Jeffery is slow and has Mike Williams-esque weight problems. Sanu is also slow. Randle is supposed to be fast(er) and smart, and Kiper has the 49ers taking him at #30.
I just gotta say, picking late in the first round sucks. 
Who does Mel have the Hoodie taking?
From the very little I’ve seen, I like Sanu more than any other WR in the draft not named Justin Blackmon. While he doesn’t have amazing timed speed (he could really help himself at the combine), I think he plays a lot faster (he played out of the Wildcat or on reverses and could beat guys to the edge) than he times. He’s definitely a work in progress, but I like his upside much more than any of the others in this years WR crew.
Even more than Wright? I’ve not watched either of them play, but I do trust your opinion on football.
The thing about Wright that I’d like is that you can also have him return kicks and/or punts, which I’ve not heard anyone say is something Sanu can do.
You’re alone.. your comrades left you after you all predicted Cam Newton would be a bust as well..
yEAH Like Cleveland is totally set at QB with Brian Sipe.. LOL
Please.. the killer in Pittsburgh probably did Colt a favor.. that kid isn’t a starting qb.. not big enough.. not quick enough to survive not being big enough.. not a big enough gun to justify not being big enough or quick enough..
Bears have to go with Micheal Floyd… Speed… ability… attitude problem enough that he’ll last that long… played in Bear weather. (Still haven’t forgotten Curtis Conways punk ass)
Johnny Knox might never be back… Cutler needs someone other than a five yrd curl route to Earl Bennett…
BTW Manningham in free agency… and the wideout spot is set!!!
I only saw Wright in the Alamo Bowl, which wasn’t a good indicator of his game (the defense was incredibly lousy). My main concern with him is his size and how much of his admittedly outstanding production is due to RJGIII.
I’m not a fan of small, speedy WR’s in the NFL (especially those coming from a spread offense), and would have a big problem with drafting Wright in the first round. I think there are enough fast, small guys out there, that they’re not a priority. Also, their biggest advantage in college (speed) isn’t that huge of an advantage in the NFL where everyone is quick. Add in that I think Wright won’t be able to beat press coverage in the pros and has some durability concerns, and I’m just not all that impressed.
Maybe Wright will become Santana Moss or Steve Smith, but I think the odds are against him.
We were discussing movement at the top of the draft. If Cleveland needs RGIII as much as you say; do you think they will have move up? Do you think they can afford to gamble and wait for RGIII to drop to them?
Dan Bank’s latest SI Mock Draft (iirc) had the Redskins jumping up to beat Cleveland to the punch.
I think RGIII is going #2, and I think the Redskins would be willing to drastically overpay to move up and get him. So if the Browns want him, they’re probably going to have to trade up.
This is pretty much true, but you still cannot put all the blame on McCoy for how bad the Browns’ offense was. You don’t really give your QB lots of options in the passing game if your receivers can’t quickly get into the second level. That’s why so many of his passes were 5 yard dump-offs with 0 YAC. Defenses knew the receivers weren’t getting open, and the O-line was having a bad year (you’d think Tony Pashos, for being a Ron Paul-supporting, rugged individualist type, could at least have bothered to be above average at his job), so it was simply a matter of leaving a linebacker or safety underneath to hit the checkdown receiver as soon as the ball came to him.
I have no strong opinion about RGIII either way, nor do I have much confidence in the Browns to do the right thing, so I leave it in the hands of Fate.
Here you go.
[QUOTE=Mel Kiper]
24. Pittsburgh Steelers Record: 12-4
*** Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis**
The Steelers are always going to find answers under the brilliant Dick LeBeau, but they have to get younger, particularly up front, and they know it. Poe is that rare zero-technique centerpiece to a 3-4 defense, the guy who simply eats up blockers and frees up the linebackers. If he develops, Poe can be the heir to Casey Hampton in the middle of that scheme, and these guys are just really tough to find. The value lines up as well.
26. Houston Texans Record: 10-6
*** Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan St.**
Houston did an exceptional job in last year’s draft, locking up players who would fit in Wade Phillips’ system. And even the injury Mario Williams suffered didn’t derail them. Worthy, when he’s on his game, can be really dynamic. He has a really good burst for his size, allowing him to penetrate and be really disruptive against both the run and the pass. He’ll tie up blockers because he can be really hard to neutralize one on one. He just needs to be consistent, but if Houston can rotate him in, it’ll get good production early.
[/QUOTE]
Both pretty good picks. I think the Steelers will have to release Hampton and getting his replacement is almost a certainty. I’d be somewhat surprised if Worthy last to Houston, but he’d be a great get if he’s on the board.
An indecisive quarterback makes his whole offense look way worse. If you hold onto the ball too long and have no pocket presence, you generate a lot of sacks even if your offensive line offers good protection. If you wait until after your receiver makes his break to throw the ball, especially if you can’t rocket it in there, you give the defender time to make a break on the ball and ensure that the pass is either broken up or your receiver is tackled for no YAC. If you prove that you can’t burn a blitz, teams will blitz you over and over, compounding the appparent pass protection problem.
The weird thing to me is that Cleveland fans saw this very thing in action in the most dramatic way possible. In 2007, the Browns had the best offensive line in the league. In the 2007 opener, Charlie Frye was hit or sacked on 90%+ of his drop backs, and sacked 6 times in a quarter. People were screaming “our O-line can’t protect him, he has no chance!”
So at halftime they pulled him for Anderson. And Anderson is nothing great, but he’s decisive. He started getting rid of the ball on time, and his arm meant that he could make all the throws and force the defense to cover the entire field. Result? He took 14 sacks for the rest of the year.
Charlie Frye, sacked 6 times in 30 minutes. Derek Anderson, sacked 14 times in 930 minutes. And yet every Browns fan was convinced that Charlie Frye was only held back by such a poor O-line - when it was actually the best o-line in the league.
We’re seeing the same thing again with McCoy. The offensive line is fine - top half of the league easily, probably top 10 (you could see it at the end of the year when Wallace was in and suddenly our pass protection didn’t look so bad, and wecould run the ball - and people were saying “I guess the O-line must be gelling”) - but McCoy creates his own negative situations and makes everyone look worse. To be fair, the receiving corps is really bad, but they’d look better if a better QB was throwing to them with accuracy, timing, and not floating the balls out there.
Everyone seems to recognize that a bad supporting cast can drag a QB down, but no one seems to recognize that a bad QB can drag a supporting cast down hugely. Even if it was recently, clearly, and without a doubt proven to them.
I don’t know about that. I think it’s plain to everyone that QB situations must be addressed above anything else.
And I’m not really recalling any rabid support for Charlie Frye.
Yet, the odds are really good that Schwartz will take him. With Al Davis gone there’s perhaps no more obvious conclusion to draw that the Lions will take the kid with character issues. You can’t count Cincy out but they probably won’t be considering CB early.
Sorry, missed this one earlier.
Of course there’s next to zero chance that they stay put and actually pick 2 guys in the first round of a draft. The Pats really do need to start adding pieces on that defense, but I’m not sure I see them going with pass rushers. They need safety help and WRs much more seriously. I’d be pretty surprised if they aren’t one of the teams in the middle of the draft targeting WRs along with the Bears, 49ers, Texans, Lions, Browns Chargers and Jets.
Totally agree with this. The Rams are sitting pretty - they probably can’t decide between taking Kalil or Blackmon anyway, and I wouldn’t be at all shocked if they have trade offers from both the Browns and the Redskins. The Browns might just give them pick #22 to drop down to #4 - in which case they end up getting either Kalil or Blackmon and a free extra 1st. And Daniel Snyder being Daniel Snyder, who knows what the Redskins would be willing to offer to beat that - leaving the Rams at least a chance at still getting either of their guys at #6 (and if not, they’d end up with someone else pretty great anyway).
Rams fans have to be very excited about this draft.
Things are looking good for the Rams. The tricky part will be deciding if the 22nd pick is too much to give to move up 2 spots for the Browns, but if the Redskins are willing to go bat shit crazy with an offer, you never know. Consider that the Redskins best offer might be their 6th overall pick and their second rounder the 38th pick, while the Browns could hold onto their second first rounder and give up the 4th pick and the 36th pick which still beats the Redskins offer. Then the Redskins throw in a 3rd rounder and so on down the line. Long story short, there’s little reason why the Browns would give up that 22nd pick since they can beat any other Redskins offer by a pair of draft slots in every round.
I think the Browns offer will be to trade first rounders and St Louis gets a Browns second round pick.
I think the cost for anyone father down on the list, would be to trade this years first round picks and then the team would have to give up a second and next years first.
Carson Palmer price
I think that’s pretty on point. That said, the Redskins might very well be willing to pay that price to trump the Browns. If they are, how much farther would the Browns go.
Until Peyton and Flynn sign, I think it’s way premature to talk draft day trades. If either the Skins or the Browns opt for one of those guys, the value of the Rams pick will greatly decrease.