Random 2011 Draft Chatter....

[sbk92]

Rudolph a first-rounder?

Notre Dame is well behind the times when it comes to scheduling their pro day. The event took place Thursday -- Cam Newton and the rest of the Auburn prospects worked out nearly a month prior, on March 8 -- and the main prospect on display was tight end Kyle Rudolph. Wes Bunting of National Football Post provided a breakdown thereafter.

Rudolph ran somewhere in the high 4.7 or low 4.8 range in the 40-yard dash, bench-pressed 225 pounds 19 times, and posted a 34.5-inch vertical. Though the 40-time doesn't indicate a ton of straight-line speed, Bunting believes he can be an impact player based on his leaping ability and skills at making a catch in traffic.

In Bunting's view, Rudolph could be taken in the latter portion of the first round if a team has a need at TE, and he lists the Atlanta Falcons as an obvious destination as well as the New England Patriots as a possibility.

As for our draft experts, Mel Kiper, Jr. has Rudolph lasting until pick No. 46, which is the Denver Broncos' second pick in Round 2, while Todd McShay has the Broncos grabbing him at No. 36, which is their first of the round.

 

[sbk92]

Ravens investigate a WR

According to Aaron Wilson of National Football Post, the Baltimore Ravens hosted UNC wide receiver prospect Greg Little on Thursday. Suspended for his senior season by the NCAA, Little had an impressive performance during his pro day last week.

Generally seen as a late second-round or third-round pick, Little is taken by the New York Jets (at No. 94 overall) in Mel Kiper, Jr.'s latest mock draft, while he lands with the Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 80 overall) in Todd McShay's version.

Going on McShay's hypothetical, the Ravens will have two shots at Little, but could use a higher pick on the position instead. The team has been linked to Maryland's Torrey Smith and Miami's Leonard Hankerson, who would be possibilities in earlier rounds.

 

[sbk92]

A tackle for Eagles?

Got no time to surf the Web, poring over more than a dozen mock drafts? Good news! The Philadelphia Eagles have done it for you, and collected the results (for their team, anyway) in one easy-to-read page.

Half of the mock drafts say that the Eagles will end up with an offensive tackle, usually either Wisconsin's Gabe Carimi or Mississippi State's Derek Sherrod. The most often-named individual player, though, is a cornerback -- Colorado's Jimmy Smith.

As for ESPN's experts, Mel Kiper is a Carimi believer, while McShay is on Team Sherrod:

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Mel Kiper, Jr.

They'll get Carimi.

"I have offensive tackle as the top need for a team that has to make sure they don't take the athleticism of their starting quarterback for granted. In Carimi they get a guy who loves to run block and will sustain those blocks. But he can also take on great pass-rushers, and has shown enough that it figures he could fill in at either tackle position early, potentially starting on the right side with the goal to become a starting left tackle."

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Todd McShay

Sherrod is their man.
"I struggled with this pick more than any other in the first round, having a hard time finding a player who fits Philadelphia's needs and was worthy of the pick. In the end, guard and tackle are priorities and Sherrod has the versatility to contribute at both positions. He's not explosive or dominant and is a bit of a reach here, but Sherrod consistently gets into position and rarely makes mistakes, and recent off-field issues for current OT Jason Peters could increase the urgency to address the offensive line. The Eagles could also consider the top available cornerbacks here, but all come with questions."

 

[sbk92]

Steelers look at late-round DBs

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted a quartet of draft prospects on Thursday, including a pair of cornerbacks with late-round grades.

Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports that Virginia's Ras-I Dowling and the Citadel's Cortez Allen were at Steelers HQ. Dowling is the higher rated of the two corners, but still is expected to go in the second round at the earliest.

The Steelers also hosted Boise State wide receiver Austin Pettis and Maryland running back Da'rel Scott, who ran in the 4.3 range at the NFL scouting combine.

 

[sbk92]

Surprise at No. 14?

Early mock drafts had the St. Louis Rams taking Alabama receiver Julio Jones with the 14th overall selection. After Jones boosted his draft stock with a stellar performance at the NFL scouting combine, the predictions shifted to defenders, like Illinois tackle Corey Liuget. But what if the Rams went for a lineman on the other side of the ball instead?

In his latest mailbag, ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando considered the possibility of the Rams going with Florida guard Mike Pouncey. He says the Rams have the freedom to consider such a move with a quarterback like Sam Bradford in place, but he says it's not a likely scenario:

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Mike Sando

O-line overkill?
"Addressing the offensive line at No. 14 might qualify as overkill after the team used the second and 33rd choices for linemen in recent drafts. I wouldn't do it unless I thought Pouncey were a Pro Bowl-caliber guard, a natural leader and the other options appeared much riskier."

 

[sbk92]

Colts targeting ... QB?

UPDATE: Indianapolis Colts vice chairman Bill Polian admitted to Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star that Peyton Manning's successor may be found in this year's draft.

"Quarterback's an issue, probably not a front-burner issue, but an issue nonetheless because while Peyton's not at the end of his career, it's approaching faster than it has in the past," Polian said. "I wouldn't rule that out in the right situation."

The Colts have worked out a pair of second-tier QB prospects recently: Nevada's Colin Kaepernick and TCU's Andy Dalton.

Both carry second- to fourth-round grades, but if the Colts believe they can step into Manning's shoes, don't be surprised if they go in the first round, where the Colts have the 22nd pick.

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It's been a little more than a decade since the Indianapolis Colts made Peyton Manning the first overall draft pick in 1998. That pick worked out so well that they've hardly had to worry about the quarterback position since. They've drafted only two passers in the last twelve years -- Curtis Painter and Jim Sorgi -- and both those picks came in the sixth round. Those weren't investments in depth or the future, they were bargain-bin pickups made with a lazy shrug.

All good things come to an end, however. Manning threw 17 interceptions last season, with a passer rating of 91.9, his worst statistics since 2002. While it might be tempting to write that off as a bad year, considering that Manning just turned 35 in March, it's more likely that his best days are behind him.

With that in mind, the Colts may have targeted his successor: Nevada's Colin Kaepernick. Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network reports that Kaepernick will work out for the Colts today. Kaepernick is expected to go in the first part of the second round of the draft. The Colts have the 22nd pick in the first round and 21st pick in the second (53rd overall), so this may be a team to watch as trades begin to unfold on draft day.

The fit makes sense in that Kaepernick is considered a raw talent who will need time to adjust to an NFL offense after playing in Nevada's pistol attack. Even if Manning's best days are behind him, his worst days are still among the best in the league, and he could easily play three or four more seasons with the Colts.

 

[sbk92]

If I'm running the Colts, I'd be all about finding a QB to groom.

 

[Cr122]

Yeah, if not this year definitely next.

 

[Midswat]

What is the draft format? I know first round in Thursday.

Is just 2nd round Friday with 10 minute picks, and then 3-7 on Saturday?

Also, if you were going to buy one draft guide magazine, which would it be?

 

[Cr122]

What is the draft format? I know first round in Thursday.

Is just 2nd round Friday with 10 minute picks, and then 3-7 on Saturday?

Also, if you were going to buy one draft guide magazine, which would it be?

Rd. 1: Thurs., April 28, 8 p.m. ET

Rds. 2-3: Fri., April 29, 6 p.m. ET

Rds. 4-7: Sat., April 30, 12 ET


And as far as the draft magazines I don't have a preference.

 

[sbk92]

The Blue Bible arrived today.

Melly Mel has Jah Reid at 50 on his top 100 board. That surprised me. Marcus Gilbert's 49. James Carpenter 51. Quite a run of 2nd tier tackles. It actually starts with Ben Ijalana at 48.

Ryan Mallett all the way down at 71. He's got Orlando Franklin (83) a full round lower than most people. Akeem Dent makes an appearance at 94.

Pouncey (28) and Watkins (30) get borderline 1st round grades. Wilkerson (11) and Liuget (12) continue to rise.

Gabbert and Newton are 13th and 14th. Then you got Locker at 29 and Dalton surprisingly at 32.

Dontay Moch's at 45. He's a pretty polarizing prospect. I've seen projections all across the board.

 

[sbk92]

Mel's got Da'Norris Searcy as his 2nd rated safety. Says he's underrated and has him on his sleepers list. He defends his underrated coverage ability.

 

[sbk92]

Ponder's stock rising

Within his tour around the league in the "Sunday Blitz" column for National Football Post, Dan Pompei writes that teams are giving more weight this pre-draft season to players that have the ability to come in and contribute right away as rookies. It's an especially important consideration because there may be limited time following the draft for players to practice with their new teammates and coaches.

Pompei surveyed a number of front office personnel to generate a list of prospects that have the ability to pick up the NFL game the quickest, and Florida State product Christian Ponder is the only quarterback on the list. Based upon what Pompei heard from talent evaluators, Ponder is the most NFL-ready QB in this draft class.

As a result, a team that drafts Ponder may not have to have a viable veteran QB option already on the roster (like the Buffalo Bills), so this might change how quickly he's off the board later this month. Ponder has been linked to all the usual suspects, now the question is whether teams will wait to draft him in the second round or trade back into the first to make sure they get him.

 

[sbk92]

The Browns and Miller

Aside from the Carolina Panthers, who have a pretty solid linebacking corps, every team in the Top 10 of this year's draft appears to be a proper landing spot for Texas A&M LB prospect Von Miller. The trick in figuring out where he'll land, however, is assessing how highly teams value him against the other players possibly available when it's their turn to pick.

One of those teams that could be faced with an interesting conundrum on the night of the first round is the Cleveland Browns, picking No. 6 overall. The Browns are switching back to a 4-3 defense and need serious help in the front seven on D. Then again, Patrick Peterson would make a nice partner in the defensive backfield for Joe Haden, and we've heard repeatedly how badly they need a wide receiver (they've been linked to both Julio Jones and A.J Green).

As ESPN AFC North blogger James Walker reminds us on Sunday, the Browns are set to host Miller for punch and pie a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday, during which time the team can finalize their thoughts on him (they've likely already gathered quite a bit of intelligence on him, so this is just a final look).

In their recent mocks, our draft gurus were split on the No. 6 pick, with Mel Kiper, Jr. going offense and Todd McShay going defense:

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Mel Kiper, Jr.

Julio goes to Cleveland

"There are a lot of Browns fans probably hoping that Green falls to this spot, but if Jones is the one available, he's an outstanding consolation prize. His size and speed combination is the best in the draft at the position, and his development as a wideout over the past year shows a determination and work ethic that will be loved by the coaching staff. The Browns need a true No. 1 at wide receiver, and if healthy, Jones can be that guy. A gifted athlete, he blocks as hard as he runs routes. Great when healthy, still really good when battling through pain."

--

Todd McShay

UNC's Quinn is the pick

"It appeared at one point that Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers would be a steal here but concerns about Bowers' injured knee continue to increase. Robert Quinn, meanwhile, is coming off a strong pro day workout, and while he's not as stout against the run he offers significantly more upside than Bowers as a pass rusher. Adding an impact right defensive end like Quinn would be a great start for the Browns as they transition to a 4-3 defense."

 

[sbk92]

Raiders' ideas at No. 48

The Oakland Raiders are without a first-round pick this draft season, though in a way, their acquisition of Richard Seymour for that pick prior to the 2009 season has been a smart one. Seymour has continued to be a stalwart defender, and as a result they've extended his contract. There is significant risk with any draft pick, even one taken as high as No. 17 (the pick they would've had this year).

Recently, ESPN AFC West blogger Bill Williamson ran through several options for their first pick of the draft, which is No. 48 overall. They could target an interior lineman -- to make up for the loss of Robert Gallery -- they could see what kind of cornerbacks are available -- since they may lose Nnamdi Asomugha -- and they could also snag a quarterback.

Essentially, it's going to boil down to what happens ahead of them. It's possible that -- as some have suggested -- there will be a flurry of teams trading back into the bottom of the first round to take part in a run on QBs, and players in the second tier such as Jake Locker, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Mallett and Christian Ponder will all be off the board by the time the Raiders are on the clock.

As we know, the Raiders can sometimes swim against the current when it comes to the draft, so perhaps they'll go in another direction entirely than the ones described here. But at the very least, it would be logical for them to ponder grabbing a QB, as Williamson writes on Sunday:

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Bill Williamson

It's the most important position

"I've said all offseason that Oakland should, at least, consider taking a quarterback. If the Raiders fall in love with a quarterback at No. 48 and it's a good value, they should think about it. Oakland could need a starter as soon as 2012, so a good developmental quarterback may be needed. Yes, Oakland needs offensive line help, but good quarterbacks are hard to pass up."

 

[sbk92]

New possibility for Williams

Our previous post on Virginia Tech running back prospect Ryan Williams included the links to the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. It's not expected that Williams will be a first-round pick -- it's possible that no RB will go in the first this year -- but it's generally thought that he'll be off the board by the end of the second round.

One other team that might be interested is the New England Patriots, as Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Herald writes Sunday.

"Williams might be a good second-day pick for New England," Young speculates. "After an eye-opening redshirt freshman season, when he ran for over 1,600 yards, he was hampered by a hamstring injury last fall and durability is a concern. But Williams' competitiveness has drawn raves, he's a powerful runner between the tackles, and catches the ball well."

With two second-round picks -- including the very first of that round -- the Pats will most likely have two chances to grab Williams, though given their recent history with high draft picks (Laurence Maroney) vs. undrafted RBs (BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead), it's not certain they'll invest a high choice on the position.

 

[sbk92]

Bears to trade their pick?

Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune writes this weekend that of all the various possible draft scenarios for the Chicago Bears with the No. 29 pick, he believes that trading down might make the most sense.

In Pompei's view, he thinks that the options available at the team's positions of need -- either outside or inside help on the O-line or an under tackle on defense -- will not be up to the value of the 29th pick. As a result, the team would be reaching by using that selection. Then again, we won't really find out which players were a "reach" until at least three years down the road (in most cases), so this might not be as much of a concern as some believe. Tyson Alualu -- the No. 10 pick last year -- was generally thought to be a "reach" until he went out and made the All-Rookie team.

Sunday morning, Pompei's Tribune colleague Brad Biggs provided some history on Bears GM Jerry Angelo's draft-day behavior. In three out of the nine drafts with the team, Angelo has traded down from his top pick, and traded up once. Angelo traded down in 2009, and it was not surprising that he did not do so in 2010, as the team's first pick was not until Round 3.

As it is with every other team aside from the Carolina Panthers, the teams selecting ahead of the Bears will do a great deal to determine how Angelo and the rest at Halas Hall will use that No. 29 pick. Perhaps a player they like will slide to them, but if not, it doesn't appear that Angelo is the type to shy away from moving back. And if a QB that several teams like is still on the board there, he might be able to get quite a nice return on that choice.

 

[sbk92]

This year's Favre

For all the hemming and hawing about Brett Favre's indecision when it comes to retiring -- and some off-field issues in recent times -- the man is one of the NFL's all-time greats at the most prominent position in all of pro sports. So to say that a particular draft prospect is drawing comparisons to Favre is setting the bar pretty high.

But that's exactly what's going on within the Minnesota Vikings organization regarding Jake Locker, according to what Tom Pelissero of 1500 AM ESPN Radio.

After noting that the Vikings consider Locker's makeup similar to that of the man who led them to the NFC Championship game following the 2009 season, Pelissero writes that "there is a growing sense around the NFL they're preparing to pounce on the Washington quarterback at No. 12 overall."

Here's where it gets tricky. Locker is generally graded out to be a late first-round prospect, and he's been hanging around until that time in many of the mock drafts we've seen. However, given the importance of the position, and the number of QB-needy teams in the league, one of the teams ahead of the Vikes may decide to bite the bullet and nab him. An NFC talent evaluator speculated to Pelissero that the Tennessee Titans (No. 8) and Washington Redskins (No. 10) may fill that role. ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. has reiterated that if Locker had entered the draft last spring, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan had designs on drafting him with the No. 4 overall pick. In spite of an uneven final collegiate campaign, one would have to think that the interest is still there.

Which brings us to a point on what you're going to read for the remainder of the month of April: namely, that certain teams will try and get supposed "interest" in a number of prospects out in the media in order to pump up those prospects' value. By doing so, the player that a lower team really wants may have a higher chance of dropping, or this team will have a greater market for trading their pick if the prospect in question is still on the board. It's a poker game, on a colossal scale.

 

[sbk92]

A WR target for the Pats

It's a strange world we live in where a human being that can run 40 yards in 4.43 seconds is not considered a burner, but such was the take of Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe on Miami wide receiver prospect Leonard Hankerson.

According to Young, the rub on Hankerson is that he is a sharp route-runner with a good work ethic. And it's partially due to that combination of skills that make him a potential fit for the New England Patriots. Of course, the Florida native might find himself lost in the ranks of the Pats' wideouts, as they seem to have several players that run good routes and have a strong work ethic.

In that sense, other teams previously linked to Hankerson -- including the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams -- might offer him a better chance at making an impact early on in his career.

The latest efforts from our NFL Draft gurus had Hankerson being selected No. 47 overall to the Rams (Mel Kiper, Jr.) and No. 70 overall to the Browns (Todd McShay).

 

[sbk92]

Green as the No. 4 pick

Throughout the collegiate season and the start of the pre-draft season, wide receiver prospect A.J. Green was considered the best at his position, and amongst the top prospects overall. Then the Julio Jones train got rolling with a stellar performance at the NFL Draft combine, along with reports from a variety of media that some teams -- including the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns -- preferred Jones to Green.

But in the latest mock draft of a man paid to cover the Bengals -- Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer -- Green is the pick.

"I jumped off the A.J. Green bandwagon for a couple days after Blaine Gabbert started his fall," Reedy admits. "The more I talk to people and assess who would be available at quarterback in the second round, the more Green continues to make sense."

As ESPN AFC North blogger James Walker explains, a selection of Green could be a harbinger of things to come later this offseason:

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James Walker

Taking Ochocinco's place?

"Chad Ochocinco could be on the trading block this offseason. So picking Green would fill the spot as Cincinnati's No. 1 receiver."