The 2009 NFL draft thread

The Game Room
81

I haven’t seen much of him live, but I haven’t been really impressed with LSU’s run blocking over the last couple years. There are a ton of red flags with the guy starting with his weight and relative drive and strength, you’d expect a guy of his size to dominate much more than he does. In the NFL I’m not sure that many coaches see massive size as a benefit to a OG who needs to pull and move and zone block. He looks like a guy that could get blown past on blitzes and can’t compensate by being a road grader in the run game.

That said, I almost guarantee you that he’ll be a reach in the 3rd round, OGs aren’t that rare or coveted, and in this very mediocre class the top candidates will come off the board no earlier than the 3rd round. A second or third tier guy like Johnson probably will still be available in the 5th round.

82

Here is the evaluation of him via ESPN:
Overall Football Traits
Production 2 Granted a medical red-shirt in 2004 after playing in two games. Played in 23 games (11 starts) the next two seasons, primarily at LOG and ROT. 2007: Starts all 14 games at LOG. 2008: Starts all 13 games at LOG and earns multiple first-team All-American honors.
Height-Weight-Speed 2 Enormous offensive lineman. Biggest player in LSU football history. Weight will always need to be monitored. Speed is marginal for the position but adequate considering his enormous frame.
Durability 2 Missed all of fall camp in 2004 due to an infection from a spider bite. Has dropped close to 50 pounds since enrolling at LSU in 2004, when he weighed nearly 400 pounds. Has shown good durability the past three seasons (2006-'07), though. Started all 27 games during his past two seasons.
Character 1 Has shown resiliency throughout his entire life. His parents are the late Herman Johnson and Karen Johnson. He has shed a significant amount of weight throughout his career and also overcame a spider bite that resulted in a medical red-shirt in 2004.
Offensive Guard specific Traits
Strength/Toughness 3 He’s enormous and flashes a mean streak. Generally works to finish his blocks. However, he is surprisingly weak for such a massive lineman. There is very little power to his game. He also loses a lot of his strength at the point of attack because he plays so high.
Agility 5 He is slow out of his stance and generally comes out of it too high. He’s a waist-bender that lacks the agility to mirror-and-slide efficiently in space. Shows marginal lateral quickness and poor balance.
Awareness 3 Recognition skills are improving. Better awareness in pass pro than as a run blocker. Does a good job of recognizing stunts and blitzes, but struggles to find his assignment in space when run blocking.
Pass Protection 4 Massive frame makes him difficult to get around, especially in tight quarters at the OG position. Long arms and huge hands allow him to keep separation. However, he does not have a powerful punch to jar DL initially and he struggles to redirect versus quick double moves. He’s not a natural knee bender. The more space he’s in the more vulnerable he becomes. DT’s with excellent first-step quickness are also problematic.
Run Blocking 3 Enormous frame allows him to engulf most DL at the point of attack when he’s in position. But he lacks the explosive power to drive DL off the line and, despite his efforts; he struggles to sustain his blocks at times. He falls off too many blocks and ends up on the ground too frequently.
Trait Scale
1 = Exceptional 2 = Above average 3 = Average 4 = Below average 5 = Marginal

83

#5 is a crappy place to draft this year unless Curry falls there. I was settling on the idea of BJ Raji with the pick, teaming up next to Shaun Rogers to create a scary d-line, but the positive marijuana test almost takes him out of the running. I don’t really care that he smoked pot - but what kind of idiot do you have to be to smoke pot before you know you’re going to get tested in the most important time in your life to make the right impression? It’s staggering to me that any potential first day pick would even consider fucking this one up.

So what does that leave? Crabtree would be my next pick I guess - but between the pass happy system and his foot injury I’m not that enthusiastic about him. He seems more of an effort/smarts/hands guy than a physical specimen - how do those receivers usually work out as high draft picks? Hmm…

Orakpo is looking like the pick assuming Curry is gone. He scares me - although he has some college production he has insane strength workout numbers that raised his stock, I think. #5 is a big risk drafting a DE->OLB prospect… you better be pretty sure you’re getting Shawne Merriman if you’re gonna do that.

If Curry isn’t there, I’m hoping someone falls in love with Sanchez and wants to trade up into the 5 slot to grab him.

My sleeper pick of the year: Michael Mitchell, S, Ohio University. Someone’s gonna be happy when they pick him up in round 6 or so.

84

I don’t know about that. You have to be a beast to put up the sort of numbers he did as a freshman.

Receivers taken early can and do work out well: Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald would be the most recent examples.

85

It seems most likely that he did not test positive.

86

There’s still Andre Smith. 5 is a good spot. Besides, it’s right around the start of where you can actually trade out of it.

87

If Sanchez gets past Seattle I would bet that they’d be getting lots of calls.

88

Isn’t Andre Smith considered a second round prospect after he totally shit his pants when given a chance to be a responsible adult at the combine?

He’d be the right tackle on our team anyway and I don’t think anyone’s ever dropped a top 10 pick on someone they planned to have a as a right tackle.

89

Nah, everyone overreacted to that in the media. He cost himself a lot of money and probably went from a likely top 3 pick down to the 10-20 range. No one has had him out of the first round, remember his on-field performance had him as the consensus #1 LT. Though 5 is probably too high to gamble with him when there are other OTs in his class and either Smith or Monroe will probably be available.

90

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the 5th spot, it’s not like there are 4 “sure things” and a big step down. It’s just that Cleveland’s needs don’t match up especially well with the talent available. There will be a elite LT available there and there are teams that would love to be in that spot, ditto Sanchez.

Here’s the most recent Mock from Mel Kiper:

He’s got Crabtree going to the Browns, they should be pretty happy with that. Crabtree is a stud, especially since Edwards is almost certainly gone, either via trade before the season starts or when his contract is up next year.

91

The media circus around Edwards this season has been somewhat overblown, it’s not that clear he’ll be gone. There’s a good chance of it, but it’s not as if irreparable damage has been done. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with the new coaching staff - if he bolts it’s because he wants to go to a bigger stage.

If no CBA is signed, Edwards is an RFA in '10. If the CBA is signed and the franchise tag is still in place, he could be franchised. He may resign on his own. I’d guess there’s probably a 50/50 chance Edwards is a Brown in '10.

But that’s no reason not to draft Crabtree. The receiver depth sucks, Edwards may be gone anyway, and it’s not exactly a bad thing to have 2 good receivers.

92

You read wrong.

93

Well… no one is really considering him top 5.

94

Maybe. Maybe not. I think you have to consider him if you want a top-tier tackle, and while Cleveland doesn’t need one, that pick could get marketable.

95

The NFL has announced the invitees to the Green Room at the Draft. Our lucky contestants are:

WR Michael Crabtree
LB Aaron Curry
LB Brian Cushing
QB Josh Freeman
T Eugene Monroe
T Michael Oher
DE Brian Orakpo
T Jason Smith
QB Matthew Stafford

Who is your vote for this years “Guy waiting around alone for his name to be called long after eveyone else is gone” award?

I am thinking it will either be Oher or Freeman, with my money leaning toward Oher. Freeman may go in the teens, Oher should at least go in twenties.

96

That’s a strange group. I wonder why Sanchez isn’t in the mix, some people think there’s an outside chance he’ll go #1 overall and certainly in the top 5. What about Maclin, Maualuga and Raji?

I think Freeman will be the lonely man left late in the 1st round. With Tampa signing Leftwich today that probably takes him off the board for them and a lot of people really are down on him as a 1st round possibility. Oher could fall just because there are a bunch of other OTs available, but maybe Andre Smith’s questions will boost him into the top 20. I also think Cushing could slide and there’s a lot of debate on which of those second tier LBs is best.

For ESPN Insiders, here’s a fun little Draft Glossary that they came up with to explain some of the goofy terms that Kiper and other draftniks will throw out there.

97

Nine of them? Aren’t there usually five or so?

I clearly remember Cadillac Williams not being invited in 2004 even though everyone knew he was going to be the fifth pick.

Looks like they’re trying to represent each position kind-of-evenly. Oher can play all three line spots. Bit odd that they invited Cushing instead of a D-back, though.

I will be very surprised if Sanchez goes in the top 5.

And Freeman is a total waste of space. I won’t shed a tear if he’s this year’s Aaron Rodgers.

98

I’m thinking Maualuga is going to drop to the mid twenties at the earliest. He seems like a highlight reel player who occasionally demolishes people but often screw things up but it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb because he’s surrounded by a lot of very talented players.

It’s strange that Freeman was invited over Sanchez. He’s totally unpredictable… in mocks I’ve seen him anywhere from #12 to round 2.

99

No cite, but I’m pretty sure Sanchez was invited and opted to watch it at home in California with his team/family

100

I had read on ESPN that Sanchez was invited, but he declined in order to spend the time with his close friends and family.

(Guess I should have hit preview, eh?)