Concluded here with Clark Harris, TE, to Green Bay, they had a great day (and possibly a few DBs to come in Joe Porter and Derrick Roberson). In Day 1, St. Louis took a strong RB in Brian Leonard at #52 overall in the second round, then on Day 2 the Scarlet Fever continued with Cameron Stephenson going to the Steelers in Round 5.
Harris will compete with Bubba Franks to be the #1 TE for the Packers, while Leonard will be one to watch in the preseason to examine just how Linehan uses him in that offense. If he starts to steal touches, especially in the Red Zone, away from Steven Jackson he will be a huge NFL and Fantasy Football value.
Andy Reid loves to pick at least one Mormon every year for the Eagles, and that pick continued with their final pick.
RB Nate Ilaoa of Hawaii continued that faith in more than one way.
Nate Ilaoa
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 7th Round and Arizona Cardinals.
Patrick comes off the board in Round 7. He was starting to be a solid “Mr. Irrelevant” candidate as he continued to tumble downward, but Arizona caught him in Round 7.
What does this mean for Arizona? Well, Patrick can come in at either TE or Halfback and contribute to the passing game. I liked his upside in Round 3, so imagine my likings on his chances this late in the draft.
Round 7 picks don’t pose much threat to Pope, but don’t be surprised if he might start to move up the depth chart in August.
Congrats to the former Fightin’ Blue Hen.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 5th Round and Baltimore Ravens.
Well, the Ravens finally got their QB for the future. Everyone was waiting for them to pick one, and everyone was also wondering how Troy Smith could still be on the board. Well, two birds were killed by one Ravens team.
Now, we see the QB that can learn from a seasoned veteran in Steve McNair, and when (not if) Kyle Boller leaves after 2007 the next QB will be ready to go under center.
Excellent value pick for the Ravens. They obtained a Top 5 QB prospect that was a Heisman Winner at one point for the leader of the National Championship Game participants. Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams will be his new Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 5th Round and Kansas City Chiefs.
Forget Mason Crosby.
You heard me.
The right kicker went first off the board today in Round 5 to Kansas City, where Justin Medlock of UCLA went over Mason Crosby.
After watching an interesting contest for the NCAA All-Star Contest in January, not only was Medlock better poised and frankly a better kick (and athlete), he got his kicks off in a hurry. Crosby took forever to get kicks off quickly, and I bet he gets blocked far more often than the average placekicker.
Congrats to the Chiefs for recognizing this need and finding the replacement for Lawrence Tynes.
Clowney represents good speed and downfield ability at the WR position. Yes, Bloom was unimpressed at the Senior Bowl, but Clowney is a guy who can come in and stretch the field.
Are they preparing for the eventuality of Driver aging and working through his last deal? He’s signed through 2009, but any degradation in his performance in the next 1-2 years could result in a complete turnover at WR for the Pack. Clowney, Greg Jennings, and James Jones represents 3 young talents that could develop into a new WR corps for Aaron Rodgers after the Favre Era is complete.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 5th Round and Minnesota Vikings.
Tarvaris, drafted just one year ago, can be considered a big winner this draft now with the selection of Aundrae Allison to compliment WR Sidney Rice and of course RB Adrian Peterson. Consider that the Vikings have taken the #1 RB in the Draft and added two solid WRs to surround their young, talented QB and afford him the talents and tools to hone a sharp offense in the NFC North.
An even bigger plus for Jackson is the lack of a QB selection - not just Brady Quinn going to Cleveland - but no QB has gone to the Vikings. That’s huge and a testament to Brad Childress’ repeated comments that Tarvaris will be their franchise QB. Now with the NFL Draft nearly done, the actions by the Vikings not only match but they speak louder than their words.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 4th Round and Baltimore Ravens.
Now we see a guy that could be a hybrid DE/OLB that could be an Adalius Thomas replacement (forget about Barrett Johnson - nice athlete but not a man to just plug in there).
Barnes is one of the fastest guys in the draft coming off the outside to the QB, and a pass rushing specialist works for the Ravens here.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 4th Round and Dallas Cowboys.
Doug Free has the ideal frame and athleticism for an NFL LT and looked like a first rounder until he had a stress fracture in his foot. Dan Bazuin who went in the second round converted him into a turnstile for the last 4 years and again at the Shrine Game practices. If Free can develop a mean streak, he could greatly outperform this selection here on Day 2.
Published by Jeff Pasquino April 29th, 2007 in 4th Round and Atlanta Falcons.
Solid pick for the Atlanta Falcons. He’s a solid playmaker on the field and instant contributor as a pass-rushing specialist until he grows up into the SAM position for the Falcons.
