Would you consider Green a wasted pick if he simply ended up as a backup guard for this team, behind Martin, Leary, and Collins? I think I would.
I think if Green isn't not only factoring in at swing tackle, but competing to be Doug Free's eventual replacement that he's a disappointment.
How great would it be if we've got Collins strengthening our guard position by either starting or pushing Leary and backing up and three tackle prospects in Weems, Green, and Gibson to replace Free and/or be the team's swing tackle?
Mathis is a great player, but he's looking to get paid and I think he's a luxury that this well-stocked team doesn't need.
No. Not a wasted pick if he ended up at Guard. I mean, it's no guarantee that he will remain a backup. If we plugged in Mathis at LG and he manned that position for a few seasons, until Green were able to take over the as starter, that's still a really solid pick. I think Weems and Gibson are probably better suited to Tackle at this point. Gibson is a 7th round pick so it's hard for me to be disappointed in any situation which sees him on the active roster. Neither Mathis, Free or Leary are long for the team IMO. I see them all as two year players. If we could bridge the gap between the development of our young guys and actually improve our OL, short term, then that's the best of both worlds to me. Collins at RT playing at a high level is going to be preferable to Collins at LG, if you have players who can play LG. I see us as having two young players who might eventually end up at Guard. That would be a really good situation for us if it works out that way. Of course, you don't know if it will work out that way but then again, you don't know if either of our young players will work out at RT either.
The problem is, at least IMO, that we don't know if we are well stocked yet. We have some really good young prospects but outside of Free, we don't have a lot of Vets. Mathis would be a guy who is one of the best scheme fits in the League and a definite upgrade to what we already have. Free's value is that he is a guy who is a leader on the OL but he's never been ideal at a RT and his injury history puts a lot of questions on his future. If we commit Collins to Guard, then that leaves us with a questionable starter RT with Free and Weems as the backup. That's not terrible if Free can come back and play well. If he can't, then we have a problem because we really don't have anybody who is ready to back up at Tackle if we sustain an injury. No experience at all. If you plug in Mathis and move Collins to RT and start getting him Reps, then you have Weems and Collins as starter and backup with the foundation for the future. I don't think that would be bad at all.
