First off, let me say that this has been an exciting off-season and I love the Desean Jackson and Chris Baker pick ups. I think both players fill big needs and should be big contributors to the team's success next year. However, there is something that is holding back my excitement a bit and something I think some are overlooking a little. This is the fact that nothing has changed with the OL.
I know PR guys like Mark and Trevor have mentioned and given quotes from Licht saying that he likes the current group we have and not to expect any additions this off-season, but I was hoping it was some weird smokescreen. Unfortunately, it looks like PR is right as we seem to have zero interest in any FA OL nor does it seem likely we'll use anything lower than a 5th or 6th rounder on one in the draft.
I just really don't understand it. How did Licht watch this unit perform last year and come to the conclusion that everything is going to be just fine this year with minimal changes? Does he seriously think JR Sweezy will make that big of an impact? He wasn't much more than an average OG with the Seahawks and he's coming off an injury. If Licht does have that confidence, is it really smart to put that much confidence in someone coming off a major injury? We all saw how that played out last year when Licht was counting on VJax and Murphy to be major contributors coming off injuries.
The fact of the matter is that this OL allowed Jameis to get hit 109 times, which was 5th worst in the NFL. Looking at the other teams in bottom 5, the only other team who's QB played every game last year was the Seahawks and Russell Wilson, who was clearly playing through some injuries early on in the season. This is a problem and not a recipe for success. There were plenty of times I saw Jameis get destroyed last year and just was praying that he'd get up. One time we might not get so lucky and Jameis actually gets hurt from one of those 100+ hits he's taking throughout the year, like most of the other QB's who have similar OL situations. If that happens, our season is over and it falls 100% on the shoulders of Jason Licht.
I'm just really hoping that some lightbulb turns on in Licht's head before the draft and we get some guys who can protect Jameis. You can argue that we can't fix every issue in one off-season, but when you have a franchise QB, your #1 priority should be protecting him with a good OL. Dirk's offense has a lot of long developing routes and requires Jameis to hold on to the ball a little longer, which should make us have an even higher emphasis on the OL as they'll need to protect while the plays develop. We finally have our speedy deep threat in Desean Jackson. If the OL can't protect and give him time to get down the field, it will be a wasted signing.
