2010 Draft Talk

[Sunstroke]

^^^ And as much as I'd love Pierre-Paul on my Niners, our first 3 picks are going on OL and DB, because those are our biggest needs. Our pass rush really powered up in the second half of last season, and we finished tied with Miami for 3rd most sacks in the NFL. Pierre-Paul's edge rush would be nice to have, but 650+ lbs of blue chip offensive linemen (or 350 lbs + CB Joe Haden) would be even nicer.

[Sunstroke]

Brandon Graham from Michigan really looked good at the combine, and is generating a ton of buzz as a potential monster edge-rushing OLB in a 3-4 scheme.

The WR I've been pimping since this time last year, Arrelious Benn, looked great as well...athletic as the day is long and didn't drop anything thrown his way. If he dares slip into rd 2, I wouldn't mind seeing Miami pounce on him to be their new #1 WR target.

[StL FinFan]

I don't know who is aware of this, but I thought I would mention Denario Alexander had some loose cartilage cleaned up out of one of his knees and is not attending the combine.

[Sunstroke]

For anyone interested... Everyone pretty much knows that Miami is going after at least one LB and at least one DL fairly early in the draft festivities, and today is LB and DL day at the combine (NFL Network). Yes, Rolando McClain is present for your viewing pleasure...as are a ton of other great D-linemen and linebackers.

I don't know who is aware of this, but I thought I would mention Denario Alexander had some loose cartilage cleaned up out of one of his knees and is not attending the combine.

I still love Danario...

[Sunstroke]

Note...I have to take back something from my previous post. I just saw a report that says:

"NFL Network reports that Alabama ILB Rolando McClain didn't go through any drills at the Combine due to a hamstring injury.
McClain's absence from the forty and agility drills was initially believed to be non-injury related, but it appears he has an excuse..."

[Sunstroke]

Another Combine note... and shameless pimp of another site for which I have no affiliation whatsoever. If you want to see the measurables (40 times, bench reps, jumps, etc...), Walterfootball.com has the info very neatly organized for reference purposes. There's also a Combine blog, though that is relatively opinion-based. The numbers, however, are quite official.

http://www.walterfootball.com/combine.php

[bsfins]

I Heart Weatherspoon,and then Big love for the local Kid Clay Harbor in the TE Group,4th fsastest 40 time, Number 1 in the bench press 30 reps,and 2nd in the broad jump with 10'.....

[dolfan13]

this team needs olb > wr > nt > fs > ilb

[Sunstroke]

^^^ I agree with those positions being need positions, but I consider ILB to be at the other end of the row.

I'd probably lay it out as ILB > WR > NT > OLB > FS

[Tenshot13]

I'm really starting to like Linval Joseph from East Carolina ( 6-4, 328, 39 reps @ 225lbs) and  Jeff Owens Georgia (6-1, 304, 44 reps @ 225 lbs) if we don't take Dan Williams in the first.  Jeff Owens is undersized to be a NT, but could be asked to put on some pounds for the role (he would only need to add 10-15 lbs to be considered at NT).  44 reps is mighty impressive.  Now that Cody dropped the weight for the combine, I'm back on his bandwagon again, but only if it's the second round.

I've been meaning to ask Stroke a question.  I watched a lot of film on Rolando McClain, and he didn't seem all that impressive to me.  He seems pretty slow and is faked out by misdirection pretty easily.  On the positive side, even though he is slow, he is a good coverage LB and is insanely strong (I saw him swatting offensive linemen away like flies) and seems to have good instincts..  Do you really think he is that good, or do you think he is so highly rated because the ILB class this year is so thin?  Why do you think he's so great?

Having said that, I still think McClain is the best ILB in this year's draft, and would not be disappointed in the least if we drafted him, although I would prefer Dan Williams.

[fyo]

I'd probably lay it out as ILB > WR > NT > OLB > FS

I think it's pretty clear that the front office feels the same way as you about ILBs.

[dolfan13]

crowder is not great, but he is young and serviceable.

team needs an olb way more than ilb.

in fact, i think if you get a good space eating nt, crowder will become a better player.

[Tenshot13]

BUMP

What do y'all think about going all USF players the first three rounds?

Round 1: Jason Pierre-Paul... considered the number one rush LB in the draft.  Could be the next Ware, but also could be the next Gholston.

Round 2: Nate Allen...ballhawking free safety and as solid as they come at the position.  Could be this years Byrd.

Round 3: Carlton Mitchell...doesn't have the stats, but ran a 4.4 forty at his pro day today, and has size 6'4'' 210-215.  I think he will be the steal of the draft.

I know it sounds like I'm being a USF Homer, but all of the guys mentioned have tremendous upside and they wouldn't be a reach in any of the rounds.

[BigDaddyFin]

^^^^

In reply to your earlier post, I think you're going to see them take a linebacker unless one of two things happen, and my reasoning for this is that #12 is probably too high to take a nose tackle for money reasons.

1.  They trade the pick down.  We took Daryl Gardner at 20 which in terms of salary is eons away from #12.  This might be why we haven't heard anything about who they're going to draft.

2.  In addition to Dansby, we get a couple more linebackers via trade.  This is not likely to happen but we've all seen weirder.

[Sunstroke]

...I think you're going to see them take a linebacker unless one of two things happen, and my reasoning for this is that #12 is probably too high to take a nose tackle for money reasons.

This theory would sound a whole lot better if two of the top 10 picks in round one weren't also going to be nose tackles (Suh-McCoy).

I just don't see McClain being drafted at #12 any more...not with Dansby's signing. NT, DE/OLB, FS, WR and OG seem like the positions that Miami will likely target within the first 3-4 rounds, though I've wondered since last year's draft whether Sean Smith's eventual position could be FS, so maybe you could substitute CB for FS in that positional need list.

The funky aspect of projecting Miami's (or any team's) draft strategy is that you have to accurately identify four different things...

* you have to isolate which positions are actually need positions. We fans might think "oh man, Miami really need an OG," but the coaching staff might be thinking "we really love OG-Player X, who is already on the roster, so OG isn't as much of a need." You can get a little sneak peek at this by watching how that team behaves in free agency...which positions do they invite the high level FA's in for?

* you have to determine which individual players within that team's need positions are rated highly by that team's draft braintrust. Miami sends a second level scout to Player A's pro day, and the entire Irish Tuna Coalition attends Player B's pro day. Which player do you think Miami is more interested in? You can also augment this by listening to comments made by the coaching staff about players currently on the roster, as long as you filter the PC coach-speak out.

* you have to be able to plot out where the value lies in each round, given the values assigned to those individual players by that team. A big mistake often made in mocks is that the mocker will take each round as it's own individual event, rather than one part of a larger, much more dynamic event.

* you have to understand the tendencies of the person making the final draft decision. Every GM has particular draft preferences. Everyone knows Parcells loves assigning high draft priorities to linebackers and edge-rushing DE's. Some GMs like drafting smaller O-linemen, others may like going for high upside guys from smaller schools, etc...

On top of all that, you then have to at least have a basic grasp of the need positions and individual player values for the other 31 teams in the league (from THEIR perspective), as that will have a pronounced impact on which players will be available at any point of the draft.

Sounds daunting, doesn't it?

Exactly...now turn off the lights, blindfold yourself, spin around 3 times and then try to throw a dart at the bullseye hanging on the opposite wall. Your odds for success are roughly the same.