Bradford Seems To Have Locked Down Top Spot

posted by cochise March 31, 2010

In past posts, I have expressed my distaste for the popular belief that any team looking for a quick fix should draft a quarterback. I still believe that a team with as many holes as the St. Louis Rams have shouldn’t be thinking about throwing an inexperienced quarterback onto the field. But apparently, the Rams think differently as they seem to be all but settled on taking Sam Bradford first overall in the upcoming NFL draft.

And that is certainly their decision to make. I won’t harp on an issue I have already spent so much time talking about, I’ll just wish both the Rams and Bradford luck if the pick is indeed him. I will also reflect Bradford’s selection to the Rams in my next mock draft, as there is no real point in projecting a mock that has little chance of happening.

If St. Louis does pick the Oklahoma product, the biggest beneficiary might be Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. As of now, I have Clausen sliding to the bottom end of the first-round, and that might still be true. But if Bradford goes first, Clausen has a much better chance of going in the top-ten, and if not, going to a better team than the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins are one example of a team that may trade back into the first-round to snatch up Clausen if he is available.

Another beneficiary might be Eric Berry, as his stock seems to be soaring lately. Originally projected to go sixth overall to the Seahawks, Berry could now go as high as fourth, to the aforementioned Redskins. His playmaking and turnover skills are very appealing to a team which finished in the bottom of the latter category.

As always, the weeks leading up the NFL draft are interesting to watch, and more updates, as well as a new mock, are forthcoming in the next few days.

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NFL Mock Draft: 27-32

posted by cochise March 28, 2010

Finishing off the mock draft, here are the final six picks of the first round.

27th Pick – Dallas Cowboys – Rodger Saffold, OL, Indiana – Dallas plays in a division full of fearsome defensive linesmen, and suffered a playoff loss because of their inability to protect their quarterback. They are another team that needs to work on their offensive line depth.

28th Pick – San Diego Chargers – Ryan Matthews, RB, Fresno State – Matthews is a between the tackles runner that should make the Chargers offense multi-dimensional again. This should be an easy pick if he is still on the board at 28.

29th Pick – St. Louis Rams (traded from New York Jets) – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame – Those who are patient will be rewarded. The Rams move up to this late first round pick to draft the free-falling Clausen, who after being bypassed early in the draft finds a lack of suitors up until this point. The Rams still need more positions filled before they can become competitive, but drafting a potential franchise quarterback this late is too good value to pass up. The Vikings, picking next, could be in the market for a quarterback, not to mention other teams such as Cleveland that may look to leap frog St. Louis for Clausen this late. Thus it makes sense for the Rams to trade up a few spots to guarantee getting the Notre Dame product. The exact projected trade is that the Rams trade their 2nd round pick and 4th round pick for the Jets 1st round pick.

As for the Jets, they trade down because the players they are projected to take will still be available four picks from now, and picking up extra selections always makes sense.

30th Pick – Philadelphia Eagles (traded from Minnesota) – Brian Price, DT, UCLA – The Vikings are the team that should trade for Donovan McNabb. Enough waiting for Brett Favre to make up his mind on playing or not, the Vikings need to move on and make sure they have a quarterback for 2010. McNabb is a proven player and leader who could perform just as well as Favre did in 2009 for Minnesota, and giving up a late first round pick, especially after Clausen is taken, is worth it.

After all, what happens if Favre decides to stay retired? The Vikings are left to choose between Tavarias Jackson and Sage Rosenfels to run a team with championship aspirations. Why leave that nightmare scenario to chance?

As for the Eagles, Price helps them reaffirm their commitment to overhauling their defensive line.

31st Pick – Indianapolis Colts – Charles Brown, OT, USC – The consensus seems to be that the Colts need to add depth to their offensive line. It makes sense. Even with holes on defense, the primary focus of a team whose best asset is Peyton Manning should be to protect him.

32nd Pick – New Orleans Saints – Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri – With the loss of Scott Fujita, this should be an easy pick. Weatherspoon fills a gap in the defense. And his weaknesses, notably his tendency to be a disturbance, shouldn’t be as big of an issue on a veteran team with a winning history like the Saints.

Thus concludes the first round of the mock draft. I will repost the entire draft as a list for easy reference, along with notes on the terms of the trades projected.

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NFL Mock Draft: Picks 1-5

posted by cochise March 18, 2010

By now, my philosophies regarding the draft should be clear. So now there is not much left to write outside of who I think each team should do and why. Unlike most mock drafts, I will project trades as well. We’ll start with the first five picks of the first round.

1st Pick – St. Louis Rams – Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma – I have already written enough on why the Rams should avoid the pitfalls of drafting a quarterback here. But one additional note should rest my case; the Rams were second-worst in the league in points allowed, giving up over twenty-seven points a game. The team isn’t going to win any games until they rectify that problem, and McCoy would go a long way in starting the healing process.

2nd Pick – Washington Redskins (traded from Detroit Lions) - Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma – If the Lions get to their pick with Bradford still on the board, they should be able to start a bidding war for him. Both the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins have expressed great interest in Bradford. The Seattle Seahawks are another team that could be interested in grooming a rookie quarterback.

Using ESPN’s draft pick value chart, the Lions could trade their 2nd overall pick for Washington’s 4th overall pick and their 2nd round pick, 37th overall. If they can make a deal to move back a few spots for an additional second-rounder, it should be a no-brainer.

As for the Redskins, they desperately need to upgrade their offense. They have given Jason Campbell chance after chance to show he can be a NFL starter and he has been mediocre at best. The Redskins have too good of a defense to continue giving away games because of no firepower. This is a team that could have a quick revival with good quarterback play, much like the Atlanta Falcons had with Matt Ryan, and so Bradford should be their primary focus.

3rd Pick – Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska – The Buccaneers would jump in joy if Suh was available at the third pick. He is a top-tier talent who could anchor their defense much in the same way Warren Sapp once did. And after giving up 25 points a game in 2009, they sure could use a player like Suh.

4th Pick – Detroit Lions (traded from Washington Redskins) – Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State – When you make an investment as big as the Lions did in 2009 in a quarterback, you should do everything you can to protect it. Matthew Stafford spent way too much time last season on his back, and twice suffered injuries that kept him out of games. And Detroit has almost no semblance of a running game to rely on either. With the offseason additions of Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Simon, Detroit can afford to focus on bolstering their offensive line. And Okung is the best player available to do that.

5th Pick – Kansas City Chiefs - Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa – Matt Cassel was sacked a whopping 42 times in 2009. The Chiefs have talent on offense with Cassel, Jamaal Charles, and Dwayne Bowe, but until they shore up their line they won’t see any consistent production. The Chiefs would probably be OK with trading down a few spots before making this selection, but don’t see any incentive for a team to trade up with Bradford already gone.

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Rams Ponder Bradford, McCoy For Top Pick

posted by cochise February 27, 2010

At the end of the 2009 NCAA football season, Ndamukong Suh seemed to be the surefire pick for the top selection in the upcoming NFL draft. His stock had never been higher, as his play down the stretch in big games had impressed fans and scouts alike.

But with two months left before the draft, most reports seem to indicate that the Rams are going in another direction. St. Louis is one of the growing number of teams that feels that the best defensive tackle in the draft isn’t Suh, but rather Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma. And positive reports about Sam Bradford’s build have brought him back into the picture as well.

First things first, the Rams should not take Sam Bradford. Putting a quarterback in that offensive system would be a disaster. As described in my last post, teams that draft quarterbacks without having a solid foundation first often flounder with their selection.

As for the McCoy vs. Suh debate, I personally don’t know enough about either to choose between the two. My impression was that Suh had more upside, but now I’m reading McCoy is like “Warren Sapp only bigger and faster.” While I somehow doubt that McCoy is better than one of the best defensive tackles ever, I can see why the Rams would take him.

As a Lions fan, I’m happy to leave the tough decision to another team. And happy that no matter whether it is Suh or McCoy, Detroit’s defensive line will be bolstered by a unique talent (barring an unforeseen selection of Dez Bryant or Golden Tate, of course.)

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