Now that the biggest “non on the field” sporting event is done for this year and 255 players know their destinations, it is now time for myself and other talent evaluators to recap the action and then take a well deserved rest. I don’t like to give “Letter Grades”, because as I always like to say, “It takes 2 to 3 years to evaluate a draft”. That being said, some teams definitely did seem to strengthen their teams in the 2007 Draft. The teams that did well followed a blueprint that I believe has worked in the past:
- Go for Larger School Players (BCS Level Players) in the 1st three rounds.
- Judge the total player (Interview, Practice Habits, All Star Game, Combine, Pro Day, “Character”, and most importantly Game Film),
- “Football Players” in the 4th round and higher (Day 2). Players that may not have all the measurables, but who can provide quality depth by helping on special teams or playing multiple positions.
- Always consider your team’s needs with picks (Use the draft to replenish and build to establish the cornerstone of your team).
With this blueprint, GM’s have armed themselves with year-round scouting staffs that are dedicated to finding the next gem. However, no matter how much homework is done, most talent evaluator’s will have just as many Charles Rogers, Heath Shuler, Mike Mamula, Akilli Smith, and Tim Couch (All High 1st Round Busts) type picks on their resume as Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, and Seth Joyner (All late round finds) type picks. The draft process is a roll of the dice, but good teams like the Patriots always seem to find good football players year in and year out.
Tidbits from this year’s draft include:
- Big Conferences Reign Supreme – NFL teams are looking for successful players from big conferences in the draft, because players are being taught pro techniques at these college and universities. A little over 70% of the players selected were from the 6 BCS Conferences. The SEC had the most players drafted overall with 41, followed by the Big Ten (32), ACC (31), Big 12 (28), Pac-10 (28), Western Athletic (17), Big East (16), Mountain West (9), Conference USA (8), and Mid-American (8). Overall 28 conferences were represented.
- National Champs lead the way – The 2006 National Champion Florida Gators led the way with 9 players selected in the draft. Their highest player was DE Jarvis Moss going to the Denver Broncos at #17 overall (1st Round). The Broncos also decided to grab his teammate Marcus Thomas in the 4th Round. One player that I thought would be drafted from the Gators, but didn’t was their leader quarterback Chris Leak. Leak, who is the 2nd leading passer in SEC history, will now have to go the free agent route (Signed as a UDFA by the Bears). Other teams with a high number of players selected were Ohio State (8), Michigan (7), Notre Dame (7), Texas (7), Southern California (5) and surprisingly Hawaii (5). The Rainbows from Hawaii should be proud, because they had more players selected than Iowa and Georgia.
- “Character” Matters – Teams have now placed a larger emphasis on drafting players that will be “Character Team Players”. Character definitely reared its head after Commissioner Roger Goodell said “Enough is Enough” issuing 2007 suspensions to habitual offenders Chris Henry (8 games) and Adam Pacman Jones (Season). Teams thought twice about players that had a lot of baggage (2 or more off the field incidents or drug use). This year’s “Character” poster player Marcus Thomas had to wait until the 4th round for the Broncos to grab him even though he had first round ability.
- Here Come the Pats - The brain trust of Scott Pioli and Bill Belichek did not like the taste of losing to the Colts and then watching them hoist the Lombardi trophy. They set out this off-season to make that change. They added via free agency former Ravens OLB Adalius Thomas, former Bengals CB Tory James, former Dolphins RB Sammy Morris, former Eagles WR Donte Stallworth, former Bengals WR Kelley Washington and traded for former Dolphins WR/KR Wes Welker. That set the stage for the biggest news of Day 2 where they grabbed Randy Moss from the Raiders for a 2005 4th Round. Moss was so happy he re-negotiated his contract right away to fit in. Did I also mention they drafted Rodney Harrison’s replacement hard hitting Miami Safety Brandon Meriweather and cat quick DT Kareem Brown plus through trades they picked up an additional first and third round picks in 2008.
- The “Slash” Effect – It is hard to believe, but it has been over 12 years since Steelers 2nd Round Draftee QB Kordell Stewart became “Slash” in 1995 as a multiple threat – multi position player in Chan Gailey’s Super Bowl Bound Pittsburgh offense. Teams have since tried to find the next “Slash” with former College QB’s or Developmental guys, last year it was QB/WR Brad Smith of the Jets in 2nd Round. The 2007 Draft featured Isaiah Stanback of Washington going to the Cowboys in the 4th round
- Underclassmen learn school counts – 45 underclassmen applied for the draft and some prospered. We all know about Jamarcus Russell of LSU and Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson, but there were only 29 total underclassmen selected. That left 16 players left to scramble for training camp spots. Notables included: Notre Dame RB Darius Walker, Wake Forest LB Jon Abbate, San Diego State DE Allen Applewhite, and Ole Miss LB Rory Johnson
WINNERS
Arizona – The move to bring in Penn State OT Levi Brown may have been a little early at 5th overall, but he should be a cornerstone RT. Under new O-line Coach Russ Grimm’s tutelage I expect Brown to be motivated and he should help Edgerrin James improve greatly from last year. The addition of Brown and free agent Center Al Johnson should bolster the 30th ranked rushing team. When sure first rounder DT Alan Branch fell to the 2nd round, the Cardinals smartly jumped on him. He will be an anchor and he truly was a steal at the 33rd pick. I also like the special teams additions of OLB Buster Davis and WR/KR Steve Breaston.
Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons started the draft by grabbing young and athletic DE Jamaal Anderson. Jackson led the SEC in sacks and he should help off set the loss of Patrick Kerney to the Seahawks. They also grabbed my #1 Guard prospect in Texas’ Justin Blalock (6’3, 320). He will bring size and speed to one of the NFL’s smallest offensive lines. They also grabbed my #1 man to man cornerback in Arkansas DB Chris Houston. Houston will now team with Jimmy Williams, DeAngelo Hall, and raw 6th Round pick Auburn’s David Irons to form a turnover machine secondary. I also like that Roger Goodell did Arthur Blank’s job and sat QB Michael Vick down and explained to him in no uncertain terms he better shape up.
Baltimore Ravens – Once again Ozzie Newsome manipulated the draft well. He grabbed my #2 Guard in big Ben Grubbs from Auburn in the first round. Grubbs will be a road-grader that will clear the way for Willis Maghee. They then grabbed Devin Hester-esque WR/KR Yamon Figurs from Kansas State in the 3rd Round. Figurs by the way was the fastest player at the scouting combine. In the 4th Round they selected Le’ron McCray from Alabama, who was the only FB worth picking and he should be the next Sam Gash. In a move that I really liked they grabbed Heisman winning QB Troy Smith with the last pick of the 5th round. Smith will grow behind McNair and Brian Billick is a great quarterback teacher. Now they can let QB Kyle Boller leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Carolina – With LB Dan Morgan an injury risk, the Panthers took explosive Miami LB Jon Beason with the 25th pick. Beason will be a Day 1 starter and should team with Peppers to wreak havoc. They also set the stage to replace Keyshawn Johnson with a younger version of himself by selecting USC WR Dwayne Jarrett in the 2nd Round. They then grabbed Ryan Kalil also of USC (My #1 Center) also in the 2nd Rd, Explosive DE Charles Johnson in the 3rd round and my number one future special teams star of the future Penn State LB Tim Shaw in the 5th Round.
THE LOSERS
Denver – I know they had the 21st ranked pass defense, but did they three D-Lineman including DE Jarvis Moss (1st Rd), DE Tim Crowder (2nd Rd), and DT Marcus Thomas (4th). They inexplicably traded the rest of their Day 2 picks to select Thomas, who brought unneeded “character” exposure for a team still hurting from the Maurice Clarett fiasco from last year. Also the player they brought in to help the O-line Notre Dame OT Ryan Harris (3rd round) is too inconsistent. They forgot about bringing in a LB to replace the recently cut Al Wilson and a future replacement for the aging S John Lynch.
Kansas City – All have to say is where is the O-Line help?? Despite a glaring need for “big boys” on a run first team they went with WR Dwayne Bowe, DT Turk McBride and DT DeMarcus Tyler in the first 3 rounds. I know LJ was not happy not to see a road-grader or two.
Washington – Once again Daniel Snyder’s wheeling and dealing left the ‘Skins with only one first day pick and five overall players. I did like their selection of LSU S LaRon Landry, who was my number one defensive player. But they didn’t do enough especially finding a pass rusher to a D-line had only 19 sacks in ‘06.
Lloyd’s Leftovers:
- Veteran player movement after the draft is always fun to see. It started on Monday as the Philadelphia Eagles released veteran linebacker Dhani Jones and the Buccaneers signed tight end Jerramy Stevens to a one-year, $600,000 deal that included no guaranteed money. Also after selecting Keyshawn Johnson clone Dwayne Jarrett in the 2nd round, the Carolina Panthers let Johnson go on Tuesday.
- Look for Kansas City veteran QB Trent Green to also move soon to the Miami Dolphins via a trade once all of the logistics are sorted out. Green is still campaigning with GM Carl Peterson, but the Chiefs will not just give him away for nothing. They are rumored to wanting a future 2nd or 3rd round pick, which is high for a 37 year old quarterback with a concussion history. He could force the Chiefs hand though by showing up at minicamp, but I think he will have to wait until June to find a new team.
- The following veterans may still be going to new homes even though they were not traded during the draft. RB Michael Turner (San Diego), DT Kris Jenkins (Carolina), WR Jerry Porter (Oakland), LB Lance Briggs (Chicago), and CB Asante Samuel (New England).
- This year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” by being the last player selected at pick 255 in the 2007 NFL Draft was Alabama cornerback Ramzee Robinson. He waited 18 hours and five minutes over two days before he was taken by the Detroit Lions in 7th Round. He is a 5’10, 186 lb nickelback, who had 4 interceptions in his career at Alabama. He should definitely be a competitive player in camp and on special teams.
- It is never to early for my 2008 Prospect Board including: Arkansas RB Darren McFadden, Louisville QB Brian Brohm, Penn State tackling machine LB Dan Connor, Massive LSU Defensive Tackle Glenn Dorsey, Michigan prototypical OT Jake Long, and the West Virginia speed combo of RB Steve Slaton and QB Pat White, but we have 11 more months to bring information and draft news about these guys.
That is it for 2007 Draft and may all the teams be enriched going into the 2007 season. BIGPLAY will be back in full force for the 2008 Draft in New York City. Thanks to Leslie Hammond and her staff at the NFL for making the Draft an enjoyable experience for BIGPLAY Football.
