Three Biggest Draft Losers in the NFC
2007-nfl-draft
By James Polifroni
3. Seahawks
The Seahawks did not select until the second round, 55th overall. With that, they took speedy cornerback Josh Wilson out of Maryland. Wilson did run a great 40 at the combine, but besides being a potential help to their return game, the former Terp will not give enough help in the defensive backfield to warrant a team’s first overall selection.
For personal reasons, I followed Maryland football for the past two seasons. Besides one impressive kick return this past year against Clemson, Wilson rarely demonstrated the speed that his sub 4.4 40-time would suggest. Seattle is in need of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, and with only two interceptions his senior year and four in total, I don’t know if Wilson will provide them with the big plays they need. I think Marcus McCauley, who is a local kid from Fresno State, would have been a more logical selection at this point.
Another possible disappointing pick for the Seahawks was Baraka Atkins in the fourth round. He was simply a potential pick. Seems to have the size and athleticism to be a solid defensive tackle but lacked in overall productivity. The lone good pick made by Seattle is Courtney Taylor. The wide receiver from Auburn was a steal that late in the 6th round, and could be a huge help with his size and speed later on in the season.
2. Falcons/Packers
These two are grouped together because I feel they both made the same mistakes. Each team has a franchise quarterback in need of offensive support, and I do not feel that these needs were met. The Falcons want consistency from Michael Vick. Bobby Petrino showed his confidence in his QB by trading away his main competition, but Vick will not be successful or consistent unless his receivers are, in turn, consistent as well. An underlying story last season was the poor play of Falcons wide-outs, so it would only make sense that they draft help for Vick. Their first pick went to D-End Jamaal Anderson, which admittedly was a sensible pick that will help, so there are no complaints here about that. However, they needed to pick up a receiver with one of their second round picks. Those available when Atlanta picked: Sidney Rice, Dwayne Jarrett, and Steve Smith. Instead, they waited until the third round to select Laurent Robinson from Illinois State. Robinson is a good player, and could develop well, but I would have liked to see a proven winner against solid competition to provide immediate help to the Falcons passing game.
Brett Favre decided to come back for yet another year under center in Green Bay. However, after last years departure of Javon Walker, and Ahman Green leaving this off-season, Favre needs all of the help he can get. The packers first round pick surprisingly focused on the defensive line, taking Justin Harrell out of Tennessee. Harrell will be a very solid player in the league, and although their D-Line isn’t the strongest, I think there were bigger needs for Green Bay to fill. LaMarr Woodley was the Packers second round choice, and even though many consider him a reach he could turn out to be a nice player. The problem, their offense was still not addressed. They finally went with a running back late in the second round by taking Brandon Jackson out of Nebraska. Jackson probably was the best back available; however this need could have been filled earlier.
In the third round, wide receiver James Jones out of San Jose State was a very confusing pick. Jones is in no way a speedster, running a 4.54, and lacks deep threat ability. He had a great senior year with 70 receptions, but relatively no production beforehand. With the Patriots trading for Randy Moss, who was rumored to possibly end up in Green Bay, Favre NEEDS a deep threat in order to compete next season. This need was not addressed in the 2007 draft.
1. Eagles
The main point of the NFL draft is to help yourself become the elite team in your division and conference. Giving your first round pick to a DIVISION RIVAL goes completely against that method. After the Cowboys traded their first round pick of the ’07 draft, the Eagles let them right back in. The Cowboys would go on to use this pick to improve their pass rush, which is bad news for starting quarterback, the injury prone Donovan McNabb.
Philadelphia may have had McNabb’s injury woe’s in mind when making their first overall selection. The 36th overall pick was Kevin Kolb, quarterback out of Houston. This was one of the more outrageous picks of the entire draft. What does taking a quarterback this early say to Donovan McNabb. And, if they really are concerned about McNabb’s future in Philly (which I can’t blame them for as I agree McNabb has peaked long ago), is Kolb really the direction they wanted to go in? He did have great numbers throughout his career in Houston, but he was playing in one of the best systems for a college quarterback to compete in. His accuracy is yet to be proven, and had far too many balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage. As a matter of fact, I really think that he has the most question marks of all of the second wave of QB’s in the draft (this group would include Drew Stanton, Trent Edwards, and John Beck). Many think that John Beck would have been the best fit here having the intangibles and toughness to play in Philadelphia. Furthermore, given Andy Reid’s connections with BYU, it just seems to make more sense.
Victor Abaimiri of Notre Dame was their next pick. This seemed to be a reach as well. With better defensive ends on the board, this under achieving talent is not what they need in terms of immediate help. The only hope is that the veterans in Philly’s front seven will help Abaimiri to realize his potential. The Eagles best pick overall came in the third round with Tony Hunt. His power and tough running style is just what they are missing, and is a perfect complement to Brian Westbrook. Hunt’s Pennsylvania connections after playing at Penn State will also go a long way in winning over those tough Philadelphia fans. Overall, the Eagles had the least impressive draft of everyone in the NFC. In my eyes, they sadly went from contender to pretender in one crucial weekend. Then again, isn’t that the beauty of the NFL Draft?
By James Polifroni
3. Seahawks
The Seahawks did not select until the second round, 55th overall. With that, they took speedy cornerback Josh Wilson out of Maryland. Wilson did run a great 40 at the combine, but besides being a potential help to their return game, the former Terp will not give enough help in the defensive backfield to warrant a team’s first overall selection.
For personal reasons, I followed Maryland football for the past two seasons. Besides one impressive kick return this past year against Clemson, Wilson rarely demonstrated the speed that his sub 4.4 40-time would suggest. Seattle is in need of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, and with only two interceptions his senior year and four in total, I don’t know if Wilson will provide them with the big plays they need. I think Marcus McCauley, who is a local kid from Fresno State, would have been a more logical selection at this point.
Another possible disappointing pick for the Seahawks was Baraka Atkins in the fourth round. He was simply a potential pick. Seems to have the size and athleticism to be a solid defensive tackle but lacked in overall productivity. The lone good pick made by Seattle is Courtney Taylor. The wide receiver from Auburn was a steal that late in the 6th round, and could be a huge help with his size and speed later on in the season.
2. Falcons/Packers
These two are grouped together because I feel they both made the same mistakes. Each team has a franchise quarterback in need of offensive support, and I do not feel that these needs were met. The Falcons want consistency from Michael Vick. Bobby Petrino showed his confidence in his QB by trading away his main competition, but Vick will not be successful or consistent unless his receivers are, in turn, consistent as well. An underlying story last season was the poor play of Falcons wide-outs, so it would only make sense that they draft help for Vick. Their first pick went to D-End Jamaal Anderson, which admittedly was a sensible pick that will help, so there are no complaints here about that. However, they needed to pick up a receiver with one of their second round picks. Those available when Atlanta picked: Sidney Rice, Dwayne Jarrett, and Steve Smith. Instead, they waited until the third round to select Laurent Robinson from Illinois State. Robinson is a good player, and could develop well, but I would have liked to see a proven winner against solid competition to provide immediate help to the Falcons passing game.
Brett Favre decided to come back for yet another year under center in Green Bay. However, after last years departure of Javon Walker, and Ahman Green leaving this off-season, Favre needs all of the help he can get. The packers first round pick surprisingly focused on the defensive line, taking Justin Harrell out of Tennessee. Harrell will be a very solid player in the league, and although their D-Line isn’t the strongest, I think there were bigger needs for Green Bay to fill. LaMarr Woodley was the Packers second round choice, and even though many consider him a reach he could turn out to be a nice player. The problem, their offense was still not addressed. They finally went with a running back late in the second round by taking Brandon Jackson out of Nebraska. Jackson probably was the best back available; however this need could have been filled earlier.
In the third round, wide receiver James Jones out of San Jose State was a very confusing pick. Jones is in no way a speedster, running a 4.54, and lacks deep threat ability. He had a great senior year with 70 receptions, but relatively no production beforehand. With the Patriots trading for Randy Moss, who was rumored to possibly end up in Green Bay, Favre NEEDS a deep threat in order to compete next season. This need was not addressed in the 2007 draft.
1. Eagles
The main point of the NFL draft is to help yourself become the elite team in your division and conference. Giving your first round pick to a DIVISION RIVAL goes completely against that method. After the Cowboys traded their first round pick of the ’07 draft, the Eagles let them right back in. The Cowboys would go on to use this pick to improve their pass rush, which is bad news for starting quarterback, the injury prone Donovan McNabb.
Philadelphia may have had McNabb’s injury woe’s in mind when making their first overall selection. The 36th overall pick was Kevin Kolb, quarterback out of Houston. This was one of the more outrageous picks of the entire draft. What does taking a quarterback this early say to Donovan McNabb. And, if they really are concerned about McNabb’s future in Philly (which I can’t blame them for as I agree McNabb has peaked long ago), is Kolb really the direction they wanted to go in? He did have great numbers throughout his career in Houston, but he was playing in one of the best systems for a college quarterback to compete in. His accuracy is yet to be proven, and had far too many balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage. As a matter of fact, I really think that he has the most question marks of all of the second wave of QB’s in the draft (this group would include Drew Stanton, Trent Edwards, and John Beck). Many think that John Beck would have been the best fit here having the intangibles and toughness to play in Philadelphia. Furthermore, given Andy Reid’s connections with BYU, it just seems to make more sense.
Victor Abaimiri of Notre Dame was their next pick. This seemed to be a reach as well. With better defensive ends on the board, this under achieving talent is not what they need in terms of immediate help. The only hope is that the veterans in Philly’s front seven will help Abaimiri to realize his potential. The Eagles best pick overall came in the third round with Tony Hunt. His power and tough running style is just what they are missing, and is a perfect complement to Brian Westbrook. Hunt’s Pennsylvania connections after playing at Penn State will also go a long way in winning over those tough Philadelphia fans. Overall, the Eagles had the least impressive draft of everyone in the NFC. In my eyes, they sadly went from contender to pretender in one crucial weekend. Then again, isn’t that the beauty of the NFL Draft?
2 comments:
You could also include the New Orleans Saints. They spent their 1st round pick on a soft WR and he consequently showed up to mini-camp overweight. They have very few holes to fill and they managed to fill none of them adequately in the draft.
As a packer fan I have a lot of faith in Ted Thompson. So, I'm trying to stay optimistic and just believe and trust in him. Last year he drafted us our team leader in tackles, and all-rookie team selection at WR, and completely revamped our OLine successfully. I think the Pack will be OK with this one. NOthing great but no MAJOR failure.
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