Peter King: You have to go back to 1997 to find a draft like this one

[Deberg_1990]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl.../?sct=uk_wr_a1





You'd probably have to go back to 1997 to find a draft like this one. That's the year Peyton Manning eschewed the prospect of going to the Jets first overall to play for Bill Parcells and returned for his senior year at Tennessee. One quarterback (shaky Jim Druckenmiller, 26th) picked in round one. Two backs (Warrick Dunn 12th and Antowain Smith 23rd) in round one, and four receivers in the first: Ike Hilliard seventh, Yatil Green 15th, Reidel Anthony 16th and Rae Carruth 27th. Yikes! What a horrible draft for point-producers. One star, Dunn, out of seven first-rounders.

That could repeat this year. It's likely Alabama's Eddie Lacy will be the only running back taken in round one. Tennessee's Cordarrelle Patterson leads the muddled pack at wide receiver, but how sure can you really be of junior-college transfers who play one year of major-college football, which is Patterson's profile?

The quarterbacks are a total mish-mosh at this point. One GM interested in acquiring a quarterback this offseason told me over the weekend, "I expect more attention on the quarterbacks throwing this year than on any other single thing at the Combine.'' Some think Geno Smith of West Virginia will go first overall to quarterback-needy Kansas City; one personnel man who studied all the top quarterbacks for a team in need of one last fall told me, "There's not one quarterback, including Smith, I would take in the first round."

Two points about that. If you need a quarterback, you can talk brave in February, but when reality sets in around draft day, and you haven't picked up a quarterback in free agency, all of a sudden the zits on Smith, Matt Barkley and other others don't seem as bad. And we're nine and a half weeks from round one. There's no way that Andy Reid and John Dorsey, the coach and GM for Kansas City, know what they're doing now. They need time to investigate and to watch tape on the eight or 10 quarterbacks.

But in some ways, 2013 should be a catchup year for the other positions. Opening day 2013 could feature 12 starting quarterbacks drafted in 2011 and '12; that's far, far above the norm in a game that values veteran arms at the position.

Now for a couple of notes about players at the Combine.

Alec Ogletree. The underclass inside linebacker from Georgia would be a clear top-10 pick with a clean resume. But he was suspended the first four games of last season for failing an offseason drug test, and then came the news Saturday night, via ProFootballTalk.com, that Ogletree recently was pinched for driving while intoxicated.

Ogletree and agent Pat Dye were smart to come out and beat the police blotter to the punch. As for the damage done by the arrest, Ogletree, who is a speed demon for an inside player, the kind of player who, if right, would be a perfect fit as a rare three-down inside linebacker for any team, has to convince teams they shouldn't be worried about a player who has tested positive, been suspended, and gotten a DWI in the span of about nine months.

Some GM is going to stake his reputation on Ogletree in the first round, most likely. Which GM? It would have to be a secure one. Green Bay's Ted Thompson or de facto GM Bill Belichick of the Patriots or Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome, all down near the bottom of the round.

Manti Te'o. The Notre Dame linebacker has spent a lot of time practicing football and practicing what he's going to say to teams. His last game, against Alabama, was a nightmare (he was awful, and overpowered), and then the whole fake girlfriend story came up, making him a national story and, in some quarters, a national joke. It won't matter much how he works out in Indianapolis. What will matter are the 15-minute interviews he'll have in formal evening sessions with teams, and in less formal settings, seeing coaches and personnel people at the stadium and around his hotel.

No men have more on the line, off the field, at the Scouting Combine than Ogletree and Te'o.

Finally, three players I'll be watching at the Combine, three with question marks and debatable upsides:

1. Quarterback Sean Renfree, Duke. No one's talking about him, but he completed 70 percent of his throws in six of 12 games for David Cutcliffe last fall, was a comeback specialist, and has the pedigree in a good pro-style offense to play early. Could he be more than a late-round flyer, this year's Ryan Lindley? We'll see.

2. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes, Florida State. A 6-2 cornerback in a league demanding cover guys who can play on islands more and more? Scouts want to see if Rhodes, who is a heady player with good bump skills at the line of scrimmage, has the speed to stay with fast wideouts. If so, he'll be a top-half-of-the-first-round player.

3. Running back Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina. After his devastating dislocated knee and torn knee ligaments in October, Lattimore, considered a certain first-rounder before the injury, is still in recovery mode. His surgeon, James Andrews, told Lattimore recently that he's going to shock the world. "I hear he's working out great,'' said Mayock. Lattimore believes he'll be healthy enough to start the 2013 NFL season. Is he's a fourth-round minefield pick? Or might some team desperate for a back go for him a round earlier -- or even late in the second round?



Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...#ixzz2LLwcLLId

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

You have to go back to 1987 to find "A ha" at the top of the charts. Just sayin...
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[Saccopoo]

Peter King can suck my dick.

I still remember his article about the Chiefs drafting Andre Ware and winning multiple Super Bowls.

King doesn't know jack ****ing shit.

[MagicHef]

I find it humorous that he didn't manage to make all the way back to 1996, when no QB was taken in the first.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by SNR

It really depends, dude.

If we pass on Geno Smith for a different QB at #1, the board might implode, but only because people will be so ****ing elated that we at least took a ****ing QB in the first round for the first time in 30 years. You might see some people questioning the pick, but overwhelmingly people will be happy with it. I, for one, will be happy if it's Barkley or Wilson.

If we draft Star, then yes, you are correct. There will be rape.

This.

It's not about Geno. It's about maximizing our opportunity with the ONE AND ONLY #1 overall pick we'll likely EVER have.

Gone before we picked? Not this year.

Somebody traded in front of us and took our guy? Not this year.

Too costly to trade up? Not this year.

I don't HAVE to have Geno. But I do HAVE to have a QB. I happen to think that Geno is the best QB in this class and think he would be the best pick at #1. He's not the only choice, though.

But if this team takes Luke Joeckel or Star Lotulelei, I am done. It sounds like a cop out but it isn't. I've put up with this team for far too long. Too many mistakes, too much bullshit. Is it fair not to trust Reid and Dorsey? No. But that's human nature. I've been burned by this team too many times.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

This.

It's not about Geno. It's about maximizing our opportunity with the ONE AND ONLY #1 overall pick we'll likely EVER have.

Gone before we picked? Not this year.

Somebody traded in front of us and took our guy? Not this year.

Too costly to trade up? Not this year.

I don't HAVE to have Geno. But I do HAVE to have a QB. I happen to think that Geno is the best QB in this class and think he would be the best pick at #1. He's not the only choice, though.

But if this team takes Luke Joeckel or Star Lotulelei, I am done. It sounds like a cop out but it isn't. I've put up with this team for far too long. Too many mistakes, too much bullshit. Is it fair not to trust Reid and Dorsey? No. But that's human nature. I've been burned by this team too many times.

[KC_Lee]

Peter King: You have to go back to 1997 to find a draft like this one.

And you'd have to go back even further for the last time Peter King ever saw his own dick.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Another ray of hope: I pointed this out on a different board. Look at how the Bowe deal is being handled. Fair market value, no egoli-bias/doghouse-bullshit. No Peterson "overpay because hes a fan favorite and **** the guy we need to keep around"-bullshit either. From a business perspective, the FO is finally in line with the rest of civilization thus far.
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[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by BossChief

I just want them to identify who they think is the best quarterback of this class is and draft him with our first draft choice.

To be honest, I wouldn't even care who that is.

If they take Landry Jones with the top pick, I'd accept that a lot faster than I can stomach another linemen.

Well said. No option but selecting a QB with the first pick is acceptable, at all.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Well said. No option but selecting a QB with the first pick is acceptable, at all.

This. Even the SC brokedick if push comes to shove.
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[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by gochiefs(exceptQB)

Dane is gonna have to leave again after we draft Geno.

He faces monstrous backlash.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I don't HAVE to have Geno. But I do HAVE to have a QB. I happen to think that Geno is the best QB in this class and think he would be the best pick at #1. He's not the only choice, though.

But if this team takes Luke Joeckel or Star Lotulelei, I am done. It sounds like a cop out but it isn't. I've put up with this team for far too long. Too many mistakes, too much bullshit. Is it fair not to trust Reid and Dorsey? No. But that's human nature. I've been burned by this team too many times.

Bye

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

All of our drafts are going to suck. Forever.

[-King-]

@ The fact that htis left. $100 says he still lurks on here regretting leaving.
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[Bowser]

Originally Posted by -King-

@ The fact that htis left. $100 says he still lurks on here regretting leaving.
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He'll be back. They always come back.