The Ravens are thrilled because Chad Henne is still on the board. I almost pulled the trigger on Malcom Kelly, who is the best receiver in the draft, but I stuck with quarterback because there’s some talent in Henne and some sleeper talent at receiver this year.
I seem to be Ozzie Newsome in our little draft here, don’t I?
The only problem is that it is Atlanta’s turn to pick, not the Ravens. And guess what position Atlanta really needs?
Atlanta Falcons
With 3 selections in the top 40, Atlanta is in a good position to start rebuilding their franchise. Getting a great DE/OLB in the first round was nice. And although they need a wide receiver somewhere in this draft, getting Keller will take some of the pressure off of that. Their obvious need is at QB, and Chad Henne is just sitting there, begging to be selected. They may want to continue to rebuild their defense and grab Curtis Lofton, so they can move Brooking outside. Or a CB to replace Hall. But, in my opinion, the best players available are Felix Jones, Kenny Phillips, Lofton and Reggie Smith. Do they go BPA or need?
Atlanta Falcons select (to the eternal dismay of the Ravens) Chad Henne, QB, Michigan
Recap:
ROUND ONE
1 (1) Miami Dolphins – Jake Long, OT, Michigan
2 (2) St. Louis Rams – Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
3 (3) Atlanta Falcons – Chris Long, DE, Virginia
4 (4) Oakland Raiders – Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5 (5) Kansas City Chiefs – Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
6 (6) New York Jets – Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State
7 (7) New England Patriots (From 49ers) – Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
8 (8) Baltimore Ravens – Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
9 (9) Cincinnati Bengals – Keith Rivers, LB, USC
10 (10) New Orleans Saints – Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St.
11 (11) Buffalo Bills – Limas, Sweed, WR, Texas
12 (12) Denver Broncos – Ryan Clady, OT, Boise St.
13 (13) Carolina Panthers – Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
14 (14) Chicago Bears – Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
15 (15) Detroit Lions – Jeff Otah, OT, Pitt
16 (16) Arizona Cardinals – Aquib Talib, CB, Kansas
17 (17) Minnesota Vikings – Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware
18 (18) Houston Texans – Mike Jenkins, CB, S. Florida
19 (19) Philadelphia Eagles – DeSean Jackson, WR, California
20 (20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jerod Mayo, ILB, Tennessee
21 (21) Washington Redskins – Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State
22 (22) Dallas Cowboys (From Browns) – Jonathon Stewart, RB, Oregon
23 (23) Pittsburgh Steelers – Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
24 (24) Tennessee Titans – Derrick Harvery, DE, Florida
25 (25) Seattle Seahawks – Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
26 (26) Jacksonville Jaguars – Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
27 (27) San Diego Chargers – Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
28 (28) Dallas Cowboys – James Hardy, WR, Indiana
29 (29) San Francisco 49ers (From Colts) – Dan Connor, LB, Penn State
30 (30) Green Bay Packers – Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
31 (31) New York Giants – Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
ROUND 2
1 (32) Miami Dolphins – Calais Campbell, DE, Miami
2 (33) St. Louis Rams – Sam Baker, OT, USC
3 (34) Atlanta Falcons (From Raiders) – Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue
4 (35) Kansas City Chiefs – Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
5 (36) New York Jets – Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas
6 (37) Atlanta Falcons – Chad Henne, QB, Michigan
7 (38) Baltimore Ravens
8 (39) San Francisco 49ers
9 (40) New Orleans Saints
10 (41) Buffalo Bills
11 (42) Denver Broncos
12 (43) Carolina Panthers
13 (44) Chicago Bears
14 (45) Detroit Lions
15 (46) Cincinnati Bengals
16 (47) Minnesota Vikings
17 (48) Atlanta Falcons (From Texans)
18 (49) Philadelphia Eagles
19 (50) Arizona Cardinals
20 (51) Washington Redskins
21 (52) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22 (53) Pittsburgh Steelers
23 (54) Tennessee Titans
24 (55) Seattle Seahawks
25 (56) Green Bay Packers (From Browns)
26 (57) Miami Dolphins (From Chargers)
27 (58) Jacksonville Jaguars
28 (59) Indianapolis Colts
29 (60) Green Bay Packers
30 (61) Dallas Cowboys
31 (62) New England Patriots
32 (63) New York Giants
I would be very surprised if Charles went before Felix Jones. Very, very surprised.
I know who he is. We played Tulane both of the last two years.
That guy had 2567 yards rushing this past year, in the same conference.
I just don’t get it; weaker competition, etc., but nobody except Barry Sanders rushed for more yards against any level of competition. I don’t understand how he can not be among the top five RB prospects ever, let alone in the top 5 this year.
Actually, so would I. I assumed he was gone already when I put in that pick. If the future Lowest Order in the Universe Something Something is playing Ozzie Newsome then I guess I’m doing the Mike Tice bit.
And the Ravens still need a quarterback. With three talented-but-raw prospects and one polished-but-with-little upside guy (Booty), they’ll do what the Ravens do and select the BPA: Keith Rivers, LB, USC.
An outstanding value pick. Rivers would be one of the greatest picks there of all time.
Too bad he went at 9 to the Bengals. Boy, the Ravens are cursed!
Sominabitch!
Oh well - in that case the Ravens flip and flop between Beau Bell of UNLV (raw but talented) and Xavier Adibi of Va Tech (polished but supposedly lazy) and figure Ray Lewis can scare some motivation into anyone.
Xavier Adibi, LB, Virginia Tech
San Francisco 49ers
While they need talent on both sides of the ball, their offense was just atrocious, and with the addition of Martz, they’ll be looking to offense with this pick. They’re very weak at WR (Isaac Bruce will be a good mentor and knows the system, but he’s not the solution). They could also use an OT to protect whoever their QB is and to open holes for Gore. But, in the end, I think they’ll go with a wide receiver. The question is, which one? Malcolm Kelly or Mario Manningham. Both have great talent, great production, and, unfortunately, both are head cases. Kelly’s high 40 time at his Pro day and his subsequent hissy fit about it have red flags flying. Mario has always had an attitude and his dishonesty at the combine comes too. It’s a tough call.
San Francisco 49ers select Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma.
Whoa. Wait. Kevin Smith is a top-5 propsect in all of NCAA history at running back? Are you nuts? What about Archie Griffin, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Herschel Walker, Marshall Faulk, Ricky Williams, Edgerrin James, or even Reggie Bush? Kevin Smith isn’t in this class.
This should be fun. How would you rank a top 5 or 10 at running back of all-time in NCAA history?
No. He’s not. That was hyperbole. But how on earth is he not ranked in the top 5 of his class? Only one of the players in your list of* the best prospects of all time * was more productive in college, and two of them played against weaker competition.
Plus he ran a 4.43.
The Saints don’t have a lot of major holes for a team that’s drafting as high at it is. They could simply go with the BPA but in my estimation that’s Felix Jones and that might be one of the few positions that they can’t justify. Past Jones it becomes more clouded. They need help at LB and need to get more athletic and they need a TE. There’s a potential Shockey trade in the cards at TE and this might be too high to draft the second best TE on the board. The LB position has been picked over pretty severely and I’m not sure there’s a guy of value on the board right now. So, the Saints do something unexpected and go away from the defense and select…
- New Orleans Saints
WR - Mario Manningham, Michigan
By taking the best WR on the board the Saints further boost what should be a powerful offense when healthy and they look to replace Joe Horn on the other side of Colston. Manningham’s value has been rising quickly and it might be something of a surprise if he’s still available here.
If the draft shakes out like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints were somewhat eager to trade out of this spot. They don’t have a lot picks this year and if a team that really wants Felix Jones or Manningham is out there they might be willing to give up a late third rounder to do so.
That’s all fine and dandy. Kevin Smith had a good year. Actually, he had a great year, but that’s fine. Ken Dorsey had great college stats and look at his NFL career. College stats aren’t the end-all to every draft discussion.
Buffalo Bills
They took care of their most pressing need in the first round, now they’ll look to shore up their secondary. Although he has a bitchin’ name, Youboty hasn’t lived up to the hype and they could use help at safety. Finally, a little help for one of the famous Schobel clan (Aaron in this case) is also necessary, so they may go DE. I think the pick comes down to Reggie Smith, Kenny Phillips or Lawrence Jackson. Give his upside, his versatility and his return ability,
Buffalo Bills select Reggie Smith, CB/S, Oklahoma
Right, but everyone knew from Day 1 that Dorsey wasn’t a pro prospect. He just didn’t have the arm strength. What’s missing from Smith?
The Broncos need help at LB (again), and I think the decision here is between Jonathan Goff, Erin Henderson and Mayes.
Goff would allow DJ Henderson to move back outside, where he was a lot more effective, so we’ll go with him. Added bonus: Jay Cutler played with him in college.
Jonathan Goff, ILB, Vanderbilt
Stop complaining. He’s looking like the type of guy Shanahan will scoop in the 4th round and then you’ll win your bet.
Looking for help at RB, the Carolina Panthers select Ray Rice, Rutgers.
I hadn’t thought of that.
Carolina Panthers
A couple years ago, the Panthers signed Justin Hartwig to a nice fat free agency contract to play center. Yet last week, with one of their second round picks, they took Ryan Kalil. That shows their dedication to the best player available concept.
Carolina Panthers select Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas