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NFL Draft Ruminations

NFL Draft ruminations

First of all, whats with the new draft start time? Noon was perfect. The hoopla of the first pick followed by the curveballs as you figured out how those picks affected your team. The second round throughout the early evening as you're calling friends about the proceedings. It would wrap up at night and everyone would go out and talk about it. Now only 2 rounds and a later start? Weak sauce.

On to the actual thoughts...

I like college football a lot, so it baffles me how little the NFL seems to know about how talent will translate at the next level. Every year there are a few players every fan knows will be a bust (Alex Smith is the most glaring example in my circle), but those players still get drafted high.

One of the players I'm worried about this year is Mark Sanchez. It seemed like he never hit his receivers in stride. They were always so wide open, it made him look good. Penn State could not hang with the USC receiving corps during the Rose Bowl.

That reminds me, I'm pushing to name groups of girls who look very slutty as 'the receiving corps.' You can say things like, "I'm going to see if I can't his that receiver in stride." or, "That receiving corps is way out of his league. He can't handle any of them." Spread that around, our lexicon needs some new juice.

The sports taling heads I see are impressed that Sanchez handles the media well. Congratulations Mark, you can put together sentences. When Dan Marino came into the league, he was not the polished analyst/commentator and pitchman you see now. He was just some kid from Pittsburgh. This whole poise thing from Sanchez seems like a front. He might unravel in New York when the paparazzi follow him with whatever MTV reality chick he decides to bang for that particular week. If I were a GM, I'd be much more concerned with him hitting receivers in stride. NFL secondaries don't fuck around. The good news is we could potentially add to this.

And don't give me the 'Quarterbacks are a crap shoot in the first round' argument. Everything is a crapshoot in every round. You remember Dewayne Robertson? Ryan Sims? DTs can be busts, too. Glenn Dorsey might be headed down that path. No position is safe. John Avery was the next Barry Sanders. Jamar Fletcher was one of the best college corners of the decade. YouTube has no videos for "Jamar Fletcher Dolphins." Thank science that the Dolphins have a competent front office.

Darrius Heyward-Bey is also someone I think will not live up to where he is drafted. Sure he ran really fast at the combine, but do it in pads. Was anyone thinking of him as a first round pick before he ran a 4.3? He reminds me a lot of Todd Pinkston. Not a compliment.

On the opposite end of the draft spectrum is Percy Harvin. He blew by everyone at Florida. The only reason his big plays in the 2009 title game weren't touchdowns was because he had a badly injured ankle. When he came back from heel surgery at the start of the season, he was jacked because he could only work on his upper body. He didn't lose a step either. Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Tebow was not Florida's MVP.

Harvin has the speed and strength to be a force in the NFL. He may not have a true position just like Reggie Bush, but the two players are very different. Bush makes people miss with jukes and stutter moves. Harvin runs through arm tackles or subtly shifts his weight and direction and runs by a defender. He's also a much more polished receiver than Bush, especially when not starting from a backfield position.

With all this talent, its a mystery why Harvin is projected to go at least in the second half of the first round, perhaps lasting until the second round. I know he tested positive for weed. He's from Virginia Beach and went to UF. It would be a much bigger surprise if he wasn't a pothead. He also had a poor wonderlic score. If the post-football careers of Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin have taught us anything, its that a person can be retarded or on drugs and still be a Hall of Famer. If Harvin goes to Indy, I'm going to be pissed off.

Also, work ethic questions seems to dissipate with performance related contracts. Just saying.

As for the USC linebackers, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing are on roids. That's painfully obvious. Rey Maualuga actually scares me. I would love for him to fall to the Dolphins at 25, but that's far from likely. And who knows if Parcells and Ireland even want him. He reminds me of Queequeg from Moby Dick.

I was really sold on Michael Crabtree for a long time, but now he worries me a bit. Mike Leach offenses usually rule with crappy components, so what if he is just a pretty good component who looks great because of the Mike Leach offense? There's a very good chance I'm just thinking too much on that one. Also, he measured at 6'1" at the combine when he had previously been listed at 6'3". I usually hate when people knock a guy for a reason like that when talking about his draft position. I saw the guy go up and get balls for 3 years. Two inches shouldn't change that, right? (TWSS)

I do like Knowshon Moreno. He's got every skill set a running back should have, plus an awesome name. The UGA o-line was decimated by injuries this past year. Of course he didn't look as good as the previous 2 years. If he goes to Philly, that offense could be running on all cylinders again. I'm not sure if the Chargers should draft him. That would just piss off LdT and Sproles, which is something I think they'd like to avoid.

As for offensive linemen, I really think nobody has a clue. Teams just hope to get lucky and find a motivated and coordinated big fat guy. How do you find someone who is functionally crazy enough to smash into someone less than a foot in front of them as their job?

As for this years actual draft, I have Drew Rosenhaus' cell phone number, so I can lay a bit of SoFla-centric knowledge on y'all.

-The Dolphins are shopping Ronnie Brown, but aren't likely to trade him. He's good, but he's not good enough to match the money he's getting from the last year of his rookie contract. Second overall picks get paid well.

-Everyone who needs wide receiver help is in the market for Anquan Boldin. That Cards are hoping some teams start a bidding war with each other and they end up with some primo draft choices. Do not be surprised if the trade happens before the draft, or even on draft day.

-A Ronnie Brown for Anquan Boldin trade makes some sense. This would be the biggest NFL player swap since C-Po for Champ. There are no real rumors or whispers about it, but it kind of makes sense.

-The Phins have picks 25, 44, and 56. At least one of those will be a secondary player. With no elite CB on the board, I doubt they'll trade up. If teams start getting itchy about Harvin still being available there, the Phins could trade down a few slots, getting their guy and picking up an extra later round pick or two.

-Cornelius Ingram may be the steal of the draft. Gator fans know the damage CI can do.

-Jason Taylor will likely remain a free agent until after the draft. If the Dolphins don't pick any player that might fit his role, look for talks between them to heat up quickly. Work ethic could play a role in Parcells wanting him. The Tuna will want a fully comitted JT. Jason also doesn't want to play for the minimum, but I'm not sure of the Phins cap situation, especially when they'll have to sign 9 draft picks. Taylor wants to come back, but the devil, as always, is in the details.

Guest Writer - Chaim4life - 4.25.09