Category: NFL Draft (Page 95 of 102)

ESPN.com’s John Clayton has posted his first day winners and losers from Day 1. The first loser on his board is USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Clayton reports that if Leinart would have declared himself eligible for the draft last season, Leinart would have recieved at least $20 million in guarantees (much like first overall pick Alex Smith did last year), because he would have been selected in the top spot. Leinart slips to No.10, however, and probably will max out at 6 to 8 million in guarantees.

Some draft day winners from Clayton’s list include Denver, Arizona and San Francisco.

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.

As the second round is coming to a close, here is a link to all of the second round picks.

Finally, some of the top names that slipped out of the first round are called. Most noteably, LenDale White goes to the Titans at No.45, teammate Winston Justice heads to Philadelphia after a trade and Jimmy Williams winds up in Hotlanta with former Virginia Tech partner DeAngelo Hall.

Best Value: White, Tennessee. ESPN has rumored all day that teams have stayed away from this kid because of workout issues and health concerns. But this is a guy that had a very productive career at USC and is a pure power back. I give Jeff Fisher credit for finally snatching White off the board.

Best Need Filler: Williams, Atlanta. The Falcons have had great success from former Hokie players and if Williams is even half the player former teammate DeAngelo Hall is, Atlanta got a steal at No. 37. Williams might have attitude issues, but he has the size and speed to take over for an often inconsistent Jason Webster on the opposite side of Hall.

Head Scratchier: My head scratcher pick goes out to the Lions at No.40. Daniel Bullocks is a fine player. But why did the Lions stand pat at No. 9 in the first round and select Ernie Sims when they could have traded back with Denver and possibly add more picks in later rounds? Then they allow two teams (Falcons and Eagles) to jump ahead of them in the second round when Winston Justice was there for the taking. I think they settled for Bullocks once Justice was off the board.

Sleeper Selection: Danieal Manning, Chicago. Manning is extremely athletic and fluid in his movements. He lacks good technique, but joining up with strong safety Mike Brown and defensive minded head coach Lovie Smith will only help Manning succeed at the next level.

Javon Walker got his draft day wish by being traded from the Green Bay Packers. Walker’s new home will be in Denver as the Broncos traded their second round pick, 37th overall, to the Packers for the rights to Walker. Walker will join Jay Cutler, whom the Broncos selected in the first round after swapping picks with the Rams.

No. 24 Cincinnati Bengals, Jonathan Joseph
At one point, Joseph was the top rated cornerback on Mel Kiper’s draft board. However, as the draft neared, Kiper swapped Joseph with Tye Hill. Joseph is explosive in his first step and has the speed to compete at the next level. He tends to gamble much and doesn’t have much experience after being a former juco transfer, but Joseph could add to an up and coming Bengal secondary.

No. 25 Pittsburgh Steelers, Santonio Holmes
The Steelers traded up to select a man that they think will replace Antwan Randle El. The Steelers cough up a third and fifth round pick, but they must feel that Holmes, arguably the best wide receiver in the draft, is going to be the perfect match to Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward.

No. 26 Buffalo Bills, John McCargo
Another member of the NC State defensive line is selected as John McCargo gets picked by the Bills. McCargo wasn’t highly ranked at all, which only adds to the confusion of why the Bills traded with the Bears to nab McCargo. I’m not saying that Buffalo didn’t get quality players in Whitner and McCargo, but their strategy has got me lost.

No. 27 Carolina Panthers, DeAngelo Williams
Desperate for a runningback with Stephen Davis on the way out and DeShuan Foster often injured, DeAngelo Williams is a speedster with great agility. Williams will join the likes of Duece McAllister, Reggie Bush, Cadillac Williams and Warrick Dunn in the highly competitive NFC South.

No. 28 Jacksonville Jaguars, Marcedes Lewis
Jacksonville selected Marcedes Lewis, which was a definite need for them at 28. The Bears were interested in Lewis before they traded out of the first round. The Jags must be excited to select a player that they figured probably wasn’t going to bet there when they were up to pick.

No. 29 New York Jets, Nick Mangold
The biggest hole coming into the draft for the Jets was the offensive line and they have defiantly upgraded the position with D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Mangold. The loss of Jason Fabini is a little less dramatic with Mangold stepping into the fold. Mangold has great power and is tough off the ball.

No. 30 Indianapolis Colts, Joseph Addai
The choice of Joseph Addai over LenDale White has to tell me that White’s off the field problems are very fresh in teams minds. Addai is fast and versatile with a powerful build for a guy who is only 5’11. He might lack ideal size, but Addai is highly underrated and he’ll obviously get a solid shot at the starting RB position with Edgerrin James bolting to Arizona.

No. 31 Seattle Seahawks, Kelly Jennings
Seattle needed DB help, but mostly at safety with Ken Hamlin trying to recover from a skull fracture. Marquand Manuel left via free agency so I wonder why the Seahawks didn’t take a shot at Jimmy Williams here at 31. Williams is slated at cornerback, but is big enough to play safety. Jennings isn’t as thick as Williams, but he has solid football instincts and is very quick.

No. 32 New York Giants, Mathias Kiwanuka
As Chris Berman so nicely put it, the Giants have a solid group of names for Scrabble. Kiwanuka joins fellow defensive lineman Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora. Kiwanuka was once thought of as a top 15 pick and with the Giants addition of Lavar Arrington, they have a solid defensive front seven to compete with any opposing running game.