DraconisRex
04-10-2007, 10:44 AM
I believe a strong defense is necessary to win championships. Despite all the hoo-hah about Walsh's offenses in the 1980s, the defenses were usually ranked as high or higher during winning seasons. I also like lots of players on defensive line to rotate fresh legs. So, don't be too surprised if I'm heavy with the defense and make it a priority.
Defensive Needs - 4 Major, 1 Minor:
Defensive End - Bryant Young is old and wears down. He needs relief and replacement. Marques Douglas is solid, but he's light and is most effective if he plays fewer than 40 snaps. Oliver played the run well in the 4-3, but we're a 3-4 team.
Nose Tackle - Sopoaga is as strong as a bull. Unfortunately, running backs often run right by him because he doesn't control the gap like he should. Franklin is an unproven FA. Fields hasn't shown himself to b"e all that and a bag of chips."
Inside Linebacker - Moore plays well. Smith is 32 and may, with the eye injury that could have lead to a permanent disability, lost his aggression edge. He's now downgraded (due to this uncertainty) from a solid starter to a question mark. Ulbrich, after coming back his arm injury, lost his job due to tentative play. After that it's special teamers.
Free Safety - With Roman we have a stop-gap starter. We have Hudson who isn't there yet. Lewis has fire, but if it weren't for QBs stupidly throwing him the ball (Kitna for example), I doubt he has a pick last season and I think he's got to be a SS to make it in this league.
Outside Linebacker - Lawson plays well in space but needs to get bigger & stronger and develop some pass-rush moves. Right now, good OTs just push him around. Banta-Cain is interesting, but he only started half-a-season on a team which had a lot of linebacking and defensive-line talent and that's, frankly, not us. I reserve an opinion till I see him play for a year when he's not benefited by top talent across the board. After that, we have Haralson & Green who' are unknowns.
Offensive Needs - 1 Major, 4 Minor.
Wide Receiver - We really do need another WR. I think Lelie is a very good deep threat, but weak between the hash-marks and in the short area. He's definitely, in my book, NOT a WCO WR. Which makes it hard to know if he's really any good or not since that's what he was stuck in during his career. I think the world of Battle, and Smith obviously grew that way during the season last year; but I recognize that he's limited to some extent: very good hands, tough underneath, gives it his all every play, but doesn't scare people. Williams is an unknown. Gilmore didn't develop. Jacobs is glass.
Quarterback - We need a mid-rounder to get a development guy if Smith doesn't. It gives us protection AND it would allow us to trade away a developed back-up like the Schuab or Hasselbeck trades, getting some good value out of an insurance policy.
Runningback - After Gore we got nothing. We really need a guy who can take the load of Gore and step in as a decent starter if Gore goes down.
Tightend - After Davis, we have Bajema and Walker. Walker is supposed to be an F-Back, not a TE. Bajema is a blocker.
Offensive Line - I believe that you draft offensive lineman frequently. Especially when the line looks like it could be in a major flux within a year, like with us: We've got Smiley, Harris & Allen in their last year with the club. We have Jennings who can't shake the injury bug. We have Heitman coming back from a broken leg. After that, we have Baas who's not proven, Wragge who was a surprise and Snyder who does a lot of things reasonably well but hasn't been able to take a position on the line.
My picks:
Round 1: Reggie Nelson, FS, Florida
Major play-maker. Might be a tad reach at this spot. But he's a big hitter for a FS and has exceptional range. He'd be perfect to compliment a strong in-the-box SS.
Round 2: Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Ohio State
Has good physical tools. Reputed to have a great work ethic and is dedicated to the CRAFT of being a WR. Second fiddle to the over-rated physical phenom of Ginn, Jr.
Round 3a: Ikaika Alama-Francis, DE, Hawaii
Another talented, under-skilled player from Hawaii. Like Sopoaga, he needs to develop his tools. Not needed as a starter for 2007, hopefully he'll be ready to take the mantle from BY in 2008.
Round 3b: Kenny Irons, RB, Auburn
My sister won't shut up about him so I'll give her Auburn obsession a nod to a need. He runs hard, is very quick. Perhaps he's a Charlie Garner type back with a bit better long speed.
Round 3c: Ryan McBean, DE, Oklahoma State
Another DE rotational player. Great tools. Very inexperienced. Needs time to develop.
Round 4a: Anthony Waters, ILB, Clemson
ACL rehab guy. Won't be ready to start this year, but was a fine college ILB and could threaten for starting time next year.
Round 4b: Buster Davis, ILB, Florida State
Short. Not that fast. Hoping for a Zach Thomas kind of player here. And it's not like we can't afford to take a chance. Needs to sit a year and learn the NFL game and contribute on special teams.
Round 4c: Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise State
Hey, he's got enough tools to be a solid, productive back-up and even, in a favorable-to-his-skills offense, put up some good numbers. But he isn't being drafted to be the second coming. He's being drafted to be #3, then #2. Besides, I like his name. :)
Round 4d: Adam Koets, OT, Oregon State
Developmental/back-up prospect. Really needs to get bigger and stronger.
Round 5: Paul Soliai, DT, Utah
Another Sopoaga-type. Big. Strong. Question marks. Boom or bust.
Round 6: Kasey Studdard, OG, Texas
Hard working. Over-achiever. Mean and nasty in the trenches. For a 6th rounder, what's not to like... Did I mention he was reputed to be mean? :)
Tallies:
One FS with Pro-bowl potential.
A potential starter candidate at WR.
Two DEs and one NT for development/rotation.
Solid back-up prospects at QB & RB.
Two offensive linemen for development/back-up.
Anyway, it's just for fun as it's clear it doesn't mean anything. Nolan is going to draft who he wants and they know exponentially more about the players than any fan, myself included.
Defensive Needs - 4 Major, 1 Minor:
Defensive End - Bryant Young is old and wears down. He needs relief and replacement. Marques Douglas is solid, but he's light and is most effective if he plays fewer than 40 snaps. Oliver played the run well in the 4-3, but we're a 3-4 team.
Nose Tackle - Sopoaga is as strong as a bull. Unfortunately, running backs often run right by him because he doesn't control the gap like he should. Franklin is an unproven FA. Fields hasn't shown himself to b"e all that and a bag of chips."
Inside Linebacker - Moore plays well. Smith is 32 and may, with the eye injury that could have lead to a permanent disability, lost his aggression edge. He's now downgraded (due to this uncertainty) from a solid starter to a question mark. Ulbrich, after coming back his arm injury, lost his job due to tentative play. After that it's special teamers.
Free Safety - With Roman we have a stop-gap starter. We have Hudson who isn't there yet. Lewis has fire, but if it weren't for QBs stupidly throwing him the ball (Kitna for example), I doubt he has a pick last season and I think he's got to be a SS to make it in this league.
Outside Linebacker - Lawson plays well in space but needs to get bigger & stronger and develop some pass-rush moves. Right now, good OTs just push him around. Banta-Cain is interesting, but he only started half-a-season on a team which had a lot of linebacking and defensive-line talent and that's, frankly, not us. I reserve an opinion till I see him play for a year when he's not benefited by top talent across the board. After that, we have Haralson & Green who' are unknowns.
Offensive Needs - 1 Major, 4 Minor.
Wide Receiver - We really do need another WR. I think Lelie is a very good deep threat, but weak between the hash-marks and in the short area. He's definitely, in my book, NOT a WCO WR. Which makes it hard to know if he's really any good or not since that's what he was stuck in during his career. I think the world of Battle, and Smith obviously grew that way during the season last year; but I recognize that he's limited to some extent: very good hands, tough underneath, gives it his all every play, but doesn't scare people. Williams is an unknown. Gilmore didn't develop. Jacobs is glass.
Quarterback - We need a mid-rounder to get a development guy if Smith doesn't. It gives us protection AND it would allow us to trade away a developed back-up like the Schuab or Hasselbeck trades, getting some good value out of an insurance policy.
Runningback - After Gore we got nothing. We really need a guy who can take the load of Gore and step in as a decent starter if Gore goes down.
Tightend - After Davis, we have Bajema and Walker. Walker is supposed to be an F-Back, not a TE. Bajema is a blocker.
Offensive Line - I believe that you draft offensive lineman frequently. Especially when the line looks like it could be in a major flux within a year, like with us: We've got Smiley, Harris & Allen in their last year with the club. We have Jennings who can't shake the injury bug. We have Heitman coming back from a broken leg. After that, we have Baas who's not proven, Wragge who was a surprise and Snyder who does a lot of things reasonably well but hasn't been able to take a position on the line.
My picks:
Round 1: Reggie Nelson, FS, Florida
Major play-maker. Might be a tad reach at this spot. But he's a big hitter for a FS and has exceptional range. He'd be perfect to compliment a strong in-the-box SS.
Round 2: Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Ohio State
Has good physical tools. Reputed to have a great work ethic and is dedicated to the CRAFT of being a WR. Second fiddle to the over-rated physical phenom of Ginn, Jr.
Round 3a: Ikaika Alama-Francis, DE, Hawaii
Another talented, under-skilled player from Hawaii. Like Sopoaga, he needs to develop his tools. Not needed as a starter for 2007, hopefully he'll be ready to take the mantle from BY in 2008.
Round 3b: Kenny Irons, RB, Auburn
My sister won't shut up about him so I'll give her Auburn obsession a nod to a need. He runs hard, is very quick. Perhaps he's a Charlie Garner type back with a bit better long speed.
Round 3c: Ryan McBean, DE, Oklahoma State
Another DE rotational player. Great tools. Very inexperienced. Needs time to develop.
Round 4a: Anthony Waters, ILB, Clemson
ACL rehab guy. Won't be ready to start this year, but was a fine college ILB and could threaten for starting time next year.
Round 4b: Buster Davis, ILB, Florida State
Short. Not that fast. Hoping for a Zach Thomas kind of player here. And it's not like we can't afford to take a chance. Needs to sit a year and learn the NFL game and contribute on special teams.
Round 4c: Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise State
Hey, he's got enough tools to be a solid, productive back-up and even, in a favorable-to-his-skills offense, put up some good numbers. But he isn't being drafted to be the second coming. He's being drafted to be #3, then #2. Besides, I like his name. :)
Round 4d: Adam Koets, OT, Oregon State
Developmental/back-up prospect. Really needs to get bigger and stronger.
Round 5: Paul Soliai, DT, Utah
Another Sopoaga-type. Big. Strong. Question marks. Boom or bust.
Round 6: Kasey Studdard, OG, Texas
Hard working. Over-achiever. Mean and nasty in the trenches. For a 6th rounder, what's not to like... Did I mention he was reputed to be mean? :)
Tallies:
One FS with Pro-bowl potential.
A potential starter candidate at WR.
Two DEs and one NT for development/rotation.
Solid back-up prospects at QB & RB.
Two offensive linemen for development/back-up.
Anyway, it's just for fun as it's clear it doesn't mean anything. Nolan is going to draft who he wants and they know exponentially more about the players than any fan, myself included.