Good thoughts on the subject. Where do you see we should look if we are 8-8 and middle of the pack in the draft?
Pretty much look in the same places. The NFL in general has a disadvantage compared to other sports when it comes to looking for specialized big bodies. There are a number of reasons for this:
1) The ideal LT and RT (for those lefty QB's) is around 310-335, height between 6'3"--6'6". Add to that quick, nimble feet and an explosive burst off the line for run blocking, gotten after years of specific weight training. As you can probably imagine, those people are outliers among the human race.
2) The NFL is very U.S.-specific--there are few athletes in other countries that play American football. The manpower pool is simply much smaller. Compare that to the NBA, which has a strong international following. Looking for quick-footed 6'10" and above people to play the center position, or be a tall stretch four (Dirk!!) is a daunting task, but the NBA has been able to tap into all of Europe and Africa to fill the void. The number of foreign-born players manning the center and PF positions in the NBA may surprise people. You don't find football players in the Cameroons, Serbia, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine...you get the idea. What you do find are big men like Embiid, Porzingis, Gortat, Nurkic, Jokic, Saric, and many others who have the footwork that comes with a soccer background, a sport all those players player as kids. Embiid didn't start playing basketball until he was 16, but look at him. The transition to a lesser contact sport is easier for most people. MLB and the NHL also have strong overseas representation for some of the same reasons.
3) The demise of the super heavyweight division in high school and college wrestling has hurt a little bit. With the 285 LB weight cap, many 300+ pound guys who got great experience in how to use their hands and gain leverage don't get that anymore. Back in the day, quite a few linemen also wrestled in college or at least in high school. This is minor, but still there.
4) One could identify tall TE's already playing and see which ones have a frame big enough to support an extra 50 points without much loss of mobility. For example, both Philly tackles, Peters and Johnson, were TE's before tackles. Unlike college basketball players, they were already used to heavy contact.
5) Speaking of college, most schools do not want their prized athletes playing both sports. When I played football at Rutgers I wasn't allowed to play basketball as per the coach. Not that I would, because I sucked at basketball. This varies from school to school, but the tread is no more multi-sport athletes (except track and field and wrestling), at least at the D1 level. This effectively takes out basketball players who might want to keep playing football as well as basketball. No college basketball coach wants to see their nimble 6'7" 220 SF try to drag 300+ pounds up and down the court. Basketball and football rarely mix well.
6) College scouts are bemoaning the loss of the two-way lineman who can put their hands in the dirt as well as stand up on the edge. The college game does not always prepare linemen for life in the NFL.
The Tyron Smith, Jason Peters, Trent Williams, Joe Thomas-types are rare finds. How long have the Giants been looking for a top-5 LT? The best you can probably do is either hope the scouting department finds the right guy and have a good coaching staff teach that guy to play in the NFL, or find those TE-types who can make the leap to an extra 50 pounds, keep quickness, and play tackle.
