Last round of the day, round three. Less well-known names came off the board in this round than round two, but plenty of quality players none the less. There are still a lot of solid players left for day two.
Best Value: Brodie Croyle, Kansas City. Mel Kiper loves this guy’s arm strength and character. Kansas City makes a nice move here to sure up their backup quarterback position once Trent Green decides to hang it up. Chris Mortensen projects that Croyle could be a solid starter after two to three years of grooming under Green.
Best Need Filler: Leonard Pope, Arizona. Pope was basically snatched away right in front of Chicago, whom I believe would have loved to have seen him slip to them in the third round. Pope, however, goes to the Cardinals where newly drafted Matt Leinart will have Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and now Pope as weapons. Not a bad offense after you throw Edgerrin James in the mix.
Head Scratchier: Brian Calhoun, Detroit. Not to keep going to the well, but what are the Lions doing? Once again, not that they picked a bad player, but Brian Calhoun? He should fit well on the depth chart along with Kevin Jones, Shawn Bryson, Artose Pinner and Arlen Harris. The Lions should have a draft day motto of: “Detroit Lion football: You can never have enough wide receivers or running backs!”
Sleeper Selection: Ashton Youboty, Buffalo. This isn’t necessarily a sleeper, because Youboty was rated right around a third round selection, but I just figured that since I’ve been hammering the Bills strategy all day that I’d give them some props. He fills a need and might start in the nickel slot as early as this season.
Well, that does it for day one, but check back tomorrow as we’ll have more draft coverage. Also, make sure to check the player profiles early next week as they will be updated with new articles on some of the top ranked players.
