I grade this draft an A

A

Simply because we landed Foster, lifted us a whole grade point from a B. And great thing about Foster is that he can never be a 1st round bust. Peppers was the pick, and I think all negatives about him are just paranoid nay sayers because this guy sounds too good to be true. Well, he is that good. Jammer is good too, but Fox made the right call.

The rest of the picks simply weren't just draft the best player, it was the best player for our needs. While most would say there are better players out there, well, I think Fox chose people to fit his style. I really believe that. Every player he picked is a "high motor" type of guy, and a smart football player. Intensity, work ethic, contributor, big play potential. On defense, being able to tackle was a key factor.

Fox said it's not so much as being the best athlete as it is knowing where your supposed to be and what your responsibility is.

We needed a LB that could cover and tackle and not get pushed off blocks easily. We needed a big cover guy who is physical, and could tackle. The QB surprised me, but obviously good things are to be said about him, and who knows, possibly a future QB. He certainly has size, arm strength, and certain tenacity about him. Fox doesn't plan on running a QB only offense anyway. And if Fox isn't sold on Weinke, I know he's not on Lytle, so that was a need. A good blocking FB, a good blocking, physical TE, a large OG to develop, a sign he's dedicated to a sound running game. As for the 8th rounder, maybe he makes the practice squad, maybe he has big play potential. Well, it’s just my opinion, but I couldn’t happier.

 

Fuck the practice squad- have you SEEN this guy?!?! He's a fucking MACHINE. I'm sure he'll set the rookie rushing/sack/TD's/receiving/punt record this year. Hell, if we coupld put a whole team together of guys with only half his speed/intellegence/class/poise/arm/leg/moves, we'd be Super Bowl bound this season.

BTW, what's his name again? I forgot.

 

>>We needed a LB that could cover and tackle and not get pushed off blocks easily.

In all seriousness, that's not Weatherspoon's strength. He doesn't handle blockers well at all. He could be good if we keep lineman off him, as he's a good tackler.

Agree about the 8th rounder though. Steal of the draft.

 

Well, overall Peppers was the correct move to make I guess. I could have lived with either, and Peppers will now be a cornerstone, whether at LDE or RDE long term.

Foster? I didn't like him coming in. Partly because some had annointed him the top back and I didn't feel he was. In the 2nd, he's a decent value, and IMO a better fit than Portis.

What got me thinking positively on this was re-reading what I'd dismissed about him months ago. Then add in the stuff about Skipper and his kid the UCLA OC, and I'm a little happier.

Of course, knowing he'll be a part of our long term push makes me a little more open to him as well.
The first two picks are an A.

Third pick: trade down was a good call. Dropping that pick on the QB would have really hurt our draft had we not gotten the extra pick for a need. So that helps the value difference between Witherspoon and Rasheed or Allen. Witherspoon isn't really any worse in his lower level problems than the other two, none of them shed that great. He's smarter, just as strong. I don't know that he'll be a playmaker though. Guess I was just hoping for a Jamie Sharper over a Tommy Polley, even though both are equal level linebackers in talent.
A for the player, he's a good one with some work and will start long term. C+ for the fact that they probably traded down hoping to get Rasheed and reached for their next linebacker.

Wesley will have to show me something and he's not a starting level corner - I think Bauman could have started for us this year. But Wesley is intriguing. C+ hoping for something more soon. Tony Booth production out of this guy, save the knee injuries, would be perfect. Then we'd finally have that nickel back we've been looking for, right meat?

Fasani? I don't know. He's a physical specimen of sorts, basically Tom Brady but with major inconsistencies. it's like Weinke with a nervous twitch. I'm taking an even greater dislike to this kid because people immediately want to start shit about quarterbacks just because they're done playing with their last toy.
D

Johnson? Good fullback. Strong leader, may work his way into a starting role this year. Good all-around player, fast for a FB and able to do OK with the pass. B-, good value after losing out on Baxter and Martin.

Heinrich I liked before the draft. great measurables, save for the 4.7 40 being average. A-, good value.

Past that there's not much of mention. I don't rightly care about Campion ("Carrion") or Franklin.

 

yea, my mistake, must have been thinking of Rasheed

 

Well, our Mr. Irrevelant has a nice 40 time, TFIW.

Nah, I think what Fasini needs is time to sit and develop for a while. Let him age like a fine wine, or turn to vinegar, like Craig, so we can dump him on salad. I wanted the team to take on a pet project, basically out of bordem. Now we got a choice. Lytle, or Fasini. Let the 3rd string QB debate begin!!!!!!

Well see. It's not like these guys have to work hard to make the team though. I can make out our 53 right now.

Easy.

 

Damn, you gave logical explanations for every pick but this one... I'm disapointed... What surprises me more is you find Wienke to be a long term solution. Forget his age... the best he can ever achieve is Dilfer status...

 

Dilfer has won like his last 18 starts. I don't think that's a point you were aiming for.

IMO, Lytle is gone, and hopefully for a draft pick somewhere, even a 7th would be great. And that's where I think the rookie fits in.

 

Funny how one would think a logical point is one that he agrees with, and illogical means one that he doesn't agree with. In the end, that's a little too close to illogical and self-serving to be taken seriously.

Sorry, Fasani's OK but in the end his irregular pattern of hits and misses just reminds me too much of too many other projects I've seen. He'll be OK in year three, though.

 

Peppers looks great - virtually. But so did Fumblookatooka. I'm sick of going for maybe the next great thing rather than going for the more sure thing.
B-
Foster is injury prone and can't take the beating of Fox's smashmouth system. A good career backup. We should have taken a corner here, or a bigger back who's nickname won't be boo-boo.
D+
Weatherspoon was a reach, and I think they really screwed up on who they wanted to take here.
C-
Wesely only works great for us if Grant works out at corner, and they put this guy at safety.
C+
Fasani is a Lytle clone.
C-
Johnson is not good enough to block in this system. Sheesh, you'd think George Seifert was pulling the strings to this org.
C
Heinrich looks solid. Maybe a tad slow, but they say he's a late bloomer in general. Great catcher's hands. Good blocking.
B+
Campion is the best pick we made, given that we got him for a good price. A monster with a mean streak. We needed a dozer.
A-
Franklin is a project. Who knows?
Incomplete

I give us a C- overall. We missed some excellent opportunities.