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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
April 6, 2005
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Matt Bash
Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 11:34 AM
To: LouPickney@hotmail.com
Subject: Browns at #3 and teams willing to trade
Lou,
I wrote you in March and was in favor of taking a wide receiver at #3 be it either Williams or Edwards. The more research and analysis that I've done on the players coming out I'd like the Browns to trade down for sure and stock pile picks. Who do you think are the teams willing to trade up at draft day to potentially draft one of the two big receivers? and do you see any team like maybe Philadelphia coming out of no where Trading up and Grabbing one of the talented receivers to go along with T. Owens?
As for Cleveland I'd like to see them aquire atleast 3 picks in the top two rounds and grab and OL, DE, and a CB. Some names to throw out....Pollack, Spears, Rolle, Miller, or even Brown, or Baas. Let me know what you think.
Lou: It's kind of hard to judge that due to not knowing where the picks would be. If it's a deal with Minnesota, at #7 you'd think DE or CB, most likely CB with either Antrel Rolle or Pac-Man Jones. From there it all depends on where the picks are. If Minnesota's second pick in the first round is involved (#18), maybe that's where Cleveland would go OL with Jammal Brown. Erasmus James or Marcus Spears would be tempting in that spot as well.
From: Craig E. Beougher
Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 5:13 PM
To: LouPickney@hotmail.com
Subject : Indianapolis Colts
I am suprised at the number of Mock Drafts that have us taking a corner,
including yours. Dungy does not believe that corners make a defense better, he
thinks a great pass rush makes the corners better, thus it seems unlikely that
he would waste a high draft pick on a corner, when he has never done so. It
would appear to us Colts fans that a DT and MLB are the first two positions that
we must address. Given Freeney, Mathis, Reagor, and Brock's ability to get to
the QB and disrupt a pass game it would seem that the Colts glaring need is to
stop the run so the offense can put up even bigger numbers.
Lou: I can't argue that the Colts' run defense could use an upgrade. The 4.6 yards per carry allowed in 2004 was terrible, and only Arizona's 4.7 ypc was worse. But the pass defense was nothing to crow about, as Indianapolis' 243.2 passing yards allowed per game put them at 28 out of 32 NFL teams. Any way you slice it, defensive help would be useful.
Those passing yards allowed, despite a healthy pass rushing attack, must be changed in 2005 if the Colts are going to take things to the next level. If the Colts were 10-12 picks higher, I'd say that much consideration should be given to DT Travis Johnson, a pocket-collapsing DT who would both stop the run and make protecting the QB that much tougher for opposing teams. But they're not there, and Johnson, while good, is not worth trading up to obtain.
The first round is not a hotbed of DT talent, but realistically I believe Indianapolis can get what they need in the second or third round at DT and be alright. Find someone who specializes in run-stopping and use him to rotate in for obvious rushing situations.
So that leaves MLB. If Channing Crowder falls to them, he is a consideration. Yes, the Colts have Rob Morris, but he has been a bit of a bust. Not a Ryan Leaf level bust (but who is?), but the crazy guy from BYU who had all of these stories about him coming out of college hasn't translated into an effective MLB for Indianapolis. So okay, maybe Crowder is the guy for the Colts at #29. But if he's gone, I don't see what MLB is worth reaching for in that spot. Again, you can look for a MLB later on with speed as a specialty for when Cover 3 is needed (when the MLB drops deep to help the two safeties in coverage).
As for CB, the Colts have stressed their fans for years by seeming to forget the corner position year after year in the draft. Indianapolis had a chance a few years back to take talented CB Fred Smoot in the SECOND round, but they passed on him to take safety Idrees Bashir. Bashir is gone now, while Smoot ended up in Washington and is now making big bucks with the Vikings.
Nick Harper can handle one corner spot just fine. But the other corner? Hmm. Regardless of the opponent, two quality CBs are needed. Maybe Fabian Washington isn't as good of a projection as someone who is a better tackler (since Washington has freakish speed, and the Cover 2 is predicated on good tackling from the corners). Perhaps the Colts won't pay big bucks for Ty Law or Patrick Surtain, but they might want to look at someone like Clemson CB Justin Miller who is known as a physical player. If the Colts get him at #29, he could be a nice fit for the system.
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