Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline took a moment to rate free agency replacements for all 32 teams. He's focused on what we're going to do at Guard now that Dockery is in Buffalo:
Replacement player(s): Ross Tucker, Mike Pucillo, Jason Fabini, Todd Wade
The skinny: Dockery played well for the Redskins last season and seemed to be on the verge of being a Pro Bowl player. But he isn't worth what the Bills paid to get him. None of the four players trying to replace him are as good as Dockery, but one of them will be good enough to get by. Fabini and Wade are tackles who will try to make the move to guard. The favorite is probably Pucillo.
Rate the replacement: OK. They'll get by with whoever starts there. Hey, it's a guard, not a tackle.
Whether Buffalo overpaid will be decided by history though I agree with Prisco's prediction on that. 49M is a lot of money and likely was paid out because the market happened to go crazy for Guards. I get the feeling that many columnists (and Bloggers, like myself) really question whether this year's Free Agent Guards deserved the money they received. I would've liked to have kept Derrick but the price ws just too high, and he'd be crazy not to take that paycheck. Best of luck to him.
I really feel that Todd Wade is the favored replacement as he's the more experienced linemen. I understand the transition from Tackle to Guard could raise concerns, though even Prisco recognizes that it's easier to replace a Guard with a Tackle than the other way around. That Pucillo has some quality starting experience at the Guard position is likely what drove Prisco's conclusion. I think both should get a chance to start.
One additional consideration is that Mike Pucillo is the backup Center. If Center Casey Rabach goes down with injury than Pucillo is our best bet on the line. Ross Tucker could develop into the backup, though, at the moment, if Rabach went down I'd predict the best line includes both Todd Wade and Mike Pucillo. I don't know whether that makes the team more reluctant to give Pucillo the Guard spot, though it's something to consider. I'd start at Guard whomever I felt gave us the best chance to win; if Pucillo is the guy he can always roll to Center if Rabach goes down.