The scoop on Igor
2004 NFL Draft Mailbag
March 16, 2004
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Gary Graham
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:44 AM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Draft
This is another mailbag question for you. I just read that the Chargers traded David Boston to the Dolphins, thereby leaving them without a legitimate wide receiver threat (I am sorry, I dont consider Reche Caldwell or Tim Dwight legitimate threats). Do you now see San Diego now entering the sweepstakes for Mike Williams or Larry Fitzgerald #1 overall or do you see them still going the Eil Manning route? I am excited because I feel that this gives the Raiders a better shot at landing Eli Manning with the #2 pick. I will be happy if the Raiders land one of these four players with the #2 overall pick:
Larry Fitzgerald
Eli Manning
Mike Williams
Robert Gallery
If Al Davis screws up (and it can happen, remember his two questionable first round choices last season) and drafts anyone else other than the four players mentioned above (I am still not sold on Roethlisberger yet) I will be one very disappointed member of The Raider Nation come April 24th. What do you think?
Lou: The Chargers could very well go with Larry Fitzgerald at #1, though you have to also look at the big picture: this is a WR deep draft. San Diego picks again at #35, and there will be some great WRs on the board (or if not, some really solid first round talent will have fallen). The David Boston trade was done due to the fact that he could not co-exist with San Diego head coach Marty Schottenheimer, and while it does leave San Diego with a hole at WR, it does not mean that it's a lock that the Chargers will take a receiver at #1. At this point, I still see San Diego taking Eli Manning at #1.
As for last year's draft, give the guys the Raiders took some time to develop (generally it requires at least three years of hindsight after a draft to fully critique how a team did). But, at least at this point, it seems that the Raiders made some questionable picks.
Fortunately for Oakland fans, there is so much talent at the top that any number of players at the #2 spot could be taken and fit in well. The downside is that they'd fit in well due to the many holes in the Raiders lineup, but such is life in the NFL. If Manning is taken #1, the Raiders would take some heat by passing on Larry Fitzgerald and snagging OT Robert Gallery (filling a desperate need on the team). But, much like the Chargers, the Raiders might realize the talent at the WR spot that will be there in Round 2 (where Oakland picks at #45). It's a touch riskier than San Diego's situation, since a lot can happen between #35 and #45, but Al Davis has never been accused of being a coward.
But in the end, I think Eli Manning and Larry Fitzgerald will both prove to be too tempting for Oakland to pass up. It's a win-win situation either way.
From: Thomas M. Delvano
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 1:14 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Steven Jackson
Do you really think that Steven Jackson is going to be around at # 22? Most
other mock drafts have him going in the top 10. Also, the Patriots (#21)
need a running back too, and you know they will take him before Dallas has
the opportunity.
Lou: The Jackson situation is interesting. If both Kevin Jones and Steven Jackson are on the board at #21, I see the Patriots taking Jones, since he's a better pass catcher and would seem on the surface to be a better fit in the offense. Dallas and New England enter the draft as two teams very much needing RBs, but in the NFL Draft there's always a twist. Detroit could use a running back, but up at #6 it would see early to take Jackson (especially if Detroit could get Kellen Winslow at that spot). The only scenario I can foresee where Jackson would go in the Top 10 would be if Detroit traded down to, say, Jacksonville at #9. The Jaguars would leapfrog the Falcons and Browns (both potential teams to take WRs), snag the likes of a Mike Williams or a Roy Williams, and allow Detroit to sit back at #9. If Winslow falls to Detroit, then they get him lower and cheaper, plus get an extra pick or two from Jacksonville. If Winslow is gone, then at that point they'd take Jackson.
From: Jon Howard
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 12:45 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Igor?
How did ya come up with him for Seattle, assuming you have the position correct, was it because he played for nearby Oregon? Isnt the guy coming out of college early? mature? better players available?
Lou: Igor Olshansky came out a year early, but he jumped from a projected third/fourth rounder to a potential first rounder by wowing everyone at the Indianapolis combine by bench-pressing the standard 225 pounds an eye-popping 41 times.
That's not to say that Olshansky won't need some training. He moved from the Ukraine to San Francisco in 1989 and didn't begin playing football until his junior year of high school.
His proximity to Seattle in college at Oregon is immaterial in this case. It's possible that Seattle would prefer to have a DT who would be able to play right away, like Florida State DT Darnell Dockett. If the prognostications of Seattle wanting a DT are accurate, it might be in the Seahawks' best interest to consider trading down (especially with so many CB-hungry teams logjammed at the end of the first round) and see if they can still get the player they want down there. Especially if it ends up being a project guy like Olshansky.
