Finnegans Wake
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« Reply #2 on: Apr 07, 2008 at 09:44 » |
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All right, I'll play. I may revise this entry once or twice between now and the deadline, based on player visits and such. When finished, I'll mark it as completed.
One question: are the bonus picks to be completed regardless of whether trades occur? If we stick with six picks, are the bonuses, sort of backup guesses?
Finnegans Wake Entry - *INCOMPLETE*
1.23 Quentin Groves, OLB, Auburn. People are clamoring for OL help, but the best guys may be off the board by 1.23, and while we've looked at some high-end WRs, I'd be surprised we selected one without a trade-down. For a few weeks, I've been saying Groves might be BPA at 1.23 and would help our pass rush, but had the sneaking feeling we might waste the pick on Max Starks II, Gosder Cherilus, who is a good player but not a 1.23 value IMO. But Tomlin personally attended Auburn's visit, and Groves is one of the 30. Plus, the Timmons Experiment likely will not include time at OLB after all, for which he was presumably drafted. Fine; spending three picks on LBs in rounds 1-2 of the 2007-08 draft isn't as crazy as it might seem, if Timmons succeeds inside. In any event both ILB and OLB needed new legs in a bad way, and Groves would give us a mighty 1-2 punch with Wood. (Cherilus makes a bonus pick in case we miss on Groves.)
2.53 Chilo Rachal, OG, USC. The good news is, the Steelers are looking at quite a few OL guys. The bad news is, I'm not convinced our picks fall at the best nexus of value and availability for OTs. At 2.53, the Steelers could get the best OG besides Albert, and Rachal is a guy they apparently like. The OG logjam of lesser lights (Simmons, Kemo, possibly Mahan, and Colon?) would become clearer with an infusion of talent. The coaches might be tempted to move Starks to LT and keep Colon at RT, but IMO Starks is better suited at RT, and Colon at RG. But this isn't about what I would do...
3.88 Kendall Langford, DE, Hampton. Our DL is aging, and most of our targets are likely to be gone. (Langford, in fact, might not last to 3.88.) On the chance Langford is still around, I think it's a good bet we'd take him.
4.123 Dorien Bryant, KR/WR, Purdue. STs play is another sore subject for Tomlin, and even with Mewelde Moore as a PR, Tomlin knows he could use a good KR. With Rossum gone and Reid a question mark, Bryant would be a heck of a special teams addition. In many ways similar to Reid (stature, upside), this might pressure Reid to work harder or face being cut, and would add some depth to a WR squad now down a guy. Bryant is not on the visit list yet, but I'd bet we draft one guy who's got KRs on his resume.
5.156 Keilen Dykes, DE/DT, WVU. A bit of a tweener, might be a guy who could add depth at end by develop into a NT.
6.188 Bernard Morris, QB/ATH, Marshall. Morris is interesting enough to bring in as a #3 QB prospect to develop behind Batch, but has been mentioned as a possible WR or S. His timed speed doesn't help that assertion much, but Steelers scouts apparently liked Morris at Marshall's Pro Day. Worth a R6 gamble.
bonus Gosder Cherilus, OT, BC.
bonus Charles Godfrey, CB/FS, Iowa. Possible alternate at 3.88 if still on board.
bonus King Dunlap, OT, Auburn. A guy they might bring in late, based on seeing him at Auburn's PD.
bonus Mario Urrutia, WR, Louisville. It's odd to me that the Steelers would waste a visit on a guy rated so low, but they might look to add some height to the WR corps late in the draft. Might be a R6 gamble.
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