What the Chargers need
NFL Draft Mailbag
April 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: Daniel Eubanks
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 10:51 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject : Mr. Pickney, I have a question for you...
I was just on your Draft King website and looked at your mock draft for 2005 and noticed that it doesn't not include Braylon Edwards as a first round pick. How is this possible??? He's gonna break almost every record at MICHIGAN before he leaves and he would have been a first round pick had he chosen to come out early and enter the draft this year. He's the prototype WR for the NFL right now....6'3", 210 pounds, 4.4 forty, benched 185 lbs. 31 times, etc....
Any thoughts???
Lou: I addressed the topic of Braylon Edwards in my last mailbag. For Edwards, he must prove that he can hold onto the ball on a more consistent basis. Perhaps it's worth me reconsidering Edwards' listing in a draft projection more than one year out, but at this point it's a matter of proving that he can decrease his drops for Edwards to establish himself as a truly elite WR.
From: Tracey Wells
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 1:57 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: 2005 NFL Draft
Lou,
I laughed so hard to see that you project the Chargers to get the second pick of next year's draft! I'm a die-hard Charger fan (I admit it). I think they'll have the first pick of next year's draft also. Have you seen their schedule for this year? It's brutally tough. I honestly think they'll be 1-15. I only see them maybe beating Cleveland. I'm being totally realistic. I do want them to do the right thing and take Eli Manning on next Saturday. Considering their history, they will somehow find a way to screw up the pick. I know a lot of people want them to trade down, but if you have a chance to draft a Manning boy, you have to do it. Eli is the anti-Ryan Leaf. I am willing to deal with 1-15 this year, get another top pick and draft someone like Eric Winston. Then I think they'll be on their way back. The Chargers have to make damn sure they are smart (an oxymoron for them) and get impact players in the second and third rounds. How about Rashaun Woods in the second round on Saturday? I know they need a DT for their new 3-4 scheme, but I don't see anyone worth drafting this year. I know you're still laughing at me for admitting that I am a diehard Charger fan, but I can remember the Fouts, Winslow, Joiner and Chandler glory days!
Lou: Who the Chargers take in rounds two and three is obviously predicated to some degree on who they take at #1 (assuming they don't trade down). I think they'll stick there and take Eli Manning, which would set them up nicely at the QB position for the next decade or more.
As for round two, there are a bevy of quality WRs that will be on the board at #35. I like Rashaun Woods a great deal, though if Lee Evans is still on the board it'd be awful tough to pass on him. Woods or Evans... looks like a win-win to me.
In round three, assuming that it goes QB-WR, I'd say that San Diego might look for an offensive tackle. Right now 6'3", 305 pound DT Jamal Williams looks primed to play the middle of that 3-4, and it seems that an offensive lineman would be more of a benefit to the team than picking a DT at that spot. Of course, it all depends on who's on the board, but if Michigan OT Tony Pape is on the board he might be a strong consideration in round three. I also like the idea of the Chargers taking Ole Miss OT Stacy Andrews at #66.
From: Louise Toupin
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 2:45 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Michael Turner
Hi Lou, since the draft coverage as started i have been looking a lot at running backs prospect because i know that Dallas must draft on first day. I think that they should address OT or CB in the first round. Now, I think that they should draft Michael Turner in the second. Some draft experts say he has ton of potential while others have him ranked in the bottom of the RB class. He seems to have a very well built body and he seems to have 4.4-4.5 40 speed, wich is really good. I'd like to know what are your toughts on him...because i feel that he could end up being better than Chris Perry and Greg Jones. He should be the 3rd or 4th back taken in the draft. What do you think? Thank you.
Lou: I really like Michael Turner. He has the "small school stigma", but forget that, Turner has the ability to play ball on the NFL level. His receiving skills aren't anything special, and he needs to work on his blocking. But you know Bill Parcells would work with him on both (especially the blocking part). And that speed and size he has is really something. He has the tools to fit in well with Dallas' system (which doesn't require a great deal of receiving from its running backs).
Right now I have Dallas projected as taking Greg Jones at #22, but I think it's entirely possible that if Steven Jackson and Kevin Jones are off the board, Dallas will trade down... possibly out of the first round. Getting a starting RB should be the team's primary concern in the draft, but reaching to take a guy at the #22 spot doesn't need to happen. Not when Dallas could potentially get another first round pick in 2005 out of the deal, plus more in this draft. Remember, Dallas gave up its third round pick to Houston in exchange for Drew Henson. Perhaps it trades the #22 pick for a 2004 third rounder and a 2005 first rounder?
If Dallas stands pat and decides to go RB in the second round, it's possible that the Cowboys could take a CB (like South Carolina's Dunta Robinson) at #22 to replace Mario Edwards, who left for Tampa Bay in the off-season. Imagine this starting secondary in Dallas: Terrence Newman and Dunta Robinson at CB, with Darren Woodson and Roy Williams at safety. Try throwing deep on that quartet...
