PFT: Cowboys have Looney, Williams, McGovern as options at center

[jnday]

Looney is back-up only unless you want Dak having bad year because speed of progression reading isn't his strength. Williams is average to below average tackle - this means he has to make it at center but is unproven in that role. McGovern is x factor here because if he is really good tackle or center then it fixes alot but again unproven. I still think Dallas needs to take OL in this draft and nail it.

My concern with McGovern is why did he only play the position one year in college? If he was a great center, he wouldn’t have been moved to guard the following year. I didn’t watch him in college enough to answer that question.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Asking a guy to play center in the pros after never playing the position his entire life is asking too much. Williams should be the swing tackle. His frame fits the tackle position much better than it fits center.

Agreed. If McGovern could take over the guard position and play well and we draft a new center in the 2nd round then the line is set at least another 3-4 years. Williams can play the swing tackle/guard and Looney can remain a backup.

If you have Looney and Williams as your center and guard you are in trouble.

 

[CowboyRoy]

My concern with McGovern is why did he only play the position one year in college? If he was a great center, he wouldn’t have been moved to guard the following year. I didn’t watch him in college enough to answer that question.

I would rather see MCGovern supplant and underwhelming Williams at guard.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Coming out of college, McGovern was one of the top-ranked OG/OC in the draft. That had to be a factor that got the Cowboys' attention.

I think the Cowboys can wait a season to see if any of these options mentioned can fill the role.

Yea, but Connor Williams tore an ACL in late November. Counting on him to be more than a swing OT or guard depth given his performance the last two years is a mistake. Whether it's Ruiz or not, we probably should spend a day 1 or 2 pick on an interior o-lineman.

 

[Zekeats]

Asking a guy to play center in the pros after never playing the position his entire life is asking too much. Williams should be the swing tackle. His frame fits the tackle position much better than it fits center.

He's played guard for 2 years and looks more like a center than any other line position. He could learn like many. These guys are professionals.

 

[jnday]

He's played guard for 2 years and looks more like a center than any other line position. He could learn like many. These guys are professionals.

Learning to hike the ball, especially In shot-gun formations, is not an easy thing to do at a professional level. I played every position on the OL and I found out the playing center required a special set of skills. I don’t know why fans thinks that it is so easy to swap positions, it is not. Center is not a position that can be filled by any OL. Some linemen never “get it”. They are asking a guy that hasn’t played center in years, and in Williams case never, to step in and play at a professional level. The physical change is hard enough, but making the calls for the blocking scheme is ever harder. Snapping the ball ,while knowing that some huge guy is about to try and take your head off , is not easy to do.

 

[Zekeats]

Learning to hike the ball, especially In shot-gun formations, is not an easy thing to do at a professional level. I played every position on the OL and I found out the playing center required a special set of skills. I don’t know why fans thinks that it is so easy to swap positions, it is not. Center is not a position that can be filled by any OL. Some linemen never “get it”. They are asking a guy that hasn’t played center in years, and in Williams case never, to step in and play at a professional level. The physical change is hard enough, but making the calls for the blocking scheme is ever harder. Snapping the ball ,while knowing that some huge guy is about to try and take your head off , is not easy to do.

If Andre Gurode couldn't do it maybe Connor can't

 

[JoeKing]

Yea, but Connor Williams tore an ACL in late November. Counting on him to be more than a swing OT or guard depth given his performance the last two years is a mistake. Whether it's Ruiz or not, we probably should spend a day 1 or 2 pick on an interior o-lineman.

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I disagree.

 

[jnday]

If Andre Gurode couldn't do it maybe Connor can't

Gurode was horrible when snapping in the shotgun formation. Some of Romo’s best plays was started by Gurode’s high snaps. Out of all the players named as center prospects, Williams is the worst. His lack of power will really hurt him and his physical build leans more towards a tackle than guard or center. McGovern seems to be the best hope because the line allowed 50+ sacks the year that Looney started. All of them was not his fault, but I have to wonder how many came from the mental failures he made.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Teams somehow manage without having to invest a 1st or 2nd round pick at every position.

This team needs to figure that out as well.

1. Tyron Smith - 1st round pick
2. Connor Williams - 2nd round pick
3. Connor McGovern - 3rd round pick
4. Zack Martin - 1st round pick
5. La'El Collins - 1st round pick (we all know that story)

Thankfully, the new staff somehow managed to win without 1st rounders across the board and I expect them to do that again. When you have coaches, you don't have to have 1st round picks everywhere and try to 'out talent' everyone you play.

You can't really count Collins since we didn't spend a draft pick on him. Where they were projected (based on talent) and what we spent on them are two different things. Getting Collins was just a good job (by Jerry) and a low risk-high reward move.

Looking over the past 9 years (since we drafted Tyron Smith and started rebuilding the OL) here are the positions we drafted in the first 3 rounds:

Offense (11 total):

OL (6 total) - three 1st (Smith, Frederick, Martin), one 2nd (Williams), two 3rd (Green, McGovern)
RB (2 total) - one 1st (Elliott), one 3rd (Murray)
TE (1 total) - one 2nd (Escobar)
WR (2 total)- two 3rd (Williams, Gallup)

Defense (14 total):

DL (6 total) - one 1st (Charlton), three 2nd (Lawrence, Gregory, Hill), two 3rd (Crawford, Collins)
LB (3 total) - one 1st (Vander Esch), two 2nd (Carter, Smith)
DB (5 total) - two 1st (Claiborne, Jones), one 2nd (Awuzie), two 3rd (Wilcox, Lewis)

Just looking at this, sure we spent the most 1st rounders on OL, but we also spent quite a lot all across the defense. We invested quite a bit into every level of the defense. It just seems like we got the better value with our 1st rounders on offense. All 4 of our 1st rounders on offense were All Pros, while we didn't have much luck with our 1st rounders on defense.

 

[Stash]

You can't really count Collins since we didn't spend a draft pick on him. Where they were projected (based on talent) and what we spent on them are two different things. Getting Collins was just a good job (by Jerry) and a low risk-high reward move.

Looking over the past 9 years (since we drafted Tyron Smith and started rebuilding the OL) here are the positions we drafted in the first 3 rounds:

Offense (11 total):

OL (6 total) - three 1st (Smith, Frederick, Martin), one 2nd (Williams), two 3rd (Green, McGovern)
RB (2 total) - one 1st (Elliott), one 3rd (Murray)
TE (1 total) - one 2nd (Escobar)
WR (2 total)- two 3rd (Williams, Gallup)

Defense (14 total):

DL (6 total) - one 1st (Charlton), three 2nd (Lawrence, Gregory, Hill), two 3rd (Crawford, Collins)
LB (3 total) - one 1st (Vander Esch), two 2nd (Carter, Smith)
DB (5 total) - two 1st (Claiborne, Jones), one 2nd (Awuzie), two 3rd (Wilcox, Lewis)

Just looking at this, sure we spent the most 1st rounders on OL, but we also spent quite a lot all across the defense. We invested quite a bit into every level of the defense. It just seems like we got the better value with our 1st rounders on offense. All 4 of our 1st rounders on offense were All Pros, while we didn't have much luck with our 1st rounders on defense.

It wasn't about the draft pick, it was about the talent. Collins is one of three first round talents that this team now in its offensive line. Connor Williams is a 2nd, and McGovern is a third. That's more than enough resources for it to work.