Great article - Kirwan NFL.com

[jreed82]

Setting draft boards up: It appeared that more teams are setting up their draft boards with needs in mind. There are a number of decision-makers in the NFL who are young enough to not have any experience in the NFL world in the pre-Collective Bargaining Agreement era. These people only know the world in which veteran players can be lost or gained in the weeks leading up to the draft. They have only worked in an environment that has had a salary cap and have witnessed very good players shown the door for financial reasons rather than skill reasons. The new wave of personnel decision-makers would like to take the "best players available" but also have to respond to holes in the roster. Consequently, the variations on draft boards is greater than ever and so we are surprised where certain players are taken. For example, Donte Whitner is an excellent fit for the Bills, yet many people felt they could get him lower in the draft. Not if no one is willing to trade with you when it's your pick!

 

The desire for hybrid defensive backs: I say it 10 times a day that the NFL is a matchup game. NFL offensive coordinators are constantly trying to find matchups they can exploit. Reggie Bush and Vernon Davis are two prime examples of matchup nightmares for defenses. Teams countered with very high selections in this draft of players who can play safety and have corner skills. As Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said right after the draft, "Having Reggie Bush join our division presents different kinds of problems." Well, by the 16th pick in the draft, the hybrid defensive backs were gone. Michael Huff (No. 7), Donte Whitner (No. 8) and Jason Allen (No. 16) are the type of athletes who can handle the matchup game offensive coordinators are trying to play. Huff has been a surefire top-10 pick all along, but Whitner and Allen climbed up the draft boards quickly as soon as the coaches evaluated their ability to match up.

 

A reality check: As the draft wrapped up late Sunday afternoon and everyone had all the players they selected, I was reminded by a longtime NFL person that on opening day next September, we'll be lucky to see 15 of these young men in starting lineups around the league.