Saturday, April 21, 2012

Path to the Draft, 4/16


Appearing: Paul Burmeister, Charles Davis, Michael Lombardi, Brian Baldinger

* Team news:

Vikings at 3: Beat writer says the Vikings are “100% sold” on Matt Kalil's skillset and it would take an “eye-opening” deal to get them to trade out of their spot. What they're weighing now is the relative positional value of Kalil at LT vs. Justin Blackmon at WR or Morris Claiborne at CB, which player can help make them better faster.


Browns at 4: Team radio announcer thinks Cleveland has settled on Colt McCoy for another year and are deciding between Blackmon and Trent Richardson.

Bucs at 5: HC Greg Schiano really wants a bell-cow RB but Claiborne will be a great fit. No new news here.




Cowboys at 14: This is still universally expected to be where Mark Barron is drafted. Lombardi believes the Cowboys' fallback plan (say, if another team trades ahead and takes Barron) will be David DeCastro, who'd be a perfect fit with their offense, or Michael Brockers.

Broncos at 25: This is still projected as a defensive front seven pick. They haven't done much there in free agency, but they need to get younger anyway, so they need a rookie who can come in and start right away. Expecting Michael Brockers or Jerel Worthy to be available. If there's an early run on defensive tackles, the beat writer can see them taking a running back. Lombardi adds corner and safety as needs.

* Player news:
Lots of defensive back talk to start the week:

How does Morris Claiborne compare to Patrick Peterson? You're not getting Patrick Peterson if you draft Morris Claiborne. Peterson is a more physical player at corner; Claiborne plays corner more like a wide receiver, winning with speed, positioning and being able to go up and get the ball. Peterson is a lot more likely to blanket a receiver; Claiborne seems to leave a little more space to give himself room to make plays on the ball. The panel votes Peterson the better of the two without even mentioning that he is easily a more explosive athlete than Claiborne.

Interesting analysis of what teams want when they draft defensive backs. The Lions want corners who win early in the route, says Lombardi. With Claiborne off the board, that points them toward Stephon Gilmore or possibly Dre Kirkpatrick. In the dome environment, Gilmore could succeed for the Lions right away. The Bengals, another team expected to draft a corner in the first round, want corners who win later in the route. Gilmore's looked at as an outside defender while Kirkpatrick's being looked at more for his ability to defend the slot.

Mike Mayock currently has Janoris Jenkins slotted as a second-round pick due to off-the-field issues. Baldinger says trouble is going to continue to find Jenkins and likens him to Pac-Man Jones. (So, again, part of my mock draft isn't going to look very original. I swear I'm not copying off of these guys.) Thinks the GM that takes him is always going to be worried about him – and won't be able to sleep at night? Davis suggests the main reason Jenkins won't slide out of the second round is that he's too good a player. The panel jokes about teams who always think a player with off-field troubles will be OK once they draft him. “It'll work for us!”. Been watching this show for a month now, and have heard nothing even close to this negative an assessment of Jenkins. Where's it been all this time?

Is Mark Barron really a top-15 player, or is his stock inflated because of the need for safeties? Baldinger thinks a little of that is going on, but Barron is an excellent defensive leader, excellent at calling audibles and getting everyone lined up where they need to be. Very smart player, knows defenses and knows what everyone needs to do.

There's a noticeable dropoff from Barron to Harrison Smith because Barron had to do so much more in Alabama's defense. Lombardi says Smith's going to have to prove he can play high safety and can cover people to be a first-round pick. I guess he means at private team workouts? Pro days are over. Davis thinks the Ravens and Patriots will be considering Smith at the end of the first round. Baldinger adds that Smith's intelligence, movement skills and tackling are so good that coaches won't flinch at having him on the field on important plays in big games.

Davis says Trumaine Johnson's stock is rising, even though it's actually falling, if talk about him being a first-rounder has dropped off like he said. A big, physical corner who can play outside, cover the slot or even convert to safety. So good at his level of competition that a receiver quit trying to run routes against him one game and just blocked him all day. Expects him to be drafted in the Mayock Zone.

Will the analysis of Mike Adams be as frank as the analysis of Janoris Jenkins earlier? Adams takes pride in his pass protection and in finishing his blocks. Says he likes to talk on the field and get in opponents' heads. He points out a tattoo that honors a young relative who died in a car accident. Am I a bad person for still thinking recent Ohio State football players shouldn't bring up the subject of tattoos? Mayock ranks Adams third at tackle. He has size, athletic ability and his feet are ideal for left tackle. But Baldinger can't figure out why he wasn't a more dominant player. Concerned with his inconsistency. He isn't currently a good enough player technically to risk a first-round pick on, not that he couldn't be coached up, however. Some scouts see him as a better right tackle, but he should start getting consideration as high as the Chargers and Bears at 18 and 19. Looks the part, but Davis isn't completely sold that he's the man, so to speak. I believe this broadcast was before news came out that Adams tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Combine.

Former GM Tim Ruskell is asked about Ryan Tannehill. He says there's not much not to like. Big, athletic, nice arm. His athleticism (former wide receiver) really comes across. Moves very well. No throw he can't make. Accurate deep and short thrower, though with some bouts with inaccuracy. Great mind for the game, quick mind, runs the team. Sees the field well and makes good decisions. Inconsistencies in his game come from inexperience, not lack of any skill. But that inexperience is still an issue, and he gets knocked again for his inability to rally Texas A&M from behind late in games. That's seen as a leadership flaw. Ruskell rates him behind Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, and Andy Dalton coming out last year, which, frankly, ain't saying much. (Nor for Blaine Gabbert, ranked behind Tannehill.) Ruskell grades him a late-first rounder but acknowledges he's obviously going to be drafted higher. He's a risk to take in the top 10 but not necessarily a bad pick. He needs to go to a team where he can play some as a rookie, but without having too much of a load on his shoulders, like Tennessee did with Locker last year.

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