Draft Recap Part Two

Scott Pioli is either prescient or needing therapy for K.C’s draft, but the man has a prolific history so you must take him seriously..

I think Bill Belichick made his worst draft in memory but if Solder can grow into a pro-bowl lineman and he finally gets it right at d.b. then watch out.  His selection of Mallett late was typical Hoodie. No one questions Mallett’s physical abilities.  Maybe the best of the lot but his inability to think, to lead, to embrace the difficult NFL playbook and learn to read is a huge risk.  With Brady good for at least two seasons barring injury, Mallett may become excellent to great.  Belichick had so many picks, and while many were uninspiring, then he makes one of the best in the draft, taking G Marcus Cannon in R5.  He may have saved his entire draft right here.  I had him ranked 19th overall.  Now obviously none of us knew that he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, as that info wasn’t released until the eve of the Draft.  So naturally the player slips.  But Belichick took a R5 pick and played the lottery- many recover from this and the kid is expected to make a full recovery.  Does that mean he can play football again?  No one but the Patriots will be in a position to gain from that.  It was simply a low risk and high reward play.

It is a fact that a number of teams dropped Austin from their boards completely. His interviews and attitude turned off teams to the point where they would not draft him in any round.  Andy tweeted on Day 2 that Wonder thinks Austin will not be a problem.  I hope Wonder is right.  Amukamara got good grades from most but I am a doubter.  If anything he may take over for Grant as a quasi linebacker but will never be a shutdown player for lack of speed, short arms and what makes very few earn that reputation. The rest of the Giant draft was near comical- they must address OL and LB and when/if there is free agency.

I hope I am wrong.  Winning in the NFC East is not what it once was. Washington had a poor draft, Dallas surprisingly was mediocre and Reid was weak too. They took Watkins, who I love.  I penciled in Jaiquawn Jarrett to the Eagles in R3 or R4, and they took him in R2, but that was a reach.  I had him at 90 and they took him at 54.  The Eagles traded up to take LB Casey Matthews one pick in front of the Giants in R4.  You have to respect the move because the Giants were in need there and the Eagles obviously liked him.

I didn’t have Carpenter in round one but I did have him in early round two, which no one to my knowledge did.  Wonder and I both liked Cincinnati’s choice for a quarterback, Dalton, as a potential drew Brees.  We panned Locker and Mallett as overrated and mistakes in general.

Wonder and myself do not hit every pick but we did hit on where a few guys would go in the more difficult middle rounds. See Wonder’s comments on the receiver from North Carolina amongst a few and my pick for the Jets at nose, Kenrick Ellis. The right players, the right teams and a lot of luck.