Astrobot

Draft Tek right now has our #43 pick as Jon Beason, and I don't think he'd last until further down.

Laurent Robinson, Matt Trannon, Jacoby Jones, Maurice Price, and Junior Taylor.

If Washington gave us the same assurances, I'd feel better. Their needs at ILB may be greater than SF's.

It's Droid's Day off today, so I settled in with a can of electrolytes and ran a few drafts through the processor: With The CB Picked First (3 Defense, 5 Offense): 1. Hall CB 2. Beason OLB 3. Booker RB 3. Justin Durant ILB 4. Wrotto OG 6. Snelling FB 7. Trannon WR 7. Zabransky QB With The LB Picked First (4 Defense, 4 Offense): 1. P.Willis ILB 2. Daymeion Hughes CB 3. Lorenzo Booker RB 3. Josh Beekman OG 4. Tony Taylor OLB 6. Jason Snelling FB 7. Trannon WR 7. Joe Cohen DT The RB Picked First (4 Defense, 4 Offense): 1. Marshawn Lynch RB 2. Jon Beason OLB 3. Buster Davis ILB 3. Aundrae Allison WR 4. CJ Gaddis CB 6. Jason Snelling FB 7. Scott Stephenson OC 7. Joe Cohen DT The DT Picked First (4 Defense, 4 Offense): 1. Okoye, DT 2. Pittman, RB 3. Buster Davis ILB 3. Bennett CB 4. Wrotto OG 6. Snelling FB 7. Justin Hickman OLB 7. Jacoby Jones WR The TradeUp For Peterson (3 Defense, 4 Offense): 1. Peterson RB 3A. Tim Shaw OLB 3B. Fred Bennett CB 4. Mike Jones Iowa OG 6. Jason Snelling FB 7A. KaMichael Hall OLB 7B. Legedu Nannee WR The TradeDown To 18 For Poz: (5 Defense, 4 Offense): 1. (Tradedown to 18 for CIN's 2nd Rounder) 1. Paul Posluszny OLB 2. Antonio Pittman RB 2. Brandon Siler ILB 3. Courtney Taylor WR 3. Michael Coe CB 4. Cory Anderson FB 6. Louis Leonard DT 6’4”, 320 Fresno St. 7. John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati 7. Maurice Price, WR, Charleston Southern If I had to pick one that surprised me, I'd have to say the quality still available if we traded up for a Peterson or trading down for Poz. Lemme know your reactions. --Astro

If you wanted to pull the trigger, it could be done. It could look something like this: 1. Peterson RB 3A. Tim Shaw OLB 3B. Fred Bennett CB 4. Mike Jones Iowa OG 6. Jason Snelling FB 7A. KaMichael Hall OLB 7B. Legedu Nannee WR

Those two picks might let us move up to 6th, right in front of Minnesota.

I don't want swappy seconds.

Carr won't know what to do with a good offensive line in front of him.

I did forget Hargrove. However, so did the Bills on their Roster By Position. MEa Culpa. I think one-trick ponies like Hargrove and Anderson are on their way out. If you can't defend the run and the pass, you'll be gone. Okoye can do both, and I'd be leased to have him on my team at the end of Round 1. In fact, if it's Okoye-Poz after Round 1 I'm buying season tickets.

I wouldn't put it past the Bills brass, but it would be a Whitneresque pick. Now if they trade back into RD#1, and grab another guy, it'd be a 2006-esque pick.

With Takeo gone, Stamer has the best remaining neck.

97 McCargo, John DT 6-2 307 23 2 N.C. State 99 Jefferson, Jason DT 6-1 295 25 3 Wisconsin 98 Tripplett, Larry DT 6-2 293 28 6 Washington 96 Walker, Darwin DT 6-3 294 29 8 Tennessee 95 Williams, Kyle DT 6-1 306 23 2 LSU I'd say that if we got Okoye, he would be the 1-gap guy with Williams, and the 3-gap guys would be McCargo and Darwin Walker. Since newly acquired Walker stays, it's now a decision whether to keep 4 DT's or 5, and where you cut a guy to compensate for 5 DT's. Tripplett would be the other man out if they keep 4. If you keep 4 DE's, you keep Denney-Schobel-Kelsay, and the 4th spot will be between McNeill, Powell, and a draftee. At least one goes on the PS this year. 72 Neill, Ryan DE 6-3 253 24 1 Rutgers 91 Powell, Eric DE 6-3 284 27 2 Florida State 92 Denney, Ryan DE 6-7 264 29 6 BYU 94 Schobel, Aaron DE 6-4 243 29 7 TCU 90 Kelsay, Chris DE 6-4 261 27 5 Nebraska

I think Tim Anderson would be the odd man out. We'd need to get rid of our least effective 1-gap guy.

That ain't no chicken. I'm sold.

The argument about RB's are easier to get up to speed in Year 1 is an attractive argument for me. If we don't get Turner, it'll have to someone who can play for us in Game 1 of Year 1. That's Peterson, Lynch, Turner. I've spent hours looking at RB's in other rounds. Here's what I got, along with their ability to help us Year 1. (10/10) Peterson (9.5) Lynch (7.5) Antonio Pittman, Ohio State: Liability=lacks bulk, toughness, is raw http://youtube.com/watch?v=fMhonqcbXv8 At the Combine he came in about ten solid pounds heavier than listed and tied Adrian Peterson and Chris Henry for fastest official 40 time. Also noteworthy was a terrific 6.84-second time in the cone drill. A bit raw; would do better to bulk and toughen for a few years. Would be good complement for A-Train. (6) Kenny Irons, Auburn: Liability= size, can't receive passes yet, needs bulk. video (1:48 mark) - http://youtube.com/watch?v=rzOQOOMId0c Probably the 3rd Rated back heading into this season. Poor season, but very good combine except bench (17). Size is the low end of desirable for a feature RB and his skills in all facets of the passing game need a lot of development. Packers spent a long time with him. Not a pass receiver yet. Probably better in committee with another RB—must add bulk. (6) Chris Henry, Arizona Liability = experience, attitude and dedication. 4.4 speed, 2nd fastest 10 yd and 20 yd time to A.P., best broad jump, best speed: weight ratio. Very under the radar up to combine. Henry was the workout warrior surprise of the Combine, including tying for the fastest time and longest broad jump (10’7”) by a RB in Indy. His other numbers were among the best by RB’s, as well, including 4.16 shuttle, 6.96 cone, 36” vertical, and 26 reps on the bench. Not surprisingly, he stood on those numbers at Arizona’s Pro Day. Buried on the depth chart most of his collegiate career, considering 2006 a breakout for him is a relative term. He started the first two games, although he was benched after 6 ineffective carries at LSU. He was suspended the following week, and then fell back in to a RBBC before starting, and being featured, the last four games of the season. With a year of eligibility left, his decision to enter the NFL draft was surprising considering his limited collegiate achievement. In addition, there are concerns about his attitude and dedication. (4.5) Darius Walker: Liability=Not a feature back, more Shaud-like http://youtube.com/watch?v=6h32lYOUksw While lacking elite timed speed, Walker demonstrated some fairly impressive athletic skills at the Combine, including the best vertical (40 ½”) among all players. His manual timed speed in the 40 at Notre Dame’s Pro Day practically matched his Combine times. While not an elite talent, Walker is solid athletically and well-schooled in a pro-style offense where he was an effective weapon as a receiver and showed good durability. That makes him an appealing package at the next level, although probably not as a feature back. It would help if he had some return skills, but he is a low-risk Day Two pick for a team who needs depth in their backfield. (4.0) Tony Hunt: Liability= quickness and agility, slower Bench, had a decent 24 reps. Not participating appeared to have hurt him a bit, as Kenny Irons had a good showing and Chris Henry grabbed the spotlight as not just the most impressive athlete for a big back, but for all RBs at the Combine. At Penn State’s Pro Day, Hunt not only had two poor 40 times, but all his athletic test results were sub-par across the board for a RB. His 4.72 short shuttle and 7.39 cone drill, important tests of quickness and agility, are among the worst in this class. You have to question if he has the athleticism to be a consistently effective as a runner at the next level. I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB. (3.0) Michael Bush Liability=injured, injury-prone. video (4:29 mark) http://youtube.com/watch?v=rzOQOOMId0c After breaking his right leg in the first half of the first game of this season, he had a titanium rod and two screws inserted… He was still walking with a limp on the sidelines at the Orange Bowl in January 07... Combine finally came and he declared the leg was not fully healed, so he would not work out. Almost another month passed and just before Pro Day, news came that Bush had a second surgery to remove the current rod and replace it with another because it wasn’t healing as expected… He is not expected to be ready to run before the draft. …Few backs his size (over 6’ and in the neighborhood of 250) in NFL history have succeeded... He also broke his right foot as a freshman and needed a screw inserted to stabilize it. A bone bruise to his left foot cost him two games in 2005 and after aggravating it, continued to hamper him in spring 2006, as well. (3.0) DeShawn Wynn Liability=dedication, conditioning, durability. High-risk, high-reward pick. A highly touted recruit, he had a rollercoaster career in which his dedication, conditioning, and durability have been questioned.

With RB taken care of, I'd go: 1. Patrick Willis ILB 2. (for Turner RB) 3a Courtney Taylor WR Auburn 6-13/4 204 4.50 3b Tony Taylor OLB Georgia (or Quincy Black OLB if there) 4 C.J. Gaddis CB Clemson 5-11 1/2 203 4.45 6. David Ball WR UNH (broke Jerry Rice’s NCAA TD record) 7a Scott Stephenson OC Iowa St. 6-31/4 297 5.20 7b Germaine Race, RB Pitsburg State UDFA's: -Gijon Robinson, FB, Missouri Western – Very athletic and good receiver -Maurice Price, WR, Charleston Southern - Very quick in his breaks, Good YAC -LeMarcus Rowell, LB, Jacksonville State. Prototypical for Cover-2. Closes with the speed of a safety. -Justin Vincent, RB, Louisiana State torn- ACL in the last year's Peach Bowl, outstanding on coverage teams this year. -John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati - Physical and fast. great breaks on the ball while it was in the air.

Also, if I were Marv, (a) I wouldn't say or do anything to show my hand (we still have 4 weeks, and this is a buyer's market); (b) Even if I wasn't interested in Turner at all, it serves as a neat diversion for the REAL #12 pick--keeping teams like Green Bay guessing; © I have a bevy of backs in each round of the draft that I have looked at and ranked for different scenarios. I'm not "targeting" one specific back, despite what we might think.

How about a player in Day 2 who never fumbled? Dwayne Wright, Round 6

Put me down for Offense. We'll draft more defense before the end of the weekend, but the first one will be a difference maker, Either RB, WR, or (wild card) TE. In any case, I hope it's in a trade down, because our pick will have more defensive players available. My ideal world is a tradedown to Green Bay for a 3rd Rounder.

Darby could be there as late as Round 7, and would be a steal in Round 6. There's one RB who might quiet the Lynch Mob!

Maybe that was why they had Meachem in.

You're a Seminoles fan recommending a Miami player? He just went up my board behind POZ and maybe Timmons. The knock on Beason has been durability. Any info? The other thing I just uncovered is that Beason was compared to Lance Briggs, and POZ to A.J. Hawk. Levy coveted AJ Hawk last year, so I'm beginning to think he's the man, even at #12.

One scary factoid: "A future in the NFL awaits him, although he still has aspirations of joining the Navy." Let's call him StaubachPoz.

Got Me! LOL

Only 3 DT's in this draft have that vertical jump: Quinn Pitcock, David Patterson (the Ohio State DT's) and Turk McBride. Justin Harrell tied him. Of them, only Justin Harrell has the same bulk.