Feelin Drafty
by phil26687 on Nov 11, 2008 2:29 PM PST
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PrintSince whatever shreds of hope I was hanging onto were ruthlessly evicerated this weekend, I've discovered what gets Lions fans through November: Thinking about the draft.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’re the Lions – I think we’re closer to the San Antonio Spurs season when they were decimated by injury and won the chance to draft Tim Duncan. So my question is simple; who is our Tim Duncan?
Obviously, we can’t know where we’ll draft (I’m guessing top ten) or what Ruskell sees as our main needs. I know everyone here would like to see B Russ replaced, but is Taylor Mays that guy? Is he really a top ten talent, or is that a reach? What about WR? Can we count on Branch for a full season? Even so, Engram will be another year older (and may still have some hard feelings over his contract), so I don’t think we can count on production there…
After looking at some mock drafts and consolidating their findings, here are a few guys I think might be good fits for blue & green next year:
- Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech (I’ve only seen him in one game, but he was AWESOME)
- Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
- William Moore, FS, Missouri (6'1" 225, and around 4.4/4.5 speed)
- Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois (I only include him because a few mocks think the Seahawks will go CB; personally, I can’t see it – I think if the best player on the board is a CB they trade down)
- Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC (if Leroy Hill walks, we’ve had pretty ok luck with USC linebackers lately)
I’m sure I’m missing somebody’s favorite in here – Maybe another OL bruiser? Walt won’t be here forever…
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Unless he's playing linebacker...
I don’t want Mays. The more I watch him, the more I think he’s too stiff to play safety in the NFL. Now, I think Mays would make a fabulous linebacker in this system. But the kid’s going to get bigger, gonna get slower and if he’s forced to cover NFL wide receivers, I think he’s a big, toolsy bust.
So is Mays
another Michael Boulware type of player?
I will accept any draft combination of Crabtree, Andre Smith, Stafford, and Mays. Hear that Ruskell? Time to start spreading vicious rumors about all 4 so they fall.
I've watched him pretty intently
the last few weeks, and I don’t see Boulware. Boulware was just clueless. Instead I see someone who has the frame of a linebacker, and the hips of a linebacker. That can run crazy fast in a straight line, but loses that speed when he’s forced to cut, maneuver and react. The coaches at USC talk about having to force him to stay thin because he puts on weight so readily. I haven’t seen enough evidence of his tackling to make a judgment, but besides that, the kid looks like a dream of a Tampa 2 linebacker. Sort of Brian Urlacher 2.0.
This is why I wanted to start the discussion, I learn lots
I don’t watch as much college FB as I would like, so I knew there’d be good scouting discussion – If you’ve been watching USC play, what are your impressions of Maualuga?
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."
- David Foster Wallace R.I.P.
He's a monster
The closest thing to Ray Lewis since Ray Lewis. He’s also kind of crappy skills-wise and doesn’t always wrap. I think on the right team, with the right coaching, he’ll be a great player—after a few seasons.
I agree.
I was a huge fan, but if a guy has that talent, but not many statistics to show for it, it’s definitely worrisome.
I don’t know if he’s going to get slower to the point that he can’t be a safety. I know he was a fantastic sprinter in highschool, good enough to probably compete in the Pac-10, but that was probably 30 pounds ago. If he were the next Polamalu, Landry, or Sanders, I’d say sure, but I’d be fine getting a serviceable safety who wasn’t a ‘playmaker’, but rather had the brains to play coverage and not overpursue, which is something you can get in the 2nd or 3rd round if you have an eye for talent.
Crabtree is the guy I'd rather draft
than trade down. Other than him I’d be leary of spending that much on a top ten pick.
Crabtree Question
Is his skill set compatible with Matt’s QB strengths? I really haven’t seen much of him, so I guess I’m asking if he’s a burner who makes highlight catches 50 yards downfield (but that Matt probably can’t reach consistently) or if he’s a guy who runs great routes, gets separation, and makes hay with YAC?
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."
- David Foster Wallace R.I.P.
Thanks to having watched about 5 Crabtree games
he is the route running, separation getting, YAC haying (not a word, but just to stay consistent with my straight conversion of your question) player that you mentioned. He isn’t a burner, and I would bet that his combine 40 time is in the 4.5-4.6 range. Dude can play. While the comparison isn’t totally apt, I would peg him as a combination of Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall. Less speed than Johnson, less physicality than Marshall, but a very good WR.
I will accept any draft combination of Crabtree, Andre Smith, Stafford, and Mays. Hear that Ruskell? Time to start spreading vicious rumors about all 4 so they fall.
If Engram & DJ Hackett had a love-child, it'd be Crabtree
TexTech coaches basically call him “Wes Welker with size”. Here’s a good article from ESPN Mag:
“Prod Texas Tech coach Mike Leach to say what makes Crabtree such a prodigious receiving talent, and he responds with a curious answer for a football coach: "He has a great sense of space.” Usually you’ll hear coaches wax on about a pass-catcher’s blazing speed or soft hands or quick feet coming out of breaks. But Leach explains that maneuvering in space is essential to route-running. Or, as it should be called in Tech’s four-wide, no-huddle, shotgun attack, route-adjusting. Leach explains that Crabtree, like former Tech and current Patriots star Wes Welker, has an uncanny knack for reading coverages and adjusting his routes “without breaking the integrity of the combination of the other routes.” In layman’s terms: Crabtree doesn’t run into teammates or flood spots designed to be opened up by the play.
The more I read about Crabtree, the more I drool over the thought of him in Blue & Green. I don’t really think you could design a better skill-set for a go-to WR in this offense (or whatever derrivative the new coaching staff winds up running). And because he probably won’t test out very high at the combine from a pure physical tool standpoint, he might even wind up being availble if we pick in the middle of round 1.
I try not to get too attached to individual players before the draft, since so much can change between now and then, but I can’t help myself with Crabtree – he looks like the cure to a lot of our ills right now.
None of us can possibly guess what Ruskell is planning..
I mean, who foresaw Jackson with the #1 last year?
We all know what we need. WR, OL, S
Whether we get it is another story. It of course also depends who is coming back next year. I see Hawthorne as the replacement for Hill
Dick Dastardly and Muttley with sick laughter
Backup QB is also a need apparently
but I’m not sure if we should go the route of the draft, or get a ‘veteran’ (That could either be a Brian Griese or a Brad Johnson, so that’s a mixed bag as well)
an old backup qb
would be ok short term as a replacement for Hasselbeck should he get injured for a game or two, but this team needs to start looking to replace Hasselbeck long term. Throwing out the Matt Ryan / Joe Flacco anomalies, becoming a good NFL qb takes time. Drafting a guy now to learn the game for 2 years would be a smart move. That said, who wouldn’t want Matt Ryan? That kid is unbelievable.
I will accept any draft combination of Crabtree, Andre Smith, Stafford, and Mays. Hear that Ruskell? Time to start spreading vicious rumors about all 4 so they fall.
It is still a bit early
Don’t get me wrong, there is a part of me that is excited by the prospect of draft a ton higher than we have in past years, but it is still quite a bit too early to guessing this stuff.
I totally agree with the general sense that OL, WR and S are the biggest targets. I really don’t think we should waste a high first round pick on a S, with very few exceptions. While I haven’t scouted the college ranks very well or anything, I am really hoping that we pick up the best the offensive lineman we can. While it does seem like our O-Line is starting to solidify, we really need to shore up, and you can get serviceable WRs and Ss in lower rounds (especially if you are high in the lower rounds).
While I would LOVE to see Crabtree in a Seahawks jersey, I really doubt that he will end up falling out of the top 5. He just keeps showing up game after game after game; he’s on the rise. I’m guessing the Lions (ha), Raiders, 49ers, Rams, Chiefs, and Bengals (at least) will be picking before us in the draft. That still means Crabtree would have to fall out of the top 5 to get to us, that just doesn’t seem likely. Plus, while it is hard to cling to my delusions that the Seahawks are going to make the playoffs, I still have faith these guys will make a legitimate run at respectability, and make a move up the rankings a bit.
maybe too easy, but...
While it does seem like our O-Line is starting to solidify, we really need to shore up, and you can get serviceable WRs and Ss in lower rounds (especially if you are high in the lower rounds).
Ricky Williams almost certainly will be high in the lower rounds
I will accept any draft combination of Crabtree, Andre Smith, Stafford, and Mays. Hear that Ruskell? Time to start spreading vicious rumors about all 4 so they fall.
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