2011 NFL Draft News & Notes. Do the Rams Need Julio Jones?
Mike Sando of ESPN asks how big is the need for the Rams at WR. And hints at something that Walter Cherepinsky of walterfootball and I briefly discussed (interview with him coming out soon): does Josh McDaniels believe so much in his ability as an offensive coordinator that the Rams won’t entertain moving up for Julio Jones.
Stewart Bradley could be the reason why the NFL altered some of his policies on concussions.
You know what I’ve been thinking? The NFL is still behind other sports in terms of concussions. Aaron Rodgers had two concussions last year on his second one he missed one game (vs the Patriots). Justin Morneau had one concussion in baseball and missed Months. Same thing with Sydney Crosby in the NHL. Does the NFL still havea ways to go with concussions?
Bill Willamson of ESPN Takes a look at the draft philosophy of the AFC West
And had an interesting little take on the Raiders. And right now, that’s not such a bad thing. After whiffing on several first-round picks, Davis put together one of the most complete drafts in the NFL in 2010. Davis had a draft resurgence by sticking to the basics. He drafted good college players who also tested well at the combine in the offseason. In recent years, Davis seemed more fixated on combine scores and measurables than college production. He took several chances on players who looked the part but didn’t necessarily have the college résumé to back it up. Last year, he drafted proven college players
I agree in part, however Al Davis did end up with Bruce Campbell anyway. What kind of approach will Davis take this year. I think Davis gets a little bit of a bad rep because he makes some crazy decisions, but put a QB like Big Ben, or Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers on that Raiders team and they have more than enough talent to compete at a very high level, I believe. Keeping consistent coaching, might help too. I mean Russell was a colossal failure and Heyward Bey wasn’t a great pick, but some of the picks have been very good (Asmougha). The Darren McFadden pick was starting to look better and better last year. Stanford Routt.
Not breaking news, but teams are red flagging Phil Taylor’s feet. If true, it could be a problem because a man with his size having bad feet is not a good combination. Sayre and I don’t see him as a first round talent to begin with and this would be the nail in the coffin so to speak for me as far as avoiding him in the first round.
Rob Rang highlights the RB and T class as the underrated group of prospects this year.
Rang and I are on the same terms as far as the runing back class (I think the first round of OT is underrated, not in love with the depth, other than Jah Reid late). He highlights a few of the running backs we also like here at nflmocks.
Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, Eastern Washington’s Taiwan Jones and Hawaii’s Alex Green are only a few of the backs not getting a lot of media attention that I feel will ultimately surprise.
Sayre has gone on and on and on about Alex Green (just playing around). So you know he loves him. I’ve mocked Rodgers to my favorite team, late a few different times. I like him. And then Rang throws in one more I like as well. Clemson RB Jamie Harper.
Not so, Surprise! This is so obviously that I debated not putting it in here, but the Patriots are fielding calls to trade draft picks. What’s more surprising than that isBill Belichick takling about what he may or may not do.
“We’ve definitely been contacted by teams below us offering to move back, and by teams behind us looking to move up,” Belichick said, via USA Today. “There definitely seems to be a lot of interest in our draft picks. And as you know we’re not afraid to trade them.”
Lastly, NFL.com takes a pretty good look at the 2008 nfl draft a few years from then (I plan on doing something similar to this effect sometime soon). They Re-do the first 10 picks and then takes a look at the best and worst drats from 2008.
Best team draft
The Falcons, under the direction of general manager Thomas Dimitroff, had one of those drafts you dream about. They got a franchise quarterback in Ryan, a starting left tackle in Sam Baker (21), a starting middle linebacker in Lofton, a starting safety in Thomas DeCoud (98), a pass rusher in Kroy Biermann (154) and a slot receiver in Harry Douglas (84).
Worst team draft
It’s a little early to declare the worst draft but a few look shaky, most notably San Francisco’s. The 49ers’ bad draft began with Balmer. In the second round they took Chilo Rachal, who needs to play better, and two more players after that who aren’t on the team. At least Josh Morgan was a steal in the sixth round.
Good stuff. I know the Giants had a pretty good draft that year too with Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas, Mario Manningham, and Jonathan Goff as the picks in rounds 1-3 and round 5.
What is your favorite team? And how does their 2008 draft look now?