2009 NFL draft thread...

[SteveToms]

Eagles trade for the Pats CB Hobbs, and select a TE I wanted earlier in the draft, and a couple of good depth players.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Eagles trade for the Pats CB Hobbs, and select a TE I wanted earlier in the draft, and a couple of good depth players.

Ingram is a steal. The guy was money for the Gators. Hobbs will add solid depth to the secondary.

[SteveToms]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Ingram is a steal. The guy was money for the Gators. Hobbs will add solid depth to the secondary.

Should be a good replacement for Smith, I still say they trade Brown for Boldin.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Should be a good replacement for Smith, I still say they trade Brown for Boldin.

There's no reason for Arizona to make that trade when there are better offers on the table. They're not going to get him without throwing a first round pick to the cards.

[SteveToms]

Originally Posted by rubecube

There's no reason for Arizona to make that trade when there are better offers on the table. They're not going to get him without throwing a first round pick to the cards.

A man can dream

[Pagal4321]

Ugh.

Percy Harvin.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Ingram is a steal. The guy was money for the Gators. Hobbs will add solid depth to the secondary.

Are you still ticked about the Maklin pick?

Almost all the talking heads think he is a great pickup.

[Bobblehead]

Overall, a bit of an awkward draft for the 49ers.

Not bad, I just can't come up with another word for it outside awkward. Having Crabtree fall into their laps was totally unexpected. They had to take him - an impact big play guy. But it doesn't seem to fit with the smashmouth philosophy Coach Singletary seems intent upon using.

But that 1st round seemed to kind of screw up their board. The 2nd round pick was traded (and turned into a 2010 first rounder) when the guys they guys they were targeting were grabbed. After that it was pretty much as expected; a RB to take some of the load off of Gore, a safety, a project QB, another LB.

But the glaring omission was on the offensive line. I've been harping for 2 years that it doesn't matter who your WRs are, if the line doesn't give them time to run their routes or the QB to throw it, it doesn't matter how good your skill players are.

I think it takes a few years, and time to see how the project picks pan out, before you can really judge a draft. But there is a crying need on the 49ers that wasn't addressed this draft. With the pickup of another first rounder for next year, I'm wondering if they aren't expecting a mediocre year this year as they change philosophies and are projecting 2010 as their make-it or break-it draft year.

Edit: and if Crabtree hadn't fallen, I would have been correct in my Oher pick.

"We had a head-on issue with Crabtree and Michael Oher," said Singletary, who had this to say about not being able to get a pass-rusher: "It's something we wanted to accomplish in the draft. We'll address it at some point in time."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...SPA1179H10.DTL

[burn_baby_burn]

I usually don't get too excited or disapointed in the draft. Time will tell how good or bad these picks are going to be. I have to say I was a little surprised that the Chiefs passed on Curry. Although I had a hunch that Pioli wasn't going to do the expected thing.

The Chiefs D-line is pathetic and that is their biggest need this offseason. The Line Backers stink as well so Curry would have been a great addition. I think his attitude would have fit perfectly. A humble boy with superior athletic skills.

My only fear with Jackson is that he is a bit of a Mamma's boy and this will be his first time away from South East Louisiana.

[Bobblehead]

That's sort of the thing about drafts and filling needs. How often can a pure rookie come in and immediately make an impact? It often takes a while.

Every year I have read CNNSI.com Dr. Z's mock draft (who couldn't do it this year because of 3 strokes he had last year); and in his columns he mentioned how he hated that drafts were graded in the following week because it often took years to see how these young players fit into the NFL.

The NFL draft is a huge event, and I get wrapped up in seeing who my team takes, but in the days after it is always important to temper my feelings.

That said, the Niners have signed a bunch of UFAs:
Kory Sheets, RB, Pudue
Pannel Egboh, DE, Stanford
Alex Boone, OT, Ohio State
Jahi Word-Daniels, CB, Georgia Tech

[Swayze11]

My 1st round draft grades (pick by pick):

Detroit - two 1st round picks. They got Stafford which will help, hopefully they wont rush him and he will backup Culpepper for at least half the season. They have Calvin Johnson who IMO is one of the best WRs in the league so it cant be too hard to get him the ball. A
St Louis - They take Jason Smith who will fill the role Orlando Pace had for years. He is a great pick and a VERY safe pick. A-
Kansas City - Very unexpected pick IMO. Jackson's stock seemed to go up every day. The guy is a good player, no doubt about that and this pick will hopefully help the run D that was one of the worst in the league. B+
Seattle - My least favorite team in the NFL so I was praying they were going to waste this pick on Sanchez. But unfortunatly they got IMO the best player in the draft. Curry will fill the hole left by Peterson and could be the next Patrick Willis. This guy is an amazing player. A
NY Jets - The "big" deal to see the Jets move up was one of the crazy unexpected story lines of the draft. IMO this guy was drafted WAY to high. The next picks of Clevland, Cincinatti, or Oakland will not want a QB. But I guess you have to make the move if you really want the guy. IMO Sanchez is very overrated. The guy had 1 year as a starter with a million weapons on a stacked USC team. It could work out for them but I see bust written all over this. C+
Cinncinati - With the crazyness of the 1st 5 picks going on the Bengals were in a very good position. Do they draft Monroe? Crabtree? Raji? they have so many options and so many holes to fill. So they go with Andre Smith. No question they needed a tackle, and they obviously felt that Smith was better then Monroe. He has had character questions, weight questions, work ethic questions so this pick is a high risk/high reward pick. He should go in there and become a starter on a weak OL that is missing Andrews to free agency. But Overall I like what the bengals did here. B+
Oakland - With an owner that is obsessed with 40-yard time he goes and picks the fastest WR in the combine. As long as Al Davis is involved in this team it will become the worst in the league and this pick showed why. No question Hayward-Bey is a good player but with Crabtree, Monroe, Raji, and Orakpo still on the board and you pick this guy? Oakland could have traded with the Jets here and let the Jets pick Sanchez and Oakland could move lower in the draft and get Heyward-Bey at #17 (Jets pick) awful management. F
Jacksonville - With Monroe dropping in their laps at #8 they had to pick this guy. IMO he was very close to Jason Smith in terms of skill. So to get a guy equal to the #2 overall pick is a complete steal. A-
Green Bay - Pretty simple explaination here. They got a great player. B+
San Fran - Crabtree falling to #10 stunned everyone on draft day. He has an attitude, I kind of saw his face when he was picked at #10 and he looked kinda pissed. But when you get a guy who most people had projected in the top 5 you go and get him. 49ers have some decent WRs but there isnt a legitimate #1, they hope Crabtree will become that #1. A-
Buffalo - It was uncertain if they would take a O line or D line but they had flexibility with two 1st round picks so they went and got Maybin. He could turn into a Ware or Willis and has that potential. It was between him and Orakpo and they took the faster guy. B
Denver - By trading Cutler away they needed a legitimate #1 QB but with Sanchez and Stafford gone they needed to address more different issues. So they went and took the best RB in the draft in Moreno. With all the RB problems they had with no #1 and a million guys on the IR you can never have enough RB depth so they addressed that early. B-
Washington - With Orakpo dropping to them, the Redskins were licking their lips because this guy has a ton of potential. B+
New Orleans - Picking the best CB in the draft... pretty simple again, they got a good player who they had on their radar the whole time. B+
Houston - This team will be a good team if healthy next year. They have a solid O line, good offensive weapons, a pretty decent defence and the one of the best DEs in the NFL. So what can you do? stock up on some linebackers. They went and grabbed Cushing who will become a depth guy. B-
San Diego - Another high risk/high reward pick. This guy is a beast but was all over the map in terms of mock drafts. In the CP mock draft, I grabbed this guy in the 2nd round and most mock drafts had him. Ethier way I like this guy and he will be a good player. B
Tampa Bay - Josh Freeman is a very high risk/ high reward player. Hes a big guy who has the physical skills to become a great QB but is a major project. It should be interesting to see how he turns out. C+
Denver - Again with no legitimate #1 QB they need a QB... oh look Josh Freeman just got picked, so they again address a different need. They get the 4th "hybrid" linebacker in the draft. Ayers is a decent pick but this Cutler trade isnt looking great. C
Philly - The Eagles are watching this draft and watching Maclin dropping like Calgarys weather and push the panic button to trade up and grab him. He was rated very consistantly as the 2nd best reciever in the draft. I thought this pick was kind of suprising because Philly has a very consistant bunch of recievers for McNabb to throw at. Jackson seems to be a good deep man and having Westbrook is the best reciever they have. Personally I dont like this pick for the Eagles. I dont see much of a difference between Maclin and Jackson but I guess you cant have too many recievers. C+
Detroit - They also picked up the best TE in the draft - Brandon Pettigrew. He will step in at the starting TE position right away and will be a MASSIVE target for Culpepper/Stafford. It will also get rid of some of the double coverage on Johnson. This guy is the total package that will be out there on every snap. He is a great blocker, good route runner. Detroit just got a lot better. B+
Clevland Browns - The most active team in the draft, trading down and getting a ton of picks. I love what they did in the Jets trade (for the 5th overall pick). They won that trade by a mile. So what do they do? Get the best C in the draft who can potentially play G as well. If I am a RB on the browns, I love this pick. Their O line is getting fairly old so they address that situation and let this guy develop. B
Minnesota - They were my wild card pick. I had no idea what they were going to do in the draft. They got Percy Harvin who I really dont like. Sure he was good in the national championship but I dont see this guy being a legitimate #1 reciever. C
Baltimore - Great attitude guy. Oher is an absolute steal at #23. I really like this guy and I would probably rate him pretty close to Jason Smith, Andre Smith, and Monroe. B+
Atlanta - I really like this pick of Jerry. He will help the run but wont be a guy with high expectations. I think of this guy as a NHL D man that doesnt get mentioned. He will be invisable on the field but when you look at the opposing teams rush yards, its probably because of this guy. B
Miami - Davis is the 2nd best corner in the draft. Hes a good pick and was picked because of the situation going on with in their division. They need corners if they are going to play Buffalo (Terrell Owens - Evans) and New England (Randy Moss - Welker) a ton of times. The more debatable pick is Pat White in the 2nd round. IMO that was WAYYY to high. I think Parcells has some kind of trick up his sleeve with him. B-
Green Bay - They pick up the 2nd of the 3 linebackers coming out of USC. He reminds me a lot of AJ Hawk (no - not just because of the blonde long hair) and if he becomes the next AJ Hawk watch out in Green Bay. I expect them to be a very good defence next year. B-
Indianapolis - Very interesting pick here. With the top 3 recievers off the board they cant fill Harrisons spot so they go out and get a RB. It is very apparent in the NFL most teams are going with a 2 back system. A punisher and a speed guy. Well heres the Colts speed guy. The pick for Brown is still a but high but could turn out to be a pretty good pick. C+
Buffalo - So here is the offensive line that buffalo takes. This guy can play Centre and Guard so that helps a lot. I cant say I know much about him at all but I know Buffalo is very high on the guy. B-
NY Giants - It was very clear - they need a reciever to hopefully fill Burress's spot. So they grab Nicks. C+
Tennesse - They have a pretty decent team all around, I thought they would grab a DT to fill Hanysword's spot but they grabbed a WR. The pick makes sense and I really like this guy. Hes a big reciever. C+
Arizona - Another very clear pick. They need a RB, with James not getting any younger and JJ Arrington leaving, they need a guy to become the next James. He has major durability issues coming out of college. So did Peterson and McFadden. Which one does he turn into? B-
Pittsburgh - IMO this pick is a steal. I was very suprised not to see the Colts grab this guy but this only makes the Steelers into more of a contender to repeat as the champs next year. B-

Overall this was a whacky draft with many suprises and many "What the hell were they thinking?" picks. I guess we will see how all these guys turn out.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Are you still ticked about the Maklin pick?

Almost all the talking heads think he is a great pickup.

A little. I'm mostly ticked because it doesn't make any sense. If they knew they were going to go with a receiver in the first round then why not trade your 1st to Arizona for a proven guy like Boldin? As good as Maclin is projected to be, the draft is never sure a bet.

That being said, the guy sounds like quite the playmaker. I think defenses will have a tough time matching up with the speed of the Eagles offense. I'm absolutely ecstatic about the McCoy and Ingram picks.

[Swayze11]

Originally Posted by rubecube

A little. I'm mostly ticked because it doesn't make any sense. If they knew they were going to go with a receiver in the first round then why not trade your 1st to Arizona for a proven guy like Boldin? As good as Maclin is projected to be, the draft is never sure a bet.

That being said, the guy sounds like quite the playmaker. I think defenses will have a tough time matching up with the speed of the Eagles offense. I'm absolutely ecstatic about the McCoy and Ingram picks.

Completly agree. If philly knew they were taking a WR why not trade for Boldin. There are rumors saying all Arizona is asking for is a 2nd rounder. Why not offer the 1st for a young guy who has a great contract. Instead they grab an unproven WR who is going to be making more then Boldin.

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

Minnesota - They were my wild card pick. I had no idea what they were going to do in the draft. They got Percy Harvin who I really dont like. Sure he was good in the national championship but I dont see this guy being a legitimate #1 reciever. C

I don't think Harvin was chosen to be a #1 receiver, by any stretch of the imagination.
I think he was taken because he's a big play waiting to happen. He's one of the most explosive players seen by some analysts (see: Mayock, Mike), and I can KIND OF see where the Vikings come from with this pick.

Having Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian on the field at the same time will cause the opposing defenses some huge issues. Who do you double team? Will cause huge matchup issues, that is if Harvin is used right.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I still don't like the pick all that much, but understand where they came from with the pick, from a football standpoint. The character and durability issues are what worry me. What makes me dislike the pick more is the fact that Oher was sitting there and I feel we needed a posession receiver rather than another home-run hitter.

[Swayze11]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

I don't think Harvin was chosen to be a #1 receiver, by any stretch of the imagination.
I think he was taken because he's a big play waiting to happen. He's one of the most explosive players seen by some analysts (see: Mayock, Mike), and I can KIND OF see where the Vikings come from with this pick.

Having Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian on the field at the same time will cause the opposing defenses some huge issues. Who do you double team? Will cause huge matchup issues, that is if Harvin is used right.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I still don't like the pick all that much, but understand where they came from with the pick, from a football standpoint. The character and durability issues are what worry me. What makes me dislike the pick more is the fact that Oher was sitting there and I feel we needed a posession receiver rather than another home-run hitter.

I dont follow the Vikings that much so I had no idea what their needs were. I think that has a lot to do with how I evaluated this pick. I know they have Rice, Berrian, and Peterson. Rice hasnt turned out the way they probably would have liked, but he was a 2nd round pick so they cant really expect a ton out of him. I know they have one of the best O line in the league. I know they lost Sharper so I figured maybe a safety but they would probably have to trade down.

I think Harvin is very overated because of the fact of the weapons they have on the Gators. I really like the way they used Harvin in Florida and if they use him like that in Minny, he could be a good player. But like you said, you have to use him correctly or he could potentially be packing his bags and playing for the Argos soon.

[Bobblehead]

The thing that confuses me about the Minn pick is the whole "character" issue. When Ziggy bought the team, he was supposed to demand high moral character. Then the houseboat issue, scalping of SB tickets, etc, and "character" was again supposedly the key issue. And now they use a couple more high draft picks on guys with alleged character issues. Why do they keep touching the stove if they think it might be hot?

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

The thing that confuses me about the Minn pick is the whole "character" issue. When Ziggy bought the team, he was supposed to demand high moral character. Then the houseboat issue, scalping of SB tickets, etc, and "character" was again supposedly the key issue. And now they use a couple more high draft picks on guys with alleged character issues. Why do they keep touching the stove if they think it might be hot?

And this is exactly it, when Childress came to the Vikings it was supposed to be this whole new system of accountability in Minnesota.
If you screwed up, you were gone, simple as that. And I had no problems with it.
Then we traded for Jared Allen, a chronic alcoholic, but they said they did their due diligence with him. And truthfully it's looking like that turned out well (knock on wood).
But then we draft Percy Harvin who failed a SCHEDULED drug test at the Combine....you have to be REALLY stupid to do that. And he has other off the field issues, it just makes no sense.

Same thing goes for the CB they drafted in the 3rd round, he's got character issues as well.

This whole draft, while not all that bad talent-wise, screams desperation on Childress' part. If this blows up in his face, he will be fired next year, that is almost certain. He can take his "next Donovan McNabb" with him too!!

[AaronSJ]

You can also add 2nd round pick Phil Loadholt to that list -- two prior arrests (DUI and disorderly conduct).... very unexpected picks by the Dolphins.

Harvin really worries me... he's not like some of the other guys that made mistakes in their past -- he couldn't even pass a scheduled drug test that determined his future and probably cost him millions of dollars (in bonus money).

[Bobblehead]

LOL, the Niners 6th rd pick (Bear Pascoe, TE, Fresno St), was working out in the barn on the family farm when he was called by the 49ers to let him know he was drafted.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

LOL, the Niners 6th rd pick (Bear Pascoe, TE, Fresno St), was working out in the barn on the family farm when he was called by the 49ers to let him know he was drafted.

That's awesome. I bet that endears him even more to the team. Gotta like a kid who isn't afraid of working. Singletary will love that sort of player. I'm now pulling for him to have a great career.