably end up being $1.5 million against the cap next year.

5. Production - The Seahawks two main runners were able to average over 4.3 YPC. Granted that Julius Jones and Maurice Morris are average at best I'd say those numbers end up working in favor of Willis.

6. Knowledge - All he'll have to learn is our run blocking schemes. Still he'll be pretty familiar with the terminology and will already have a grasp on the protection schemes Zorn wants to run.

7. Versatility - Should Rhinehart end up not being a starting quality player Willis will be more then ready to fill in at RG should Thomas go down. Ironically he might be better then Thomas at this point.

8. More Freedom Come Draft Day - Not that I'm opposed to taking a guy like Andre Smith should he fall, and given Vinny's run on pass catchers last year no one should discount the Vinny overkill factor. However the fact of the matter is we won't have to reach.

The Bad

1. Limited Experience - Granted he has 10 games of starting experience we can't say we know to much about him.

2. Pass Blocking - Definately an upgrade over Jansen but he doesn't have the feet, at least not yet, to be left alone on an island vs speed rushers so on that note he's not an option at LT should we lose Samuals (knock on wood). Some will point to the Dallas game as evidence that Willis struggles in pass protection but out of the 7 sacks Willis seemed to hold his own and was not one of the reasons the Cowboys were able to do that annoying turkey dance so often. To his credit he also allowed only 1.5 sacks last year so it's not like he's a liability. Just don't expect him to play LT short of an emergency.

That was an excellent post!

[WaldSkins]

Did Willis leave today with a contract offer?

[Nflnick11]

A) Elton Brown isn't that good, he was a backup on the cardinals awful oline
B) Ray willis should be signed to a contract, Especially if all the good tackles will not be there at 13 like people are saying (especially on this site)
C) DONT WANT T O and right now not even the raiders want him...ouch!
Keep me posted on Willis

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Nflnick11

A) Elton Brown isn't that good, he was a backup on the cardinals awful oline
B) Ray willis should be signed to a contract, Especially if all the good tackles will not be there at 13 like people are saying (especially on this site)
C) DONT WANT T O and right now not even the raiders want him...ouch!
Keep me posted on Willis

I am not picking(cuz i didn't watch many cardinals games till the playoffs), but asking, wasn't our complaint that Campbell did not have time. Didn't Warner lob many a bombs, even against Pitt's D. Maybe they didn't run block but I think pass blocking had to be ok?

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by Nflnick11

A) Elton Brown isn't that good, he was a backup on the cardinals awful oline
B) Ray willis should be signed to a contract, Especially if all the good tackles will not be there at 13 like people are saying (especially on this site)
C) DONT WANT T O and right now not even the raiders want him...ouch!
Keep me posted on Willis

You mean that awful offensive line that allowed only 28 sacks (protecting one of the most immobile QBs in the league) and played well against three top 15 sacking defenses (Atlanta, Carolina, and Philly) on its way to the Superbowl?

I know the Cards didn't have much of a running game (would you need to with Boldin and Fitz) but otherwise the offensive line did a good of job throughout the seasons and especially in the playoffs.

[SmootSmack]

I think the market for a tackle in the 3rd round is rather bare this year (some good centers potentially though, Antoine Caldwell comes to mind), but it's kinda funny how some people here don't trust the Front Office to find a 3rd round talent to start on the line because of Chad Rinehart yet are gung-ho about Dockery's return (apparently forgetting what round he was drafted).