Interview With SI.com’s Tony Pauline, Part II
NFL Mocks had the chance to pick Tony Pauline’s brain before the draft, and now we had the chance to talk to him after the draft to see who did the best, who did the worst, and who the best couple of players are heading into 2012.
As usual, Pauline was a class act and took the time out of his schedule to talk to us and give us some great insight…
1. Team that you thought had the best draft?
“I thought a couple of teams– if I had to pick one I would say Bills. Best DL, best ILB, and got a terrific DB that can be used in a variety of positions. Later on they got a good safety, OL, and CB. They got good value, and stayed away from what people thought they should do.”
2. So, who had the worst draft in the league?”
“I was surprised by the New England Patriots. It wasn’t the worst draft at this point, but the Pats’ picks were head scratchers. Passing on Cam Jordan for Nate Solder was weird to me. Also passing on Aaron Williams for Ras-I Dowling. I thought there were better players than RB Shane Vereen available, and you could’ve combined Vereen and Stevan Ridley and picked Roy Helu. Mallett was a head scratcher. I don’t know how he fits with that system, or the persona of the team. Cannon was a good pick, but I thought they had a lot of questionable picks. Bypassed better players.”
3. Best value pick in the draft?
“Prince Amukamara and Cam Jordan. That’s a shut down corner, impact defensive lineman that can play variety of positions. Those were two of the more underappreciated and undervalued players in the draft. When you get those types of players at that position that late in the process, it’s a steal. I also liked Allen Bailey/Leonard Hankerson in third.”
4. Biggest Reach in the draft?
“Cam Newton was a massive reach, Jake Locker, and Christian Ponder was probably biggest reach of all.”
5. What do you think of Jerrel Jernigan in New York?
“I thought it was a good pick, kind of surprising because receiver isn’t position of need. I guess he’s a guy that’s going to add some speed. Overall, the Giants did a terrific job. He can be a return specialist, and he’s walking into a good situation. Won’t be pressed to play immediately.”
6. Who could be the “Chiefs” of this year?
“San Francisco—but the problem is this—it’s a tough question because this is unlike any other year in the sense that these rookies aren’t going to have rookie mini camp, and are likely not to have OTA’s. You can’t really put finger on what impact rookies will have because you don’t know how much time they will have in camp. Taking QB’s was a danger. Most of them have struggled. They are not holding out, but are still behind the 8 ball. That’s tough to predict because of the lockout.”
7. Best player other than Andrew Luck eligible for 2012?
“Looks like there will be good amount of defensive players available, after Luck Justin Blackmon. I think he’s a faster version of Dez Bryant. As long as he can keep his concentration. Quinton Coples, DE from North Carolina has Robert Quinn type of ability.”
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