11/19 NFP Super 30

[mayoclinic]

National Football Post/Bleacher Report has a new Super 30 out today:

THE NFP Super 30: A Look at the Top Prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft | Bleacher Report

Of interest:

#4 - Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama (ahead of Eric Berry)
#7 - Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida - one of my day 1 sleepers for the Pats
#8 - Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech
#10 - Terrance "Mount" Cody, DT, Alabama
#14 - Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio St. - I think he has the highest upside of any 5 technique guy in the draft, including possibly Suh
#17 - Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
#19 - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, USF
#26 - Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh
#27 - Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho

Notable absentees include:

- Joe Haden, CB, Florida (I think he goes top 10)
- Greg Hardy, DE, Mississippi
- Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland
- Jerry Hughes, DE/OLB, TCU
- Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas
- Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
- Sean Weatherspoon, LB

 

[Ochmed Jones]

How can any list of the top 30 exclude Haden. That kid is a football demon. BB loves guys that love football, well the poster child is Haden. Strong run and pass defender with nice hips,speed and quick twitch.

He and Ghee are the two best corners I have seen this year.

 

[mayoclinic]

How can any list of the top 30 exclude Haden. That kid is a football demon. BB loves guys that love football, well the poster child is Haden. Strong run and pass defender with nice hips,speed and quick twitch.

He and Ghee are the two best corners I have seen this year.

Haden will come out, will be the #CB off the board, and will probably go top 10-15 (most likely to the Titans). He's everything that you say he is.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

I'm actually not as impressed with Haden. I think he lacks instincts, sometimes. In terms of pure coverage ability, he's great. He also does a good job against the run. He will be an excellent NFL player, one day, but I think he'll need some time. Too often I've seen him caught up in the wash when he's in zone. He doesn't seem to have a great feel for where the rest of his coverage help is, and is a split-second slow responding to the action. Nitpicking, really, since he's a junior. Maybe I just caught a bad game or two?

I trust your opinions, gentlemen.

 

[SidelineSid]

Haden will come out, will be the #CB off the board, and will probably go top 10-15 (most likely to the Titans). He's everything that you say he is.

He will be the first corner off the board, but not the first defensive back. Eric Berry and Taylor Mays most likely will go ahead of him. Also, the Titans have a huge need at DT. They don't have a quality replacement to Haynesworth. That's why they are losing, not their secondary. The Texans, Ravens and Falcons are better candidates for a CB. Don't get me wrong. Other teams also have a need for a good CB, but those teams have such glaring holes at other areas. They just can't afford to take one.

 

[mayoclinic]

He will be the first corner off the board, but not the first defensive back. Eric Berry and Taylor Mays most likely will go ahead of him. Also, the Titans have a huge need at DT. They don't have a quality replacement to Haynesworth. That's why they are losing, not their secondary. The Texans, Ravens and Falcons are better candidates for a CB. Don't get me wrong. Other teams also have a need for a good CB, but those teams have such glaring holes at other areas. They just can't afford to take one.

I never said Haden would be the first DB taken, just the first CB. I expect Berry to go higher, though you never know - CB is generally valued more. I think there's a good chance Taylor Mays slips out of the top 10, as he looks more and more like a better athlete than football player. He'll still go top 20 at worst.

I agree that Tennessee has a huge need at DT. But there's a lot of depth at DT in this draft. Also, I'm assuming Tennessee picks somewhere between #7 and #12 right now. I would expect Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy to be long gone. I don't think Terrance Cody is a fit for the Titans. And no other DT is worth taking that high. So I could see Houston going DB first, and then taking a DT in the 3rd round (or trading up).

The Texans, Ravens and Falcons are all great CB candidates. Problem is, I don't see Haden lasting that long, and there's a fair dropoff between him and the next top CB prospects (Donovan Warren of Michigan and Brandon Ghee of Wake Forrest), who are borderline 1st/2nd round prospects.

 

[SidelineSid]

I never said Haden would be the first DB taken, just the first CB. I expect Berry to go higher, though you never know - CB is generally valued more. I think there's a good chance Taylor Mays slips out of the top 10, as he looks more and more like a better athlete than football player. He'll still go top 20 at worst.

I agree that Tennessee has a huge need at DT. But there's a lot of depth at DT in this draft. Also, I'm assuming Tennessee picks somewhere between #7 and #12 right now. I would expect Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy to be long gone. I don't think Terrance Cody is a fit for the Titans. And no other DT is worth taking that high. So I could see Houston going DB first, and then taking a DT in the 3rd round (or trading up).

The Texans, Ravens and Falcons are all great CB candidates. Problem is, I don't see Haden lasting that long, and there's a fair dropoff between him and the next top CB prospects (Donovan Warren of Michigan and Brandon Ghee of Wake Forrest), who are borderline 1st/2nd round prospects.

The Titans and Texans really are the wild cards in this draft. Before, we thought that they would be in the top ten, now they might have to trade up to get there. The Titans really have two major needs: DT and DE. They have a good linebacker corps, (although a Keith Bullock is getting old), and they have a very talented secondary. Check this out:

CB: Cortland Finnegan (breakout player)
CB: Nick Harper (good corner that was the starting corner back for the Colts in 06)
SS: Michael "Supreme" Griffin (No offense to Meriweather, but he is the best young safety[less than 3 years experience]).
FS: Chris Hope (the other half of the 05 Steelers superbowl winning tandem)

That means that the Titans have two Superbowl winning vets (that were key starters on their teams), and two young breakout players. I really don't think they go for a defensive back.

The Texans, on the other hand, just might pull the trigger on a DB. The only problem is that Safety is a bigger need for them than corner. Even though Dunta Robinson is a free agent after this season, he was not able to receive a guarantee that he wouldn't be franchised again. They have the money to pay him, he just doesn't want to be with the team. Also, they are weak on the interior of the offensive line and could use an upgrade.

This April, Hayden could go between the 15 to 25 range. Why? It's because NFL teams are beginning to realize that in today's NFL, the safety position is more important than the corner. If you go back and look at the past couple of Super Bowl champions, usually had great safeties and mediocre corners.

08- Steelers - Troy Polamalu
07- Giants - exception
06- Colts - Bob Sanders
05- Steelers - Troy Polamalu
04- Patriots - Rodney Harrison
03- Patriots - Rodney Harrison - exception, they also had great corners
02- Buccaneers - John Lynch - modest exception of Ronde Barber
01- Patriots - Lawyer Malloy - exception, they also had great corners
00- Ravens - Rod Woodson
99- Rams - Aneas Williams
98- Broncos - Steve Atwater
97- Broncos - Steve Atwater

We could get very lucky this April. Many teams have a need for an OT, DB, RB, WR, QB, and TE. Our team does not have needs that justify a first round draft choice in those areas. We could always grab an interior lineman and running back with second round picks. That would leave us with needs at linebacker and defensive end worth first round picks.

Add the fact that this may be the last draft before a rookie wage scale and you could have a very stacked draft.