It has been widely assumed that both Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis would have the starting job in week one at left guard and right tackle, respectively. It's also been widely assumed that Iupati would be an immediate dominant factor, and that Davis would represent an immediate step up from what we were treated to last season in Adam Snyder.
Early reports out of the last minicamp suggest that both of these guys need to slow down just a little bit. After reading that, I'm certainly being a little more quiet on advocating these guys, but obviously--the pads have not gone on, it's only June and these guys are indeed rookies. Still, what is the best course of option?
We have talked about this several times but I reckon we can talk about it again before the pads go on and at least a few questions are answered. Iupati still seems set to be the starting left guard, he was viewed as NFL-ready for a reason, but he was beat several times in one-on-one drills. Being beaten by Demetric Evans is one that hurts a little. Still, as Phil Barber notes in the link above, he did redeem himself and beat all of those guys in the end. It only takes one, though. Would you prefer David Baas to start over Mike Iupati at this point, is it still Iupati for you, or is it too early to tell? I'd assume if we can judge that Iupati should start so early, we can also judge that he shouldn't start, yes?
Davis is very young, very raw. Despite the fact that he has become one of my favorite players due to back-and-forths on Twitter (guys has a legit awesome taste in music, good sense of humor, etc), I still view him as an immediate upgrade to Adam Snyder. Even once the pads go on I feel like we'll see many mistakes from Davis, but again--very raw, very young guy. What I have to wonder is, should he be thrown in there to start and learn, or would.. and don't kill me on this... would Adam Snyder be an actual, factual starting option at the right tackle position from day one?
Another option would be Alex Boone, though he has been working at the left tackle spot more than anything at practice. I don't think anyone considers Barry Sims an option at right tackle. What about rotating? There are some who think it would be good to get Davis into the mix, but there are some (me included) who think rotating on the offensive line is one of the worst things you can do.
Just give me your early, harsh or not-harsh-enough judgement on the situation.