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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
January 31, 2007
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: KSRD Radio
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 30, 2007 6:38 AM
Subject: Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
Hey Lou, Love your draft site, it brings a lot of balance to the draft site world. My question is a Chiefs question. The chiefs are aging at just about ever spot on the field and have gaping holes at others. If the Chiefs took Dwayne Bowe with their first pick is there value and who could they take in the second and third rounds at OT and DT? Which position between WR OT and DT is there more depth at and what order would you try to draft those three positions?
Lou: Funny you should mention Dwayne Bowe, as after a great Senior Bowl week I moved him into the first round in Kansas City's slot.
The Chiefs could definitely use a young, go-to receiver, though there will be talent late into day one at WR (Tennessee's Robert Meachem, Fresno State's Paul Williams, LSU's Buster Davis) that could be an option in rounds two or three.
Offensive line is a consideration depending on how the Chiefs evaluate the high-end crop beyond Joe Thomas. Levi Brown will probably be gone when Kansas City picks, Justin Blalock projects more as an offensive guard, and #23 might be a little early for the likes of Joe Staley or Arron Sears. Ryan Harris and Tony Ugoh will be considered at well, though if Kansas City goes that route, I could see the team trying to trade down, particularly if demand to move up is high for what I anticipate will be a run on linebackers below the Chiefs.
Defensive tackle is typically a high risk/high reward position in round one, right up there with quarterback along those lines of boom or bust. Tank Tyler might receive some consideration, but my experience with this has been that some talented DT prospects sometimes fall quite far, despite size or potential or past performance. Not to say that it will happen to Tyler, but there are other DT prospects who could "unexpectedly" be on the board in round two. But assuming that Kansas City misses out on Alan Branch and Amobi Okoye, I think the Chiefs going o-line or wide receiver and going another route at DT (free agency maybe?) makes the most sense.
One other thing: if Priest Holmes is done, the Chiefs really need to acquire another quality running back so that they don't burn out the motor on Larry Johnson. He had an insane number of carries in 2006 (416, and if you count the playoff game, 429.) In 2005 Johnson had 336 carries. That adds up quick, as NFL-level hits can really take their toll on a player.
From: Jason German
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 30, 2007 5:00 PM
Subject: Bryan Thomas
On a number off occasions you have reffered to Bryan Thomas playing de for the jest. No I didn't see a lot of games for the jets this year but the ones I did see he was playin a rush lb role like merriman (just not as good) did the move him de in the 3-4?
Lou: Bryan Thomas is a hybrid player who played both DE and OLB in the Jets' 3-4 defense under Eric Mangini this past season. At 6'4" 265 he is a bit underweight to play DE in a 3-4, but with how the Jets moved him around last year, he was effective at times. Granted, he is no Shawn Merriman, but few players are.
It is possible that the Jets would take Adam Carriker and then have Thomas work primarily from the OLB spot. We'll see.
From: Chris Weatherby
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 30, 2007 6:36 PM
Subject: Bengals Draft
Wondering what your thoughts on the Bengals and the draft are.
I personally see the biggest need at DT and getting a young, top draft pick in there and finally getting some attention on the DLine. (Cincy will ultimately fail to do anything until they quit stocking their Dline with middle of the road players)
I'm eyeing players like Adam Carriker who may go higher than anyone is expecting (Like SF..). There is also Amobi Okoye and a personal favorite of mine Brandon Mebane.
Also, what are your impressions of Ole' Miss LB Rory Johnson? From the little I can find about him, he at least reads like a very raw Odell Thurman, I never got a chance to watch him.
Lou: The Bengals have some decisions to make, not the least of which is what to do with DE Justin Smith's impending unrestricted free agency. Cincinnati re-signed DE Robert Geathers to a 6 year, $32.5 million deal earlier this month; Geathers had 10½ sacks for the Bengals last season. Smith has been a good run-stopper, but it seems unlikely that the Bengals would get into a bidding war on the open market with him after spending so much cash to keep Geathers at the other DE spot.
At the same time, DT is an important spot to fill for the Bengals, and should a top prospect like Amobi Okoye fall, I think Cincinnati would snap him up. However, if Okoye and Alan Branch are off the board by the time pick #17 comes up, the Bengals may want to consider trading down, or going with the "best player available" approach. DT Marcus Thomas is a great prospect with baggage, but given Cincinnati's players having so many off-the-field problems, I would doubt that the Bengals would draft him.
Adam Carriker is an interesting prospect. I've received a few e-mails about him since I removed him from my first round list. Carriker going at #11 is not unreasonable, though I'd think the 49ers would take Alan Branch or Abomi Okoye before him. Or Dwayne Jarrett, for that matter. Bryant Young, while aging, is still a good pass rushing threat, and playing Carriker on the same side as the highly underrated OLB Brandon Moore would be a good match (Carriker stopping the run and at the same time keeping offensive linemen from putting a block on Moore.)
The 49ers have major need at D-line and wide receiver; remember that top WR Antonio Bryant will miss the first two games of 2007 due to violating the NFL's substance abuse policy (he missed the last two games of 2006 for the same reason), and unless the 49ers make a drastic move to bring in a wideout in free agency, WR is going to remain a major need spot in an offense that seems primed for a breakout with a deep threat to compliment Frank Gore's rushing game and Vernon Davis' presence as a huge, speedy tight end target.
Rory Johnson declared early for the draft, which was an interesting decision as he was a JuCo transfer and thus had only one year at the college level at Ole Miss. Patrick Willis gained the bulk of the attention from the Rebels' linebacking crew, but Johnson could be a solid contributor on down the line in the NFL at the weakside LB spot. I'd guess that he'd go in about the third round, maybe a little lower, depending on his workouts, likely to a team that is looking to add depth at LB for on down the line.
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