Mock NFL Draft
Welcome to the first annual WCG NFL Mock Draft. I have assembled a crew of 8 WCG experts to act as NFL GM’s and give their analysis on each team’s pick in this year’s upcoming draft. Each WCG analyst has been assigned a draft number and will pick for that respective team as well as weigh in on who they think *their favorite team will draft*.
1. Raiders-Dean-Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
2. Lions- Danks- Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
3. Browns- Wells- Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
4. Buccaneers- Yetti- Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson
5. Arizona- Joe- Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
6. Washington- Raible- Alan Branch, DT, Michigan
7. Minnesota- Haver-Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
8. Atlanta- Franko- Laron Landry, S, Louisiana State
9. *Miami- Wells*- Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State
10. Houston- Dean- Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville
11. San Francisco- Danks- Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska
12. Buffalo- Wells- Patrick Willis, OLB, Mississippi
13. St. Louis- Yetti- Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
14. Carolina- Joe- Ted Ginn Jr.,WR, Ohio State
15. *Pittsburgh- Raible*- Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida (Dean, Yetti, Haver-Steelers Fans)
16. Green Bay- Raible- Marshawn Lynch, RB, California-Berkeley
17. Jacksonville-Franko- Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh
18. Cincinnati-Dean-Leon Hall, CB, Michigan
19. Tennessee- Danks- Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas
20. *NY Giants- Joe*- Levi Brown, OT, Pennsylvania State
21. Denver-Wells- Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan
22.Dallas-Yetti- Dwayne Bowe, WR, Louisiana State
23. Kansas City-Haver- Jamarcus Russell, QB, Louisiana State
24. New England-Haver- Paul Posluszny, OLB, Pennsylvania State
25. *NY Jets- Franko*- Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee
26. Philadelphia-Dean-Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
27. New Orleans-Yetti- Aaron Ross, CB, Texas
28. *New England- Danks*- Michael Griffin, S, Texas
29. Baltimore-Raible- Jon Beason, OLB, Miami
30. San Diego- Joe- Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami
31. On the Clock: Chicago-Haver
32. Indianapolis-Franko
OK, with the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Oakland……
…….really needs to make this pick count. It’s pretty tough to find a franchise QB anywhere except early in the draft. Obvious exceptions exist but can’t be counted on. One problem is that everyone slots the best 2-3 QB prospects at the top of the draft board every year, whether they desreve it or not.
Jamarcus Russell has “all the tools”- big, fast, strong arm, poise, etc. In a perfect world he’ll turn into a combination of Doug Williams, John Elway, and Daunte Culpepper. So naturally the word “upside” comes up a lot. My problem with “upside” is that the best QBs in the league don’t really have most of the tools you need to have it. Russell has looked great at times and I loved watching him make plays on the college level- where he was bigger and faster than the DEs, and his recievers ended up open by 15 yards. The reason the Raiders should pass on him is because the tool he lacks is by far the most important- consistent accuracy on every throw in the playbook. SEC experience makes me consider him harder and I do believe it’s possible for him to overcome his shortcomings. The potential payoff is there but I wouldn’t take him until much later in the round.
Brady Quinn looks much safer to me. It’s easy to point to some rough games last year, but even in the NFL a quarterback will look bad when his teammates are outmatched. I don’t see him as a slam dunk but in the right situation I think you can win with him. Sure, he could turn into Harrington or Couch as well but that’s a chance I’d have to take to get my franchise quarterback- if I was picking 10 picks later.
Wide receivers have the worst ratio between theri contribution to winning and the hype they receive. You can plug in middle-rounders easier than at any other position. That said there’s only one player in this draft that will give you a clear advantage over the player he lines up against from day 1.
After breifely considering some trade options, and after wishing they’d made a play for a free agent QB, the Raiders select…….
CALVIN JOHNSON, WR Georgia Tech.
thegreatawakening
April 8, 2007
Well, Matt Millen is relieved. The debate of whether to take anotherwideout in the first round has been abolished by the Raiders taking Calvin Johnson. The pressure is off Millen…for now. So now Millen sits in the war room with two things on his mind: how does he still have a job, and should he go offense or defense?
Detroit ranked 22nd in the NFL in total offense and 28th in total defense. So, really they could go either way. And if going with the old adage of defense wins championships, the Lions should roll with a defensive player. But, is this team looking to win a championship or just wins some games? This team hasn’t had a winning record since 2000. This team needs a backbone, not a filler pick. This is why they are going quarterback.
Jon Kitna is a very serviceable quarterback in this league. Last year, he had 21 touchdowns (though 22 ints), while passing for over 4,200 yards. We have seen him hold down the fort for Seattle and Cincinnati, while young QB’s get their grip on the game. Carson Palmer sat a year behind Kitna before taking over for the Bengals. Palmer is now one the best gunners in the league.
The last time Detroit took at high profile quarterback was Joey Harrington. The kid was thrown directly into the fire. He played 14 games his rookie year, and has never thrown for 20 TD’s in a season. How many times have we seen NFL teams screw this up by starting QB’s when they’re not ready? Of course there are exceptions, like Peyton Manning and possibly Vince Young…but more often than not, it’s a disaster. Take Big Ben in Pittsburgh. When the team relied on him this year, the motorcycle-enthused gunslinger suffered.
So Brady or Russell? I think it’s a no-brainer…especially in a Mike Martz system. Trent Green, Kurt Warner, and Marc Bulger…all pocket passers…all successful in the system. JeMarcus Russell is a tank, who creates his own system. He can scramble, take risks, and rely on athletic receivers. If you look at Brady Quinn, he is the total system-quarterback. At Notre Dame, Charlie Weiss invoked an offense that is essentially a well-oiled machine. Quinn prospered, putting up monster numbers. This shouldn’t be any different under Martz. Granted, Quinn struggled in big games, but when will Detroit ever have a big game…seriously.
WARNING: If Brady plays his first year, look for another Joey Harrington situation.
With the second pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select…
BRADY QUINN, QB, NOTRE DAME
On the Clock: Cleveland Browns, GM Matt Wells
wvudanks
April 9, 2007
When Romeo Crennel took over the Cleveland Browns in February of 2005 the team was in complete disarray. Crennel brought with him a championship mentality and 34 years of coaching experience mainly on the defensive side of the ball.
In 2005, he had the 3rd pick in the draft and selected WR Braylon Edwards, followed by SS Brodney Pool, and QB Charlie Frye in the first 3 rounds. Well Edwards has been plagued by injuries, but led the team in receiving yards last season. Pool led the team in tackles last year and Frye was thrown into the fire in 2005 and has been the starting QB ever since. (although he served a brief stint on the injured list at the end of last yr)
In 2006, Cleveland had the 13th pick in the first rd and Crennel focused on what he knew best: Defense. 6 of his 8 picks were non-offensive players headlined by OLB Kamerion Wimbley in the first rd, and ILB D’Qwell Jackson in the 2nd. Both ranked in the top 5 on Cleveland in tackles.
Now in his third year, Crennel has the third pick again and has some nice pieces in place. However, his team ranked 27th in Team Defense and 31st on offense, so he still has some holes to fill.
DL, OL, and CB are all positions of need.
The DL is anchored by veteran Ted Washington, but not much else. Kamerion Wimbley led this team with 11 of the Browns 28 team sacks. Wimbley is a hybrid but mainly plays OLB. So I could see them taking Gaines Adams.
OL is where most championships are won and you really will have trouble succeeding running or passing the ball without protection. So I could see them drafting Joe Thomas.
I don’t even want to address CB because there is not a player worthy of this high of a pick here. However, what about an offseason trade for Asante Samuel?
No I think the Browns will go after the best player available at this point and then address these positions of need later on in the draft or in the remaining offseason.
I think the logical choice comes at RB after the Browns sent Reuben Droughns packing for the Big Apple after a disappointing 2006 campaign and signed Jamal Lewis to fill the void. Lewis is hardly a long term solution and I’m not sure what his role will end up being. Jerome Harrison is still a player who intrigues me at RB, but if the Browns are going to score points they are going to have to draft a franchise RB to take some pressure off of Charlie Frye. 2 and 3 RB systems are the new trend in some NFL cities (See Jacksonville and Dallas) and I could see it working here in Cleveland as well.
Therefore with the 3rd pick in the NFL Draft the Cleveland Browns select:
ADRIAN PETERSON, RB, Oklahoma
On the Clock: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, GM Jeff Grace
Wells
April 10, 2007
They made no point to hide the fact they wanted CJ. But with the best player in the draft taken by Oakland at #1 (let’s hope he doesn’t sink into the black hole that is the Oakland offense), their sight must be set elsewhere.
Gruden signed Jeff Garcia to be his #1. Plain and simple. He is not just competition for Simms. No one knows how Chrissy boy will come back from his horrific injury. Even before the injury, he was only 58/106 for 585 yds (54.7% comp. rate) with 1 TD and 7 INT’s and a QB rating of 46.3 in 3 games. That rating would have been good for last place in the league.
Garcia is not the long-term answer in Tampa. Simms MAY be, but probably is not either. Does Gruden take a flyer on a physical specimen, JaMarcus? Does he go with the “safe” pick in Joe Thomas? Or does he bolster a defense that ranked 17th and had only had 25 sacks all of last year with Gaines Adams?
The teams best pass rusher, Simeon Rice, is entering his 13th season in the NFL and had only 2 sacks last year. They need a big name pass-rushing end to add to the aging defense, who has the versatility to stand up and play LB in the NFL.
The Bucs select the freakishly-talented Gaines Adams, DE Clemson
Jeff
April 10, 2007
If this scenario plays out in the draft, the Arizona Cardinals should and will be one happy franchise. They will have options to choose to bolster either the Offensive Line or the Defensive Line. New coach Ken Whisenhunt is going to be looking to make some changes on how the Cardinals play football, so this is whats going to happen…
It would be tempting to take a player like Alan Branch simply because of his size and strength (6′6 325) but since the middle of this past season at Michigan, there has been some cause of concern of Branch ‘disappearing” during the game and/or being a non factor. Now there has been rumors about his lack of conditioning that could possibly hurt his status, but at the same time it would be real tough to pass on a junior in college who is 6′6 325lbs and has room to grow and develop into a top D linemen probably sooner then later.
There is also on the defensive end of things, Amobi Okoye, who as a senior had a tremendous year leading Louisville’s defensive squad. My concern with him, is at 6′2, 287 it would be tough to choose him over Branch simply because of his smaller size. I think his height will ultimately cause Branch to be selected before him.
With that being said……..the Arizona Cardinals will select with their #5 pick in the draft…..
I think this won’t be much of a surprise being that Ken Whisenhunt, their new head coach, plans on becoming a more physical and aggressive offensive. What would help Edge and Matt Leinart better then 6′6 313lbs of pure muscle, better then Joe Thomas? This guy could move a house if you asked him to. He should be able to step in and open up holes for Edge, which will open up the passing game for Matt Leinart, who in his second year will be coming around even more. Thomas is intelligent, quick on his feet, strong as a Ox and is very agile for his size.
There you have it folks
Joe Thomas, OT Wisconsin
JD
April 10, 2007
We at the Washington Redskins are disappointed that Gaines Adams is not available to us with the 6th pick in the National Football League Draft. With that being said, we want to make a point that we would gladly take Adams at #6 if he were available to us. But, Adams is not available, which forces us to re-examine who we want.
The Redskins have a ton of money, which means higher paid coaches than every other team in the league. Daniel Snyder has not been shy about opening up his wallet to attract the best coaches that many can buy. Joe Gibbs returns to lead an impressive staff, which includes Al Saunders at Offensive Coordinator and Gregg Williams at Defensive Coordinator.
Al’s offense has us real excited, what with Jason Campbell taking over the reins as starting QB and the electric backfield duo of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. We are still happy to boast Santana Moss as our #1 WR along with Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El, who is a threat to reach the endzone on every punt he returns.
Gregg’s defense, meanwhile, is our problem child. As has been our tendency, we waded into the Free Agency waters to try and fix this area, signing LB London Fletcher, CB Fred Smoot, and CB David Macklin. We are extremely interested in LB Lance Briggs, he of the Chicago Bears, and we have offered this #6 pick for the services of Mr. Briggs, a deal that still could happen. We are also interested in talking to New England about CB Asante Samuel, but all of this trade talk is just speculation at this point.
We struggled against the run last year, particularly between the tackles. Worse was our pass rush, which produced 20 sacks, good enough for last in the league. Our secondary is solid if unspectacular with the aforementioned Smoot and Macklin, along with Shawn Springs and Carlos Rogers; hey, at least all of these guys were high draft picks, right?
We believe that there are some good quality players available to us now, including Michigan’s Alan Branch, Amobi Okoye of Louisville, and Arkansas’ Jamaal Anderson. Assuming we keep this #6 pick (we at the Redskins haven’t valued our draft picks all that much since Mr. Snyder took over; in fact, we have only 5 picks in the entire draft and none after this one until Round 5), we believe that it is imperative to select one of these talented young man to help Gregg’s defense become the best it can be.
With the Number Six pick in the 2007 National Football League Player Draft, the Washington Redskins gladly select:
Alan Branch, Defensive Tackle, University of Michigan
A mountain of a man, Branch is big, strong and aggressive, and opposing offensive linemen know they are always in for a long day against the outstanding run stuffer. Branch’s importance to the team can’t be measured by his statistics. The true gauge is the success of others around him, as Branch is known for his ability to consistently tie up multiple blockers and shut down the inside running game.
The Washington Redskins are extremely excited about this selection and thank you, the fans, for your continued support.
The Minnesota Vikings, led by General Manager Thav, are on the clock…and let’s hope they remember this time so as to avoid the embarrasment of letting the clock run out on their 1st round pick, as they did in 2003.
Cheers!
Raible
April 10, 2007
5, 4, 3, 2…….
And the card is on the way to the podium. Everyone breaths in a deep sigh of relief.
Why did we, The Minnesota Vikings, once again take our fully allotted time? Well we’re freakin retards to begin with but mainly because once again we’re at a loss of what to do. On the phones constantly to make a deal, we were shocked no one bit. We loved that JaMarcus Russell fell and thought this was our chance to move down. But everyone we called was on the other line with super agent Casey Sussman and we were unable to make things happen.
I hate to say it’s a big offseason for us because let’s be serious, they all are. 2006 was Brad’s (coach Brad Childress) first year as coach and we only won six games. This was after having nine, eight, and nine wins the previous three seasons. Those seasons didn’t get us anywhere either and we’re hoping we took one step backwards to take five forward.
Some of the “experts” might think JaMarcus Russell is the pick here. I understand, he could be a star and our quarterback is Tavaris Jackson. But we went after Jackson hard in last season’s draft and traded up to make sure we got him. It would be unfair to him and our organization to already draft another QB. Part of me thinks, “If we took Russell and they both looked great we could trade one and get great value for the other” but it’s just not something I want to do.
I see a lot of “experts” think we should take a DE here. Maybe if Gaines Adams was available we’d look at him, but I’d still pass. Two of our previous three first round picks were D-ends, Kenechi Udeze and Erasmus James. While they’ve both battled injuries, we’re not giving up yet. We also have two guys we really like behind them in Darrion Scott and Ray Edwards. We love Amobi Okoye’s upside at defensive tackle and he’s so young that it’s intriguing but with Kevin Williams and Pat Williams in the middle we felt like we had to go elsewhere. I love MLB Patrick Willis but we were strong against the run last year and once again, don’t feel it’s a big enough need.
Our choice came down to two players. WR Robert Meachem and FS Laron Landry. Maybe you’re starting to realize why we take so damn long every year. I think too much. But if I wasn’t fully analyzing things I wouldn’t be doing my job.
Wide Receiver is a glaring weakness for us. Travis Taylor and Marcus Robinson are gone, Koren Robinson and Nate Burleson left us the previous offseason. We signed Bobby Wade this year but are still thin at the position. This isn’t a sign we’re giving up on Troy Williamson, this is a sign we really need wide receivers. We were extremely disappointed when Kevin Curtis turned us down. Other than Williamson and Wade, the three wideouts on our roster are Billy McMullen, Martin Nance and Jason Carter. That’s a combined 97 catches. I like USC WR Dwayne Jarrett a lot but the rest of our staff disagrees. Some teams might have Ohio St WR Ted Ginn as the highest receiver on their board but we fill he’s too similar to Williamson. We want someone bigger and someone more productive in college. Meachem had an unbelievable junior season at Tennessee and his workouts were off the charts. LSU’s Dwayne Bowe was a close second on our charts. The main thing holding us back here is that we feel wide receiver is the deepest position in the draft and could be looking at players like Anthony Gonzalez, Sidney Rice, Chris Davis, Jason Hill and Steve Smith.
This leads me to Landry. I think a lot of the “experts” think Landry is a slam dunk here. The kid is an amazing prospect. His brother Dawon shocked everyone last season with the Ravens and had an outstanding rookie campaign. Laron has EVERYTHING going for him. We have him as by far the best safety in the draft. Here in Minnesota we hear you guys talk. We were the best against the run and the worst against the pass. We’re aware. But do any of you actually look deeper into the stats? Our running defense was so good that teams HAD to pass. We gave up 14 yards per game less than the next best run defense. We allowed 2.8 yards per carry, a full half-yard better than anyone else in the league. Yes, we tied with Cincinnati for the most passing yards allowed per game. Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals. We know it sounds bad. But look deeper. We were 12th in yards per attempt! Quarterbacks actually had the fifth lowest passer rating against us! You read that correctly. FIFTH LOWEST!!! Fred Smoot is gone at cornerback but we think 2006 second round pick Cedric Griffin is ready to take over. Our 2006 first round pick Chad Greenway will be back and so will Udeze. We think we’ll be even tough against the run and we think we’ll provide more pressure on the quarterback, which we feel is as important as any factor when talking about secondary play. 2006 fifth round pick and safety Greg Blue had a solid rookie season for us. We look for him to only get better. We still have Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith back there, too.
We love Landry and think he’d be a great addition to our team. But we like our defense. We like our team. We are confident with Tavaris Jackson but we want to surround him with the best possible talent. Our offensive line has a great mix ofyouth and experience, our running game has three guys we like and we even have two bruisers at tight end. We need wide receivers and we don’t want to wait until the second round. New Vice President of Player Personnel brought 25 potential candidates in for us to look at. Adams and Darelle Revis were two of the biggest names. But in the end we’re going with the third and final bigtime prospect that visited.
In true Minnesota fashion, with one second left on the clock, we select, Wide Receiver out of Tennessee, Robert Meacham. If we chose 10 seconds ago it probably would have been Landry. In ten more seconds it might have been Bowe. We really would have liked to trade down. But there is something to be said about being able to pick the player WE want, not the player we were LEFT with. The pick was now and the pick was Meachem. Now let’s head to the boat and party people!
Haver
April 12, 2007
With the 8th selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons Select…………
LaRon Landry, Safety – LSU
The Falcons front office had a very difficult time deciding between Landry, Jamal Anderson and Okoye.
We know everyone always wants us to find that “great WR compliment to Michael Vick,” but we feel that this organization has prioritized that at the expense of the rest of the team for too long. Our new head coach Bobby Petrino feels comfortable with our wide-outs led by our veteran free agent acquisition, Joe Horn.
Our team is also more than comfortable with the state of our backfield. We feel strongly that Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood is one of the most underrated RB combo’s in the league. We also brought in free agent FB Ovie Mughelli to help our RB’s get to the second level of the defense, where they are most dangerous.
Offensive line is an area of concern for us. We lack much needed depth and we plan to be aggressive in this area later on in the draft. Because our RB’s are best when in the open field, and we have a QB that stretches the pocket like no other, we value o-lineman that don’t necessarily fit the prototypical mold. We want to try to get smaller, quicker lineman that can pull and block downfield for Vick and out RB’s.
We made a very large financial commitment to John Abraham last year. Rushing the passer from the DE position is critical in our 4-3 base defense, and when healthy (albeit rarely), no one is more of a threat. Unfortunately, we lost Patrick Kearny to free agency this year, leaving us with a glaring need at DE. Jamal Anderson is fantastic player and has top notch intangibles. We would feel very fortunate to have him on our team.
As much as we like Okoye, we are very comfortable with our rotation at DT. We like our Veteran combo of Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson. Jonathan Babineaux was a recent draft pick of ours who we feel gives us depth in the short-term and can take over as a starter in the future.
Keith Brooking is our standout MLB and critical component to our defense. As much as we like him, we feel there is a great deal of room for improvement at both OLB spots. While we aren’t neglecting this need, we don’t feel like there is value at this position with the 8th overall selection.
The Falcons have spent two #1 draft picks in recent years in trying to build a young secondary with the proper skill and attitude to shut down an opponent’s passing game. We feel very good about having Jimmy Willaims and DeAngelo Hall at CB. Unfortunately, not having quality safety’s has stunted the overall growth of the secondary. We hope to fix that today by selecting LaRon Landry.
This pick allows us to pick who we felt was one of the 2-3 best players available and fill a huge need by upgrading the secondary. The better our secondary is, the better our pass rush will be, and Landry has shown he is adept in helping to shut down the passing game, and supporting the front 7 in the running game.
The Miami Dolphins are on the clock………….
Dwade
April 12, 2007
First, I would like to say that I am glad to finally be sitting in this seat representing the franchise that I have grown to love (and hate) over the past 25 years. With new head coach, Cam Cameron, we are turning over a new leaf and addressing the fact that our once potent offense has not matched the consistency on the defensive side of the ball for quite some time.
Our team has yet to recover from the loss of Dan Marino which is closing in on a decade now while the Daunte Culpepper saga continues into year two. Although that weighs heavily in our minds each year we are not prepared to take the talented Jamarcus Russell from LSU. Head Coach Cameron believes that Culpepper can return to be our starter with the notion that Cleo Lemon is a more than capable backup. We also that he can address the position later in the draft, potential suitors being Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards. However, if Brady Quinn would have fallen to this pick we were prepared to take him without hesitation. We liked the system that Quinn played under for Charlie Weis at ND while we feel we’d have to spend more time polishing Russell while rebuilding a supporting cast for the former Tiger.
The oft criticized unit for our team has been the offensive line, and rightfully so. It’s been awful for since we’ve lost Richmond Webb. We have perennially tried to get by with career backups and this is a big concern for Coach. Last year he sent rookie Marcus McNeill to the Pro Bowl and he was drafted with the 50th pick, so there is the possibility we could also address this pick later in the draft. Coach has real mixed emotions on Levi Brown, and thinks that he’s too much of a risk/reward pick here.
WR/TE are other positions we took a quick glance at but with elite pass catchers Calvin Johnson and Robert Meachem off of the board, we felt that the next tier of WR’s would be available to us in the 2nd rd if we chose to go in that direction. Also, stud TE Greg Olsen is going to be special in this league, but we are not prepared to take him at #9.
On the other side of the ball, our defense isn’t getting any younger and one position of considerable concern is DT. Keith Traylor, Vonnie Holliday and Dan Wilkinson are formidable veterans in the middle, but they are 38, 32 and 34 respectively and Manny Wright is still sulking at the end of the bench. Well we were looking long and hard at the University of Michigan’s Alan Branch before he went 6th to the Washington Redskins, but also think that Amobi Okoye could be a great fit in our 3-4 scheme under coach Dom Capers. Okoye who is just 20 years old, played four years at the University of Louisville and has a huge ceiling in terms of potential. We really like what Amobi brings to the table, especially in our defensive scheme. Another player we liked along the DL is Adam Carriker because of his versatility to play either DE or DT.
We won’t even attack the DB’s here because we already wasted our first rd pick on one last year thanks to that other guy that used to coach here. Plus, we are not very high on any of the players here other than Laron Landry who is off the board.
Now you may call us crazy because we have listed all of these players and we like all of them in one way, shape, or form. But at the end of the day we are just in love with one player in particular.
With the 9th pick in the NFL Draft the front office of the Miami Dolphins select:
Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State
At the end of the day, we love the upside here after he broke out of the shadows of Ernie Sims and AJ Nicholson. We are very thin at LB and while the signing of Joey Porter was a solid move for us, neither he nor Zach Thomas is getting any younger. Timmons, in our minds is a naturally gifted athlete with a 4.59 40 yard dash and although he might not be as cerebral as Paul Poz we think that he can play an immediate impact here. We were fourth in total defense last year but again aren’t getting any younger and Timmons will get to learn from the likes of Jason Taylor and Porter while contributing to a strong front 7 that will have to take pressure off of our DB’s.
The Houston Texans are on the clock…
Wells
April 13, 2007
It was an ugly scene. We were driving down the Texas interstate late one night when here comes an 18-wheeler, barrelling towards us in the wrong lane. The last thing we saw were the headlights.
Awake. Our beaten body aches at every nerve. Broken ribs, split lips, punctured lungs, and severed limbs. Looks like we’re gonna be on the shelf for a while. The doctor comes in. “Rather than playing ‘put the off-brand bandaid on the ugliest wound’”, he says, “let’s just dedicate today to completely curing just one thing that ails you. I know you’re punctured lung hurts like hell and you won’t walk again til we get that fixed. But we only have time to get you in there with one surgeon today, and the best damn orthopedic in Texas happens to be in this hospital right now. So I’m gonna get you in there with the one man who can put that busted leg back together. We’ll take care of those lungs some other day. After all, it ain’t like you’re walking outta here this week no matter what we do.”
Seriously. This team sucks. So what crushed David Carr’s hopes and dreams more- the moldy swiss cheese line or the pitiful parade of brittle, unproductive offensive posers split out wide? It’s also not like the offense was letting down a great defense either. This team sucks.
I can’t really take issue with Levi here. Nothing wrong with plugging that black hole opposite Robinson either. Schaub could use a receiver too. And Ahman Green’s not exactly the future at tailback. This team sucks.
The biggest hole on this team isn’t at a single position. It’s the utter dearth of talent across the entire roster. Seriously. This team sucks. We’re not gonna walk outta here with a couple splints and some gauze. We need some big time transplants and I’m hunting for the best looking body part I can find.
I’m scrolling down that list and I’m seeing three names I like- Moss, Okoye, Lynch. A quick glance at my depth charts shows me I’m won’t exactly be blocking the next big thing no matter what I do. My next tiebreaker is scheme. We don’t really love to throw to the RB or move around our D-linemen either, but we do run the old zone-block attack and another edge rusher might free up Normal-Mario. (I’m seriously starting to think all this, I was going Okoye all the way when I started this.) Oh wait, what about later on in the draft…..hmmmm……
With the 10th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Houston Oilers select….
Amobi Okoye, Man-Child, Louisville
thegreatawakening
April 13, 2007
Sorry for the delay guys, busy weekend.
The 49ers are an interesting story. They came out of nowhere last year, and actually made a late playoff push, only to miss it yet again. But what a job Mike Nolan has done with that squad, and to cliche this situation…the future is only bright for San Fran.
The Niners were one of the most active teams during free agency, and brought quite a few potential impact guys. Starting with the overpriced, Nate Clements. Don’t get me wrong, Clements is one of the best shutdown backs on the league, but his price was rough. In better deals, they signed Tully Banta-Cain from the Pats, Ashley Lelie from the dirty South, and Michael Lewis from Philly. With the exception of Lelie, the Niners brought in defense to bulk up a crew that allowed over 340 yards per game…one of the worst in the entire league.
Now that San Fran bulked up on defense with Free Agency, one would think they go offense for their first pick. More than likely a stud wide out for their youngster Alex Smith to go deep to. Smith averaged less than 170 yards through the air per game. If the Niners want to compete that has to get much much better. But, the Niners don’t need to go wideout yet. Calvin Johnson is off the board, they can wait till the seventh round to find a speedster. Just look at the Saints last year…Marques Colston with the fourth to last pick.
San Fran needs defense, and what better way to build a young defense than with a sold defense lineman. Right now, that line is captained by 64 year-old Bryant Young…why not bring in a youngster to learn from him, so he could eventually take over the duties. They need a guy, who can lead by example, much like a Richard Seymour or Jason Taylor. There is a kid out of Nebraska, who is a match made in football heaven for Nolan. Someone, who will help them go from 7-9 to 9-7, because that is probably all they need to win the west.
The San Francisco 49ers select Adam Carricker, DE, Nebraska
The Buffalo Bills with Wells on the clock.
wvudanks
April 15, 2007
Before I get to this year’s first round selection, I’d like to address Bills fans that think we have already given up on the 2007 season.
“The Buffalo Bills have decided to turn a new page in our storied franchise history and felt that the losses of featured tailback Willis McGahee as well as LB’s London Fletcher-Baker and Takeo Spikes and CB Nate Clements were necessary for us to move on.”
“Rest assured that we have a contingency plan in place and feel that we can address positions of concern in this year’s draft as well as the remainder of free agency.”
Now we have 8 draft picks this year with 4 coming in the top 100 and feel that we can make significant moves that would cost us less in the next few seasons then we were paying/would have to pay to retain Willis, Nate, London and Takeo.
With that said those four players have left us with glaring holes. At RB, we not only are confident that Anthony Thomas and Shaud Williams COULD carry the load, but we are fully prepared to take a RB this year. However, that Running Back will not be Marshawn Lynch. While he is a a rare specimen, we are unsure about some character issues and feel we can get similar value at this position with one of our next 3 picks. Players we have our eyes on are Kenny Irons, Antonio Pittman, Michael Bush and Tony Hunt.
At CB, we like what we see from Leon Hall, Darrelle Revis and Chris Houston, but have had alot of success evaluating this position in the past couple of years and will be able to find value as well later in the draft if necessary. (McCauley, Wright, Jackson, Hughes+) On the contrary though we are excited about giving a good look at Kiwaukee Thomas, Terence Mcghee and Ashton Youboty all of which are currently on our roster.
We feel more confident in addressing our LB Corps with this pick and one player stands out to us. So with the 12th pick in the NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills select:
Patrick Willis, ILB, Mississippi
Willis who was the Butkus award winner this year is the total package of athleticism (4.38 40 yard dash) and instincts. (265 Tackles, 22 TFL, 6 Sacks in last two years at Ole Miss) We feel that he is the best player on the board at this point for what we need, let alone the best on the board period. Patrick will be a player that we will look to re-build our defense around and feel he can come in and lead this unit from day 1.
On the Clock: St. Louis Rams, GM Yetti
Wells
April 16, 2007
“Steven, we’re on the clock. What do we do?”
“Well coach. We have the greatest show on turf still. Even if Torry and Isaac are nearing their 40’s. Our offense is aight. Its our defense who needs help. Didn’t we rank 31st against the rush last year. Yeah..yeah, we did. Gotta go d line coach!”
“Thanks Steven..oh, and how’s the hair?”
To win games in the NFL, you have to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. Something we did not do well at all last year. Something we did not do AT ALL last year. Our pass defense will only get better with more experience and with a better pash rush. We cannot afford to let opposing teams QB’s have 7 seconds to throw the damn ball every down. We fully expect last year’s #1 pick Tye Hill to step up and act like a #1, shut down corner. As he showed at times last year he has the potential.
Ideally, we would have loved to see one of the top 2 DT’s (Branch, Okoye) slip to us. We could have used that run stuffer in the middle. We would have also liked to grab a top flight LB, but after Willis they all seem to blend together, so we did not want to “reach” here.
However, we almost shat our pants when Mr. Jamaal Anderson dropped to us. The kid is only 21 years old, ran a 4.78 40 in his pro-day workout, and has room on his 6′5 283lb frame to grow if he works out with Tim Haver 7 days a week, which I think we can arrange. We love and welcome his motor and alertness. He has time to improve his run defense as well, once he comes in to mini camp and gets to work. The kid had 13.5 sacks for Arkansas last year, so we know he can motor and get to the quarterback. He will need to work to become the every down player we know he can..but there is nothing in his past that leads us to believe he won’t give 110% 100% of the time.
Thus, this pick comes as no surprise. We, the Rams de Saint Louis with the 13th pick in the 2007 NFL draft, select DE Jamaal Anderson from Arkansas.
Steven Jackson–”Hell yeah”
Jeff
April 17, 2007
With clearly the biggest name still on the board, we are having a tough time with this pick. It seems like the obvious pick here would be to take a JaMarcus Russell, based on the production and numbers he has put up during his time at LSU. Its hard to argue against a guy who has increased his passer rating over 40 points in his 3 yr stint as QB. With 342 attempts and only 8 interceptions in his junior yr, his eyes are on the target and he knows where the ball has to go. With Jake Delhomme hitting the age (32) where most quarterbacks bodies start physically breaking down and the ever continuing questions about the ability of David Carr, its tough to pass up JaMarcus.
We are though. We felt that although they’re are plenty of positives surrounding this young talent, the lack of speed (vince young, michael vick) really just makes him a younger Daunte Culpepper, which isn’t necessarily are bad thing, just something we aren’t willing to draft with the 13th pick overall. Heres what we are going to do.
Since we ranked 24th out of 32 in total offense, I only see it fit we draft offensively. We need to help out Steve Smith in the worst way, and with Deangelo Williams going into his 2nd yr, theres one game changing talent that could help immediately: Ted Ginn, Jr.
What better way to compliment Steve Smith, then with Ted Ginn Jr. He averaged over 13 yrds per catch and also averaged over 24 yards per kick off return. He is quick and has a knack for finding the open seams and using them to his advantage. He has to build a little more of his frame, but that will come with time.
With the 14th pick in 2007 draft, Carolina selects:
Ted Ginn Jr, OSU
Other possible picks: S, TE, LB
Michael Griffen, Reggie Nelson could instantly fill the open Safety position Carolina has.
Greg Olsen TE, Miami – Would of been a great pick for a team that vowed to throw the ball to their TE more this year. Ultra quick for TE and would of been a good fit.
Paul Posluszny, John Beason could be guys Carolina could of used to fill their oft-injured linebacking core.
In the end, Ginn Jr’s talent and ability was to much to pass up.
JD
April 18, 2007
Let’s talk Steelers first…
The Black and Gold are about 1 1/2 years removed from winning the Super Bowl, so it’s not like there is a ton of work that needs done in the Burgh. Mike Tomlin takes over for the departed and long tenured Bill Cowher, a story that is sure to dominate the headlines throughout the season. Dick LeBeau returns for another go around as the leader of the defense, although Tomlin may be pushing for a move to a 4-3 defense sooner rather than later.
On offense, Big Ben is still a terrific option as a franchise QB, Fast Willie Parker is a Pro Bowl RB, and the WR corps appears to be on the way up with perennial stud Hines Ward teaming up with Santonio Holmes, who will be coming off an impressive rookie campaign. Heath Miller is as good of a TE as there is, in my opinion, and the kicking game is in good hands (or would it be feet?) with Jeff Reed. The main question mark on offense has to be the OL; Jeff Hartings has retired, Alan Faneca has one year left on his contract and seems upset that the team didn’t hire Russ Grimm to be head coach, and Max Starks and Kendall Simmons seem to have regressed a bit since the Super Bowl winning season.
On defense, emotional leader Joey Porter was released this offseason, leaving the defense in the capable hands of Troy Polamalu, James Farrior, Larry Foote, Aaron Smith, and Casey Hampton. Brett Keisel combines with Smith and Hampton to form a solid DL in the current 3-4 scheme, while Farrior and Foote will be joined by Clark Haggans and James Harrison at LB. The Secondary always seems to be a question mark in Pittsburgh, but the team seems to be relatively set at Safety with Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Anthony Smith, and Tyrone Carter. And there are some exciting young CB’s still around in Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, and Ricardo Colclough. It might finally be time for Chris Gardocki to go away as Punter, though.
The Steelers were 8-8 last year, but I think with a little tweaking, they could find themselves back in the playoffs and a threat to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the sixth time. With that being said, here are the areas that I would like to see them address:
-Pass Rushing Defensive End/Linebacker: Depending on what scheme they plan to employ, I think that the Steelers need to find someone who can get after the QB. Porter was a whole lot of talk, but he also had a knack for taking down the QB. With Porter gone, the pass rushing duties fall on the shoulders of Haggans, Harrison, Smith, and Kiesel; while solid, none of the 4 are going to be confused with Steeler greats from years past. A guy like Lawrence Timmons or Jarvis Moss makes a ton of sense here.
-Offensive Line Depth: With Faneca looking more and more like he is going to leave after this year, the Steelers could be facing a complete overhaul of their O-Line. Gone already is Russ Grimm, who was the architect of the stout line that took home the hardware after the ‘05 season. I don’t know if the Steelers could find someone to step in and play right away, but addressing their depth in this year’s draft would be a smart move.
-Cornerback: Taylor was a big disappointment last season after getting his lucrative contract extension, but he is still young and is only 1 year removed from serving his role as the “shut-down” CB. McFadden has showed some promise in his career thus far, and Colclough was a 2nd round pick a few years ago. Deshea Townsend is still around to provide a veteran presence, too. The only way I see the Steelers taking a CB with their first pick is if a shut-down corner is available, someone like Darrelle Revis of Pitt (Revis, as WVU fans can attest, could also be a threat in the return game).
I don’t think that the Steelers need to address their RB situation as much as some other people do; I actually like the combination of Parker and Najeh Davenport. If the Steelers could find a RB later in the draft (Kenny Irons or even Tony Hunt – I suppose), then it might not be a bad idea to add one, but I don’t think it’s a priority.
Nor do I think that WR is a huge priority; Ward is one of the best receivers in the league, still, and Holmes showed some promise in his rookie season. Cedrick Wilson is a serviceable 3rd WR, too. This draft, however, is loaded with WR, so if the Steelers could snatch one at some point, it might not be a bad idea. I read somewhere that had the Steelers taking Dwayne Jarrett from USC in the 2nd Round; if this happens, I’ll cry from excitement!
The way I see it, I think that the Steelers are going to take Timmons if he is available. Tomlin seems to have taken a liking to this guy, seemingly loving his potential; Tomlin even personally attended his workout at FSU to see the player first-hand. I actually think that Wells might have taken Timmons too high in this draft; my prediction is that the Steelers will draft Lawrence Timmons with their 1st Round pick.
But, Timmons is not available to the Black and Gold in this draft. So, with that being said, I think that the pick comes down to 2 men: Moss and Revis. The “homer” in me says that Revis should be the guy, namely because he was a star at the University of Pittsburgh and Aliquippa High School, located just minutes away from downtown Pittsburgh. Revis is a special player, a shut-down CB, and, as I mentioned, a real threat as a Punt Returner.
However, I think that the Steelers need to address their need for a Pass Rusher more so than a CB; besides, Willie Reid should be healed and ready to be the Punt Returner next season, and boy is he dangerous as Penn State fans (Yetti) can agree with. That need for a Pass Rusher leads us to Jarvis Moss, who is simply a freak of nature; Moss’ performance in the Florida-South Carolina game last year was simply sensational and eye-opening. At this point, Moss appears to be the best Pass Rusher left.
Because I love Revis but think that Moss is the better pick, I opened this decision up to the people, posting a poll on our Fantasy Baseball website that asked who the Steelers should select. The people have spoken…
With the 15th pick in the 2007 National Football League Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida.
Raible
April 18, 2007
And now for the Packers…
First, a note: Brett Favre is my favorite football player of all time and, in my opinion, the greatest QB to ever play the game. I have been a fan of #4 since he became the starting QB in Green Bay, as my old friend Tim Haver can attest to. It gives me great pleasure that Brett has decided to return for another season, looking for that one final shot to get the Pack into the Playoffs.
The Packers showed a lot of promise last year, enough to bring Favre back for yet another season despite rumors that he was on his way out. The young OL seems to have started to gel, and the defense came on as the season progressed.
Donald Driver, meanwhile, is as good as they come at WR, and Greg Jennings has shown some promise as a young WR on the rise. Charles Woodson appears to have found his ball hawking skills, and, speaking of hawks, A.J. Hawk proved to be a terrific draft pick, anchoring a defense that, as I mentioned, improved through the course of the season. Aaron Rogers is still around, too, as the “QB of the future.”
Gone, however, is Ahman Green at RB, leaving Vernand Morency as the current starter. While blessed with some potential, anyone who saw the Monday Night game last season between the Packers and Eagles knows that the Packers can’t be a Playoff team with Morency as their featured back. Cal’s Marshawn Lynch, a guy similar in size and style to Green, would certainly fit the bill.
I really don’t think that the Packers are that far away from contending for a Divisional Title, particularly if Rex Grossman struggles under center for the Bears. I do, however, think that the Packers could look at some other positions in this draft, particularly if Lynch is gone by the time that they pick:
Wide Receiver/Tight End: I think that the Packers should and will attempt to find a playmaker for Favre with their 1st pick; if it’s not Lynch, then one of the great WR projected to go in the 1st round could fit the bill here. Driver isn’t getting any younger, to boot.
Cornerback: Also a position where guys aren’t getting any younger is CB, where the Packers feature solid veterans Al Harris and Woodson. Someone like Revis would cerainly be a nice addition here.
Quarterback: It will also be interesting to see what the Packers decide to do about their “QB of the future,” especially if Russell falls, as he has in this draft. Remember, the Packers drafted Rogers after he fell from a potential #1 pick, a situation that Russell could face in this year’s draft. I can’t see the Packers taking Russell with Rogers already on their roster, but they might be able to trade away Rogers and/or Russell.
Like I said, though, I see the Packers taking someone to make life easier on Favre, especially now that Green has left for, dare I say it, GREENER pastures. With that being said, I see this pick as a no-brainer:
With the 16th pick in the 2007 National Football League Draft, the Green Bay Packers select Marshawn Lynch, RB, California-Berkeley.
Raible
April 18, 2007
On offense, we feel comfortable at QB. David Garrard has shown the ability to come in and be a strong leader on the field, with a better than expected pocket presence and a great arm. And our organization still has confidence that Byron Leftwich can be a big time QB in this league. (Although his time is running out). We thought long and hard about Russell here, because lets face it; how can you not? But we feel that we have 2 QB’s who have similar attributes to Russell, and we will just hope that we don’t regret passing on him.
Our RB situation is more than adequate. Taylor and Jones-Drew is a fantastic combo and we plan on using our ground game to set up our passing attack.
Wide Receiver is always a point of contention on this team and we have no one to blame for that but ourselves. We have used 2 recent 1st round draft picks on wide outs. Matt Jones was always going to be a project, so we are going to be patient with him, but we view this as a make or break year for Reggie Williams. Consistency will be what we ask him. So while this remains a possible need area, we can’t justify using another 1st rounder on a WR.
Kyle Brady is one of the best blocking TE’s in the game and he is a vital component to our success on the ground. We drafted Mercedes Lewis recently and we are hoping he can be a nice pass catching compliment that can stretch the field. This is another case of not spending a 1st rounder on a position that we recently used a high draft pick on.
The Offensive line has been strength of this team for a while. We are very high on Ryan Kalil and Levi Brown, but we have decided the best value lies on the defensive side of the ball. (We would have drafted Kalil if we went o-line)
Our DT’s are the best tandem in the game. We feel that we can set the tone on just about every defensive snap because of these 2 guys. We plan on trying to add an elite edge pass rusher at either the DE or OLB position as soon as we can. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone on our board that fits that mold here.
The value at this spot is in the secondary. We are big fans of Reggie Nelson, Darrelle Revis and Leon Hall. We have Revis rated as out #1 corner (and #1 out of all 3 of these players). We need a safety more than we need a CB, but we feel that Revis is far and way the best defensive player left on the board, and CB has become a premium position in the NFL.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are thrilled to take the first CB off the board and select….
Darrelle Revis, CB – Pittsburgh
*One quick note. I suppose this could have gone in as a comment to the Steelers pick, but this is easier for me, so deal with it. I know we are only doing one round on here, and I know the Steelers have other pressing needs, but how perfect a fit is Brian Leonard. He is a perfect big back compliment to FWP, can catch the ball out of the backfield, block and has a perfect “traditional Steelers” attitude. Just wanted to see what some Steelers fans thought about him.
The Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock…………………………
Dwade
April 19, 2007
The players I considered here were Leon Hall, Anthony Spencer, and Reggie Nelson. I think receiever is also a possibility, as is Greg Olsen. The Bengals will want to keep their foot on the throats of opposing defenses.
I narrowed that down to Hall and Spencer and I think it’s a true toss-up between the two. Unfortunately I have a bunch of stuff to do and I couldn’t care less about the Bengals.
The Pick:
Leon Hall, CB Michigan
Teams with Joseph to give Cincy a nice young duo in the secondary.
thegreatawakening
April 19, 2007
Tennessee Titans First Pick
April 20th, 2007 — wvudanks | Edit
Well…The Titans would love a nice, young, top-of-the-line wideout for Vince Young, but I believe that changes now. With Pacman out for the year, Tennessee would be wise to fill that hole ASAP. And even if Pac wins an appeal and comes back mid-season…or even when he comes back next year, and extra cornerback isn’t going to hurt. The Titans were dead last in total defense last year…27th against the pass. Pacman or no Pacman, this team needs some secondary help. Considering my favorite cornerback is still on the board, looks like the Titans are going defense.
Tennessee would see fit to draft a player who echos the style of Pacman…a shutdown corner, who has the ability to cutoff a side of a field. Now, no rookie cornerback is going to be able to do this, but has that potential(much like Pacman.) This is why the Titans will draft Chris Houston.
Houston didn’t put up monstrous numbers at Arkansas, mainly because he was up against the best receiver on every SEC team. He ended up with three interception, with 13 pass breakups as a senior. But the most telling numbers are holding both Robert Meachem and Dwayne Bowe (two potential number 1 picks) to under 70 yards.
Houston also has the capability to return kicks and play on the offensive side of the ball. Remember, this kid had the fastest 40 time at the combine, clocking in at 4.32. He is versitile, which makes him more valuable then Marcus McCauley from Fresno.
Houston may not be the most technical corner…he may not be the best in the draft. But was Pacman?
With the 19th pick in the 2007 draft, the Tennessee Titans select…
Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas
Giants and Joe on the Clock…
wvudanks
April 20, 2007
The Giants are in a pretty good position here. With the spots they have to fill, they do have a couple options here.
After seeing the way this draft has gone so far, it doesn’t surprise me who is still avaliable on the board. The Giants most pressing issues are the following:
T – Releasing Luke Petitgout and Bob Whitfield retiring, we seriously need to fill this hole. With Tiki also retiring, we need to be able to open up more holes for Jacobs and Droughns if we want any type of running game.
LB – Once again, with Jerry Reese no longer letting injured players slide, our signing of La’varr Arrington doesn’t look to great now. We almost pulled the trigger on Al Wilson ( LB Denver) but a failed physical canceled that deal. We need one more OLB to go along with Antonio Pierce and either Torbot/Short/Wilkenson.
Other positions of interest are WR, RB, DT. Those positions however, don’t warrant a 1st rd selection, as we can fill those postions later in the draft.
So with the 20th pick of the 2007 draft, the New York Giants select…
Levi Brown, OT Penn State
A guy of this caliber can not honestly fall to 20th but the Giants are real happy landing the PSU alumni. He is real durable player w/a big frame and quick feet. He is big and physical (6′4 328lbs). It would be impossible for the Giants to pass him up if he falls to them in the draft.
Other players considered – Another PSU player Paul Pozluzsky. Would of a been a nice fit as an outside linebacker for us and if Levi Brown wasn’t avalible he would of been our guy.
JD
April 23, 2007
I can’t believe nfldraftcountdown.com would go out and update their mock draft to make this pick look like I have not been waiting to take this upcoming player.(don’t peak) This had to have been leaked from our front office and I will get to the bottom of it.
I sit seriously disgusted in front of my office staring across I-25 at the lot that houses Six Flags Amusement Park and the Pepsi Center. The view which couples with the Denver skyline for a beautiful view, but I can only think about who could do this to our organization, who would have leaked this information? And then it hits me…One of my interns is a Pitt Grad, and he hates that I constantly rag on him for my WVU Mountaineers being supremely better than his lowly Panthers in every thing imaginable. Yes, that’s definitely who it was and rest assured Ben Raible will be fired immediately.
Now, after looking at how this draft has played out, we were salivating at the chance that Levi Brown could fall one more spot to us, but our enemies over in NY decided to snatch him up. We are seriously dying for a pass rush, but feel it might be just a little to early to take Anthony Spencer out of Purdue.(Could we trade down?) We had interest in Lawrence Timmons and really like Jon Beason, (and pairing him with DJ Williams who we are looking to move to MLB) but seeing as how things played out, our areas of need and the top players left, the Denver Broncos select:
Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan.
Staley is very athletic at the position and would fit perfectly within our blocking schemes. While we may move either up or down on draft day, we think Staley was definitely the pick at this position, in this draft, especially after we moved George Foster this off-season.
Wells
April 23, 2007
Jerry and I both just grimaced at the last 2 selections off the board, 2 OT’s. Getting 16+ quality games out of Flozell and newly-signed Leonard Davis next year would be on the same level as my good friend THav finally sealing the deal with his MILF neighbor. Not going to happen. (Even though I’m still pulling for you) Davis has been a big disappointment thus far in the NFL, but we have lots of money so we signed him to an outrageous contract. Because there is no glaring need we thought we could go OT here and that person would not be forced to come and start Day 1. With the Top 3 off the board, anyone else would be a reach at this point.
Another area we could have targeted was our secondary, which was horrible at times last year. Meriweather and Griffin are still on the board, but we have assigned them 2nd rd draft grades. We coul try and trade up in rd.2 if one of them are still around. There has also been a recent run on CB’s, so that would not be an option unless we really wanted to reach.
The next area we could target is WR. It’s not a hidden fact that TO just doesn’t seem to be working out here. On the other side we have dependable Terry Glenn, but he along with TO are entering their 12th NFL seasons as part of the ‘96 draft class. There are simply too many question marks surrounding this position..too many NOT to take a young guy who could come in and learn off of TO and TG. Who are we kidding…he could learn off of TG. We love the size (6′3 220), heart and determination of a certain LSU WR who we will be choosing with the 22nd pick in the NFL draft….
DWAYNE “THE TRAIN” BOWE
Jeff
April 25, 2007
“Herm. Herm. Heeerrmmm!”
“Ahhh, what? I‘m hungry!”
“You dosed off. We’re on the clock.”
“(Yawns) Oh man, who just got picked? Hali still available?”
“Herm, that was last year, and we drafted Hali.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Well who are the top five guys out there on our board? Obviously all of the top 10 are gone, right?”
“Well, actually Herm, the top player on our board hasn’t been picked.”
“Wow! Brady Quinn!”
“Um, no Herm, he was 11th. Remember, you didn’t like him. I’m talkin about JaMarcus Russell.”
“JaMarcus Russell! Hallelejuh!”
With that, we, The Kansas City Chiefs select JaMarcus Russell. We also feel like for once, Herm isn’t the biggest moron involved with the draft. Let’s face it. There is absolutely NO WAY Russell will fall this far. Perhaps we might have said the same thing about Aaron Rodgers two years ago but I think Russell is different. There’s no way the 22 teams in front of us all are in love with their quarterback. Russell will get picked. But he didn’t and we need a young quarterback. This was a no brainer.
But, since we expect most teams in front of to in fact have brains, we’ll provide alternate thinking and options. If Russell is gone, I know this is tough to imagine, but please try, we feel like we could take the best player available at a variety of positions. Willie Roaf shocked us last year with his early retirement and our line wasn’t the same. If Staley is available, we’ll give him a long, hard look. Rather than trying to strengthen a weakness, we’d like to try to keep a strength a strength and our running game is certainly a strength. One of those weaknesses would be Wide Receiver. I can’t even remember when we had a legitimate wideout and I work for the team. I’m not worried about size I just want someone that can catch the damn ball. We love Meachem and Bowe but they are gone. Dwayne Jarrett is a possibility here and he might be too good to pass up. We don’t care about his 40 time, did you watch this guy play? You know another WR we actually like but is also gone is Teddy Ginn. We don’t think he’s a great option to a team that wants 100 catches out of him but that’s not what we’re looking for. We think he could provide the big plays we’re looking for and be good for about 60 catches a year.
Geez, I thought I was done but that’s just offense. How did we make the playoffs last year again? We’re excited about our last two first rounders, Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali. But they need help. Middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell left us for the New York Giants and created a large hole. We think Willis is the only one that’s first round worthy. At linebacker we’re tempted to take one out of the Timmons, Beason or Posluszny group but we’d hold off for now. Our defensive tackles are putrid and we love what we read about Justin Harrell. However, we feel like we can grab a big body or two later in the draft. Safety isn’t out of the realm of possibility either. Come to think of it, we could take any defensive position other than D-end. In the end, we decide that with Ty Law and Patrick Surtain at cornerback we have a combined 63 year-old duo. Revis, Hall and Houston are gone but Aaron Ross is not. Ross could learn a lot from Law and Surtain and hopefully learn quickly. Yes, Aaron Ross, CB from Texas would be our pick. We feel he’d be starting sooner rather than later. But this is all in the freak chance that JaMarcus Russell DOESN’T fall to us of course.
Haver
April 25, 2007
I have two completely different strategies and plans for the New England Patriots. What is tough for me is that I only have one of their two first round picks. I would have liked if one of us would have had both but that request was denied. I’m gonna steer away from my radical plan and address than plan and all my thoughts for the Patriots after their second selection.
With the 24th pick, The New England Patriots select Paul Posluszny.
He’s versatile and just seems like a Patriot.
Haver
April 25, 2007
With keeping this moving along in mind, I’ll be giving the abridged version of the Jets pick.
The Jets need to go defense with this pick. The two players that stand-out here are Anthony Spencer and Justin Harrell.
People will question why Greg Olsen wasn’t considered. Its simple. A TE would be a luxury at this point. Olsen isn’t as complete a player as we would like, and Chris Baker is very underrated.
CB is also a big need for the Jets, but no CB currently available are ranked as highly as Spencer or Harrell.
We have Bryan Thomas and Victor Hobson at OLB. Thomas especially was fantastic last year, and has proved to be a perfect fit for the OLB position in the 3-4 defense. Hobson is FA after this year, and we sure could use a replacement and some depth. This is where Spencer is an intriguing prospect.
But a core Jets value is building from lines back. We addressed OL last year in the first round, and we hope to start building a young DL this year. Justin Harrell is our #1 rated prospect left on our board and we think he will be a perfect fit at the DE position in the 3-4. He can book-end w/fellow Tennessee alum Shaun Ellis and help provide some pass rush we sorely lacked from the DE position last year.
The Jets are pleased to select…
Justin Harrell, DE – Tennessee
Dwade
April 25, 2007
It’s great to have options, and I think the Eagles have at least 5 good ones here.
The Eagles are a team that doesn’t do the old “look and point” routine where you look at the roster and point to the least recognizable name to choose the spot to address. They go with the best value available, and they apparently believe that the most valuable players usually play in the trenches or the secondary. Even when those areas look well-manned, Reid and Co. will keep stocking up, as we’ve seen with first round linemen the past four years and of course the big secondary plundering that landed Sheppard, Brown, and the departed Lewis a few years back. The team seems content to use lower profile picks and free agents to fill in the gaps at other positions. This works out fairly well on a team that runs a basic 4-3 and the west coast offense.
The front seven has several big names which are getting up there in age- Kearse, Howard, Trotter and the newly signed Spikes are the biggest. Interestingly, reviews are mixed at best for Broderick Bunkley, the first round DT from the FSU front 7 powerhouse. Mike Patterson, the first rounder in 2005 from USC, holds down the other DT spot. 2003’s Jerome McDougle sucks, as you’d expect from a former Miami Hurricane defense end, but Trent Cole is solid.
On offense Kevin Curtis replaces the departed Donte Stallworth and lines up opposite Reggie Brown. Average receivers? Yes, but when have they not been? OK nevermind. The line was last bolstered in the first round by Shawn Andrews, the tackle-turned-guard, in 2004. I also liked the selections of Justice and Jean-Gilles last year.
All talent equal I think that it’s safe to assume that Reid will target a defensive back or lineman for either unit. An the talent is certainly there at those spots in this scenario. The options:
-Anthony Spencer, a very nice prospect who isn’t far from the top tier of ends in my view, but has been predicted to slip this far by many. No reason to believe Howard and Kearse will block this pick, as there’s nothing wrong with a third pass rushing end who can also defend the run and play special teams. They also like Cole however, so would they be willing to move Spencer to linebacker? And if so, remember that linebacker is not a position this team pays for. That said, Spencer led the nation in tackles for loss playing against Big Ten lineman and without a tremendous supporting cast at Purdue.
-Reggie Nelson, has the flexibility to play some corner or all safety. Would best fit a team like New England that disguises coverage, but his explosiveness and ball-hawking is certainly useful for any defense. Like Spencer, not sure why he’s fallen this far.
-Michael Griffin, another safety from a big-time program, who can do all the things you need your defensive backs to do. The choice between he and Nelson probably varies team to team, as both are pedigreed and versatile.
-Aaron Ross, will probably be the pick if the team goes corner, and they have shown that they really value corners. Every TEAM identifies POSITIONS that they believe CAN and CANNOT be easily filled later in the draft. EAGLES-CORNERS-CANNOT.
-Ryan Kalil, looks to me like a slam dunk at a pretty important position.
-Ben Grubbs, another safe-sounding pick at guard.
This is a really well-run team that impresses me very much with they way they do things. I’d go as far as to consider them a solidly top-3 organization.
The Board:
6. Grubbs
5. Ross
4. Griffin
3. Kalil
2. Spencer
The Pick: Reggie Nelson, football player, Florida
That was brutal. A true three-way coinflip between Kalil, Nelson, and Spencer. The Eagles are going to get to pick a player they love even if the real draft develops quite differently than ours. I passed on Spencer based mainly on uncertainties regarding where he’d play. Both he and Nelson could go 10 picks higher in my world, and I think it’s a joke if Kalil slips much farther. I’d love to be in the shoes of another top franchise, New England, as this area of the draft is well-stocked, and I bet they end up with at least one of these three as well.
Any of these picks leaves Philly uncuffed heading into the remainder of the draft. Brian Leonard, Tony Hunt, Michael Bush, and other will be mentioned as a compliment to Westbrook, and I expect several good receivers to be around as well.
I think Reggie Nelson is right up this team’s alley.
For the record, my top 5 runners-up for best franchise……
5. Denver
4. San Diego
3. Baltimore
2. Philly
1. New England, only not the best because they let Brady go for a couple hundred picks too.
thegreatawakening
April 25, 2007
I just lost a gigantic Eagles pick. I’m devastated.
thegreatawakening
April 25, 2007
Well the pick was Reggie Nelson. I’ll try to re-post it later when I have another hour to flush.
thegreatawakening
April 25, 2007
For sake of time (only have a few minutes before my flight boards) I will make my selection, without much analysis. When you think of our team, the Saints, you think of Bush. Reggie that is. Not pussy, although some may think of it because it is New Orleans…I honeslty can’t think of any standouts on defense.
“Hey Reggie”
“Yeah coach”
“Name 1 defensive player”
“Defense?!? Put me at cornerback. I’ll go both ways”
“Seriously”
“Can’t…sorry coach”
Exactly. As we continue to have nightmares of Bernard Berrian running thru our heads, we know we need to upgrade our defensive backfield, although Linebacker is also an option here, as was Ben Olsen…but I can’t fuckin stand the U.
With the 27th pick in the NFL draft, the New Awlin’s Saints select 6′0 193 CB Aaron Ross from the University of Texas..at Austin. We fully expect him to come in and compete for a starting CB job as well as revitalize our weak return game.
Jeff
April 26, 2007
I’m in between newscasts, so I don’t have a lot of time here, but this is an easy selection.
First off, solid pick by my man Haver for drafting Paul Pozluszny. They need linebacker depth, considering the core is getting old. Pozluszny has a lot of upside. And he is a very hard worker, who fits the Patriots mold very well.
New England has another serious hole to fill in the defense…that would be in the safety spot. Rodney Harrison isn’t getting any younger, and Eugene Wilson can’t stay healthy. The Pats would be smart to go with Michael Griffin, safety out of Texas. He has good size, 6′0″, 195, and is very athletic. He can also play the free and strong positions, which is key for the Patriots with their injury woes.
I think Griffin would fit right in with this defense. He is a good character guy, who works hard. Griffin was also the leader of a very solid Texas defense. That is really all the Patriots really look for in a player.
But, do we really know what New England is going to do here. Chances are they will trade one of these picks to either move up for a receiver, or down for more picks. The Patriots are by far the most unpredictable team in the NFL, so it should bring some entertainment in the latter parts of the first round.
With the 28th pick in the first round, the New England Patriots select: Michael Griffin, S, Texas.
wvudanks
April 26, 2007
Baltimore seems to be in the position to simply draft the best player available. Specifically, I am sure that Brian Billick would like to address the Offensive Line with all of the rumors of Jonathan Ogden’s pending retirement, perhaps attempt to add some depth in the Secondary, or look for a replacement for Adalius Thomas. Luckily for the Ravens, and unfortuantely for us Steelers fans, Baltimore is able to kill two birds with one stone with this pick.
With the 29th pick in the first round, the Baltimore Ravens select:
Jon Beason, OLB, Miami (FL)
The Ravens find their replacement for Thomas and Ray Lewis gets a pal from The “U”.
Raible
April 26, 2007
The most intriguing situation that we probably won’t find out about until draft day, is the status of Michael Turner (RB). It looks like AJ Smith (Chargers GM) is trying hard to trade Turner, but for a price few teams are likely to pay (a 1st and 3rd pick). However, if he finds the perfect suitor the Chargers will be in excellent shape to fill the positions they most need, S, WR.
But lets forget about that for a second and just play out the cards we were dealt. There is a very deep WR class this year and from what I’ve read, Aj Smith has NEVER taken a WR with this 1st rd pick….ever. So from this point it looks like he’s going to be selecting a S.
Brandon Meriweather seems to be the logical choice. Although with his recent involvement in an off-campus shooting has raised some flags, but you know what? This is the NFL and talent will always tops trouble. I’m sure as long as he doesn’t get arrested lets say 10 times like some other players and the chargers brass can keep him in check, this looks to be the pick for SD. Meriweather is ultra quick and is a very powerful hitter. He registered 182 solo tackles as a safety which broke all team records in 2 seasons as a starter.
With the 30th pick in 2007 draft….the San Diego Chargers select…
Brandon Meriweather, S MIAMI
JD
April 26, 2007
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaa Bears!
What would Ditka do?
Take himself! I guess that’s impossible but we’re thinkin perhaps a similar player.
We wouldn’t mind an OLB here but Beason just went and Timmons and Poz are also gone. We love the fact that we could grab the top guard in the draft but with none off the board, but it’s another position we’re gonna pass on. We really LOVE Dwayne Jarrett. We are in dyer needs for a bigtime WR and Jarrett could be that guy. However, we don’t want to force a WR pick when we’re really not sure if we’d utilize him properly. We might have to come to grips that we’re just not a bigtime passing team. Everyone likes to criticize our offense but we went to the Super Bowl last year. We like the state of our team. We actually think Muhsin Muhammed, Bernard Berrian, Rashid Davis and Mark Bradley is a New England-like receiving core. No star on the board but they perfectly compliment each other, forming a formidable unit. I know a lot of you schmucks out there are thinking we should take a QB but we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Rex!!! In Rex we trust!!!!!! The perfect player has fallen to us. It’s Greg Olsen. We’d be shocked if he was on the board but if he is, it’s perfect.
A. Ditka’s happy
B. We admit, Rex is shaky, there’s nothing better for a young shaky qb than a solid pass catching TE.
We cannot pass up Olsen. Because of the trade we made with the Jets, we’ll be selecting again in six picks again anyway. One of the three guards will certainly be there.
I’ll throw another name out there for the either this pick or the early second. Brian Leonard. We don’t really have a great fullback. Without TJones, we could use someone else to grab some carries. Same theory as Olsen, a versatile fullback would be a great outlet for Rex. I know we need o-lineman, but how powerful would we look with Benson, Leonard, Olsen, and the four wide receivers. You couldn’t guard everyone. You just couldn’t. Looks like Briggs won’t be traded and we are confident we’ll work something out with him.
If Olsen is there, he’s ours. If not, we’ll look at the guards and Leonard.
Haver
April 27, 2007
The Colts are in an interesting position. They seemingly have a decent amount of needs for a team coming off a Super Bowl victory.
Anyways, I still feel that they should take the best player available who isn’t a QB,RB or WR.
Players to consider here; Ben Grubbs, Eric Wright, Anthony Spencer, Justin Blalock,Ryan Kalil and Brian Leonard(considering him a fb).
I’m a big fan of all these players, and the colts probably need defense most, although I’m not sure Spencer fits in as a 4-3 OLB. adhereing to the theory that you can never have too many offensive lineman, and Jeff Saturday isnt getting any younger; the Colts are happy to select………………
Ryan Kalil, C – USC
DWade
April 28, 2007