Round 1. #17 - DT B.J. Raji. A beast who can be as dominant as Jenkins at his best. He can spell Jenkins to help keep him healthy and fresh without any drop off in performance (and which Pouha was not really able to do). This is probably the most critical position to the success of the 3-4 and also the most difficult position to fill as dominating 3-4 NTs are hard to find. He can also line up with Jenkins and Ellis to form the most disruptive, havoc wreaking three man front line in the NFL. Round 2. #52 DE Connor Barwin A converted TE with only one year of experience as a DE, Barwin is fast, intelligent, has 1st rate football instincts and work ethic. A tremendously versatile player who could be a stud at the both the ILB and OLB positions. Round 3. #76 OG Herman Johnson At 6-6 and 385 pounds, Johnson is a beast in both run blocking and pass protection. He will be an immediate upgrade over Moore and with his incredible upside, he has the potential to be a Pro Bowl guard for years. Round 4. #111 WR Ramses Barden A unique prospect. At 6-6 and 230 lbs, he is very much a cross between Marques Colston and Plaxico Burress. He is an excellent leaper and very powerful. His time speed is in the 4.5s and is not spectacular but, like Colston and Burress, he uses his strength and body to consistently create separation. Is both a red zone terror and a fantastic deep threat who will be difficult, if not impossible to cover. Has the potential to be a top 5 NFL wideout. Round 5. #145 RB Bernard Scott 2009 Harlon Trophy award winner, Bernard Scott (5-11 - 220)is probably my favorite RB in this draft, While he is old at 25 years of age and had numerous off the field problems in the past, he is an unbelievably gifted prospect. He has great hands, incredible vision and his acceleration and the speed in and out of his cuts reminds me of Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders. He has serious anger issues and a big chip on his shoulder but he is also very bright and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will be a franchise RB. (There is probably a sound rationale for switching the 4th and 5th round picks herein as Scott may likely move up.) Round 6. # 180 CB D.J. Clark 6-2 200. Excellent speed, hands, natural instincts and tackling ability to go together with his great size. Round 7. #211 DE Clinton McDonald. Good size (6-3 290) and speed (4.67 to 4.74 40 times) make him an interesting developmental prospect to play DE in a 3-4 front.
would likely donate my left one to science with most of those picks. Raji - if he continues to impress at the combine he will go in the 6-9 range unfortunately unless he befriends sean ellis and takes a warren sapp like drop. jil
First off - I appreciate the contribution to the draft forum Round by round analysis - 1 - BJ Raji would be a hell of a pick, but after his dominant performance during Senior Bowl week, he'll most likely go in the top ten. I want a defensive back in the first round. 2 - There will be better talent available than Connor Barwin at our pick in round two. Barwin's got incredible upside, but he doesn't have enough experience at defensive end, why would we spend such a high pick on a player that will have to make ANOTHER position switch. I like Paul Kruger, Larry English, and Cody Brown over Barwin. I'd like to see a wideout like Nicks or Britt taken with this selection - one of the two should be there. 3 - Herman Johnson will not be an upgrade over Brandon Moore - he will most likely have to play right tackle in the NFL anyway. Johnson looked overweight, slow, and sluggish during Senior Bowl week. He was probably the most disappointing player there for me - early on, I had high hopes for him as a right tackle, but he looks slow off the ball. He's good as run blocker, but he lacks intensity and a high motor. His weight looks like it will continue to be a problem and his speed and quickness looks to be deteriorating weekly. I think Johnson is going to free fall in 2009's draft...especially if he does get into better shape before the combine. 4 - Ramses Barden is NOT a fantastic deep threat - he's going to have problems gaining separation in the NFL. He is a huge target with decent speed, and he's good after the catch -- he's going to play a lot like Vikings' wideout Sidney Rice: excellent frame and great body control. Barden will be a possession wideout in the NFL, with a good chance of being a pretty good red zone target. 5 - Why would you want to draft a 25 year old I-AA prospect like Bernard Scott? Why not just sign a 25 to 27 year old PROVEN free agent? I don't see what you see in him. What separates him from the younger, faster, stronger backs like Knowshon Moreno, LeSean McCoy, Beanie Wells, Donald Brown, Javon Ringer, Shonn Greene, James Davis -- the list can go on and go on - I can probably name 20 guys that are better backs than Bernard Scott. If you're looking to find a FRANCHISE back in the fifth round, you must not have your priorities straight. 6 - Come on man, stop trying to go after I-AA prospects. A corner from Idaho State, over someone like Chris Owens (SJSU) or Joe Burnett (UCF)? Really? I know it's the bottom of the draft, but there's better talent than this kid. 7 - McDonald is 285-290 pounds. He may run a decent 40 time, but his coverage ability at 285 would be god awful. He's bound to be a backup 4-3 end, or a two way lineman in the Arena league. You could draft a taller, heavier DE and hope that he works out at his natural position - a lot of guys on the board have been throwing Zach Potter from Nebraska into the mix. He WAS a borderline first rounder - he'll more than likely fall into the late second or early third now. He was awful and out of shape during Senior Bowl week.
Thanks for your well considered responses to which I would offer the following: Regarding Raji, he may indeed end up being taken in the top ten, he is still being forecast at between 15-23 on most boards. I would mind moving up to get him either. From the standpoint of BPA and need, I like Raji and hope we can get this done. Regarding Barwin, while I would agree with you that English and Kruger grade out slightly better as pure DEs, I think Brown lacks strength, is soft against the run and does not grade as well as Barwin. This is all irrelevant, however, as the rationale behind this pick is OLB/ILB where Barwin's brains, skill set and versatility grade higher (IMO) than the three alternative picks you suggested. I agree with you that Johnsons stock has taken a hit but I repsectfully disagree with you as to his worth. He is too slow to play right tackle and his size, strength and run blocking ability would be best utilized as an interior lineman where he could use his assets to blow huge holes up the middle. We'll get a better sense of where his head and conditioning are at come the combine but he is too unusually big and strong to dismiss out of hand even if he takes a little time to get squared away maturity and preparation wise. Again, I disagree with you on Barden. His YPC career collegiate average was somewhere around 20 yards. Some of this was attributable to quality of competition and YAC but from what I've seen of him, I believe he has sufficient strength, moves and speed to create good separation at the NFL level. I find his hands to be his principal weakpoint but not to the extent of being a liability and he can always improve in this area. All I can tell you about Scott is you'll see. He has remarkable vision and cutting ability and he is also extremely durable, an excellent blocker and had very soft hands. I think of him as a quicker and faster version of Curtis Martin with much better hands. Time will tell if I'm wrong but I truly believe him to be a rare talent. Time will tell....... I like Clark. I've seen him play in person and think he's a good value pick. Not really following you here as I like McDonald as a 3-4 DE (and not OLB) so I'm a little confused about what you mean when you are referring to his "coverage" ability. Firstly, I would agree that at 6'3", he is not really the ideal height you look for but he is still taller than Devito and Mosely. He's also alot quicker than they are and I like him more than Coleman. Secondly, if you get the chance, let me know about any other late round potential 3-4 DE prospects that weigh as much as he does AND have his speed. He's a real leader who was highly respected by his coaches and teammates (two year team captain) , is very stout against the run and is good in pursuit for a man his size. Then again, if you can suggest a better DE at this pick, I'm all ears!
