Alo Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 A full plate of draft prospects will be served in today's three big bowl games. Though not an exhaustive list, here are the guys I'll be watching closely. Taylor Price WR Ohio (#23) - 6'1", 212 lbs. - Projected: Round 5-6 - A decent-sized receiver with 4.33 speed, Price hasn't been exceptionally productive (53/735/5) but has the tools to get picked in the mid-to-late rounds. Greg Romeus DE Pittsburgh (#91)* - 6'5", 265 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - Romeus has all the tools to be an excellent 4-3 end. He's not consistently quick off the snap and still is a bit raw, but he'll draw a lot of interest if he declares. Dorin Dickerson TE Pittsburgh (#2) - 6'2", 230 lbs. - Projected: Round 4 - Dickerson is a great athlete who moved between positions before finally finding his spot as a tight end/h-back. He's still a work in progress and doesn't have great hands, but his combination of strength and speed creates mismatches. He's been disappointingly unproductive as of late, so I'm hoping he shows something against UNC's tough D. Marvin Austin DT North Carolina (#9)* - 6'3", 300 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - An exceptionally explosive big man, Austin has gotten over his past issues with conditioning and has re-charged his motor but still isn't very strong at the point of attack. He's not a great fit for a 3-4 but could interest the Browns if the team moves to an even front. Bruce Carter LB North Carolina (#54)* - 6'3", 230 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - An excellent all-around linebacker, Carter also is a great special teams player: he blocked three punts in one game in '08. He's publicly announced that he's returning for his senior year but that could change if he dominates today. Quan Sturdivant LB North Carolina (#52)* - 6'2", 235 lbs. - Projected: Round 3 - Similar to Carter, but he lacks his teammate's range and occasionally has costly mental on-field lapses. However, he's generally an instinctive player, especially when he lines up on the weakside. Also is a candidate to declare early. Deunta Williams S North Carolina (#27) * - 6'2", 205 lbs. - Projected: Round 2-3 - Williams is a tough, hard-nosed safety but has also done some good work in coverage this year, picking off six passes. However, it's unclear whether his excellent production is more a function of the guys around him: from what's possible to see on television, he doesn't look particularly quick or instinctive in coverage. Kendric Burney CB North Carolina (#16) * - 5'9", 185 lbs. - Projected: Round 3 - Though an excellent college corner (5 picks this year, including 2 pick-sixes), Burney's lack of size likely will limit him to being a nickel corner at the next level. Nevertheless, the junior is rumored to be considering going pro. Matt Tennant C Boston College (#65) - 6'4", 294 lbs. - Projected: Round 2 - Tennant isn't an exceptionally large or agile lineman, but he's a powerful blocker who gives his all while blocking in space. He did a nice job overpowering Marvin Austin earlier this year and projects to be a decent starter at the next level. Taylor Mays S USC (#2) - 6'3", 230 lbs. - Projected: Round 1 - A supersized safety with questionable instincts, Mays likely fits in the 1st Round because of his upside. However, his play this year has been very disappointing, raising questions about how successful he'll be at the next level. Damian Williams WR USC (#18)* - 6'1", 190 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - Williams is a silky smooth route runner with good but not great speed. He's already declared for the NFL draft but his draft stock will depend on how fast he runs at the Combine. He has some minor durability concerns. Joe McKnight RB USC (#4)* - 6'0", 200 lbs. - Projected: Round 2-3 - McKnight had planned to return for his senior year, but the recent scandal regarding his girlfriend's SUV may force him to declare. He's got borderline special ability: though he lacks elite speed, he's able to cut without losing speed and has underrated power. That said, his ball security issues and character baggage raise questions about whether he'll ever be a reliable RB. Charles Brown OT USC (#71)* - 6'6", 295 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - An undersized but feisty o-lineman, Brown struggles against speed rushers but could develop into a franchise left tackle. The Browns could show interest in Brown, especially if Holmgren likes him as a right tackle in a zone-blocking scheme. Everson Griffen DE USC (#93)* - 6'3", 280 lbs. - Projected Round 1-2 - Griffen's an exceptionally gifted talent who until this year didn't show the commitment necessary to turn his talent into on-field production. He turned things around in '09, notching seven sacks in his first seven games. A toe injury marred the second half of his season, and he'd be better off returning for another year. But if he declares, I expect he'll draw a lot of interest from 4-3 teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 Charles Brown OT USC (#71)* - 6'6", 295 lbs. - Projected: Round 1-2 - An undersized but feisty o-lineman, Brown struggles against speed rushers but could develop into a franchise left tackle. The Browns could show interest in Brown, especially if Holmgren likes him as a right tackle in a zone-blocking scheme. I agree. We may not be looking for the massive RT any longer, but with his frame Brown could add some weight and kill his skill level. I would love to get him in round 2 if we don't address the position in round 1 with one of the real blue chip tackle prospects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 Also...what we do on D as it pertains to what type of front we play is going to have a huge bearing on our draft strategy. If we stay 3-4 we may not look at D line all that much unless someone falls in to our lap. If we switch to a 4-3, D line is going to become a early prime target. Any way you cut it we are going to have to switch a couple backers for line players unless we want to play dangerously thin on that unit. I don't think Wimbly as an example is going to be able to transition to a hand down role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alo Posted December 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 Also...what we do on D as it pertains to what type of front we play is going to have a huge bearing on our draft strategy. If we stay 3-4 we may not look at D line all that much unless someone falls in to our lap. If we switch to a 4-3, D line is going to become a early prime target. Any way you cut it we are going to have to switch a couple backers for line players unless we want to play dangerously thin on that unit. I don't think Wimbly as an example is going to be able to transition to a hand down role. The d-line crop is so talented this year that we should take a close look regardless of our base D, but I agree that a switch to an even front would make d-line a bigger priority, particularly defensive end. We'd need to add a starting-caliber end in free agency, then would have to consider someone like Derrick Morgan (DE, Georgia Tech) in the 1st round. I'm not sure what we would do with Kam Wimbley; it'd be a shame to see him struggle in a 4-3 after taking a big step forward this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 The d-line crop is so talented this year that we should take a close look regardless of our base D, I do agree with that as I tend to be a BPA guy, but every now and then I do get carried away and speak purely from a needs basis. Somewhere along the way a D-lineman is bound to be the best player on the board when it comes our turn to pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flugel Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 The d-line crop is so talented this year that we should take a close look regardless of our base D, but I agree that a switch to an even front would make d-line a bigger priority, particularly defensive end. We'd need to add a starting-caliber end in free agency, then would have to consider someone like Derrick Morgan (DE, Georgia Tech) in the 1st round. I'm not sure what we would do with Kam Wimbley; it'd be a shame to see him struggle in a 4-3 after taking a big step forward this year. Thanks Alo! I'm glad you've acknowledged the re-emergence of Wimbley a couple times this week Alo. I think the current staff has done a very good job with him. It's really a pretty good story - because effort was never this young man's problem. He had a TON of momentum prior to getting the flu that kicked his butt for a couple weeks. He seems to be back where he was pre-flu. At one point he had 4 consecutive games with a sack, which isn't bad considering how often teams had to throw on us after getting a comfortable lead the first half of the year. Some of us speaking of wanting Mangini to stay in tact do so because it means continuity with some of GOOD coaching areas of this team like STs (punts inside the 10 have never been better & alot of this is from the backup), I think Bryan Cox is quietly doing a wonderful job with our dline, Rob Ryan with the D overall (I think keeping him can help us mix in some variations of the 46 in certain situations as we go forward - I can see Wimbley looking like Otis Wilson hunting QBs), LBers Coach Matt Eberflus has done the best he could with training NEW people for starting LBer spots to replace (Bowens looks like he's played ILBer all his life while I like what Ive seen from Maiava), STs Coach Brad Seeley with giving our opponents bad field position after we punt and Cribbs' returns improving to even another level, RBs Coach Gary Brown (anyone remember him as a player in Houston?) - once we were finally able to move on to younger RBs that are more coachable and welcome preparing for an opponent in practice - Jennings and Harrison are much more appealling to the eyes. In the end, a NEW coach wants to bring in HIS coaches for his systems and I just think one of the things Mangini did extremely well was put together a staff capable of relating well to our players and coaching them up to improve as the season went on instead of what we had to witness last year with getting worse and quitting as the season went on. I think our injury volume this year is even higher than last year and this team hasn't quit. In the process, we add a guy like Matt Roth? Love that. Almost overnight I'm looking at these names in our LBing corps on Sundays (Wimbley, Roth, Bowens, Maiava, Trusnik and Benard). Seems like a fresh legs mixture with guys that want to PROVE themselves. I'm kind of excited about this because while there's tons of room for growth - there's steady growth IMO. Players ARE buying into the system. - Tom F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mifilia09 Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 Roto World is pretty money when it comes to stuff like this. I am not plugged in to all of the draft stuff at all though so I have no clue who they are going after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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