Breaking Down the 2007 NFL Draft (defense)

Breaking Down the (defense)

Safety:
I will start with the safety position, because that is the deepest position in the 2007 NFL Draft, outside of receiver. If you are an NFL team in need of a safety you are in luck. It all starts with LaRon Landry, one of the best players in this draft, Landry can do it all. He is better against the run than the pass, but with 4.39 speed, I wouldn’t test him to often if I was an opposing quarterback. Reggie Nelson, is the next best safety, Nelson has supreme pass coverage ability and is the best free safety in this draft. Michael Griffin was the top safety entering the 2006 season, it’s not that he played bad, he is still a great NFL prospect, it’s just with Landry running a 4.39, and Nelson declaring as a junior, he has been slightly over shadowed. Brandon Meriweather is an intriguing prospect for the early part of round two; he is a cover safety similar to Reggie Nelson, but can also play corner. The next best safety is Eric Weddle, he carries a second round grade, but has first round talent. Sabby Piscitelli from Oregon State and John Wendling from Wyoming are a couple of good sized work out warriors that had great combines. My sleeper pick is Darren Stone from Small School Maine.

Cornerbacks:
Not a great year for corners, some real speed daemons, but a few underclassmen and under-achievers. The pick of the litter is Leon Hall from Michigan. Hall is an experienced senior that excelled in the Big 10, he runs a 4.39 forty. Darrelle Revis has to be ranked number two behind Hall. Revis is a supreme athlete, only a junior, but opposing defenses rarely tested his side of the field last year. After the top two it gets interesting. The most physically blessed corner in the 2007 NFL Draft is Eric Wright, he is extremely explosive and can close on the ball faster than any corner in this draft. Chris Houston is right there with Wright, both are young and raw, but very fast and athletic. After those guys it gets a little dicey, Marcus McCauley is another speed daemon that carries a late first/early second round grade, but he struggled a little as a senior. I like Maryland’s Josh Wilson in the 3rd round, small but fast and very talented. Daymeion Hughes you ask? Nope, he is just to slow, a fifth rounder at best. College success doesn’t always translate to the NFL, and with a corner, speed is king. He ran a 4.67 second 40 at the combine…..ouch.

Linebackers:
I am just going to lump them all together. With the exception of Patrick Willis, it’s not a great year for linebackers. Willis is far and away the best linebacker in this 2007 NFL Draft, and the only one ranked as a top ten talent. Take a look at all the Top NFL Draft Web Sites and they all have Willis as the top linebacker. After Willis there is a huge drop off, but junior Lawrence Timmons and senior Paul Posluszny both carry a late first round grade. Posluszny played injured most of the year, but if he would have stayed healthy and had a better senior year, we might be talking about he and Willis in the same breath. Jon Beason from Miami seems to be everybody’s golden boy. I think some one rated him as a first rounder shortly after he declared early for the draft and then every one else just started copying that ranking. There is just no way he carries a first round grade folks. Short, slow and weak are a poor combination for success in the NFL. He will probably be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round, but he has 4th or 5th round talent in my opinion. Quincy Black from New Mexico has cornerback speed (4.42) but linebacker size (6’ 1” 237). My match made in heaven is inside linebacker David Harris from Michigan to the New England Patriots. The Pats like big, talented linebackers and that is what Harris is at 6’ 3” 242 lbs. My sleeper pick is Justin Durant from small school Hampton, Durant might need a year to adjust to the Pro game, but he has decent size at 6’ 1” 230 lbs. and runs a 4.51 forty. My all over rated player is Brandon Siler from Florida; he is a bust waiting to happen.

Defensive Tackles:
A real poor year for tackles, the only guy that makes you say “WOW” is Amobi Okoye from Louisville. With a little more upper body strength he will remind me of the Bears Tommy Harris. Justin Harrell might have been a top ten pick but he missed the 2006 season with a torn bicep. He has now worked his way back into the first round and presents good value late in round one. Alan Branch from Michigan is huge at 6’ 5” 325 pounds; he is very athletic but didn’t make as many plays this year as his size would dictate. He is a boom or bust prospect in my opinion. I also like Tank Tyler from NC State, he is very disruptive, but at 6’ 2” 310 plus pounds he has got to keep himself in shape. If you run the 3-4 defense and need a nose tackle, are you listening Jerry Jones? You have to consider a nose tackle like Utah’s Paul Solaia, he is a mammoth of a man at 6’ 4 335 pounds. Paul ran a 5.10 forty at the combine, that’s good for a 335 pounder. An interesting monster for the late rounds is from a tiny community college, his name is Walter Thomas and he is 6' 7" 355 lbs.


Defensive Ends:
This is a strong position with some real playmakers. The top dog being Gaines Adams from Clemson, a much decorated ACC playmaker, he should hear his name called in the 2007 NFL Draft within the first 5 picks. Next up is junior Jamaal Anderson from Arkansas, he (Anderson) came out of no where to have a spectacular season rushing the QB. Nebraska’s Adam Carriker is a 6’ 6” 292 pound monster that can really run. He will make a nice addition to any type of defense with that size and speed. Jarvis Moss from Florida is another guy right there with Carriker, both very talented mid-first round guys that have the attributes to line up in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. Anthony Spencer was almost un-blockable in college, a little smaller at 6-2 261 pounds; he might be moved to outside linebacker ala DeMarcus Ware and Shawn Merriman. LaMarr Woodley from Michigan is my pick to be a bust, but Turk McBride from Tennessee is my pick to be a good value. Jacob Ford from tiny Central Arkansas is my small school sleeper pick.

Best NFL Draft Web Sites

We are hot and heavy into the NFL Draft season, so I thought this would be a good time to mention some of the very Best NFL Draft Web Sites available. In order not to offend anyone, these sites will be listed randomly.

WWW Virtual Library-American College Football
Not an NFL Draft site, but the first stop when looking for original football related content. All the links are hand picked and offer real value to football fans looking for reliable information.


NFL Draft Countdown:
No matter what you think about Draft Countdown or owner Scott Wright, his web site is the hands down number one NFL Draft site in the world. He is known as a leading authority on the NFL Draft, and that is half the battle right there. His web site has a few annoying pop ups, but generally it is beautifully crafted and well laid out. It is a full featured NFL Draft Source.

Great Blue North Report:
I love this site for its simplicity; everything is easily navigatable from the tiny menus along the left, but in the center it is laid out like a blog, with daily NFL Draft News. The daily news is very impressive, Colin Lindsay is the editor and publisher, and he is a real nice guy, who seems to be able to get a lot of inside information. GBN Report gets a lot of traffic, and it is an impressive web site, for an outfit out of Canada, not exactly a NFL hub.

War Room Report:
A fairly new site, about a year old, but very impressive. Rob Tribbett is the owner and Web Master, he built his site using a wide screen format, so there is a lot to see if you have a wide monitor. Rob has an impressive staff working for him: Matt Maccoy, Chris Otwell and Justin Davis. They have a seven round NFL Mock Draft, and a very detailed Draft Value Board and much more. They also plan on covering Fantasy Football in the near future.

The Football Expert:
Michael Abromowitz is the president, and he is considered one of the leading authorities on the NFL Draft. It is an excellent site, kind of a busy lay out, but it has a lot of great NFL Draft information. Michael has over 20 people listed as his staff! He has a lot of cool interviews, and too many other features to mention here. Mr. Abromowitz is a very under-rated talent evaluator, and he has a nack for uncovering the hidden gems.

Draft Daddy:
Another impressive web site. At first it look simplistic until you scroll down a little and see all kinds of stuff: An NFL Draft Blog, Prospect Rankings, NCAA information, Small School Sleepers, NFL Combine information, NFL Salary cap numbers and more. Matt Bitonti, and his staff claim to devote thousands of hours of time to breaking down game film and traveling to postseason all-star games.

Draft Ace:
It has been around for quite a while. A basic site, but it has a nice lay-out. They have been around since 2003 and owner Ryan McCrystal is very knowledgeable for only being 22 years old. They have the usual NFL Mock Drafts, player rankings, and quite a few, small scouting reports.

Draft King:
Owned and maintained by Lou Pickney. Readers e-mail him questions about the NFL Draft and he answers them on his web site. The e-mails listed in the mailbags are from real readers, and he does an excellent job providing them with accurate NFL Draft information.

New Era Scouting:
This is a fairly new NFL Draft web site ran by a friend of mine, Matt Miller. Matt is one of the countries leading authorities on the NFL Draft and has been covering the Draft for many years. He has always been on the cutting edge, and always comes up with something new. New Era Scouting is very impressive, Matt has a very capable staff working for him, and they have an active message board. Like GBN Report, Matt always seems to uncover “insider” information. This site will be a power broker in the future if Matt doesn't lose interest.

On the Clock Draft:
Another beautiful web lay-out with a ton of features. Interviews, Mock Drafts, positional rankings, message boards and much more. I am not sure who owns OTC, but they have been around for a while and should be considered a top notch NFL Draft site.

The Huddle Report:
This is one of the big dogs. Folks, this site generates a lot of traffic. They charge $9.95 a year for a premium subscription, but they still have a lot of free stuff. The site is ran by Drew Boylhart, who is widely considered one of the leading NFL Draft experts. They have nifty feature where they evaluate all the "other" web sites mocks after the draft.

Walters Football:
Owned and ran by….…hmm Walter Cherepinsky…… how about that. But seriously, Walters Football is the real deal, Walter really knows his stuff and you can tell by his analysis that he is true follower of the game of football. The layout looks a little rough, kind of like a blog, but he has a lot of giant button along the left that point to some useful features.

NFL Draft Dog:
Of course I can't leave off my own NFL Draft Site, owned and web mastered by me, Robert Bryant. I have been closely following the Draft for the last 15 years and have been writing and scouting NFL prospects for various web sites for the last three years. NFL Draft Dog has only been around for a couple months, so I wouldn't put "The Dog" in the category of some of the elite sites mentioned above. But we are working hard every day to build unique content, and have made excellent progress in a short amount of time. I have a strong staff of writers already: Gregg Quinn, John Clarke, Paul Sujecki, and Frank Miseage.

These are just a few of my favorite NFL Draft sites, I have a lot more, and I don’t mean to offend by leaving anyone off. What are some of your favorite NFL Draft Sites?

Breaking Down the 2007 NFL Draft (Offense)

Today I will focus on the offensive players in the 2007 NFL Draft. Check back in a few days and I will break down the defensive players.

Wide Receiver:
I will start with the wide receiver position, which is probably the strongest position in the 2007 NFL Draft. With Jeff Samardzija deciding to play baseball, Dwayne Jarrett’s poor 40 time and Ted Ginns injury, it is not quite as strong as once thought, but it is still potent, probably six, but as many as seven getting drafted in the first round! Calvin Johnson, Robert Meachem, Dwayne Bowe, Ted Ginn, Dwayne Jarrett, Anthony Gonzalez and maybe even Sidney Rice. There is also nice talent peppered all the way through the draft, with some talented second tier prospects like: Aundrae Allison, Craig Davis, Jason Hill, Paul Williams, Dominique Zeigler, small school talent Jacoby Jones and speed burner Yamon Figurs.

Running Backs:
This is a poor position. The only sure things are Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, and Peterson has been extremely injury prone throughout his career. The wild card is Louisville RB Michael Bush. He would have been a first round pick, but broke his leg early in 2006. He has had a difficult recovery from that, he hasn’t even been close to being able to run yet, and just recently had a second rod put in his leg. I still think he is a talent, but I wouldn’t expect to get much help from him in his rookie year. None of the other backs really get your attention, Kenny Irons is a shifty workhorse with talent, and Tony Hunt is a thick legged bruiser. I have seen a lot of 2007 Mock Drafts with JR Antonio Pittman from Ohio State being drafted in the second round, but I don’t see that kind of talent. He is fast but not very elusive. Garrett Wolfe will slip into the later rounds because he is only 5’ 7”, but height aside, he gets the job done with real speed and Barry Sanders moves. Another back that will slip into the later rounds is Ramonce Taylor, he is very talented, but has serious character issues.

Quarterbacks:
A very weak position this year. We all know about JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, but Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards could be second round gems. Kevin Kolb from Houston is an interesting second tier prospect, and I like Jeff Rowe from Nevada, and Matt Moore from Oregon State in the later rounds. The NFL Team that drafts Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith will be hugely disappointed. The 2008 NFL Draft, next year should be quarterback heavy with Brian Brohm, Chad Henne, Matt Ryan and Colt Brennan in the mix.

Tight Ends:
This is a deep class, but doesn’t have any off the charts talent, yes Greg Olsen has off the charts 4.49 speed, but he won’t provide much run blocking. At one point Zach Miller from Arizona State looked like a first round talent, but he proved to be very slow of foot by running a 4.86 and a 4.91 second forty at the NFL Scouting Combine. There are three small school prospects that will provide great value anywhere after round two: Ben Patrick, Kevin Boss and Michael Allan. Anyone one of those kids has the potential to develop into an NFL Star.

Offensive Guards:
This guard class is deep and talented. Ben Grubbs from Auburn and Justin Blalock present first round caliber talent, but at least one or both will likely slip into round two. There is also a great group of second tier guards like: Josh Beekman, Aaron Sears, Andy Alleman, Dan Santucci and Manny Ramirez, who should all be off the boards by the end of day one. The small school star here is Allen Barbre from tiny Missouri Southern State, he is listed as a tackle and was the fastest offensive lineman at the combine, but at 6’ 4” 300 pounds he might be moved inside to guard. The other player that I like is Mansfield Wrotto from Georgia Tech. This kid is raw, a converted defensive lineman, and then an offensive tackle. I think at 6’ 3” 310, he will settle in at guard. He plays with a mean streak and has a neck the size of a tree trunk.

Offensive Tackle:
This group is a little weak except at the top. There is nothing weak about Joe Thomas and he will be selected within the first five picks. Levi Brown is clearly the next best, he will be gone by the end of the first round, but after him it gets a little fuzzy. I know Joe Staley has been getting a ton of press for his size and speed, but I don’t think the converted tight end will end up in the first round, probably early second. Tony Ugoh is an athletic prospect, but I still see him moving inside to guard, he should be a second rounder, and Boston College's James Martin is not far behind Ugoh. Marshal Yanda from Iowa deserves mentioning, but like Ugoh, looks like a future NFL guard. Adam Koets from Oregon State will be an excellent second tier tackle, he has great feet and decent size at 6’ 5” 300 lbs.

The 2007 NFL Draft Poker Game

The Cleveland Browns hold the key to the 2007 NFL Draft in my opinion. The draft is like a poker game where the teams are like players, unwilling to show their hand. The first four teams already have a player targeted and the ideal draft move would be to trade down and still get their man. Everyone knows the Raiders need a quarterback, so no team (except the Vikings) will be willing to trade up to that spot. The Lions have a lot of team needs, a quarterback and a tackle would be nice, so Brady Quinn or Joe Thomas are the likely candidates, after drafting receivers three years in a row in the first round: Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams. There would be a mutiny within the Millen-Marinelli run organization if they drafted yet another receiver in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

So that leaves the Browns, the consensus seams to be RB Adrian Peterson, but they picked up RB Jamal Lewis and guard Eric Steinbach in free agency, so that is not a certainty, but Jamaal Lewis was only signed to a one year contract, so a running back is still a strong possibility. We can’t forget the best player in the draft, WR Calvin Johnson, who everyone knows the Buccaneers covet. So even if the Browns do want RB Adrian Peterson, they will pretend to like Johnson with the hope that the Bucs will try to trade up one spot and land the talented receiver from Georgia Tech, Calvin Johnson. So I think the Bucs will try and trade up one or two spots and land Calvin Johnson.

The Browns will probably be able to sit tight or trade down and still land their man Adrian Peterson, and pick up extra picks to boot. That leaves the Cardinals with the choice of OT Joe Thomas, DE Gaines Adams or DT Amobi Okoye; probably Joe Thomas since Matt Leinart needs some protection and they just lost OT Leonard Davis to Dallas in free agency. So the Redskins will be sitting in an enviable position with the choice between two fine players in DE Gaines Adams or DT Amobi Okoye, I think the Skins have really targeted Okoye, but they won’t make that obvious, because the Vikings really want Gaines Adams. Now to make things really confusing the Vikings have to be desperate for a quarterback with the loss of old timer Brad Johnson. The Vikings only list two quarterbacks, Brooks Bollinger and Tarvaris Jackson on their roster, Bollinger is a mildly talented journeyman and Jackson is an unproven, 2nd year quarterback from a small college with poor accuracy. That’s not going to cut it, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Vikings put together a Hershel Walker like trade package and make a move up to land JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn. So there you have it, one of the many draft scenarios that might play out in the ever intriguing NFL Draft poker game.