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.
-$-
No comments:
Post a Comment