Draft buzz, week 5

* I apologize for sounding like Jon Lovitz’s Tonto during parts of the last draft buzz post. The typos have been corrected.

On to week 5.

* Revolution number nine. Rumors, though possibly manufactured at ESPN by Todd McShay, are aboil that the Rams are trying to trade up with the Cowboys for the #9 pick overall. This would be a ploy to get ahead of the Redskins before they take the second wide receiver off the board, likely Julio Jones. Although I will admit I don’t know why Washington would spend a high pick on a wide receiver, lacking as they are a professional-quality quarterback to throw to him.

Another problem with that idea, if RamView’s annual Accu-Draft forecast is right: Jones and A.J. Green are likely gone in the first six picks, not ten. Even if I’m high (happy 4/20!) about Buffalo taking Green, he and Jones are very strong prospects to go to Cincinnati, and certainly Cleveland. Trading up to 9 doesn’t even account for Tennessee, who have never been that good at WR and are likely to be tiring of Kenny Britt’s off-the-field act, as he was just in a police chase in New Jersey and was arrested.

The Rams can’t realistically get ahead of Tennessee; the 49ers won’t be feeling real helpful at #7. They can’t get ahead of Cleveland, either, not with the Big Dead at 5. At 4, Cincinnati rarely if ever trades out of their draft spot, and last time they did, it didn’t go very well. For them. Yes, Steven Jackson has worked out just a little better than Chris Perry. I can’t see any of the top 3 giving up their spot without a king’s ransom and doubt they’d even discuss the possibility.

The Rams might as well stay put at 14 because I just don’t see any way they will end up with Julio Jones.

* Wisdom of Mike Mayock. With what I’m sure was amazing reluctance, NFL Network’s lead draft analyst and president of the I-Heart-Jake-Locker Club has demoted his Husky hero to the #3 QB available, now behind Cam Newton. Mayock may have broken up with Locker because he’s fallen for Andy Dalton hard enough to say he’d take him in the 2nd round before Christian Ponder. (NO WAY.) Mayock kicked Da'Quan Bowers out of the top 10 prospects for his lackluster workout and replaced him with Cameron Jordan. He joined the RamView bandwagon, late, by moving Marvin Austin up into the first-round prospect list. And he made Florida OT Marcus Gilbert and Texas DB Aaron Williams the 501st and 502nd players this year he has proclaimed as late first – early second rounders, the area of the draft now known as the Mayock Zone, where just about every god damn player in the draft resides. Mayock also became the second NFL Net analyst in recent days to tie the Rams to Mike Pouncey. Really?

Path to the Draft appeared to forget a couple of major positions this week, but here are some players they did discuss:

* Defensive line. Charlie Casserly’s top 4 4-3 DEs: Da’Quan Bowers, Robert Quinn, Aldon Smith, Ryan Kerrigan. 3-4: J.J. Watt, Cameron Jordan, Cameron Heyward, Allen Bailey.

Corey Liuget, Illinois – though some teams are looking at him as a 5-tech, Liuget’s a classic 3-tech, 4-3 DT. An eye-popping player on tape, disruptive, quick and tough.

Nick Fairley, Auburn – some GMs may prefer Liuget because he has a higher floor, but Fairley has a higher ceiling, and all kinds of ability, though with real potential to be a bust. He has Ndamukong Suh-like nastiness and is a heck of a football player. (He also looks like a real smartazz in interviews.)

(If Fairley falls past Tennessee at #8, btw, it’s probably best for the Rams to let him keep falling if he makes it to 14. Tracy Rocker was Fairley’s line coach at Auburn last year; he’s now on the Titans staff. What kind of statement would it be if Fairley’s own college coach doesn’t want him or trust him for his pro team? Be very, very wary of a slipping Nick Fairley.)

Marcel Dareus, Alabama – rates over Fairley for #1 DT because he’s 25 lbs. bigger, and brings a warrior’s attitude. He plays every snap hard and has played through injuries. Capable of playing nose tackle, 5-tech or 3-tech.

Cameron Jordan, California – a top-ten prospect because of his motor and scheme versatility. All the 3-4 teams really like him, and many 4-3 teams are starting to look at him as a hybrid base end and nickel 3-tech. Natural pass rusher over the offensive guard but was shut out by Tyron Smith in the regular season.

Cameron Heyward, Ohio State – still seen as a first-rounder at NFL Net. Team leader, captain, 4-year starter. Ideal 5-tech who can play with another 20 lbs. on him and can kick inside. Brian Baldinger claims the Ravens will not pass him up at #27 overall.

* Running backs. Mikel Leshoure is moving up on Mark Ingram for top RB honors. He’s bigger than Ingram, stronger, more physical, and better at making moves on the 2nd level. He can move the pile and draws comparisons to Steven Jackson. Illinois pedigree of successful NFL backs like Pierre Thomas and Rashard Mendenhall also not hurting.

Some more RB scouting reports, all for RBs expected to go 3rd round or later:

Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State – a smaller version of Ray Rice. “Quicker than fast,” catches well, makes people miss. Had over 900 touches in 3 years, always answered the bell.

Shane Vereen, California – 210-lb one-cut zone runner who can push the pile.

Delone Carter, Syracuse – thick 222-pounder with heavy thighs but quick feet. Runs well and can pass-protect.

Dion Lewis, UConn – FIVE FOOT SIX. “Quicker than fast”, catches well, can really fool people in open field.

Taiwan Jones, Eastern Washington – may be fastest player in draft. Mayock said he’ll be electrifying on kickoffs; really? Downing balls constantly in the back of the end zone or watching them fly over your head is going to be electrifying?

* Secondary. Sleeper at safety: John Dempsey, Villanova. 211-pounder had a workout worthy of the top 20% of safeties who were at the Combine and is an impressive tackler on special teams.

Ras-I Dowling, Virginia – Ran in low 4.4s at his workout, excellent for his size. Only dropped one ball during a full workout. Tall, explosive and a natural ball hawk. Versatile back who can play on the edge and looks like a good cover-2 back. Looked a little tight in the hips, but that’s expected for a taller-than-average defensive back. As gifted as Chris Cook last year, and similarly, can expect to be drafted in the Mayock Zone.

Other than those two, Path to the Draft didn’t talk about defensive backs much. They did mention that Darren Walls ran a 4.39 at Notre Dame’s pro day. Mayock predicted that backs like Johnny Patrick, Shareece Wright, Davon House, Brandon Burton, Curtis Brown and Rashad Carmichael are all going to get drafted ahead of where they should, likely before the end of the 3rd round, because the depth of the position falls well short of the demand for the position this year.

* Tight end. A week after saying Kyle Rudolph had to run a 4.7 at Notre Dame’s pro day to cement a draft spot in the Mayock Zone, Rudolph ran in the low 4.8s, and Mayock pronounced him a first-rounder anyway. Credit to Rudolph for running that well just three weeks after being physically cleared. He showed quick feet, good blocking technique and excellent receiving skills, especially catching balls away from his body. Not the greatest athlete in the world; definitely needs to get stronger, and has a knack for getting injured. The usual pro comparison is to Rod Gronkowski since both men are obviously white.

* Offensive line. Besides trying to link Mike Pouncey to the Rams again, Mayock also said he prefers him at guard in the pros because he had a lot of bad shotgun snaps at center. As for people to put around him (2nd round or later):

Marcus Gilbert, Florida – 6’6”, 330 with long, strong arms. Bit of a finesse player. Played well at Senior Bowl.

James Carpenter, Alabama – 6’4.5”, 321. Durable player who competed well at the Senior Bowl. Finesse left tackle.

Orlando Franklin, Miami – 6’5.5”, 316. The most physical of the second tier of offensive tackles. Gave Da’Quan Bowers all he could handle in regular-season meeting.

James Brewer, Indiana – Developmental tackle with great feet. Just a two-year stater.

Jah Reid, Central Florida – Looks better in games than he does in practice. At the East-West Shrine game, he played well in team drills and looked like NFL starter quality. Looked horrible in 1-on-1 drills, though. Projects as a right tackle only.

Ben Ijalana, Villanova – looked great in positional drills at pro day and should be a 2nd-3rd round pick. 6’3.5” with 35-inch arms. 1.76 10-yard split, 25.5” vertical leap, 8’9” broad jump.

* Like to know more about available wide receivers? Or linebackers? Both huge need positions for the Rams? So would I. Path to the Draft basically ignored those positions this week.

* Quarterback. Path to the Draft talked a LOT more about quarterbacks this week, making the week all-but-useless to Rams fans and fans of other teams already set at QB.

First, it’s pretty clear that Brian Baldinger is after Mayock’s job. He came on this week to slam Mayock for daring to rank Cam Newton only 16th-best player overall and to say Ryan Mallett’s not all that talented, will struggle in the NFL, and isn’t the first-round talent Mayock says he is. Baldinger called Newton the most dominant SEC player since Bo Jackson, and says he trusts his attitude and work ethic. Mallett, though, is a statue in the pocket, and possibly has the worst mobility ever for a quarterback (and that’s a position Marc Bulger plays). Mayock repeated his mantra about Mallett’s cannon arm, but to my ears, the Arkansas QB sounds more and more like Ryan Leaf by the day.

Charlie Casserly feels Carolina can compete right away if they draft Blaine Gabbert and break him in like the Ravens did Joe Flacco. He then earned a ton of RamView cred by rating Sam Bradford as the best top QB pick of recent drafts, ahead of Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Gabbert and Mark Sanchez, in that order.

Quick notes on other QBs the Rams won’t draft:

Christian Ponder, Florida State – 6’2”, good, not great arm, good feet. Has played under center and understands the play-action game. Can start in WCO system but has limited upside.

Andy Dalton, TCU – also 6’2”, good arm, not great. Spread QB with a ¾ delivery (hmm, just like Sam Bradford). Great leader, loves the game. Drives the ball with accuracy when throwing intermediate routes.

Colin Kaepernick, Nevada – Lower-body throwing mechanics are messed up, but he’s a better athlete than TIM TEBOW, runs better, has a stronger arm. 2nd-round grade.

Ricky Stanzi, Iowa – Decent arm, has a chance to start eventually. Didn’t play smart at the end of close games. 3rd-round grade. Meh.

* Around the league. Starting this week with Larry Weisman of Redskins.com, who doesn’t expect Donovan McNabb or Albert Haynesworth to be back in Washington next season. In equally shocking D.C. news, the national debt is kind of high. Because he thinks the top 2 QBs will be gone, and, making an interesting point, thinks bust rate for highly-drafted wide receivers is too high, Weisman believes the Redskins should opt for Robert Quinn at #10. Their defense was terrible and needs another pass rusher. RamView thinks they could use another coordinator, too, but that’s another story. Washington’s still a definite threat to take a WR, hence all the rumors about the Rams trying to trade up to 9. They’re also a good trade-down candidate because their second-round pick, #41 overall, might come too late for them to get a very decent QB.

Covering Dallas at #9, the Path to the Draft cast decides to cover the Cowboys’ draft needs by themselves. Because it’s not like there’s anybody else out there covering the COWBOYS. Not much news here. Dallas needs a corner and a tackle, and won’t pass up Prince Amukamara if he’s available. They’ll draft corner/tackle over tackle/corner with their first two picks if they can because the tackle market is deeper than the corner market. A 5-tech’s a remote possibility.

A sobered-up Solomon Wilcots covered Tennessee at #8. QB is first priority, but with Gabbert and Newton almost certainly gone, Nick Fairley should be next on their list. He fits their scheme, is explosive and quick, and can tie up double-teams. They’ll have to get a QB with one of their first two picks, though, and may luck out and get Locker or Mallett in the 2nd. Charlie Casserly thinks the Titans will consider Mallett and Locker with their FIRST round pick. Mayock threw in a curveball with Amukamara, because the Titans have no size in their secondary.

Short and sweet for the Whiners at #7. Casserly and I agree that Alex Smith needs a fresh start somewhere else, but there’s little chance San Francisco is going to find a QB of the future, or Von Miller, available with their first pick. Amukamara would be a sound pick that fills a need in their secondary.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has a complicated picture to sort out with the Browns. Signs point to them taking a blue-chip WR, but it would be a tough call for them if Patrick Peterson is on the board. And, as they’re switching to a 4-3 while lacking any decent 4-3 defensive ends, they’d have to go with Bowers if they feel he’s healthy enough, or go with Robert Quinn. Their needs may have DE on the top of their board. Not an easy situation to puzzle out, so Cleveland may be the linchpin for the rest of the 1st round. I’d expect a franchise that just hired Pat Shurmur as a head coach and Dick Jauron as a defensive coordinator to just go with the most BORING player available, but that’s just me.

* Notable workouts:

Seattle: Jake Locker. SHOCKER!!!! They also had Ryan Mallett in, for TWO days.

Whiners: Mallett and Ricky Stanzi. Jim Harbaugh must not be so sold on Alex Smith after all.

Carolina: two days with Cam Newton. Also worked out A.J. Green.

Denver: Von Miller.

Buffalo: Da’Quan Bowers, for two days, also Robert Quinn and Cameron Jordan.

Tennessee: Cam Newton, Da’Quan Bowers (two days again), and Marcel Dareus.

Indianapolis: Colin Kaepernick. Wait a minute, the Colts need a QUARTERBACK?!?!

New Orleans: Mark Ingram.

* Taking some shots: NFL Net posed a question this week I hardly expected they’d ask: Who’s the most overrated first-round prospect? Mayock doesn’t appear to see that much difference between Mark Ingram and TOBY GERHART. Casserly doesn’t see that much between Ingram and Stevan Ridley, who you can probably get in the 5th. Guess my initial instincts about Ingram after the Combine weren’t all that wrong, then.

Muhammed Wilkerson also came up. He’s a size/speed guy only. He plays soft and indecisively, doesn’t make plays he should make. Not that productive. Underachiever with inconsistent effort.

Charles Davis said he’d avoid taking Akeem Ayers in the first round, then Mayock dropped a bomb and said he’d avoid NICK FAIRLEY, ending the show leaving that just kind of hanging out there.

I believe it was Casserly who said, not in a good way, that Cam Newton isn’t like any QB drafted in the first round the last 10 years. Watching at home, I got the name “Daunte Culpepper” out of my mouth the same time Mike Lombardi said it. Lombardi and I also definitely agree that the most overrated player projected as a first-rounder this year was JAKE LOCKER.

Another question posed was, Who helped themselves, or hurt themselves, the most at their pro day? Marvin Austin and Tyron Smith emerged as the big winners, Da’Quan Bowers as the loser. Smith missed the Combine but made up for it by moving well and doing well in drills while bulking up 10 pounds. Akeem Ayers and Ryan Williams got good marks for improving on their Combine 40 times.

* Draft coverage notes: Carolina HC Ron Rivera has reportedly told Warren Moon that he thinks Cam Newton is worth the first pick overall. Though it's possible Rivera actually thinks otherwise and just doesn't want to be called a racist. Carolina is being lashed tighter and tighter to Newton in the gridosphere.

NFL Net is doing something I recommended in a recent post to improve their draft coverage: they have crews following 14 draft prospects around in a feature they’re going to call “Everything To Prove.” Only problem: “Everything To Prove” isn’t going to be part of Path to the Draft. Watching the sneak peek shown featuring Blaine Gabbert, this is something that should have been a daily part of Path to the Draft from the beginning.

Now that the mock draft’s done, I’ve still got about two weeks of Path to the Draft to catch up on, along with defensive back workouts at the Combine. And yes, the second half of the Senior Bowl. This weekend will be my deadline to review those materials so I can hunker down for the draft next Thursday. Stay tuned.

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