"Ten Gleanings To Close The Combine"

[furley]

These are good points... I think New England could select a defensive lineman in the first round.

6. This is a great year to be in need of defensive linemen. Aside from Suh and McCoy at the top of everyone’s draft boards, the quality of depth at both end and tackle is fantastic. As an example, one team I know of has 7 tackles in this class rated higher than last year’s #3 overall pick, Tyson Jackson. There will be impact players found well into the second round, if not deeper...

7. ...but it’s a terrible year to need offensive skill position players. To quote one NFL.com analyst, “This is the supposed to be the deepest draft ever but I can’t find more than one running back or wide receiver I would draft in the first 50 picks.” I’m not that down on those classes, but his point is certainly not baseless. There are serious questions surrounding all the quarterbacks, enough that I won’t have any ranked in my top 10 of the post-Combine Top 103 (coming Friday!). The flip side of that is it boosts the stock of the legit talents like C.J. Spiller and the aforementioned Benn.

8. More on those receivers: Size isn’t nearly as important as quickness, but nothing is more important than the demonstrated ability to catch anything nearby with strong hands. That is very good news for guys like Jordan Shipley, Jeremy Williams, and Taylor Price, and very bad news for Mardy Gilyard, Brandon LaFell, and Dezmon Briscoe. Ironically it’s the exact opposite for tight ends, where having great measurables appears to trump any sort of proven ability to do anything on the field. That’s great news for Jimmy Graham and Clay Harbor, bad news for Jermaine Gresham.

RealGM Football: Wiretap Archives: Ten Gleanings To Close The Combine

 

[woolster22]

Good read. Agree completely on WR being pretty "meh" this year. would disagree on RB though. It is not ridiculously strong, but I wouldn't call it very weak either.

 

[bucky]

Good read. Agree completely on WR being pretty "meh" this year. would disagree on RB though. It is not ridiculously strong, but I wouldn't call it very weak either.

Agree. This is a good read. I'm firmly on the Odrick camp right now.

 

[BelichickFan]

Jeff's a great poster, blogger, writer, he posts on their boards as "Icness" for those interested :

RealGM • View forum - NFL Draft

 

[chevss454]

Agree. This is a good read. I'm firmly on the Odrick camp right now.

Me too, for a month. Box told me sev. weeks ago Odrick could be the pick at 22 so I have read a lot about him. Good size, power, positional moves, balance and he has a real mean streak. Prototypical candidate for BB. As PJ would say, "SIGN THE BEAST!"

Here's a post-combine 3 round mock to check out.

Schrager: NFL Mock Draft 3.0 - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN

BTW, he mentions Taylor Price WR as a big winner at the combine. If you don't know about him you should look him up. He could be the 2nd best WR in the draft; too bad he had a great combine, he's not under the radar any more.

 

[furley]

I wouldn't be adverse to selecting Jared Odrick, I think he'll be there for the Patriots at twenty-two. He reads like he's a versatile player and Belichick likes players with versatility.

If Price is as intriguing as he reads, you might have to use a second round pick to draft him. Admittedly, I didn't see any games this season of Knox. But I read around online and he read like he's a keeper for the Bears. Perhaps, a mainstay in their starting lineup.

I don't think New England would select a wide receiver this high, though. In any other year this is probably true but you've to consider it this year knowing that Welker's out indefinitely and Moss has an expiring contract. For that reason, the Patriots must come away from the draft with either an impact wide receiver or tight end.

03/02/2010 - Ohio University receiver Taylor Price has been told he's a dead ringer for Johnny Knox and he's not shying away from the comparisons. Price is one of the more buzz-worthy players at the draft, considering how few reporters monitor the Bobcats. "I trained at the same spot Johnny did [in Miami, Fla.]," said the 6-foot Price, who came out of a wing-T offense in high school in suburban Columbus. "A lot of people say I remind them of Johnny, so I hope I can put up the numbers he did. He ran fast and I'm looking forward to doing the same thing." Price, who had a great Senior Bowl week and is ranked as the 11th-best receiver by Scouts Inc., is considered one of the fastest players in the draft. Knox's 4.34 40-yard dash last year boosted his draft stock and he wound up being one of the Bears' few bright spots in 2009. - Jon Greenberg, ESPN Chicago

02/25/2010 - 2010 NFL COMBINE, ALL-COMBINE SURPRISE TEAM: WR - Taylor Price, Ohio: Watch this kid run his way into the second round. - Rob Rang, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com

01/28/2010 - SENIOR BOWL RISER: WR Taylor Price, Ohio: Inconsistent quarterback play kept Price from earning the national acclaim his skills warrant, but he took advantage of the Senior Bowl stage to skyrocket up draft boards. His explosive speed and body control to adjust to poorly thrown passes had scouts this week comparing him to Chicago Bears rookie Johnny Knox. - Rob Rang, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com

Taylor Price, Ohio, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

 

[CGH TX PATS]

nice read, alot of research done.

 

[furley]

What do people think of Damian Williams? Could he be available in the second round, I wonder.

 

[CGH TX PATS]

What do people think of Damian Williams? Could he be available in the second round, I wonder.

I didn't think he was very fast, until I watched him run at the combine (yeah, I guess i'm THAT guy). I was impressed with him, although most of the USC WR's recently have been busts. I don't know if he can play on the outside in our system, he may be another slot guy.

 

[furley]

I don't know how old this quote is, but it's an interesting quote from him.

"I've got some real good field vision and overall knowledge of the game. I read defensive coverages real well too. I've also got the ability to be a deep ball guy as well as being a possession player. My #1 goal this season is to win state and get off press coverage and do my releases better."

Scout.com: Damian Williams Profile

22. New England Patriots: Jared Odrick, DE/DT, Penn State

44. New England Patriots: Damian Williams, WR, USC

47. New England Patriots: Ricky Sapp, DE/OLB, Clemson

53. New England Patriots: Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona

116. New England Patriots: Javier Arenas, CB/KR, Alabama

WalterFootball.com: 2010 NFL Mock Draft