He's young and I think they might want him a little bigger and stronger at OG.
Whitehair could be an All Pro OC provided we stop moving him around plus this gives Daniels a chance to acclimate without a need to start day one. The kid won't even turn 21 'til the season begins. He's got great technique and quickness but I think he needs to get bigger to play inside. JMHO
And maybe they want Trubisky under a veteran center this first full season in the NFL. That's just a guess on my part. But I trust Harry Hiestand on all of these decisions.
I do too. Which is why Ryan Pace should shut up and not speculate on these matters.
Surprised to read this AM that the idea is to have him compete at LG and keep Whitehair at center. What I have heard he is a bit light to play OG. Kush might be the starting LG this year.
Daniels won't turn 21 'til September so he far from having hit his max potential size and strength. Pace did comment on that. He's already added 10-15lbs over his college weight and they may have him add 10-12lbs more once he gets into their weight program.
Having Kush as a LG/OC gives them some time for Hiestand to work with Daniels and adapt him to our blocking schemes without the pressure to start at OC and make OL calls immediately. What I see is three guys capable of playing OC or LG on that OL and I like the depth it gives us.
+1
With Kush, Daniels, Whitehair and Long we will hopefully have 4 starting quality interior linemen by the regular season (giving Hiestand TC, and the PS to get Daniels ready). That is actually decent depth for the interior line.
I really like this pick and I already know that he's the best center and one of the top OL in the draft but is there anything else you can tell us about Daniels? You watch Iowa more than the rest of us.
I think he's a good person. Comes from an athletic family, his brother was a RB at Iowa and is in the NFL now. Iowa has a tradition of recruiting hard working, down to earth kids. He's not going to screw around and will be focused on being a great professional football player. He's the type of guy that you see playing in the NFL for a long time.
Gotta agree with Hawk here. Few college team produce more quality NFL caliber OL than Iowa and Daniels is another in a long line of them. They all seem to have a great work ethic too. JJ should like this pick too. He's an old Hawkeye.
Pace has very smartly rebuilt his OL by securing Long and Leno with extensions and having added to the interior with highly regarded 2nd round draft picks like Whitehair and Daniels, a UFA pickup like Kush, and we have Morgan as well.
Daniels will get reps at center at some point in practice. That might change minds quickly.
My gosh I hope so. Daniels seems like a natural center and Whitehair seems like a natural guard. Can we stop trying to pound square pegs into round holes please?
It could end up that way eventually but at least to begin with Daniels can focus on his own game without having to make line calls. Whitehair is a very good natural OC when they leave him there and don't ask him to move around which he can also do with ease.
Don't short sell Kush either. I think he's also better than many think. Having the versatility and interchangeability we do have inside should really help throughout the course of a season when we may lose a guy to an injury. Remember we're all still holding our collective breath that Long returns to his prior level.
And maybe they want Trubisky under a veteran center this first full season in the NFL. That's just a guess on my part. But I trust Harry Hiestand on all of these decisions.
I do too. Which is why Ryan Pace should shut up and not speculate on these matters.
not his job
Do you really believe that Pace is speculating as opposed to maybe parroting what his OL coach has shared as his vision for Daniels? An OL coach that is considered by many to be the best in the biz and who he has probably already spent countless hours with?
I do too. Which is why Ryan Pace should shut up and not speculate on these matters.
not his job
Do you really believe that Pace is speculating as opposed to maybe parroting what his OL coach has shared as his vision for Daniels? An OL coach that is considered by many to be the best in the biz and who he has probably already spent countless hours with?
Daniels won't turn 21 'til September so he far from having hit his max potential size and strength. Pace did comment on that. He's already added 10-15lbs over his college weight and they may have him add 10-12lbs more once he gets into their weight program.
Having Kush as a LG/OC gives them some time for Hiestand to work with Daniels and adapt him to our blocking schemes without the pressure to start at OC and make OL calls immediately. What I see is three guys capable of playing OC or LG on that OL and I like the depth it gives us.
+1
With Kush, Daniels, Whitehair and Long we will hopefully have 4 starting quality interior linemen by the regular season (giving Hiestand TC, and the PS to get Daniels ready). That is actually decent depth for the interior line.
And it's made up of players who are still either in their prime or haven't reached it yet. Long and Kush are the "old men" at 29 and 28 respectively but both are only in their 6th season and if healthy should still play well for 5 years or more.
Leno is just 26, Whitehair is 25, Daniels is still a baby at 20, and even Massie whom we should probably replace next year is only 28. This OL is beginning to look young and talented again which is something we haven't seen since the '80s.
Do you really believe that Pace is speculating as opposed to maybe parroting what his OL coach has shared as his vision for Daniels? An OL coach that is considered by many to be the best in the biz and who he has probably already spent countless hours with?
naw.....can't be....
Ha ha, yeah we're so accustomed to a lack of logic and common sense coming out of Halas Hall maybe we no longer recognize it when we see it.
Word is Hiestand is very high on Daniels as a run blocker in his zone scheme.
In reality I believe that's why Sitton was let go. He's a terrific pass blocker but not ideal for a zone running game and then there was his age, injuries beginning to impact his availability, and his $8 mil salary. Whitehair, Kush, and Daniels combined don't cost us even half that much. They'll figure it out as to who goes where.