Direckshun
04-19-2008, 04:53 PM
http://www.kffl.com/article.php/87790/123
NFL Draft Grapevine
April 18, 2008
By Cory J. Bonini
One week away. Just one week. That's it. Seven days and change.
The clock is on for those anxiously awaiting the 2008 NFL Draft's commencement. In this week's release of KFFL's NFL Draft Grapevine we look at potential surprises in the top five picks.
Obviously, anything could happen, but we are going to address scenarios that appear somewhat likely.
Scenario 1Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Chris Long DE Virginia
2 St. Louis Rams Jake Long OT Michigan
3 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4 Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
In this event, the Long boys go back to back, Ryan is indeed the Falcons' choice, McFadden a top-five pick and Dorsey slides a hair. Of course, every pick is predicated, to a degree, by what the teams before them do. Miami has the remote control. What they do creates a trickle-down effect that starts with the Rams and snowballs through the Chiefs.
The Winner: Kansas City is the team that gains the most in this case, in our opinion, because we believe Dorsey is the best overall prospect in the draft. They would gain the top available player and fill a need at once.
The Loser: The Raiders have more holes than one pick can fill, as do most teams picking inside the top five, but running back isn't where they would be best served to address. The selection of McFadden would make sense in a lot of regards, but stopping the run is their key need. In other words, they would be foolish to pass on Dorsey.
The Wash: The Falcons selecting Ryan seems like a no-brainer, but we have a feeling they may pass on him. The team is now a power-running offense and doesn't need anything more than a game manager to run it. That player isn't Ryan, especially given his troubles with protecting the football at the collegiate level. The best pick for the Falcons is Jake Long, but they are not going to have that luxury in this scenario.
Scenario 2Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Jake Long OT Michigan
2 St. Louis Rams Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
3 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4 Oakland Raiders Chris Long DE Virginia
5 Kansas City Chiefs Ryan Clady OT Boise State
This scenario sees the Dolphins securing the top offensive lineman in the draft and not Chris Long. As a result, the Rams land the best defensive lineman in the draft. A feel-good reunion of the Raiders organization and a member of the Howie Long family becomes the draft buzz.
The Winner: Jake Long. Long would become only the second offensive tackle to be drafted No. 1 overall. In the process, Long receives the largest amount of guaranteed money paid to an offensive lineman in NFL history. The Dolphins themselves also win - not only do they get a premier left tackle, the team saves a few million in guaranteed money just by not drafting a quarterback.
The Loser: The Chiefs have to settle for the second-best offensive tackle and miss out on Dorsey, too. The selection of Clady would purely be out of need, but don't be shocked if the team went in another direction (offensive guard or cornerback).
The Wash: Again, we will pick Ryan to the Falcons. For the same reasons previously listed, Ryan doesn't give the Falcons the best bang for their buck at No. 3 overall.
Scenario 3Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Chris Long DE Virginia
2 St. Louis Rams Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
3 Atlanta Falcons Jake Long OT Michigan
4 Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs Branden Albert OG Virginia
The only two items of note with this rendition is the Falcons passing on Ryan if Jake Long falls to them, and the other scenario is the Chiefs grabbing Albert instead of reaching for Clady or a cornerback.
The Winner: Brandon Albert. He simply doesn't carry a top-10 grade, let alone a top-five. Albert is the best guard in a very weak class and should be viewed as more of a late-round option in the first. We don't expect to hear his name called until the No. 23 pick when the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the clock.
The Loser: Kansas City would be the biggest loser in this scenario as far as the teams are concerned, because they would be better off drafting Clady as a bookend left tackle than reaching even more for Albert. However, Ryan loses out the most, specifically from a financial position, because he would likely fall to No. 8 overall (Baltimore Ravens) or beyond.
The Wash: The Rams get a great player no matter what they choose to do in this event. The choice of Jake Long or Dorsey is one that would have to be determined by the need rather than the player himself. If the defense wins out, Dorsey would be their guy, but there is equal question as to whether the defense's voice will be loud enough to drown out the calls for Jake Long from the other side of the ball.
Other Possibilities
We think there is a chance the Chiefs would draft a cornerback, like Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the University of South Florida's Mike Jenkins or Troy University's Leodis McKelvin. There doesn't seem to be a great reason to believe that Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston will be the Dolphins' pick, or any other top-five team's for that matter.
Conclusions
The Chiefs are in the worst position of any team. They are damned if they do, and damned if they don't in most scenarios. In the best-case, the Chiefs land either Jake Long or Dorsey, but it is likely that neither of which actually comes to fruition with the way the dominoes are expected to fall. In all likelihood, the Chiefs will be forced to reach for someone or trade down. The prospects of reaching for someone may not be too bad, especially if the team is quite high on Clady or Albert as the media seemingly has promoted lately.
NFL Draft Grapevine
April 18, 2008
By Cory J. Bonini
One week away. Just one week. That's it. Seven days and change.
The clock is on for those anxiously awaiting the 2008 NFL Draft's commencement. In this week's release of KFFL's NFL Draft Grapevine we look at potential surprises in the top five picks.
Obviously, anything could happen, but we are going to address scenarios that appear somewhat likely.
Scenario 1Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Chris Long DE Virginia
2 St. Louis Rams Jake Long OT Michigan
3 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4 Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
In this event, the Long boys go back to back, Ryan is indeed the Falcons' choice, McFadden a top-five pick and Dorsey slides a hair. Of course, every pick is predicated, to a degree, by what the teams before them do. Miami has the remote control. What they do creates a trickle-down effect that starts with the Rams and snowballs through the Chiefs.
The Winner: Kansas City is the team that gains the most in this case, in our opinion, because we believe Dorsey is the best overall prospect in the draft. They would gain the top available player and fill a need at once.
The Loser: The Raiders have more holes than one pick can fill, as do most teams picking inside the top five, but running back isn't where they would be best served to address. The selection of McFadden would make sense in a lot of regards, but stopping the run is their key need. In other words, they would be foolish to pass on Dorsey.
The Wash: The Falcons selecting Ryan seems like a no-brainer, but we have a feeling they may pass on him. The team is now a power-running offense and doesn't need anything more than a game manager to run it. That player isn't Ryan, especially given his troubles with protecting the football at the collegiate level. The best pick for the Falcons is Jake Long, but they are not going to have that luxury in this scenario.
Scenario 2Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Jake Long OT Michigan
2 St. Louis Rams Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
3 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4 Oakland Raiders Chris Long DE Virginia
5 Kansas City Chiefs Ryan Clady OT Boise State
This scenario sees the Dolphins securing the top offensive lineman in the draft and not Chris Long. As a result, the Rams land the best defensive lineman in the draft. A feel-good reunion of the Raiders organization and a member of the Howie Long family becomes the draft buzz.
The Winner: Jake Long. Long would become only the second offensive tackle to be drafted No. 1 overall. In the process, Long receives the largest amount of guaranteed money paid to an offensive lineman in NFL history. The Dolphins themselves also win - not only do they get a premier left tackle, the team saves a few million in guaranteed money just by not drafting a quarterback.
The Loser: The Chiefs have to settle for the second-best offensive tackle and miss out on Dorsey, too. The selection of Clady would purely be out of need, but don't be shocked if the team went in another direction (offensive guard or cornerback).
The Wash: Again, we will pick Ryan to the Falcons. For the same reasons previously listed, Ryan doesn't give the Falcons the best bang for their buck at No. 3 overall.
Scenario 3Pk Team Player Pos School
1 Miami Dolphins Chris Long DE Virginia
2 St. Louis Rams Glenn Dorsey DT Louisiana State
3 Atlanta Falcons Jake Long OT Michigan
4 Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs Branden Albert OG Virginia
The only two items of note with this rendition is the Falcons passing on Ryan if Jake Long falls to them, and the other scenario is the Chiefs grabbing Albert instead of reaching for Clady or a cornerback.
The Winner: Brandon Albert. He simply doesn't carry a top-10 grade, let alone a top-five. Albert is the best guard in a very weak class and should be viewed as more of a late-round option in the first. We don't expect to hear his name called until the No. 23 pick when the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the clock.
The Loser: Kansas City would be the biggest loser in this scenario as far as the teams are concerned, because they would be better off drafting Clady as a bookend left tackle than reaching even more for Albert. However, Ryan loses out the most, specifically from a financial position, because he would likely fall to No. 8 overall (Baltimore Ravens) or beyond.
The Wash: The Rams get a great player no matter what they choose to do in this event. The choice of Jake Long or Dorsey is one that would have to be determined by the need rather than the player himself. If the defense wins out, Dorsey would be their guy, but there is equal question as to whether the defense's voice will be loud enough to drown out the calls for Jake Long from the other side of the ball.
Other Possibilities
We think there is a chance the Chiefs would draft a cornerback, like Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the University of South Florida's Mike Jenkins or Troy University's Leodis McKelvin. There doesn't seem to be a great reason to believe that Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston will be the Dolphins' pick, or any other top-five team's for that matter.
Conclusions
The Chiefs are in the worst position of any team. They are damned if they do, and damned if they don't in most scenarios. In the best-case, the Chiefs land either Jake Long or Dorsey, but it is likely that neither of which actually comes to fruition with the way the dominoes are expected to fall. In all likelihood, the Chiefs will be forced to reach for someone or trade down. The prospects of reaching for someone may not be too bad, especially if the team is quite high on Clady or Albert as the media seemingly has promoted lately.