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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
February 23, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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It has been a tough 2009 for Alabama OT Andre Smith. He was prevented from playing in the Sugar Bowl by Alabama because of a violation of team rules, rumored to be due to having contact with an agent. Utah then throttled the Crimson Tide to complete their undefeated season.
Later that month, Smith declared early for the NFL Draft. This could have been a great opportunity for Smith to make his mark as the breakaway offensive tackle talent that he appears to be. Sadly, he made a poor impression in Indianapolis on Friday according to all reports out of the combine. From SI.com: "Sources later said Smith's interviews with teams have been going horribly. He's been inappropriately dressed and has been giving a number of conflicting statements as to why he was choosing not to workout at the combine." That's some bad news there.
Things got worse for Smith on Saturday. Smith reportedly changed his scheduled flight from a 4 p.m. departure to a 6 a.m. takeoff. Unfortunately, there was a communication breakdown as some point, and for a time on Saturday at the combine Smith was announced as "missing".
What does this mean for the offensive tackle battle? The full ramifications remain to be seen. Baylor OT Jason Smith looks to be at the top of the class with 33 reps of 225 pounds in the combine bench press, though I've also heard that the Rams (which may have their pick of the litter at #2 overall) are interested in Virginia OT Eugene Monroe. But remember that we are in full-blown swerve season, where teams and GMs will go out of their way to deceive their competition on who they might select, lest they have a rival trade above them and steal the player in question.
It's likely that the Rams will give considerable thought to selecting an offensive tackle at #2 overall, but the ascent of Wake Forest OLB Aaron Curry up the draft board has drawn the attention of the St. Louis Rams, at least if you believe what the Rams are saying. Curry, who at 6'3" 250 ran a 4.56 40 yard dash at the combine, has arguably become the most heralded prospect in the entire draft at this point. His workouts were strong, his interviews were strong, and overall Curry appears to have solidified a spot for himself in the top five of the draft.
The grand irony for Detroit at #1 (as I pointed out last month) is that the one defensive player who the Lions have drafted in the first round this decade is talented OLB Ernie Sims, who is under contract through 2010 (with a voidable year in 2011). Having Sims does not mean for certain that the Lions won't take Curry, but with so many needs present, Detroit might not feel that it has the luxury to use another top ten selection on an OLB (Sims was taken at the #9 spot in the 2006 NFL Draft).
Perhaps I've buried the lead, but another possible top five prospect, Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, has opted not to have surgery for the stress fracture in his left foot -- at least not right away. His plan is to run a pair of 40-yard dashes for NFL scouts at his scheduled March 26 pro day in Dallas. After his pro day Crabtree plans to have surgery to repair the stress fracture, which should put him out of action until mid-June.
One player drop that has been surprising is that of Ohio State ILB James Laurinaitis. The 6'2" 240 pounder ran a 4.59 40 at the combine, and his slide in overall rankings in the past several I suspect has more to do with the breakout performances of other players than anything Laurinaitis has or hasn't done.
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