Wednesday, April 07, 2010

NFL Draft Taking Shape

With two transactions, the upcoming NFL Draft took a bit of a turn.

First, the Washington Redskins acquired Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles. Then, the St. Louis Rams released quarterback Marc Bulger. It now appears that the first four, if not five, picks of the draft are pretty much now cut and dried.
  1. St. Louis - Sam Bradford, QB, Okalahoma
  2. Detroit - Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska
  3. Tampa Bay - Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
  4. Washington - Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State
  5. Kansas City - Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
That gives the Big 12 the first four spots in the draft. Could there still be a possibility that Washington selects Jimmy Clausen? If the reports are true that Washington is attempting to work out an extension for McNabb, I don't see it. I'm also not putting anything by Mike Shanahan.

Now, the 5th pick belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs. I feel, as shown above, they will snag safety Eric Berry from Tennessee. I don't think you can pass up that talent. Plus, the Chiefs do need a safety. There is a slight possibility they could go in two other directions, quarterback or offensive tackle.

Quarterback? Don't they have Matt Cassell? Aren't they paying him a truckload of cash? All three answers are yes. If Washington doesn't take Clausen, there's an off chance KC does for only one reason, Charlie Weis. Like the situation in Washington, I don't see Clausen going #5 to KC. The O-line could use a good tackle and Oklahoma's Trent Williams could be the best option aside from Berry here.

That leaves the Settle Seahawks and new head coach Pete Carroll at #6 as the wild card on the top 10 picks. Seattle needs help at virtually every position, offensive and defensive line, corner, safety, even running back and quarterback should be considered. As I look at the players that should be available here versus the Seahawks' needs, I have four possible picks.
  1. Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma
  2. Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
  3. C. J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
  4. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
Each provides either immediate help or, in the case of Clausen, future help.

Williams is a strong candidate with the health of All-Pro tackle Walter Jones being a major issue. Morgan would upgrade a weak pass rush and provide an excellent . Spiller is the best all-around athlete available and extremely versatile. He can flip a field in a handful of seconds as a running back, receiver or returning a punt or kickoff. Clausen could serve as the man in the wings and understudy to Matthew Hasselbeck.

What it all boils down to is this. Do the Seahawks want to rebuild or do they stay the course? You can't do both selecting this early two years in a row.

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