4/13 NFP 3 Round Mock

[mayoclinic]

This one is from Wes Bunting. Michael Lombardi is supposed to have a mock coming out this week as well.

The National Football Post | NFP Three Round Mock Draft

For the Pats:

23 - Darius Butler, CB
34 - Brian Cushing, LB
47 - Alex Mack, OG/C
58 - Andre Brown, RB
89 - James Casey, TE
97 - Pat White, QB/WR

Other notable picks:

25 - Sean Smith, CB/S
26 - Rey Maualuga, ILB - I've had Maualuga to Baltimore in several mocks
27 - Evander Hoot, DT
28 - William Beatty, OT
31 - Clay Matthews, LB
32 - Jarron Gilbert, DE/DT
35 - Hakeem Nicks, WR
37 - Connor Barwin, DE/OLB
38 - Donald Brown, RB
44 - Larry English, DE/OLB
51 - William Moore, S
53 - Louis Delmas, S
63 - Jamon Meredith, OT/G
64 - Eric Wood, OG/C
69 - Clint Sintim, LB
78 - Patrick Chung, S
79 - Rashad Johnson, S
94 - Jason Williams, LB

I'm not a big fan of this draft for the Pats. I hate the Cushing pick, and don't see Andre Brown being value at 58. It's hard to argue with the Alex Mack pick, though I think I'd rather take Louis Delmas at 47 and either Jamon Meredith or Eric Wood at 58. I love James Casey at TE, but Casey and Pat White with consecutive picks doesn't make a lot of sense to me. No safety in the first 3 rounds doesn't please me either.

I would have been happier with:

23 - Darius Butler, CB - not my choice, but it's hard to argue against it; Jarron Gilbert going #32 to the Steelers would hurt
34 - Connor Barwin, OLB - I just can't see Cushing over Barwin in any scenario
47 - Louis Delmas, S
58 - Jamon Meredith or Eric Wood, OL; I love Mack, but like getting a safety more, and there's not much dropoff to Wood
89 - Jason Williams, LB
97 - James Casey, TE (if he fell) or Pat White, QB/WR

If the Steelers pick #32/64 and end up with Jarron Gilbert and Eric Wood out of the first day I will have a fit. That would be adding insult to injury.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

I'll take :

1) Butler
2a) Nicks
2b) Delmas
2c) Meredith
3a) Jason Williams
3b) Pat White

Note - I did that without looking at Mayo's, I see I'm starting to fall in line with one exception.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I'm suprised you haven't been assimilated into the Barwin collective yet. Ah well, there are 2 weeks left to work on you lol

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I'm suprised you haven't been assimilated into the Barwin collective yet. Ah well, there are 2 weeks left to work on you lol

Assimilation will not be complete until Bill Belichick groups all four Day One picks and trades up to take Barwin. :robot:

 

[mayoclinic]

Assimilation will not be complete until Bill Belichick groups all four Day One picks and trades up to take Barwin. :robot:

Actually, I see us drafting Barwin twice, once at 23 as an OLB and once at 34 as a TE.

 

[mayoclinic]

I'll take :

1) Butler
2a) Nicks
2b) Delmas
2c) Meredith
3a) Jason Williams
3b) Pat White

Note - I did that without looking at Mayo's, I see I'm starting to fall in line with one exception.

For the record, I love Nicks and consider him one of my top prospects. I'm fine with him at 34, though I'd prefer Barwin at 23 and Nicks at 34. I prefer Nicks to Butler, not that I dislike Butler at all.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

I'm suprised you haven't been assimilated into the Barwin collective yet. Ah well, there are 2 weeks left to work on you lol

Barwin intrigues me and I would be excited if we took him as it would mean that Belichick, et al, think the combine numbers can be developed; it's just too high for me to take a DE-OLB conversion even though I know there has been a good success rate for those types.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Barwin intrigues me and I would be excited if we took him as it would mean that Belichick, et al, think the combine numbers can be developed; it's just too high for me to take a DE-OLB conversion even though I know there has been a good success rate for those types.

He intrigues me too. I think he is too high at 23 as well but I would definitely take him at 34 because I'm pretty confident he won't be there at 47 unless we were to trade up very soon after 34. Even if he strikes out as a LB which he probably won't, you still have one of the best ST prospects in this years draft and a viable TE.

 

[DW Toys]

Actually, I see us drafting Barwin twice, once at 23 as an OLB and once at 34 as a TE.

Mayo=1 Barwinites=0
DW Toys

 

[nickw308810]

I hate the Cushing pick

I have seen a lot of people on here with this view and I just don't get it. When I watch him play I see a guy who would be almost perfect at SILB next to Mayo. He already is used to playing on the strongside as he was the SLB for USC, but also spent time at MLB and the "elephant" DE, making him one of/if not the most versatile defender in the draft.

He is great against the run and does a very good job taking on and shedding blockers to get to the ball. He is an explosive athlete who can really lay the lumber and is a pretty good special teams player as well. A smart, instinctive player, he also is solid at blitzing up the middle.

If you look at the numbers listed on CBS Sportsline NFL Draft - 2009 Draft Prospects - CBSSports.com Football you will see that Cushing's numbers come pretty close to Barwin's, who we all must admit is an athletic freak. (For the record I'd love Cushing at 23 and Barwin at 34).

OVR Pos. Rank Player Pos. School Ht. Wt. Proj. Rd. Stock 40 Time Bench Reps Vert. Jump Twenty Yard Ten Yard Broad Jump Shuttle Cone
15 2 Brian Cushing OLB Southern California 6-3 243 1 same 4.64 30 35 2.62 1.53 10'00" 4.22 6.84
31 4 Connor Barwin OLB Cincinnati 6-4 256 1-2 up 4.59 21 40 1/2 2.68 1.53 10'08" 4.18 6.87

I wouldn't doubt that at one point in his career he took something he wasn't supposed to, but it wasn't recently as all his drug tests have shown, so I don't seeing that being a problem anymore. He also had durability concerns, but after playing all of last season seemed to work through those as well.

The guy has been starting at USC, a perennial powerhouse, on a great defense since his freshman season. He is flat out a football player. Some experts talk about him not being fluid in coverage, but he proved at USC that he could match up with TEs. I think a lot of the talk about his hips came from the fact that Matthews was so fluid -but we aren't looking for another Mayo, we are looking for someone to partner him for the next decade, and that's where I think Cushing fits better than any other backer in this draft.