Sunday Football Fever

1st round picks I liked:

Dolphins - Jake Long - He’s a great left tackle and will anchor that line for years to come. He’s a great building block for them.

Oakland - Darren McFadden -He’s a great weapon for Jamarcus Russell to utilize. He’s big and fast; he can run you over or run right past you. It makes sense that the Raiders would take an offensive player, given the tons of money they spent on defense in free agency.

NY Jets - Vernon Gholston - He’s a great defensive end and will immediately improve the Jets defense. He’s a monster pass rusher.

New England - Jerrod Mayo - They needed some youth at LB, given that all their starters from last year are over 30.

Dallas - Felix Jones - This makes the Dallas offense ridiculous. Barber and Jones in the backfield is scary (not to mention Jones as a returner). Dallas now has more than enough offense to win a play-off game. It’ll be up to the defense not to screw it up.

Pittsburgh - Rashard Mendenhall - He’s a great fit for the Steelers. He can pound that ball on the inside and will be a great change of pace from Willie Parker.

Dallas - Mike Jenkins - Jenkins gives them a great CB tandem with Terrance Newman on the opposite side. They are putting together the defensive firepower to match the offense.

1st round picks I didn’t like:

St. Louis - Chris Long - Don’t get me wrong, Long is a great player, but given how quickly that offense has aged, they really could have used an OL or a WR. They would have had to trade back to pick either of those, but more picks is never a bad thing.

Buffalo - Leodis McKelvin -Not the best CB in the draft. Given that none had been selected by #11, I’m surprised they didn’t go for one of the better CB’s, like Mike Jenkins.

Carolina - Jonathan Stewart -Stewart s a great runner, but they don’t need a great runner. They need OL help to create holes for their RB’s.

Chicago - Chris Williams -One the one hand, they need line help. But on the other hand, Cedric Benson is terrible and Mendenhall would have been a great fit in Chicago. At least now Grossman will have more time to make poor throws and bad decisions.

Arizona - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - A great CB, but Arizona already has a solid D. They could have picked up Mendenhall with this pick to replace the washed up Edgerrin James.

Baltimore - Joe Flacco -Not to bash small schools, but I don’t think Delaware has remotely prepared Flacco for the speed and talent in the NFL. A more NFL ready QB like Brian Brohm would have been a better choice, especially this late in round 1. Baltimore will continue to struggle at the QB position.

Filed under: NFL Draft

Tags: arizona cardinals, baltimore ravens, brian brohm, buffalo bills, carolina panthers, cedric benson, chicago bears, chris long, chris williams, dallas cowboys, darren mcfadden, dominique rodgers-cromartie, edgerrin james, felix jones, jake long, jamarcus russell, jerrod mayo, joe flacco, jonathan stewart, leodis mckelvin, marion barber, miami dolphins, mike jenkins, new england, new york jets, oakland raiders, pittsburgh steelers, rashard mendenhall, rex grossman, saint louis rams, terrance newman, vernon gholston, willie parker

Rumor has it that the Falcons have received offers for he 3rd pick in the draft.

Should they trade the pick?  It’s hard to say.  On the one hand, there is no one player in this draft that will make enough of a difference for the Falcons to put them in the play-offs or to even contend for the play-offs.  So adding more picks will allow them to shore up multiple positions.

On the other hand a guy like Glen Dorsey or Chris Long could be the center piece of your defense and a franchise player for years to come.  So can you pass up on that type of talent?

I say the Falcons should keep the pick.  They’ve already got 11 picks total in this draft, so they’ll have the opportunity to add depth at multiple spots. They need to take one of the guys who could be a franchise type player with the #3 pick.

That being said, I’m hoping they pick Dorsey.  We need a defensive tackle and he was dominate in the SEC for 3 straight years - even when he was injured and double teamed.  You can’t pass up a tackle like Dorsey.  My fear is that they will take Matt Ryan.  Now I don’t have anything taking a QB with the #3 pick, but Ryan scares me.  He reminds me a lot of Ryan Leaf - he’s parlayed one good year in college into being a top 5 pick in the draft.  I think if you are going to draft a QB that high, he’d better have more than one year of success.  I want a proven track record.  And for me, one successful year doesn’t make you a “proven” QB.

The Falcons need Dorsey.  Use one of the second round picks (or package a couple of them together and trade up into the late first round) and draft Brian Brohm.  That immediately improves your team at 2 positions.  Plus, it saves you money.

Filed under: NFL Draft

Tags: atlanta falcons, brian brohm, chris long, glen dorsey, matt ryan, NFL Draft, ryan leaf