Welcome Branson Taylor, OT Pitt Round 6

[21&500]

Did anybody else catch Steve Haglund from the Guilty as Charged Crew mention that when moving Taylor to G, his RAS jumps into the low 9s. I believe it’s because of his short area quickness.

I swear, this scouting and evaluation crew of the Chargers is top notch. Not only for the draft but for free agents as well.

Hortiz was adamant that Taylor is seen as a guard and mentioned how smart he is more than once.

[jaguarmanftype]

I've read multiple sources where they think Branson Taylor was a steal...I didn't know much about him but Hortiz has turned up talent late in the draft before so I'm cautiously optimistic about Branson...he looks the part, Big, athletic with nimble feet and a wide base and big anchor, plus his hands look to be top notch, he looks promising for sure...

Yeah, I've seen some people be high on Taylor as well. Maybe he can be the Shane Olivea of this draft that someone else mentioned. Here's to hoping. I do hope we keep Salyer around and extend him. Just for me, personally, Salyer has proven he can be a more than competent backup LT if need be. There's a lot of value in that, and I see absolutely no one else on this roster that I would entrust being a backup LT to Rashawn even with copious amounts of help provided by a TE. I've seen Pipkins play at LT and get his ass handed to him, whereas with Salyer, I never really worry about the left side with him coming in for Slater -- granted, Salyer needs a TE to come in and chip for him time to time, but I've seen him go almost a full season at LT after Slater went down, and not worry about the position.

[Fouts2herbert]

Yeah, I've seen some people be high on Taylor as well. Maybe he can be the Shane Olivea of this draft that someone else mentioned. Here's to hoping. I do hope we keep Salyer around and extend him. Just for me, personally, Salyer has proven he can be a more than competent backup LT if need be. There's a lot of value in that, and I see absolutely no one else on this roster that I would entrust being a backup LT to Rashawn even with copious amounts of help provided by a TE. I've seen Pipkins play at LT and get his ass handed to him, whereas with Salyer, I never really worry about the left side with him coming in for Slater -- granted, Salyer needs a TE to come in and chip for him time to time, but I've seen him go almost a full season at LT after Slater went down, and not worry about the position.

I'm not a Salyer fan and I think that his rookie season has been romanticized to the point of myth, his numbers as a LT were not good, but because we had no one else he came off looking like a savior...those days are long gone and this staff doesn't seem to like him either...I don't think he sticks around longterm and he might not even make the roster this year, he's been consistently overweight and out of shape which raises questions about his commitment to the team and the sport, he just doesn't have a future on this team...if he makes the roster he'll hit free agency in 2026 for sure and someone will pick him up much like they did with Foster Sarrell and Brenden Jaimes, but I don't think any of those names are going to have long careers in the league...Pipkins gets shit on a lot but he already had more success in his 2 year run at RT than Salyer will ever have in the NFL and Pipkins will be playing RT somewhere else next season, hell, he might surprise some folks with the contract he gets in 2026 free agency, I know that the Chiefs wanted him bad when he was set to hit free agency in 2022...I still think Pipkins is better than the guy the Chiefs have starting for them at RT right now...Pipkins is perfect for a zone blocking scheme, he doesn't fit the gap scheme that this staff is running now, but get him on the 49ers, the Packers, or the Broncos and he'll be money...

[jaguarmanftype]

I'm not a Salyer fan and I think that his rookie season has been romanticized to the point of myth, his numbers as a LT were not good, but because we had no one else he came off looking like a savior...those days are long gone and this staff doesn't seem to like him either...I don't think he sticks around longterm and he might not even make the roster this year, he's been consistently overweight and out of shape which raises questions about his commitment to the team and the sport, he just doesn't have a future on this team...if he makes the roster he'll hit free agency in 2026 for sure and someone will pick him up much like they did with Foster Sarrell and Brenden Jaimes, but I don't think any of those names are going to have long careers in the league...Pipkins gets shit on a lot but he already had more success in his 2 year run at RT than Salyer will ever have in the NFL and Pipkins will be playing RT somewhere else next season, hell, he might surprise some folks with the contract he gets in 2026 free agency, I know that the Chiefs wanted him bad when he was set to hit free agency in 2022...I still think Pipkins is better than the guy the Chiefs have starting for them at RT right now...Pipkins is perfect for a zone blocking scheme, he doesn't fit the gap scheme that this staff is running now, but get him on the 49ers, the Packers, or the Broncos and he'll be money...

I agree with your points -- I do think Salyer and Pipkins will get a chance to start elsewhere, even Sam Tevi and Dan Feeney did. I also agree that this coaching staff isn't high on Salyer, and I don't think Salyer is all that motivated to be here either. I can't say I blame him, as the staff essentially named Pipkins the starter at RG without any competition. Frankly, I'm not a fan of Mike Devlin as our Oline coach either. I've seen what he did with the Texans and I'm not impressed with his overall coaching, albeit he seems highly competent in coaching tackles specifically.

[dmac_bolt]

I agree with your points -- I do think Salyer and Pipkins will get a chance to start elsewhere, even Sam Tevi and Dan Feeney did. I also agree that this coaching staff isn't high on Salyer, and I don't think Salyer is all that motivated to be here either. I can't say I blame him, as the staff essentially named Pipkins the starter at RG without any competition. Frankly, I'm not a fan of Mike Devlin as our Oline coach either. I've seen what he did with the Texans and I'm not impressed with his coaching.

His 2024 coaching cannot impress anyone. I expected a change in staff there, actually, disappointed it didnt happen.

My view is always that if 3 players make mental mistakes on the same play, it’s the coach’s fault. I could be wrong sometimes but thats my take. Far too often those guys didn’t know what to do, no clue how to respond to defense stunts and pressure thrown inside when every single one of us here at TPB knew it was coming before the snap. They were all seasoned professional players. I still don’t get it.

[Heatmiser]

Agree. And it seemed like the guy who got confused the most was Zion although sometimes hard to tell from watching on TV. So frustrating. Zion is obviously highly intelligent. I just don’t get it

[RTPbolt]

My bet is James takes the center spot. He has the most time playing at a high level in our scheme and i just dont see Zion outperforming 2 centers to take the spot…he just hasnt panned out and isnt progressing. Might keep him as a backup but let him walk next year and get a comp pick. I hope for the best but unless the light bulb goes on soon I dont see him earning a starting spot.

Taylor i see as a day 2 guy (2nd or 3rd rounder) that medicals forced down. Totally fine using a 6th on him to not put pressure on a talented kid to heal up then compete for likely a backup swing guy for this year. Good value and we have competition going on for the lg and c spots. Its a good situation for Taylor.

[Heatmiser]

In his highlight videos, and it is hard to see much in them, I see a guy with really good feet who plays too upright. Maybe if they get him lower he could pan out. Seems very strong and I think that is why he got away with playing so tall.

[Lone Bolt]

Jim said he would play OT at every position on the line if he could...he wasn't shittin'...

Big n strong...a "people mover"....let's see how fast he picks up the pro game...

[Boltx]

Agree. And it seemed like the guy who got confused the most was Zion although sometimes hard to tell from watching on TV. So frustrating. Zion is obviously highly intelligent. I just don’t get it

Maybe Zion was just confused/shocked at how badly Bozeman was missing his man and couldn't figure out which hole to plug?

[Xenos]

His 2024 coaching cannot impress anyone. I expected a change in staff there, actually, disappointed it didnt happen.

My view is always that if 3 players make mental mistakes on the same play, it’s the coach’s fault. I could be wrong sometimes but thats my take. Far too often those guys didn’t know what to do, no clue how to respond to defense stunts and pressure thrown inside when every single one of us here at TPB knew it was coming before the snap. They were all seasoned professional players. I still don’t get it.

The stunt situation seems to be an issue with two different OL coaches though. So is it the coaches fault or is it just the OL?

[beachcomber]

my suspicion is that it was a Bozeman malfunction…. not in 100 years would you ever catch Linsley doing that…. he woulda chipped Pips rusher, then been lock step w/the defender looping over the top.

Bozeman had blinders on for giving Pips help (did Pips even need help on that play ?), and left Zion w/a double wide barn door gap to defend, and from two doors down, and…. as it was seemingly all news to him ??

or as pbb volunteered…. if you told me that Bozeman was helping to throw the game…. I woulda believed you