David Pollack and Dallas talk
National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
January 10, 2005
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Robert Bastian
Sent: Saturday, January 8, 2005 11:57 AM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Eagles draft thoughts
Regarding your confusion surrounding Shawn Andrews being picked by the eagles: The intention was for Andrews to take over the right tackle slot when Jon Runyan either retired or was released. He only has one year left on his contract and has said that he is not seeking another. He also has a 6.5 million dollar cap figure for 2005. Now that Andrews rookie season was lost, expect them to put Andrews back at right guard, and keep Runyan and his large cap figure, with Andrews moving outside in 2006.
I think that in the first round, you'll see the Eagles address their lines. With Runyan on his last year and Mayberry getting older, expect the Eagles to look for a guard. Otherwise, the Eagles don't expect to have Corey Simon back next year, so youth at DT, especially considering the health and age of Hollis Thomas and Paul Grasmanis.
Lou: While the plan may be for Andrews to eventually move to his natural tackle position, it seems like an odd strategy in how Philly stunted his learning curve by making him play guard. The Eagles are a successful franchise, so who am I to question their moves... but by the same token, I didn't care for that one.
With that said, there's no reason why the Eagles can't land Elton Brown (OG out of Virginia) if he's on the board when they pick in round one. Either he or a solid defensive line prospect would be reasonable... though I still think someone like RB Ciatric Fason (who I currently have slotted in the position) is a possibility as well. You can get good guard prospects in later rounds.
From: PodoP33@***.com
Sent: Saturday, January 8, 2005 11:07 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: dallas draft
since bill said he would not draft a cb i will tell you the choices the cowboys would take imo in order. derrick johnson, braylon edwards, mike williams, david pollack thats about it. also since frak gore declared where do u think that he will go? thanks alot looking forword to reply.
Lou: Presuming you mean Frank Gore, I see him going in the 2nd/3rd round range. The injury concern is going to be very real for teams thinking about taking him on day one. It's amazing how far modern medicine has come in allowing players to return from torn ACLs and other severe knee injuries; remember when Terry Allen seemed like a freak of nature when he recovered from a pair of torn ACLs? I could see Gore ending up on a team like Tampa Bay, where he wouldn't be expected to be a starter but where he would have his skills used when needed. Gore's medical exam at the combine will be critical, not to mention his performance in the various competitions (since he'll need to "wow" some teams to help make the risk/reward more enticing in his favor).
As for Dallas, the Cowboys franchise has been remarkably frank when it comes to addressing their draft plans leading up to the draft in recent years. They all but guaranteed that they were going to take safety Mike Williams in 2002, enough so to where I wondered if it was a swerve. But no, the Cowboys held true, and it has paid off for them.
According to KENS in San Antonio, Dallas is planning to overhaul its defense this off-season via free agency, so it may depend on who the team acquires via that route. Jerry Jones hinted that the team might trade one of this year's first rounders for one "next year", which fits the talk that the Cowboys would attempt to trade up into the Top 10 (or possibly Top 5) of the draft. A scenario where they move up to take Derrick Johnson makes a great deal of sense to me. As for David Pollack, I'm not sure why the Cowboys would take him high but not any other DE prospect.
From: Jeremy Venable
Sent : Monday, January 10, 2005 1:56 PM
To: LouPickney@hotmail.com
Subject: none
I noticed that you don’t have David Pollack in your first round. How is David Pollack not a first round caliber player on your board. The guy has been nothing but great in his 4 years at the University of Georgia. Regardless of size, the kid is a playmaker. Did you watch the game between Wisconsin and Georgia?? If so you would have seen David Pollack outshine Erasmus James in every way possible. David Pollack is going to make a coach real happy in the near future. Players make plays and this kid has proven this year in and year out and should be in the TOP 10 of the draft because he is that good.
Lou: I like David Pollack. He had a phenomenal sophomore year, then slumped as a junior, prompting him to return in 2004 for his senior season. He is a great talent, and he very well could be a first round pick. The problem is that there are several excellent defensive talents in this draft, and it will depend on how Pollack does at the combines compared with the likes of Erasmus James, Mathias Kiwanuka, Matt Roth, Marcus Spears, etc. Also, it will depend on the individual evaluations of NFL GMs on teams that reasonably might spend a first round pick on a DE.
I disagree with the evaluation that Pollack is a top 10 talent -- I think James and Kiwanuka are ahead of him on that. But Pollack will be a mid-first to early-second round pick. Where he goes in there remains to be seen. Right now I could see a team like Philadelphia scooping him up with the Miami pick from the A.J. Feeley trade in early round two...
