Thread: Orland Franklin Says He's Moving To Left Guard

After teeting today 104.3 the Fan, Sandy Clough reports that Franklin has confirmed he's been told he's moving inside to compete for a starting spot at LG.

Not news really, but all the people who keep foolishly arguing against that move and insisting that Franklin was a "great" RT and did fine last year are now officially WRONG. Broncos management wanted an upgrade at the RT spot and they think Franklin did NOT do a good enough job of pass-blocking.

Of course, he may lose out to Manny Ramirez at LG. Or he could start in place of Beadles, with Ramirez keeping his starting C position, while Montgomery backs up. This probably means the Broncos are moving Chris Clark (as expected) to starting RT and possibly drafting a T in the top 2 rounds.

I still would not expect a rookie to start on the Broncos OL, unless they move up and get a really outstanding talent (I think Ryan Clady started his rookie year). But, at #31 you're not normally getting a guy who can step right in and start for a Super Bowl contender.

Franklin started as Rookie. in fact lot of Rookie's start at RT... so quite possible if they get one to beat out Clark.

Morgan Moses could be there at 31. I think he'd be a capable day one starter at RT.

I'm kind of surprised by this, honestly. I think it's a little reactionary by an organization that generally isn't so. I liked the idea of Clark as super sub for both tackle positions.

However, Clady/Franklin/Ramirez/Vazquez/Clark sounds pretty damn good as a starting OL. Montgomery, Painter, Justice as backups, and I assume we'll still draft someone, though I don't think it has to be very early now.

Love this move!

Antonio Richardson, come on down! We'll former 2nd round RT with another 2nd rounder in Richardson. That would be four 320 + lbs beasts on the OL. Painter still not ready for prime time. Justice on the wrong side of 30, and Clark is stop gap. Guessing we'll also draft anothe OG just in case Franklin moves on after this season.

Mike Klis ‏@MikeKlis 13m

Reminder: It's only first day of conditioning. No practice yet. Still, coaches wouldn't start O Franklin at LG if they didnt think he could.

Mike Klis ‏@MikeKlis 16m

I've been told @OFranklin74 will begin offseason at left guard, but doesn't mean after coaches look at it they don't move him back.

Retweeted by Mike Klis
Orlando Franklin ‏@OFranklin74 1h

Left guard, excited to learn and improve this offseason. I will give it my all

Orlando Franklin, a three-year NFL starter at right tackle, tweeted Monday that he is "excited to learn" the left guard position.

Franklin has started 47 regular-season and six postseason games to this point in his three-year career, all of which have come at right tackle.

However, he played three of his four seasons at the University of Miami at left guard. In fact, at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, Franklin said he felt as if he could be "a beast at guard."

If the 6-foot-7, 320-pound Franklin is penciled in at the left guard spot previously held by now-Jacksonville Jaguar Zane Beadles, the Broncos' starting offensive line could look like:

rest - http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-an...5-473df1b769bb

Originally Posted by Traveler

Love this move!

Antonio Richardson, come on down! We'll former 2nd round RT with another 2nd rounder in Richardson. That would be four 320 + lbs beasts on the OL. Painter still not ready for prime time. Justice on the wrong side of 30, and Clark is stop gap. Guessing we'll also draft anothe OG just in case Franklin moves on after this season.

Obviously, I'd be thrilled if we got "Tiny" Richardson. His lack of discipline bothers me. I'd like to see stats on how many flags he gets.

I don't know why all the hate for Chris Clark. He filled in at LT all season long and did a good job of it. That's the toughest position to play on the entire offense after QB. They want to reward him by giving him a chance at a starting job. When they find a quality guy they want to keep him as a starter if possible, and obviously, he's not going to start when Clady comes back at LT. So, where can he go? Obviously, he's a good pass-blocker, so they consider moving him to starting RT.

This has the benefit of moving Franklin inside. Franklin has been a barely adequate pass-blocker his entire career, and despite all the fans who think he's wonderful at LT, the coaches do not. They're looking for an upgrade there.

“We’ve got some options," he said. "We’ve got Ryan Clady back. That makes us better instantly. I know we lost Zane and we wish him nothing but the best. We may move somebody. You have young guys that have shown promise. There is Ben Garland — whoever that have been with us but haven’t played a lot. We could move a guy in at left guard and put Chris Clark at right tackle. There are a bunch of options and they will define how we go. The coaches will put together a plan."

Since then, the Broncos also signed free-agent center Will Montgomery, who played in 77 of a possible 80 games for the Washington Redskins from 2009-2013. He started every game for each of the past three seasons, and for his career, 46 of his starts have come at center, 10 at right guard and seven at left guard.

So, if Montgomery can impress at C, then they can move Manny Ramirez back to LG where he's a potential Pro-Bowl G, and have Clark starting at RT with Franklin available as a backup at either RT or LG. Of course, all these guys will be competing.

But, Franklin will apparently not be competing for a starting job at RT. Their preference is to find someone else to play his spot.

I don't see Franklin as a second stringer at all.

I love the idea od Big O moving to guard. Franklin, Vazquez and maybe Manny inside, that is a lot of beef to move piles inside for our runners.

I don't give a crap how good the passing game is... if we don't run better we not be winning the big one. We need some balance.

I'll be the dissenting voice: I hate it.

I hate moving players when there's no clear solution to the position they played. Two is always bigger than one (unknowns, that is).

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

I'll be the dissenting voice: I hate it.

I hate moving players when there's no clear solution to the position they played. Two is always bigger than one (unknowns, that is).

There's also no clear choice for LG either.

Originally Posted by dbfan2007

There's also no clear choice for LG either.

Presumably, it's Franklin.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

Presumably, it's Franklin.

Right. But you said you dislike the move because there's no replacement. Either way, you have a hole.