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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
April 12, 2006
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Mike Bloom
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 12, 2006 9:24 AM
Subject: April 10 mail bag
Kevin Jones dropped from a projected top 5-10 pick, but still went in the first round. He was Detroit's second first rounder at # 30.
Lou: Point taken. My brain temporarily warped back to 1994, when there were only 28 teams.
Actually, it's because he was the second player taken by Detroit in that draft that I made that mistake. But, as you noted, his fall in the draft, much like other highly touted RBs fell in past years (everyone from Deuce McAllister to Steven Jackson), came after months of predictions of him going much higher than he ended up going in actuality.
From: David Rushforth
To: LOUPICKNEY@gmail.com
Date: Apr 12, 2006 12:30 PM
Subject: Comments in Draft King latest update
-quote : "Mel Kiper (who is the man when it comes to this stuff) mentioned CB Jo
nathan Joseph from South Carolina as a possibility at the #20 spot. I don't thin
k there's any way that someone that raw goes in round one, but Kiper knows much,
much more about this than I do. Anyway, it warrants noting, if nothing else."
have you paid attention, at all, to how Mel has done the last few years? The guy
is horrible. Period. End of story. I'd have to do research but I know that afte
r the 5th pick he's been really really low on the accuracy charts (like near the
bottom of all mocks). He may have axcess others don't and gets to talk to a lo
t of people b/c he was one of the first doing this, but it seems to me (after wa
tching him for months leading up 2 the draft... and then seeing how the draft tu
rns out) that GMs and coaches use him for PR purposes and he has a VERY hard tim
e sorting the BS out... thus adding to his problem that he knows college players
very well but has no concept of how those kids fit into the pro game and onto s
pecific teams. P.S. His hair is a really bad versioiin of paulie walnuts.
Lou: I haven't charted his pick accuracy relative to others, but he has a great gig with ESPN and is top-of-mind when it comes to draft experts. As for his hair, that's part of his trademark image. Besides, I have a shaved head, so who am I to knock his haircut?
I do know that he's been early in spotting some guys who have turned out to be great pros (i.e. Rashean Mathis, Troy Polamalu), and while he might not be as adept as some at nailing what team will pick what player, that's not his goal per se. He's a talent evaluator, so when a team makes a stretch pick, or what he views as a good value pick, he's there on live TV to make an instant educated critique.
From: Joseph Pope
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 12, 2006 2:08 PM
Subject: Steelers
Love your mock drafts, I find them very interesting and look forward to your updates. I noticed that you do not have LenDale White in the first round. I'm one of the biggest Steeler fans around, and I would think that they would draft a big back with LenDale's talents if he happens to fall that far. He would fit perfectly into our system and be a great change of pace back with Willie Parker. Just wanted to know what you thought about that. Thanks a lot, and keep on truckin!
Lou: I've seen several mocks that connect LenDale White with Pittsburgh. I think his bad combine, along with his embarrassingly high weigh-in at USC's pro day, will keep him out of the first round. The Steelers are in the market for a Bettis replacement, but remember that they'll have both Parker and Duce Staley coming back healthy into training camp. Now Pittsburgh is a team with the luxury of drafting for depth versus need, so they could go with White and take their chances, but I see White sliding into round two at this point. I think his post-season problems are going to hurt him worse than most people anticipate.
He'll have to hope that teams will look at his yards per carry average over the past three years (2003: 5.3; 2004: 5.4; 2005: 6.6) and consider the off-season slump an abberation, not a trend toward a declining performance. Plus, with all the negativity bestown upon him in the past few months, White might have a chip on his shoulder and come into camp with extra motivation for whatever team takes him.
I think Pittsburgh would also consider a speedy WR, a free safety (as if throwing over the middle against the Steelers wasn't tough enough with Troy Polamalu roaming in there), another OLB (you can't have enough OLB depth in a 3-4... especially in this era of free agency), or an interior offensive lineman.
One thing that is typical of drafts: the further you get away from the #1 pick, the less likely it is that a consensus pick (i.e. many drafts linking White and the Steelers) will come to fruition. When a player falls, it's usually with good reason (for every Andre Rison or Dan Marino who falls due to unfounded whispers, there are plenty who slip for bona fide reasons.) Bill Cowher is a no-nonsense kind of coach, and if he (and the Steelers management) feel that White's 2006 off-season is indicative of the kind of effort he'll put into his work on the NFL level, there's no way they'd touch him, Bettis similarities or not. And it's entirely possible that White will be off the board when Pittsburgh picks at #32.
That's a complicated way of saying that, though the needs line up, a Pittsburgh match with LenDale White is a longer shot than many realize. Luckily for the Steelers, they aren't in a "must take a RB on day one" mode that the Colts (at #30) are two spots above them.
From: Mike Zuercher
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 12, 2006 9:17 PM
Subject: seahawks draft
Max Jean Gillis huh? Maybe, but only if they can get a Corner in the second that can start midway through the season. I doubt it, not where there picking in the second. It doesn't seem like the have enough fire power (draft picks) to trade up.
If they sign law or another vet, chances are, he is gonna get hurt, or they have to be ready in case he does and I don't think there is anyone on the current roster who is starter material opposite Trufaunt.
I thought they should have taken a corner with one of there first three picks last year. I was shocked they took a QB (greene) in the third.
you might consider my points in your next mock. I see a few things,
corner or DE in the first
Saftey, corner ,DE in the second
WR in the 4th
Lou: Replacing Steve Hutchinson is going to be important, and I don't think that moving Pork Chop Womack from tackle to guard is going to be the best bet for the team, particularly if they can get Gillis. We shall see.
With Andre Dyson leaving via free agency, corner is a position that the Seahawks will be looking toward in the draft, I agree. Antonio Cromartie at #31 might be a realistic consideration...
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