Why Do Teams Draft Offensive Linemen in the Top 10?

has got to be seething in Philadelphia. The Eagles gave up $100 million and a first-round pick for Shawn Andrews and Jason Peters to play RT and LT.

Fine, but who is going to run and catch the ball? You can give Hank Baskett all the time to get open in the world, and he still won't be a 1,000-yard 8 TD WR, and more to the point Brian Westbrook (even when he's healthy) still won't be able to move the pile and get tough yards.

The Eagles spent 10 years proving this with Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan blocking for the likes of Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell, and it looks like they are about to spend 10 more years trying the same thing expecting different results.

The Eagles could have signed 1,000 yard rusher Dedric Ward PLUS Pro Bowl WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh AND gotten WR James Washington from the Steelers for good measure and paid them less money combined than Jason Peters' $60 million, AND kept their No. 1 pick!

So, they are going to spend yet another season watching teams with lesser OTs but much better RBs, WRs, and TEs run right pass them in the playoffs.

So the Lions shouldn't even consider drafting Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe. They draft No. 20 in the first round and No. 1 in the second round, OK?

If they need an OT that badly, package those and move up to get whoever drops of Jason Smith or Michael Oher, just like the Falcons moved up to get OT Sam Baker after taking Matt Ryan at No. 3 overall, or better yet stay where they are and take the two best OLs on the board at No. 20 and No. 33.

If the Lions should be debating on who to take No. 1, the debate should be between Stafford, Mark Sanchez, and Knowshon Moreno, not an OT.

The same goes for the Rams. Say they take Smith or Monroe. Fine. Still think they are ever going to get anywhere with Marc Bulger throwing the football? But hey, if he doesn't work out don't worry, KYLE BOLLER is backing him up!

In fairness Bulger and Boller could be Peyton Manning and it wouldn't matter, because they have Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton (?), and Derek Stanley (??) catching the ball, and actually thought they were helping themselves by trading for Atlanta Falcons draft bust Laurent Robinson (???).

Yes, the Rams OL is terrible, which gives Steven Jackson something else to complain about other than his contract, but like it matters. The Rams are far more likely to find an OL that can really help their team as a rookie in round two than they are a WR.

I haven't talked about defensive players, but that is really more of the same. Chiefs? Take either B.J. Raji at NT or OLB Aaron Curry. Keep the other team below 30 points a game, something that every Jay Cutler apologist will repeat ad nausem.

(Or if you don't think that Raji or Curry are 3-4 players, then pairing Michael Crabtree with Dwayne Bowe would help Matt Cassel a lot more than giving him a little more time to throw the ball.)

The best example (after the Eagles of course) is probably, is the Jets. In 2006, they received all these raves for drafting D'Brickashaw Ferguson at No. 4 and Nick Mangold later in the first. As a result, they probably have the best offensive line in the AFC East. Fine, how many playoff games have they been to? Exactly.

The Jets don't consistently rush the passer/stop the run, or score points. Excellent Baltimore NT Haloti Ngata would have helped the former, Super Bowl MVP WR Santonio Holmes or QB JAY CUTLER would have helped the latter.

The Jets thought they were being so clever by passing up the QBs in the first in order to take Kellen Clemens in the second. As the Jets wound up trading for Brett Favre only to see that blow up in their faces and are now considering trading up to get either Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman, how'd that work out for them?

The best part: The Jets could have taken Cutler at No. 4 and still gotten Marcus McNeill, who, despite going in the second round (taken at No. 50, where the Jets took Clemens at No. 49!), is a better OT than Ferguson, whom they got at No. 4, anyway!

Of course, people will point out that Miami went from 1-15 to a playoff team last season after drafting Jake Long. Well, just because it works doesn't mean that it's a good idea!

Also, Miami's improvement had a lot more to do with a coaching change, acquiring a Pro Bowl caliber QB in Chad Pennington, and tailback Ronnie Brown's recovering from his gruesome knee injury (plus getting Ricky Williams back) than it did Long.

Further, the Cleveland Browns did not maintain the benefits of drafting Joe Thomas No. 3 overall in 2007. They won 10 games in 2008, sure, but went right back where they were in 2009 because of terrible QB play, RBs that are average at best, and a sieve defense.

So top 10 teams, stay away from offensive linemen, and get guys that help you win games.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?