Suggs has been dropping like a stone recently. He ran a 4.85 on turf in his last workout, at the same workout as DeWayne Robertson (300 lb. DT from Kentucky) ran a 4.8 flat. For a guy who projects to be a Peppers/ Freeney situational pass rusher, and not an every down end, that’s downright terrifying. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did fall to the teens, even. Alot can be said about playing fast as opposed to sprints and workouts (anybody remember Mike Mamula?) but Suggs is all about getting in the backfield quickly, and that poor of a workout is a definite red-flag.
As for the receivers, Kelley Washington is actually considered the fifth or sixth WR by most everything I’ve seen. I think that’s crap, but he’s had injury and consistency problems, not to mention his somewhat unattractive attitude. Personally, I’ll be crying in my beer when the Eagles pass him up, but I know it’ll happen. Officially, from what I gather, the receivers go Rogers/ Johnson one and two, then a second tier of Taylor Jacobs, Bryant Johnson (Penn State,) Washington, and Anquan Boldin (FSU).
I have a feeling McGahee could be the first back taken, and that might mean the first round. He’s been cleared by NFL doctors, so theoretically, he could play this year, even though I’d really doubt anyone would let him. I’d be surprised if nobody took a flier by the end of the first round, either a late first rounder like Tampa, the Raiders, or the 49ers, or if a crappy team (Houston?) makes a move to get into the twenties and pick him up. Larry Johnson does nothing for me, particularly if I need a gamebreaker type back. He reminds me of Fred Taylor-- which I guess is good and bad.
Crap. Of course they don’t. They do love McGahee though, from what I’ve heard, so maybe they would move up. Originally, they were a really good bet to take them with their first pick at the bottom of round 2. It doesn’t look like he’ll be there for them then.
What do the rest of you think about Carson Palmer? If it was my franchise, I’d be more comfortable with Leftwich, although I wouldn’t take either one at the top. Am I the only one who just doesn’t see him as a number one pick?
I think Leftwich will be the better pro QB. I just don’t trust Pac-10 QB’s who post 1 good year and then cash in big.
I would love for McGahhe to drop to my Bucs at the end of round 2, but it will never happen and they will not be trading up to grab him. Besides, I’ll put $100 on the table for anyone who thinks McGahee slides past the 35th pick. (Hell, I’ll bet $50 that he doesn’t get out of round 1. Isn’t that right Mr. Davis.)
I think the browns go O-line, though who they pick will depend upon whoi is sitting there. The LB crop this year is too weak to go round 1 witho9ut need, and if they thought their need was that great they would have found a way to keep teh guts they had.
Everybody has Suggs going to Arizona, but I’m personally not so sure. he Cards have gotten burned before both on hometown heroes (Plummer) and D-line “studs” with question marks (pick one). I think they should move back a few slots and pick up a DT or secondary help, but if they stay at 6 I wouldn’t be shocked to see them grab Leftwich, Trufant, or Kennedy. Then again, it is Arizona. Who can say what they will do. All we know for certain is that it will turn out badly (but nt quite as bad as taking Palmer #1 will turn out for the Bungles.)
I have no inside knowledge, but I’ve heard a flood of rumors about the Browns. Almost all rumors based based on the assumption that the Browns have decided to make Kelly Holcomb their starter, and that they’re eager to trade Tim Couch.
If you buy the notion that Kelly Holcomb has been promised the starting job next season, then the availability of Couch could make things interesting. In Dallas, the word (again, take this with a LOT of salt) is that Bill Parcells doesn’t like ANY of the quarterbacks Jerry Jones has stuck him with, and that he really wants to make a trade for Couch.
Right now, of course, this is all just talk. We shall see…
Sure, he runs a sub-par 40-yard dash, but you don’t have to run 40 yards to sack the QB. What really matters for pass-rush DEs is acceleration, and Suggs explodes off the line. I’d be extremely surprised if he drops out of the top 10.
4 Wr’s ( 3 in the first 22- a bit of a run for the WR position in the first round) taken in the first. Lots and lots of DT’s. Boller falls farther then I think he actually will. Check it out.
Yeah - -I saw that. It’s hard to place too much stock in it since they account for no trades (but how can you, really–it’s already a crapshoot.)
I think the Bears drop out of #4, probably for the Jets or Saints, and as I said above I don’t think Arizona will take Suggs at #6, even if they cannot find someone to trade down. Hard to say on Boller. After the Ravens there really isn’t a team with a QB need, but we all saw with McCalister that need doesn’t mean everything. I could see him slipping way down in the Ravens pass, but I could also see someone else (maybe KC) grabbing him for the future. Ideally, I think the Ravens want him but not at #10. If they can trade down to 13-15 I think they will do so and take Boller there.
I also disagree with Calico going to Tennessee in round 1. They need receiver help, but that is a reach and Tennessee doesn’t usually reach.
And we have our first 1[sup]st[/sup] round trade. This one is interesting:
[ul][li]The Jets become a wildcard at #4. Are they really happy with picking up Conway to replace Coles? #4 doesn’t get them to Rogers or Johnson under most scenarios, but is this the precursor to an attempt to jump ahead of Texas? [/li]
[li]I don’t think so, which means Jets go defense unless Detroit or Texas pull a rabbit out of the hat.[/li]
[li]But do they go “the next Warren Sapp” or “an actual shutdown corner”. Both are needs, and both would be close ot Herman Edwards heart.[/li]
[li]And Chicago now becomes interesting, too. At #13 they suddenl become a factor in the “how far will Boller drop” sweepstakes. The Ravens don’t want him at #10, but they might not be able to risk trying to slide him through Jerry Angelo’s sticky fingers. (Kordell Stewart? Puh-lease.)[/li]
[li]DT at #4 never made that much sense for Duh-Bears, anyway (unless they are planning to dump one of their battleships). Options at #13 look quite interesting.[/li]
[li]If Bailey get past teh Rams he might get tagged as a replacement for Colvin. He certainly has the speed to collapse the edge. [/li]
[li]If Boller gets by the Ravens, he could be the next reason for a Kordel collapse.[/li]
[li]If Dallas gets Newmann, it’s possible that Trufant slips to #13, which would probably have Angelo dancing a jig.[/li]
[li]If none of the above, they can still land a solid DT prospect at #13 (Williams, Warren, Sullivan or Joseph, depending on who they like best for their system. Last year they chose big space eaters but got no push up the middle. Did they learn a lesson?)[/li]
[li]They probably take a DE at #22, unless they luck into Bailey at #13. (McDougal, Haynes, Peterson, Kelsay–depending on how things fall out.) A wildcard is Rex Grossman or potentially even McGahee, depending upon how much of Thomas’ miseries last year they grade to an O-line crippled by injuries.[/ul][/li]
Man–less than 24 hours, now. Cry Havoc and let loose the scouts of war!
Damn. elf6c snuck in with the news between preview and post. Silly meetings. Why does work keep getting in the way of my obsessive interest in all things NFL?
Wow, that’s a wild turn. With Chicago out, look for Detroit to tempt Arizona with a trade. Stay ahead of Minn. and still get a primo pick? Win win for Detroit. AZ could really spoil the Jets day and take Robertson then, since the rumor floated around is that they never were that interested in Suggs anyway. Is Robertson worthy of a #2? Does it matter if you are AZ and you can get in front of Dallas?
Who is “worthy of a #2?” To me, if a guy is your #1 priority in the draft and you think you need to go that high to get him, you do it. As far as the Lions trading down, I’m not sure it’s win win. If Arizona and Detroit swap number ones, and assuming Houston’s planning to take Andre Johnson, wouldn’t Houston then take Charlie Rogers at 3? Then Detroit loses out on their guy, and the dropoff between Rogers and Johnson is pretty big, don’t you think? Especially considering that what Arizona would be willing to give to go from 6 to 2 would probably be a future two or three at best.
Considering Detroit pretty much needs everything, I’m not so sure how stuck they are on Rogers or Johnson. If I were in they’re position, an extra pick in round 2 or 3 might be extremely tempting. At 6 they could still get an awesome DT or CB. Truth be told, they actually need picks 1-11. And that’s just for their offense.
The rumors are that the Jets made the deal because they REALLY want Robertson. DT is a big need for them. But they wouldn’t cry if they were forced to pick Johnson or Newman.
And ok, you guys got me… after McGahee’s last workout, it seems he probably will be picked early 2nd round, or by the Raiders in the 1st. Never would have thunk it.
I just heard that since the Patriots really want Robertson, they’re now focusing on getting the 2 from Detroit to take him, since Detroit has apparently lost confidence in Rogers and is now 50/50 between him and Newman. I was thinking, if New England meets Detroit’s ridiculous demands to get the #2 and takes Robertson, and Houston sticks with Andre Johnson, the Jets could end up getting Rogers, who is maybe more attractive than Robertson would have been. It seems like no matter what, the Jets win already.