HB Blades or Stephon Heyer?

[GTripp0012]

Blades right now is what we one day hope Heyer can be. Heyer's pass blocking fundamentals are top notch, but he can't yet seem to consistently translate that into production on a play by play basis yet. He's got some running plays down pat and looks to be a mauler-type at tackle, but everything I love about his pass blocking fundamentals goes out the window with run blocking. He screws up his footwork, his hand placement, and his balance while run blocking. He can't even find guys in traffic. He seems to have a low football IQ.

So while I really hope we can see something from Heyer this year that shows huge leaps forward in improvement, I don't know how we can answer Heyer. He seems like he'd be best off as a project left tackle, but unless the draft changes things, he's being looked at right now as an immediate-fit RT, which he cannot be just yet.

Blades at OLB isn't ideal and he'll likely be used improperly by Blache, but I mean he's so far ahead of where Heyer is, that if we're looking it it as a "who plays tomorrow" kind of thing, Blades wins easily. Unfortunately, the answer is never that simple. Playing Blades a bit out of position because he's the best option would not be a legit reason for not drafting a linebacker in the first three rounds. We need to try to address both these needs.

Consequently, the proper answer to this question is some mix of "H.B. Blades", and "neither".

Good thread.