Path to the Draft, 3/6

Draft coverage got whacked today in favor of the official-yet-hardly-surprising announcement that the Colts are going to release Peyton Manning. NFL Network has re-scheduled its programming to run a bunch of Colts highlights like Peyton died or something. Well, gives me a window to throw up the little bit of draft dish they did dispense...

Manning's release may yet fill in some of the blanks for the future of the Rams' #2 pick overall. Miami is the early favorite to sign Manning. That could leave the running down to Cleveland and Washington to trade for the Rams' pick. But will Washington decide to go with Ryan Tannehill?

A quick scouting report on the Texas A&M QB:
Pros: Very smart, very successful academically. Team player. Reads the field extremely well. Good enough arm to make all the throws. Can make plays outside the pocket. Better prospect coming out than Joe Flacco or Josh Freeman, says Charlie Casserly.
Cons: Only 19 career starts. Ball placement could be better. Will telegraph his throws by tapping the ball. Doesn't make throws that jump out at you. (Casserly said that. I don't know what he means. Happens sometimes.)

The strongest endorsement of Tannehill so far comes from Jamie Dukes, who says teams would be better off drafting him than signing Matt Flynn OR Peyton Manning. Dukes doesn't see Flynn as a franchise-quality QB, and Tannehill would be a better long-term investment for a team than Manning, who's got maybe 4 years left and will be very expensive.

* Team news.

Cincinnati: The Bengals own two picks in the first round, #17 and #21, and, according to Dan Hoard of the Bengals Radio Network, are already the third team hoping to draft Stanford guard David DeCastro. The Bengals' top three guards are all free agents. They also had injury problems at corner last year, so Dre Kirkpatrick is also on their radar.  

Pittsburgh: The Steelers, who rarely if ever screw up a first-round pick, go at #24 this year. Their biggest needs are NT and ILB. NT is especially dire because Casey Hampton is on his last legs. Dontari Poe would have been perfect for them but he has moved up and out of their range now. Donta Hightower could be an ideal ILB for them as Plan B. (Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Baltimore: After they got pushed around by the Patriot D, and the Texans D, actually, in the playoffs, I pegged defensive line as the Ravens' need area, but Jeff Zrebiec at the Baltimore Sun believes they will go offensive line, with Matt Birk and Ben Grubbs both becoming free agents. He targets Wisconsin center Peter Konz, who is the #1 center prospect but disappointed at the Combine with only 18 bench presses and didn't do anything else due to an ankle injury. In any event, o-line looks like Baltimore's red-letter need.

* Georgia Tech pro day.
The main pro day news was that Stephen Hill continued to help his high-soaring stock. (He also gets extra points for the cool Jimi Hendrix hoodie he wore while warming up.)
Pros: Great feet, great in and out of his breaks. Showed he can run a variety of routes. Averaged 30 yards a catch his senior year. Great hands, says Mike Mayock.
Cons: Caught 28 passes all season and had five drops. Not always explosive off the line.

More funereal coverage of Peyton Manning's release may curtail tomorrow's coverage; we'll have to see.

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