Who do ya like, who dont ya like? Whose your sleepers? Should your team trade up/trade down/stay where they are, etc. Id also like a couple opinions on Justin Harrell, Jarvis Moss, Paul Posluzny, and Lawrence Timmons.
Out of the first 10 picks aside from Calvin Johnson, I believe I like Amobe Okoye the most. To be 19 years old and be that good already is amazing. He shows good maturity, is pretty humble, and should be a franchise DT in the mold of Tommie Harris for several years to come.
Going later into the first round, I think the safest pick between 10-20 is Patrick Willis. If Im a team as sorry as the Lions are, Id trade down and take this guy. Hes safe. Barring injury or just being in a scheme that doesnt fit him, theres no way this guy doesnt have a successful career.
While Joe Thomas and Levi Brown are rated higher, I really like Joe Staley and Ben Grubbs. The value in those 2 guys could be equally as good without having to pay top 5 money. Staley looks like hes going to be that athletic left tackle with great feet. Probably a guy that matches up better against speed DE's like Freeney than against the bullrushing types. Grubbs is just a mauler. Marcus McNeil is a franchise player and I think Grubbs very well could be too. With both of these guys going between 20-30, they will be on better teams and be surrounded by better players. Look for an impact right away.
Ive pretty much made it known that I like Dwayne Bowe alot but at the same time, Im not the biggest fan of first round wide recievers. There are guys throughout the draft that are stud receivers. Looking at alot of highlight reels and such, I really like the kid right here in our backyard, David Clowney. Hes a little fraile but so was Bernard Berrien. Clowney is a burner and I think has terrific value in round 3-4. Theres a kid from Fresno State, Paul Williams, he looks the part and has 1st round ability but it seems like he has the work ethic of Mike Williams and Charles Rodgers. Teams will want to stay away from him.
Looking at the linebackers past Willis, I like Beason because hes very intelligent, instinctive, and while he might not make eye popping plays, hes the type of guy thats going to fit well into a scheme and not make the Lavar Arrington type of mistakes to cost your team the game. Going a little deeper into the draft, say late round 2 through round 5, I will never understand why Buster Davis, HB Blades, and Brandon Siler will be going where they will be going. These guys have had too much production and are too good of football players to never be heard from again. They might not have the measureables to be all pros but I think they all provide excellent value.
The linebacker Im most intrigued with in the whole draft is Quincy Black from New Mexico. He goes about 6'2 240 and plays the same Rover position that Urlacher made famous at New Mexico. Hes the fastest linebacker in the draft and is just ridiculous in coverage. Hes a good blitzer that should be a great weakside linebacker in a cover 2 scheme. Also lookout for Rufus Alexander from Oklahoma for the same type of scheme.
I have not seen much from the corners but I still find it hard to believe that Leon Hall is as good as he is supposed to be. Yeah he ran a sub 4.4 at the combine but obviously he doesnt play as fast. He didnt do a good job at all trying to cover Jarrett. Revis seems like hes as good if not better. I havent even looked at the corner from Arkansas. I cant get past thoughts of Batman Carroll to ever look at another Razorback corner.
Last, it seems like there are alot of good safties in the draft. I like Reggie Nelson alot. He seems to have some serious ballskills, his senior year sorta reminds me of Ed Reed's senior year. Remember, the cowboys took Roy Williams in the top 10 ala whoever takes Landry while Reed fell into the mid 20's. I think Meriweather will drop into the 2nd round and I dont like the safety from Texas at all. He seems like a SS all the way. Plenty of those guys will be there in round 3, like Eric Weddle from Utah and John Wendling from Wyoming, both of those guys could be good strong safteys in the mold of an Adam Archuleta.
Im sure I will be off on some of these guys while other guys will be impressive that I didnt think would. Thats the nature of the draft. Champions are built on rounds 2-5. Matt Millen wont lose his job for taking wide receivers in round 1, he will lose his job for drafting CRAP in rounds after that. Usually the sexy picks turn out to be the worst. Pioli, Angelo, Newsome, and Polian will work their magic come saturday.
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