Category: NFL Draft (Page 35 of 101)

      Redskins still trying to trade up for Bradford?

      April 22, 2010 /

      Let’s kick this NFL draft day off with a juicy rumor, shall we?

      According to NFL.Fanhouse.com, the Redskins are still in discussions with the Rams about a trade up to the No. 1 overall spot. Per the article, Washington has its sights set on quarterback Sam Bradford.

      After trading for Donovan McNabb on Easter Sunday, everyone crossed off quarterback from the Redskins’ draft wish list. But since they’ve been unable to extend McNabb’s contract thus far, there’s growing sentiment that Washington will still take a quarterback so Mike Shanahan can groom him for the 2011 season.

      The idea makes sense on the surface, but why would the Redskins trade for McNabb and then immediately cause a controversy by taking a quarterback in the first round? I’m sure their intentions have always been to extend McNabb’s contract and they’re not going to have success doing that if they draft his replacement less than a month after acquiring him from Philadelphia. It just doesn’t make sense.

      The more likely scenario would be that the Redskins stay at No. 4 and take an offensive tackle like Russell Okung or Trent Williams. Then they can continue to work on McNabb’s contract extension throughout the next couple of months.


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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Will the Skins go with Okung or Williams?

      April 21, 2010 /

      Let’s assume for a second that Albert Hanyesworth isn’t going anywhere and Mike Shanahan is bluffing about taking a quarterback with the fourth overall pick in Thursday night’s draft.

      The Redskins’ most pressing need as of right now is offensive tackle. With that in mind, will they select Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung or Oklahoma’s Trent Williams at No. 4?

      Many regard Okung to be the best offensive tackle prospect in this year’s draft. He has great size at 6’5”, 307 pounds, excellent strength and plays with a nasty demeanor. He’s essentially everything pro scouts look for in a left tackle, outside of the fact that he’s a bit raw and can sometimes play too tall.

      Meanwhile, Williams is renowned for his athleticism. He’s quick, agile and a natural knee bender. At 6’4”, he doesn’t have the height of Okung but he’s just as tough and nasty as his Oklahoma State counterpart.

      Assuming both players are still on the board when the Skins are on the clock at No. 4, which OT wins an all-exclusive trip to Washington next season? Okung is the better overall prospect, but the wild card in this scenario is that the Redskins are implementing the zone-blocking scheme under Shanahan and therefore, Williams might be the better fit.

      In fact, that’s my prediction. Williams is the better athlete and understands positioning and sealing off defenders better than any offensive tackle in this draft. He’s essentially the ideal fit for Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme and therefore, even if Okung is still on the board I believe Washington will surprise and take Williams.


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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Which position is the safest to draft in the first round?

      April 21, 2010 /

      Originally posted 4/17/2009. Updated 4/21/2010.

      When it comes to the first round of the NFL Draft, is one position safer than another? For example, if the Rams have three holes to fill (they have more, but bear with me) – quarterback, wide receiver and defensive tackle – and they can’t decide amongst the three players, is one position a safer pick than the other two?

      I compiled a list of the 345 players that were picked from 1997-2007 (assuming that it takes three seasons to get a decent idea of what kind of player a draft pick is going to turn out to be) and asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter, to rate each player on a scale of 1 to 5…

      (1) Out of League
      (2) Reserve
      (3) Starter
      (4) Star
      (5) Superstar

      The Out of League, Star and Superstar categories are pretty self-explanatory. To qualify as a Starter, the player must be starter-caliber for the majority of his NFL career. A Reserve is a player that is a backup for the majority of his career, so he may have started at one point, but on the whole he’s a backup. For the younger players, Anthony had to project a little bit. For example, a player is a starter in his third year – does he project to be star or superstar, or will he simply be a starter for the majority of his career?

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      NFL, NFL Draft

      The Lions’ potential dilemma: Suh vs. Haynesworth

      April 21, 2010 /

      There’s growing speculation that the Lions might part with a draft pick or two in order to acquire Albert Haynesworth from the Redskins. The compensation in the deal from the Lions’ standpoint has been rumored to be anything from their first round pick, to a better cell phone plan for Daniel Snyder.

      But why would the Lions want Haynesworth when they will likely have the opportunity to draft Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh with the second overall pick tomorrow night?

      Some pundits believe that the Lions will take Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy over Suh at No. 2, but that’s crazy talk. McCoy is a fine player, but he’s not Suh. McCoy racked up 83 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in three seasons at OU. Suh nearly matched that production last year alone, so let’s stop with the comparisons already. If the Lions intend on drafting a defensive tackle at No. 2, then they’re going with Suh over McCoy and I’m willing to risk my extremely low blogging reputation on it.

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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Can we predict a quarterback’s success?

      April 20, 2010 /

      In the April 19 issue of ESPN the Magazine, Peter Keating discusses a way for NFL teams to determine whether or not a first- or second-round QB will have a successful NFL career. (Insider subscription required.)

      David Lewin, formerly an analyst for Football Outsiders and now with the NBA’s Cavaliers, has found that games started and NCAA completion percentage accurately predict NFL performance for QBs drafted in the first two rounds. To be more specific, the Day 1 QBs who go on to have the best pro careers complete at least 60% of their passes and start at least 37 games in college.

      This theory has been around a while and when I was researching it last week, I stumbled across a similar article from 2007, so I’m not exactly sure how far back it dates.

      Using college completion percentage makes a lot of sense. It seems intrinsically true that a QB that has trouble completing passes in college is also going to struggle with his accuracy in the NFL.

      The number of starts is another strong stat. For a prospect to start 37 games, he basically needs to be a three-year starter. This indicates that he’s been around the block a few times, is reasonably durable and opponents have had a chance to game plan for him (and he’s still completed a high percentage of passes). It also seems reasonable to think that most good NFL quarterbacks wouldn’t have to be a backup for more than one season while in college.

      Let’s take a look at the QBs selected in the first and second rounds of the ten drafts spanning from 1998-2007 to see if this theory still holds water.

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      Fantasy Football, NFL, NFL Draft

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