Late Round Steals

A lot of stress is placed on guys drafted in the first two rounds of the draft but what about guys in the late rounds? For example, Tom Brady was a sixth round selection and Marcus Colsten was a seventh round selection. Both are now pro bowl players. Some players that may be able to follow in these footsteps are, J.P. Wilson quarterback from Alabama. He is very accurate and has good football skills but lacks the size and arm strength to be considered an early round selection. Ashlee Palmer, linebacker Ole Miss. A very atheletic players who is just undersized but could surprise and turn out to be a starter next year in the right situation. Bradley Fletcher, a cornerback noted as the best pure athelte in this draft. Like others who will be selected late, he is under six feet tall but his speed and atheltic ability could help him at the next level. Another late round quarterback is Brian Hoyer. Had potential a year ago to be a first round selection but poor play in his senior year have droped him to the later rounds. He is still an intruging prospect who with time and guidance, could develop into a solid pro player.
For more late round prospect watch thsi video http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80f76c59

Michael Crabtree to the Raiders?

Michael Crabtree is a talented reciever from Texas Tech University. He was considered the best player available before the combine. The he didn't perform at the combine or have a pro day work because of foot surgery. His surgery went well and doesn't appear to hurt his draft stock as much as not performing at a workout. Then he measured at just over 6' 1'' which is 3 inches shorter then the protype reciever. Crabtree stock went from a solid top 3 pick to the seventh pick. Teams near the top won't draft him he is considered a risk. Seattle filled it's reciever need in free agency and the browns and bengals already have top flieght recievers. Then the Raiders pick at number seven. The Raiders haven't had a true number one reciever since 2006 with Randy Moss. At worst, Crabtree shouldn't fall beyond the number eight pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars who do not have any proven talent at the reciever position.
For a complete mock draft, visit http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d80f53f26&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Sanchez Doesn't get a Workout

Mark Sanchez was not invited for a private workout by the Detriot Lions. This could mean several things. Possible that the Lions are very impressed by the production of Matthew Stafford and already plan to make him the first overall pick. But the more likely reason is because the Lions do not plan on taking a quarterback at all. This would raise a lot of questions because the lions must find there quarterback of the future and soon would be better then later. It wouldn't make much sense to not interview the next best quarterback if you were planning on investing a lot of money into one in the draft one quarterback and not know what the second best available is capable of. If the lions do not pick a quarterback most experts predict them choosing a offensive lineman like Jason Smith. If you were the Detriot lions, who would you take first overall? Matthew Stafford? Jason Smith? or somebody else?

Jets Quarterback Situation

The New York Jets currently have three quarterback left on their roster in the post Brett Farve era. Kellen Clemens has the most expirence starting eight games, winning three of them. Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge have never played an NFL game. Not much is expected out of Erik Ainge. Brett Ratliff has caught a lot of eyes with his strong play in last preseason. Kellen Clemens has also shown strong strides and is favored to win the starting job at this point. The Jets have not brought in a vetern quarterback into the mix which seems to be a smart idea. Even if you dont want him to start, he can still be of value for advice and guidance, or incase of injuries. Drafting a quarterback at 17 overall will likely land them Josh Freeman who is viewed as a potential project. So drafting a quarterback isn't to smart where they already have three young guys on their roster. Other options include potential trading for Jay Cutler. For more on Jay Cutler to the Jets visit http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f767f9&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true
Whatever way the jets go, they will most certainly bring another quarterback into the mix before the start of training camp which begins in early May.

Peppers for the 35th overall pick?

Rumors have been surfacing latley between Julius Peppers and the New England Patriots. In return, the Panthers would get New England second round pick which they acquired for Kansas City for the services of Matt Cassel. Julius Peppers is a seven year pro who is agruably the best defensive player in football. Peppers demanded to be traded after being placed on the Franchise tag. The franchise tag is a one year contract for the average pay of the top five paid players at a players position. Although Peppers maybe worth more then the 35th overall pick, The Panthers do not have a draft pick til late in the second round. By trading Peppers for the 35th overall pick, the panthers could still select a player who could be an impact starter for them next season. Also by trading Peppers would rid the panthers of a potential nusence in the locker room.
A video and article can be viewed at the following link http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f48fa8&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Broncos in Need of a Quarterback?

As anyone who follows the NFL would know, Jay Cutler has demanded to be traded after hearing his name being rumored in trade talks a few months ago. Since Cutler has put his home and his parents home for sale that both reside in Denver. If Cutler gets his wish, Denver will have to replace him which will not be easy saying that Cutler is a pro bowl quarterback who was one of the best last season in yards, completions and touchdown passes. The Broncos could sign a free agent like J.P. Losman or Jeff Garcia who fit well in a Denver scheme or they could draft a quarterback. At number twelve overall there could be many options. It's possible that either Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez could fall to them there. If neither falls to them, Josh Freeman should definatly be available. This maybe a reach at twelve. They could either trade up to ensure they could select Stafford or Sanchez or trade down and get Freeman late in round one. If they stay put, Sanchez may falls to them and he fits there scheme better then that of a Stafford or Freeman.
For more on the Jay Cutler saga visit http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/03/24/broncos.ap/index.html

Is Stafford a Good Fit?

Matthew Stafford is viewed by many as the best quarterback availible in this years draft. However, does he fit well in Detriot. He would be playing for a team that went 0-16 last year. There offense was near the bottom of the league in all offensive categories. They do have a young talented running back in Kevin Smith but they don't have a solid reciever or tight end to catch balls, nor do they have a line that is going to give Matthew Stafford or any quarterback time to make a good throw.
Don't get me wrong. Matthew Stafford is a good college quarterback but the Detriot Lions don't give him much of a chance to succeed at the next level. He may turn into a bust like Tim Couch or Ryan Leaf. To view a video of the top quarterback prospects in this years draft or to read more on Matthew Stafford click here. http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcnorth/0-9-44/Finding-context-in-the-Stafford-debate.html

Pat White

A interesting prospect in this years draft is Pat White. He is a quarterback from West Virgina who exceled in all four years as a starter. After his final college game many beleived he would be best suited to be a "slash." A slash is a college quarterback who transfered into a wide reciever. Antwaan Randal El made the slash famous when he successfully did a few years ago. However Pat White has insisted he will not play wide reciever in the pros and will continue playing quarterback. White performed extremely well at the combine and has drawn a lot of interest including that scouts from every NFL team went to his pro day workout. White has not done any recieving workouts so teams who consider drafting Pat White are taking a risk where he projects to be a second round pick. However, he could be of value to a team who has the time to develop and build a team around White skill if he falls to the late third round or beyond.

Trading the Number One Pick

The Detriot Lions have made it known that they are interested in dealing the draft rights of the first overall pick. Owner Martin Mayhew stated that he is open to trading the choice if he could land the right difference-maker from another team. "We're open to all options with that pick."
Most likely if the lions do trade the first overall pick it will be for a quarterback, which is one of Detriot's many needs. Jay Cutler is unhappy in Denver and has demanded to be traded. Cutler is a young, fast rising star quarterback who would fit well in Detriot with his playmaking ability. There is also two quarterback in Cleveland with Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson and with Cleveland having some holes to fill could use that first pick to land a top quality offensive lineman or star linebacker Aaron Curry. The Lions could just stick with the pick and hope that either Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez is there quarterback of the future.

Aaron Curry

Aaron Curry of Wake Forest is attempting to defy the odds and be the first pick in this years draft. There is no questioning Curry's talent, he is arguably the best talent in this years draft. However, linebackers don't have a good history of going number one overall. The last linebacker taken at number one overall was over 20 years ago.

The Detroit Lions are picking number one overall and have much higher needs like a quarterback or offensive linemen. The just aqquired all-pro linebacker Julian Peterson in a trade with Seattle. There is also the possiblity that another team trades with Detroit to get the first pick and select Curry. Whoever drafts Curry, is likely to have a all-pro linebacker on there team for the next decade.

This article can be viewed here. http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d80f68515&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Andrew

Hi, my name is Andrew and I live in Bangor. I enjoy hunting and the outdoors. My beat is this years NFL draft. I though it would be an interesting topic where I like sports and it is an ongoing issue through the month of April. I use to follow the draft a lot more closely but school and work cosumes a lot of my time.