tombonneau

23. New England Patriots: Brian Cushing, OLB, USC

Cushing is the type of versatile athlete the Patriots crave. He has the shown an ability to not only get after the passer but can also hold the edge and contain the run game. He lacks great upside, but Cushing is a smart, instinctive defender who will fit right in with the Patriots' dynamic 3-4 defense.

The National Football Post | 2009 NFP Mock Draft

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Love the pick and wouldn't mind seeing them grab his teammate Clay Matthews with their second rounder.

condon84

That would be a solid pick. It's interesting that they didn't have William Moore going in the first round. I would be ecstatic if Moore fell in our lap. Moore is a ball-hawking safety that is also great in run support. He also fills a more immediate need IMO.

Boston Boxer

i would take either one. Cushing looked good in the rose bowl.

mayoclinic

I'm not on the Cushing bandwagon. I think he's stiff, looks too bulked up, makes me worry about steroids. Don't like his instincts or mobility. Didn't look good for USC when he played ILB in Rey's absence.

National Football Post lists Sean Smith (mislabelled as "Steve Smith"), CB/S from Utah, going #26 to Baltimore. Smith is 6'3" 210# and could play either CB (wouldn't it be nice to have one over 5'10") or S. He might be an alternative to William Moore. A lot of drafts have Moore going top 15, and a lot have him going 2nd round right now. The senior bowl, combine and workouts will tell a lot about who's right, but I could see either Moore or Sean Smith being a solid pick at #23.

patchick

Cushing is a logical pick, I'm sure we'll be seeing him on plenty of mocks. But USC front-7 guys make me awfully queasy.

tombonneau

Why? The last two USC LBs to get drafted in the first round were Keith Rivers & Lofa Tatupu. Rivers looked great pre-injury (and got the lone other DROY vote) and Tatupu is obviously a top talent as well.

Seneschal2

Mocks in general are based on team needs and consensus rankings. The problem with early mocks is that they're working with early rankings. Difficult at this time to accurately predict who will actually be hovering around #23 on draft day.

I will say if I had to choose between Sintim and Cushing with our first pick, I'd go with the Groh-coached player.

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"What we want to try to do is maximize each spot on the roster; we want to be stronger at No. 1 than the opponent, stronger at No. 25 than they are, and stronger at No. 53 than they are, we're always looking to upgrade the talent level on the team, and play together to be functional."
- Bill Belichick -

zero

Actually Tatupu was a second rounder (but it doesn't matter), Cushing is ok (often injured) but I prefer a CB in the first round (like D.J. Moore from Vanderbilt) and Connor Baldwin in the second

mmasterkillah

I'd rather take a flier on Brian Toal or Gerald McRath later in the draft instead of reaching for this guy.

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September 2010: SMART FOOTBALL

MetalBleachers

I'd rather see them get DB help in the first and pick up Matthews in the second. DE-FENSE!