With the draft less than one month away, the smoke and mirrors routine has kicked into high gear. Teams are taking visits with players, talking about players and talking about team needs. The question becomes, what can we believe and what is smoke? With regard to the top of the the draft, it looks fairly certain that Sam Bradford will be taken by the St. Louis Rams at #1. Bradford has his proday yesterday and impressed. By all accounts, he threw with great accuracy, showed the ability to throw the ball deep and demonstrated solid footwork, making throws on the run. With Bradford likely going #1, lets look at what is likely to happen before the Browns pick at #7.
The Lions are essentially on the clock with the #2 pick. They will look at both offensive and defensive line help. They would love to take a player like Suh or McCoy, but they will need to think about protecting franchise QB Matt Stafford, who took 25 sacks last year and suffered some injuries as a result. Okung could start immediately at LT and is a very likely pick. Ultimately I think they take Suh and look to take the best tackle in Round 2, if someone like Charles Brown from USC falls.
The Bucs at #3 will take the best DT available. If Suh is off the board, it becomes an easy choice, and Gerald McCoy is the guy. However if the Lions take Okung, the organization has to decide who they like better between Suh and McCoy. I think if Suh is on the Board, he goes to the Bucs.
Washington has a wildcard here at #4. Daniel Snyder likes making the sexy draft pick, and with a new HC, it may be time to take the QB of the Future. With Bradford off the board, that would leave Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame as the top passer on the board. However, the Redskins desperately in need of a LT to replace the retiring Chris Samuels. If Okung is on the board here, Okung will be the pick. If not, the Redskins will take a hard look at Clausen, but will ultimately determine they must have a LT, and draft the next best LT in this case, Bryan Bulaga from Iowa.
The Chiefs will I believe ultimately have the greatest impact on what the Browns do at 7. The Chiefs need a LT, but with Bulaga off the board, they might look safety or inside linebacker as well. Berry is a very realistic option at this point for the Chiefs. Scott Pioli likely does not like the thought of paying top 5 money to a safety, but if he is not sold on the next best LT, Berry likely is their guy. I believe however that they do like Trent Williams and build a line for Thomas Jones and Jamal Charles to run behind, while keeping Matt Cassel in an upright position.
The Seahawks draft next and with the #6 position, could fill any number of needs. The Seahawks need LT, RB, LB, WR and could look at QB to replace the aging Matt Hasselbeck. If McCoy fell to them because of the Lions taking Okung, the Seahawks would likely take McCoy to improve the all around defense and specifically the interior passrush. However, I think McCoy is gone. They will look at Clausen, C.J. Spiller and LT. If one of the three above left tackles falls to them, I think they would take LT, but at this point with 3 off the board, I think the Seahawks take Clausen, unless they believe they can get him at #14.
In this scenario, Eric Berry is available at #7, something that seemed improbable a few weeks ago. However, with the run on LT and DT and QB early in the first round, the Browns have the luxury to draft the best player available in a position of need. The Browns are rumored to really like Sergio Kindle from Texas, but most people do not have him as a top 10 pick. Some have him falling and I believe the Browns would not pick him at 7. The Browns will also think about an ILB like McClain and Joe Haden at Corner. It will be interesting to see what happens if the Seahawks and Redskins pass on Clausen. Holmgren did not sound enamored with Clausen, but the Browns are doing their due diligence and bringing him in for a visit. At this time of year, you never know what to believe, but if Berry is available, the Browns need to secure a very rare talent.
No comments:
Post a Comment