Donovan McNabb traded to Washington
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
April 4, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.
The big news of the day is the blockbuster trade made by the Philadelphia Eagles, trading QB Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins in exchange for the #37 pick in the 2010 Draft and a conditional (3rd or 4th rounder) pick in 2011. This topic deserves its own column (and it likely will soon on here), and the fact that Philly traded him to a division rival is quite fascinating as a sub-plot, but for the short-term it all but ensures that Washington will draft an offensive tackle with the #4 pick in this month's draft.
I've neglected the mailbag for too long -- time for some questions and answers. There's too much for one column, so look for more tomorrow.
From: Robert Sawicki
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 8:09 PM
Subject: Detroit Lions Draft
Whats up Lou? Well it's been a year since I wrote you but I still check your site weekly and first off I wanna say you do great work, keep it up! I've waited to write you with my draft ideas and my thoughts on the Lions til a week after free agency started. So far I am very impressed and happy with what my team is doing. We haven't made huge splashes but I think we've made smart football moves and we have brought quility guys in. With signing Kyle VanDen Bosch, Trading for Corey Williams and Chris Houston I think we are making strides and we've left ourselves with many options for the draft. I am a huge fan of Suh and Eric Berry and before free agency started those were the guys I wanted the team to target but with Corey Williams on board I have an idea to make the Lions vastly improved from last year, here it is:
With new management/coaches in Seattle, Washington and a new GM in Cleveland the first thing those teams want to do is find a franchise QB. I believe St. Louis is taking Sam Bradford which leaves Jimmy Clausen (who I think is better than Bradford) the only other franchise type QB. If I'm the lions you trade our #2 pick to one of those QB hungry teams, Washington, Seattle or Cleveland (make those 3 teams battle it out and see who wants and who will give up the most for the rights to draft Clausen). We get one of those teams 1st rd and 2nd round picks. With this trade and with our new 1st round pick we draft the best player in the draft Eric Berry. Now we would have Eric Berry and Louis Delmas as our safeties (best safety duo in the league). If Martin Mayhew feels we still need a DT we draft Terrance Cody with pick # 34 and now he's paired with Corey Williams and Sammie Lee Hill (pretty damn good DT rotation and all 3 of those guys are 325 lbs +, good luck running the ball down our throats). Now with our second 2nd round pick we finish retooling our defense by taking a corner to play opposite Chris Houston. My choice at DB is Kyle Wilson or McCourty. If all that were to happen I guarentee you our D would be in the top 15. Then in the 3rd round we take the best LG left to solidify our O-Line and in the 4th round we take the best RB available. This draft is rich on the defensive side of the ball which why we spend our high picks on D, Next years draft will be a great offensive draft with the likes of WR's Green, Floyd, Julio Jones and RB Igram. With this years draft and after next years draft the Lions WILL BE A PLAYOFF TEAM!
If none of this happens which it probably wont I'd still be very happy if we landed Suh, but most great DT's are drafted in the 2nd rd and later so I think my plan would provide much greater results and help us get to respectability faster. Plus Eric Berry is a freak and Play-Maker!!! I'd love to here your thoughts Lou.
Lou: For as much grief as Matt Millen received during his tenure as Detroit's GM (and rightfully so), it's a shame that Martin Mayhew has not been given proper recognition for what he has done to turn things around in Detroit. It started with fleecing Jerry Jones and the Cowboys out of a first and a third round pick for WR Roy Williams, then drafting a franchise QB in Matthew Stafford last year, and then this off-season making some key acquisitions and putting the Lions in position to return to respectability in 2010.
Obviously things have changed quite a bit since you wrote, and neither Washington nor Seattle are QB-hungry at the present time. But that's okay; with the distinct possibility that Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh will be on the board at #2, Detroit will be in a great position to draft one of the most highly-touted DTs to come along in several years.
It's true that there are some who believe that, by trading for Corey Williams, the Detroit Lions will be more likely to draft Oklahoma State OT Russell Okung. But keep this in mind: Williams turns 30 before the season starts, and Detroit could use Williams in tandem with Suh. At this point, I'd be very surprised to see the Lions pass on Suh. Moreover, having Suh, Williams, and Kyle Vanden Bosch on its defensive line would transform Detroit's defense in a very positive way.
While Detroit's defense withered due to Millen's negligence, the team did manage to hold onto left tackle Jeff Backus during Millen's reign. There's no question that there are things that Detroit could do to improve their line, and the talk is that Backus would move to left guard if Detroit ended up drafting Okung. But the team has Backus under contract through 2011, and he will be making starting tackle money during that time ($5.95 million in 2010 including his $1 million roster bonus and $5.45 million in 2011). To pass on Suh to pay huge money to Okung and also pay big bucks to Backus as a guard just doesn't make sense to me.
As it is, Detroit can't get too excited about Suh until St. Louis decides for sure what it will do at #1, which might be in part why rumors about Okung are out there. Remember that this is prime bluffing season in the NFL, with intentional leaks being made for the sole purpose of subterfuge and misdirection. This is not to say definitively that the Lions won't draft Okung, but that Suh still seems like the most likely move at this point, particularly with the Lions being in a position to draft one of a number of quality offensive linemen who will likely be on the board when pick #34 rolls around in round two of the draft.
As for Terrence Cody, he is a 3-4 nose tackle who would be a strange fit for the Lions, particularly with more and more teams in the NFL moving to a 3-4 defense. Cody has slimmed down thanks to off-season training, putting himself in a spot where a team like San Diego which needs a 3-4 NT could quite easily snatch him up in round one.
Overall, Lions fans should be happy about the direction the team has taken. It's not any fun to be a fan of a mismanaged team, and the fact that Matt Millen managed to bounce back into broadcasting is still puzzling to me, particularly since he is an average-at-best color commentator (he is a great studio guy, though). Millen is the Vince Russo of the NFL, a guy who is loathed by the general fan base yet inexplicably gets one opportunity after another to spew nonsense or drive teams/companies into the ground.
From: Matthew Bash
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Subject: Browns pick at 7
I have a thought for the Browns pick at 7 and wanted your insight. I think the Browns should pick C.J. Spiller from Clemson. An argument could be made that Cleveland’s defense is awful, and it is, but a Joe Haden or Eric Berry (he’ll be gone by 7..if not I like him for the choice) will be a piece to the puzzle, but one of several pieces needed that could be filled with our 11 picks. But, the case for Spiller is this: He’s explosive both return guy and at running back. He’s compared to a Chris Johnson as a game breaker. His ability to catch passes, return, and run the rock make him a great choice with Harrison and Davis as our Running Backs. If, your going to pick 7 in the draft, why not get a guy who touches the ball and can blow a game wide open. Only guy that can do that on the browns are Cribbs and Harrison. We need another threat. Browns went 4-1 to close out the last 5 games of the season, all based on our running attack, with the AFC North getting Wide Receiver happy and depth for each team in the division (except Cleveland). We need a Home run….so with the 7th pick in the draft. Cleveland selects. C.J. Spiller – RB Clemson
Lou: Spiller to Cleveland at #7 is entirely within the realm of possibility. In particular, if Tennessee DB Eric Berry is off the board at this spot, the Browns drafting Spiller wouldn't be a shocker. It's a higher spot than most boards are projecting at this point, but that doesn't make it improbable.
In the time since you wrote, the Browns traded for CB Sheldon Brown, which may allow them to bypass Florida CB Joe Haden at that #7 spot. The NFL is a copycat league, and with the success (and 2,000+ rushing yards in 2009) achieved by speedster RB Chris Johnson, I anticipate that a number of teams will be clamoring for the opportunity to select Spiller.
Some might cite the success of Jerome Harrison in 2009 as a reason for Cleveland to go with another position in round one, but with Jamal Lewis exiting via free agency, there is a need in Cleveland to add another running back, especially one with Spiller's ability. The NFL changed when Indianapolis and Chicago both made the Super Bowl after the 2006 season with both teams utilizing a two-RB approach. Much to the chagrin of fantasy football owners, multiple RB attacks have become more and more popular.
For the health of the players involved, this change is a good thing. Look at what happened to players like Earl Campbell and Larry Johnson when they were over-utilized -- the toll taken was severe. And, with the NFL finally getting out of the dark ages when it comes to the reality of the dangers of concussions, having multiple RB options will become more and more important in the league.
