LIKING 17?
Yes, there are folks who seem to like being at 17. I guess the hope is that several GM's will make mistakes and a top 12 stud will fall to 17. Or, in the alternative, someone will let us move up a couple of spots to get a top 12 stud for little compensation. Now, to be fair, many mediot have said all we need to do is wait at 17 and we will be able to draft Watt or Jordan.
PERSPECTIVE
I would suggest dryheat44's mock as required reading as patchick's top 16 was a few weeks ago. Consider our position if we don't trade up, given this mock. The next seven picks after 16 are Liuget, Taylor, Ingram, Jimmy Smith, Castonzo, Solder and Harris. Do you think that there has been a bit a of dropoff from the last 7 picks to this? Ya think! Wilkerson and Heyward are there at 17; but they are also there at 28. #17 just doesn't seem very attractive.
WOULD I LIKE 10-13 MUCH BETTER?
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You bet I would! Yes, 7 players makes a HUGE difference here. The projections 10-16 are
WATT
JORDAN
BOWERS
the best rated tackle
JONES
KERRIGAN
A. SMITH
Would I feel better if we had 12 instead of 17 and 74. Of course I would! I would be pretty sure of getting Watt, Jordan or Jones.
WOULD I FEEL BETTER AT 22?
Would I feel better ir we had 22 and an extra mid-third (say 82) instead of 17. I probably would! Sure we might talk about all the trades up. But, in the end, as in 2010, we would expect Belichick to trade down a bit with at least one of 22, 28 and 33. We'd have 7 picks in the top 100 plus a 2012 pick as partial compensation for the trade down. And I would expect us to draft Wilkerson or Heyward at 22 or so.
BOTTOM LINE ABOUT 17
We have the anxiety of not having a clue with regard what we should expect out of this pick. In the end, we are likely to be out of the money at 17 in the race for studs in the 2011 draft.
It seems like a lot of people want the best available player of this draft class to be there at seventeen, yet at the same time want there to be zero questions or concerns about that very same player. That ain't happening; if there were no questions or concerns he'd be a top five pick.
Then because these folks then conclude #17 is such a bad place to be, they then assume that #10 or #22 must be much better.