Every draft pick is a gamble. Everybody thought Tony Manderich was a sure thing

Ballard took in account interviews, academic grades, character and work ethic. Im betting he looks at all players through that lens

Why are we still arguing about last year's pick that worked out?

I just did when I used the word “gamble”.

because its dam.

That comment didn't really refer to you.

Coming from a dumb guy, I'm not suprised

No, not buying that. The O linemen, need to know how to change their attack if the QB audible to a pass from run or run to pass. They need to know what to do if they change direction.

WR can be dumb as a post, they just need to be fast and catch the ball. Great ones are smart and can catch. We were lucky to have 2 at the same time with Reggie and Marvin

Jeff Saturday didn't make the league because he was physical like Nelson. He was smart like Peyton.

No offense, I'll take the word of the guys on 'moving the chains' who is hosted by a former coach/scout (Pat Kirwin) and a former QB (Jim Miller) who interact with players, coaches, and GM's on a daily basis.

The oline is right next to the QB and they also have the center who passes down the audible. I'm not saying it's easy, but it is less than what the WR's have to deal with and they can more easily support one another.

The WR's are on an island. Also it is not just audibles now. They are expected to read coverage and adjust routes accordingly in sync with the QB. If there is a blitz, they are expected to read that and adjust to a hot route. They need to know whatever hand signals and keywords the QB barks out. These change at least every few weeks. Linemen can't see what the QB is doing, just hear. If you are a dumb WR and can only run the route that was called or have a limited route tree, CB's will pick up on that and dominate. You can probably get away with being dumb as a WR in high school and college, but not the NFL anymore. At least not football dumb.

If a WR can't run routes and doesn't know how to read defenses to be able to make the correct break on an option route, he'll wash out of the league faster than you can say "fly". There are less things an OL has to learn than a WR to make it in the NFL. Pull, trap, zone, man, that's pretty much it for an OL. It's way less than option routes, move combinations, and the route tree, each of which WRs have to know, and each of which has at least as much information as the whole set of things an OL needs to know.

Football IQ by position
According to Paul Zimmerman's The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football, the average score of a NFL player according to position is the following:
Offensive tackle – 26.
Center – 25.
Quarterback – 24.
Guard – 23.
Tight end – 22.
Safety – 19.
Linebacker – 19.
Cornerback – 18.

http://www.bestmastersdegrees.com/smartest-players/

- Offensive tackle: 26
- Center: 25
- Quarterback: 24 (a quarterback's intelligence may affect his passing performance in the NFL even if it does not in college) Guard:
- Tight end: 22
- Safety: 19
- Linebacker: 19
- Corner back: 18
- Wide receiver: 17
- Fullback: 17
- Halfback: 16
- FACTOID: While an average football player usually scores around 20 points, The Wonderlic, Inc claims a score of 10 points suggests a person is literate.