Draft thread

Trying to organize our draft needs by area.


DT- First day, possible first round.
DE - Depends on player. I agree that an investment now for the future could pay great dividens, but we may have other needs.
RB - Depends of FA whether first or second round, or later pick for depth
OT - If the right guy falls, first round possible. But we may be picking to late and be stuck with Wharton again.
C/OG - Possible first day. Depth always needed.
TE - I like Mangum and Gaines for what we do. Could use a role player Wiggin type that can do a little of everything for depth.
OLB - Where we are picking, this could be the best value, and could be the way to go depending on FA.


I don't see QB coming in the mix with this squad and the poultry crop at all.

 

>> 2006 NFL Draft prospects:
>>QB:

Last I heard Young was committed to staying in school. That really thins out the QB crop. He could get a high pick like McNair (Ithink that's how you'd need to approach him), but another big year could fetch him 1# overall money, and thier are good personal reasons to stay in.

Leinhart will be top 3, hell he's a lot better than Alex Smith. He's classically big, strong, a bit stiff. Has a strong arm. Not as athletically gifted as Palmer and doesn't look as fluid. A bit of Mark Rypien in him.


Jacobs sounds a lot like Aaron Brooks. Big, strong arm, but a funky delivery and holds on to the ball and takes too many hits. Plus he's played pure shotgun.

Cutler's a gambler. Vandy sucks, so they lived and died with him. He's a good athlete and can keep plays alive with his feet and can make strong throws when he sets his feet. He can also make some silly ass throws. I'd say he's like Plummer, but he's a better pocket passer. So I'll say he's a more athletic Delhomme.



RB:

I really like Maroney, myself, over Williams. Particuarly for our type system. He's bigger built and has the same burst and speed, and Williams has had lots of injuries. He's a powerful, angry type runner too. Lots of people dissed on LJ coming out, and he's proven to be effective with his style, though behind a very powerful line in KC.

>>Brian Leonard - Why is he ranked highly by GBN? Is he that good or a blocker or is it because he's a hybrid sort of threat?

Hybrid, H-back threat. Good reciever. Short yards back that good in the goal line. Matt Bernstein is more of the blocking FB.

WR:

Martin Nance -
He will go first. Seems to have recouperated from that injury. He's better than Troy last year, a lot stronger, much more developed player at this point. Think Plexico Burress, with a bit more speed.

Derek Hagen though would work here and may fall to us if he doesn't blister in the 40. Ive' seen him play and he has some rare nastyness for a WR. Competitive and will go fight for a ball. Can really leap. I'd take him.

Not much else to look at.





TE:
Mercedes Lewis is a wide receiver in a tight end's body. He has definite upside as a receiver, and by all accounts, is an able blocker as well.

Leonard Pope is obviously a physical beast, but I'll let the SEC fans give more input as to his strengths and weaknesses.

Vernon Davis is probably still underrated, but he's a very good receiver in addition to being a quality blocker.

Dominique Byrd - He seems to make plays when I watch USC, but has never stood out. I don't know if that's because of the weapons around him or if he just isn't that special. He has the physical skills to be effective, but I wonder about his development.

Others: Jeff King, T.J. Williams, etc.


OT:

>>Marcus McNeill -

If we were willing to put Gross back to LT, McNeill would be ideal. He might play LT, he's a very good athlete, probably more than Wharton, but may struggle with speed rushers the same. But he totally dominates in the run game.

Looking at LT, Whitworth may be more our style. Durable, athletic, smart, technique driven player. Uses his hands well. He sounds like a Panther.

OG:
>>Max Jean-Gilles -

He's a guard. Keeping the weight down may be a concern. But he can dominate when he wants to.

I like Joseph for a system that relies on movement. Good athlete that can pull.


TE: WR may suck, but their are a lot of TE this time.

Pope just so big. Gives a great target. But he's not really a blocker at this point. He's 6'7 with long legs.

I would not mind Gill here. Big guy, 270, with some speed, a force blocking, good hands. Nice all around player.

 

OLB

DeMeco Ryans. He doesn't have ideal size for SSLB, 235, 6-2, but he really, really hit people hard and tackles well. Fundementally very sound.

S-

It's too bad Jason Allen broke his hip, he was really playing well. A linebacker with corner cover skills.

Jesse Mahelona was UT lone brightspot. Not sure if he can hold up at the next level. A one gapper, 3 technique, penetrating type DT. Makes plays down the line, for sure, and is strong. Plays with good leverage. Just a bit small.


Haloti Ngana can move. Not just a fat guy. Likely gone before we pick, as is Wright.

 

Organization is a plus from here on. A wall of words isn't interesting when you're being called a stupid dick, much less when you're not.

Agreed DT, though for the right price a savvy vet might do it - we'd be sorely lacking for experience. I don't see DE as a need at all with or without Rasmussen - when you carry basically 3 starters, Haye could be more than enough as a 4.

RB has to play out at the market, but another young guy is welcome, and I'd expect another first day guy. Plus, Davis' situation has to play out, and if we're in a big cap hurt, $1.8 mil wouldn't be terrible to have.

The line is hard to play out, because the team operates beside logic. I'd anticipate that the two tackles we play next year are on the team this year, and if Fordham doesn't stick (FA, shouldn't be worth more than vet exemption), we'd probably get a swing-vet like him to replace. I'd like a young tackle to groom, but I don't think we'll start one with the talent we have.
TE? Same, but with less problem. I'd expect Seidman will be upped in RFA, and that brings us back the same 3 we've had for 2 years.

OLB is another sticking point. Fields? Does Short come back? Do we try to keep Draft? Does Davis move in? Does WW get his deserved contract? The only sure thing here for next year is Seward, and to be totally honest, I like him a lot as depth. So unless we came in struck out on WW and Draft both (I'd expect we'd try to keep Draft if we didn't WW), and didn't want a vet backing what I would expect to be Davis at WLB in that instance, then there's a pick. Fucking complicated.

 

Greenway would be a good pickup if WW were to get away...might actually be able to keep TE's from killing us.

 

Man, unless Spoon is asking for the house, I sure do hope we sign him. Has to be in the top 5 WLB's in the league.

 

I'd rather not have to list all WLBs in this league, or agree/disagree with that statement, but I'm very much in favor of us keeping him at around $3.5 million.

 

Piper:
It sounds more and more like Vince Young will do a Sean May, especially if they end up beating USC. Family members have reportedly been looking into his draft status and putting out some feelers regarding agents. Hell, if some team actually is crazy enough to take him in the top 10, he'd be crazy not to enter.

As for Leinart, I like him as a pro, I just think he has a very limited ceiling. I don't mind his less than stellar arm strength so much as the slow, deliberate release. Everything about him just seems a half second slow to me.

Maybe he just plays bigger, but Maroney is 10 pounds lighter and two inches taller. From a density perspective, that's a pretty big difference. I'll have to make sure that I watch the Music City bowl to get a better grasp on him. One thing I do like from looking at the bios is that Maroney is two years younger.

I don't know why you're trying to start a fight with me in everything thread, but please knock it off. #1) I spent the time to give all that info so it could serve as an easy reference where people can find it if they want it. #2) You are the LAST person who can complain about long-winded posts (well, second to last behind me, I guess)

DT - I think the problem is where we'll be picking (beyond that I'm not enamored with any of the DTs in this draft). We really could use an animal in the middle that can collapse the pocket, but that player also needs to be solid or better against the run. That's not going to be easy to find, and while we might cobble someone together with a mix of role-playing veterans or draftees, at some point we need a more permanent solution.

DE - It's definitely not a need right now with Rucker playing well and Wallace being a capable back-up, but Mike is 30 years old now and has had some injury issues. I do not see Haye as anything more than an eventual back-up.

RB - Do you think there's much of a chance that we keep Davis around at that money next season? Unless there is significant reason to hope for additional medical recovery, I'm getting a sense that retirement might be in his future.

OLB - I forgot about Seward. I agree with you that he was impressive in limited action. Obviously we'd like to have better options for competition if nothing else, but I wouldn't be terrified of the idea of him being a potential starter. It wouldn't be ideal, but it's a possible solution if things don't fall our way in FA or the draft.


TBW:
I wish we would have re-signed Will Witherspoon, but he's not even close to being a top 5 WLB. In fact, while I'd rather have WW than Morgan, I'm very confident that Thomas Davis will be a better WLB than WW ever was.

 

it's not "starting a fight with you". It's saying that throwing 15,000 words at a conversation doesn't lend itself to discussing every bit of it. Good lord.
But yeah, when I write ten billion words as an opening thought, it's cumbersome.
Try being less sensitive. Even if I were attempting something, it's entirely possible that you not blow up at every last thing anyone says.

Davis has to choose to retire. Otherwise, we have to cut him, or give him significant incentive under the table to do so. Based on the split contract, I do assume that if we put him on IR that he's a bit of a cap savings, if that does work toward next year, but there are also incentives to be burdened with, re: playing time, and that might be why he's not playing much but starting every game.
Meanwhile, DT does need something that doesn't fit exclusively in a one-gap package, but at DE, we don't carry Wallace and a million dollar salary for nothing. He can start, and should if necessary. I see very little need at this point to replace Rucker when that'll probably be another couple years down the road. Depth is great, but we can't afford more than three starting level players. #4 has to be bargain-basement cheap.

 

That's why I'm asking you to knock it off instead of disrupting my thread by flaming you. I'm actually trying to be that kinder, gentler guy, it's just not always going well (re: Sackem).

I know, but honestly I think that's where he's headed. Despite more or less being replaced, he can spin his TDs this season as going out on a strong note, and I'm just not sure he'd rather be cut and try to find work with another team than to call it a career and move on to something else. I don't get the feeling that he's delusional enough to think that he can go somewhere else and have an opportunity at a starting job, and I doubt we're keen on the idea of paying him a lot of money just to be a short-yardage guy (and despite the TDs, I'm not at all convinced that he's even that good as a short yardage runner).

Maybe. I think it could be as soon as 2007, although I hope not. Certainly I don't think we even consider DE in the 1st unless someone extraordinary falls into our laps, but it's something to consider in the 2nd to 4th if the right guy is there. After all, Wallace isn't exactly young either.