Path to the Draft: 3/29 - 4/2

(Posted 4/9/10) Notes from Path to the Draft for the week of March 29 - April 2:

* Sam Bradford. You may have heard that his March 29 Pro Day went very, very well. Mike Mayock gave his workout an A, said he had a Matt Ryan arm, and called him one of the most accurate QBs in the HISTORY of college football. Good at all the throws, can drive his intermediate throws, "phenomenal" deep touch.

Well, welcome to St. Louis, then.

Paul Burmeister (intelligently) asks why Bradford isn't dinged more for playing in a spread offense. Bucky Brooks claims Bradford actually spent a lot of time under center and ran play-action, which will translate to the pro game. It's not like he was running the option. OU's offense is (supposedly) really similar to what Bradford will see in the pros. No one is asked about Bradford's coaches calling all of his pre-snap reads for him.

They go on to compare Bradford and Jimmy Clausen. The talent gap between them isn't big, but the perception gap is because of oft-raised issues with Clausen's attitude.

Other intriguing players at OU's workout: blocking TE Brody Eldridge, RB Chris Brown.

* Dez Bryant. Bryant is persona non grata at Oklahoma State and had a private workout today at his high school. By all accounts he was awful. 4.55 40. Poor short shuttle and 3-cone drills. Wasn't finishing his drills. Corey Chavous slides him to the bottom third of the first round. Charlie Casserly doesn't think Bryant's in shape and thinks he was inadequately coached on how to run the drills. Mayock STILL calls Bryant the #1 receiver in the draft. Says he looked most comfortable during the workout when he was running routes, the closest thing to real football he did all day. But Mayock's #1 QB, #1 WR and top two TEs are all guys who didn't, or barely did, play at all last year.

* Demaryius Thomas. Casserly is down on him. Doesn't see explosive speed or good change of direction. Brooks likes him. Good size, good speed, makes big plays after the catch. RamView still says he's too unproven to use the 2nd pick on when you're taking the injury risk with Bradford with the 1st pick.

* Texas pro day. Sound the Armageddon alarm at NFL Network: Earl Thomas pulled a hamstring running his first 40 and was immediately done for the day. The 40 was in the low 4.4s. Casserly likes Thomas more than he liked Sean Taylor or Laron Landry. Colt McCoy showed he was healthy, drove the ball deep and intermediate, showed excellent deep touch and accuracy, showed great footwork and mobility. Mayock called him a solid SECOND round pick, even though his workout sounds exactly like Sam Bradford's the day before. Brooks and Casserly complain about his workout being conducted indoors. Nobody complained about OU's being indoors yesterday! McCoy's best role is expected to be as a WCO QB who doesn't have to go deep much. He's well ahead of Tim Tebow as a passer but they make comparisons to Drew Brees sound a little silly. Sergio Kindle looked explosive and quick, looks best as a 4-3 end. Should go in 1st round. DT Lamar Houston moved extremely well and looks like a 2nd-rounder. Jordan Shipley caught everything and ran a 4.55, literally in his underwear. While trying to sell us at home on his prospects, they show him make a catch during drills and then fall down for no apparent reason. Remembering his pratfalls at the Combine, I'd swear the guy is a total klutz.

* USC pro day. Unusually, only one head coach was in attendance. And I don't think it was Pete Carroll. Proving the high stupidity behind the workout process, Charles Brown pulled a hamstring running the 40 and didn't get to do any position drills. Nobody gives a fuck how fast an o-lineman runs; why did they have him doing that first! Isn't the most important thing to see IF HE CAN BLOCK? The panel said he's a good finesse pass-protector with good hands but he gives up too much ground to bull rushers. Joe McKnight reaggravated a toe injury and struggled with the cone drills. Taylor Mays had trouble running the drills properly but eventually scored good times. Brooks ranks Mays a borderline first-rounder and thinks he should be used mostly near the LOS like Roy Williams. Everson Griffen did very well in the cone and shuttle drills and drilled well at DE and at OLB. He reportedly ran a 4.46 40 and Scott Kennedy called him one of the most gifted pass rushers he has ever seen.

* South Florida pro day. Jason Pierre-Paul was strong in d-line drills, just ok in linebacker drills. Casserly calls him a first-round talent and another Eric Swann, which I can't tell if is a compliment or an insult. I guess he's saying he's not unworthy to take a big gamble on. Brooks is apparently Carlton Mitchell's agent and puts him over again. But check it out... 6'3" 215 and ran the 40 in the low 4.4s. Called him a second-round talent. I'd love to see him on the board at the top of the 3rd, IYKWIM.

* Team needs. Steelers at 18 - their beat writer starts by saying Pittsburgh's draft strategy will not be impacted by Ben Rapistberger's legal status. He's convinced the Steelers will draft Maurkice Pouncey, but they also very much like Brandon Graham. The panel thinks they should also be thinking about a cornerback like Kyle Wilson or Patrick Robinson.

49ers at 13 and 17 - Radio analyst Eric Davis thinks they go with Mike Iupati at 13 (highest I've heard him mentioned) and guess who at 17. Earl Freaking Thomas. They'll be looking for o-linemen and defensive playmakers. The panel believes Charles Brown, Sergio Kindle, and Joe Haden should be in the mix, along with Brian Bulaga should he slide.

Titans at 16 - Tennessee earlier entirely forfeited any reputation they have for front office intelligence by signing TYE HILL. Their radio play-by-play man says they absolutely have to draft a DE. Hopes Pierre-Paul or Derrick Morgan will all to them, also mentions Brandon Graham and Jerry Hughes. Casserly praises Pierre-Paul's work ethic and character but kind of slams his intelligence. Says Tennessee should also consider Sergio Kindle, and in the third round, should think about taking Tony Pike in a draft that should otherwise be defensively "orientated".

Dallas has cut Flozell Adams and Ken Hamlin, but the panel says they claim they have viable replacements in-house already. They're hot for Dez Bryant or someone similar and are also thinking about Taylor Mays. Team is getting pretty old, especially their o-line.

Giants at 15 - They don't interview an insider for one of the teams in the nation's biggest market. Brooks has them taking Rolando McClain to replace Antonio Pierce. He's the kind of smart, tough,
physical player Tom Coughlin prefers. Alternate pick is Sean Weatherspoon. Casserly says Pierre-Paul and Morgan are the type of DEs they like and they need to build back their DE depth.

* Upgrades/downgrades. Casserly re-raised concerns about Mount Cody's weight. Mayock says teams are "enthralled" with the idea of putting Tyson Alualu inside as a 4-3 DT; look for him to go in the second round. (If you mocked all of Mayock's projections, you would end up with 100 guys going in the first two rounds, though.) Linval Joseph of East Carolina is rocketing up to the 2nd round, too. 6'4.5, 328, long arms, can stuff run and is athletic enough to get to the QB. Mayock also puts over Jordan Shipley, saying he has great hands and great change of direction, NONE of which I have seen from workout footage.

* Assorted wisdom. Casserly believes as many as 25 defensive linemen could be drafted in the first four rounds this year. 2010 is one of the best defensive line drafts ever.

Casserly mock drafts Bradford to the Rams and Suh to the Lions. I will repeat that anybody like Casserly who INSISTS the Rams HAVE to draft Bradford over Suh has no business saying the Lions should take him with the very next pick. Casserly has Anthony Davis in his top 10 but Mayock thinks work ethic, fitness and technique deficiencies should drop him into the 20s. Hell, after that he doesn't even sound like a first-rounder to me.

* Co-MVPs this week: Stacey Dales for substituting for Burmeister on Thursday and Lindsay Soto for doing it on Friday while rocking the little black dress.