“You’re going to have either seven or eight guys up on gameday. So whoever the five starters are, that’s great,” Kelly said. “Those other three guys, you don’t have 10, so you don’t have a backup left tackle, backup right tackle, backup right guard, backup left guard, backup center. You got three guys, and they’ve got to be able to go in no matter who goes down. If you lose two tackles, then two of those backups are technically going to go play tackle now, and the more versatile those other guys are, the better it’s going be for your depth, especially in-game.”
Things are going Meredith’s way early in training camp, but the jury is still out on the direction the offensive line will ultimately go.
Meredith is competing for a starting role, at either center or right guard, with Jackson Powers-Johnson and veteran Alex Cappa. So, yes – this could be Meredith’s time to breakthrough and become a full-time starter. But it’s an opportunity he still must earn.
Fortunately, the confidence continues to build every day for the once obscure undrafted guard.
“Going out there and practicing, learning from the mistakes, learning from the good things and trying to grow on it, I feel that’s where you build your confidence,” Meredith said. “Being beside DJ [Glaze], Cappa, JPJ, all those guys, knowing the chemistry with them and feeling them next to me, that’s what’s builds confidence with me.”