I don't drool over SW, but history has shown he's one of the better prognosticators out there so I pay attention. You're entitles to your opinion on King, but I see it you have your big 4 corners (Jenkins, DRC, Talib, and McKelvin) and then everyone else after them. Just like those 4 could go in pretty much any order, I think the next bunch could too so I'm not too concerned if one site has King below Cason and another site has Cason above King. It's just personal preference and depends on the team. I wouldn't say one is a reach over another.
Eh, his prognosticating skills can be questioned, but the fact is he runs a simple, popular site that reaches a lot of people. I don't really mind it when people reference it, just when they form their opinions almost verbatim from his. Good to hear you aren't the latter. I'm not big on Cason at all, but I'd take him over King easily. Played better in college as a shutdown CB as opposed to getting lit up occasionally, better ball skills, also has return ability, and is a better tackler. King is a prospect who's stock is VERY weighted to his physical potential and not the play he's shown. I tend to be weary of those types. Like Sinorice Moss. I haven't seen any with King over Cason though.
Frankly I consider Otah a bigger project than Nicks and he could go top 10. I like Cherilus fine and he would be a good substitution, but I went for Nicks because I like my right tackles with a little rounder frame and Mike Smith had a heavy o-line in Jax so I think Nicks would be a better pair with Blalock from last year. Of course he doesn't have the speed to handle edge rushers but few right tackles do as you only see about 1/3 the quality of edge rushers on the right side than the left. As for Baker, I'm not fond of him nor have I been fond of pretty much any of the offensive players to come out of USC in the last few years. I liked Collins during the regular season but he had a bad off season, not showing the athleticism to play left tackle nor elite power to play right tackle. I see him more as a 3rd or 4th rounder.
I gotta disagree strongly there. First, I don't see at all how you think Nicks would be a better fit next to Blalock. What do you really base that on? Also, it seems he would have to play LT to play next to Blalock. But I think as long as you're a great run blocker (which Cherilus is), it doesn't matter how big you are. Like Arron Sears. He's among the best run blockers we've had in a long time there. I'd take him at 320 over Fonoti at 350-ish. If you can move your man backwards, it doesn't matter if you're 300 or 360. And also don't underestimate the number of pass rushers that come from the LDE spot. Our own Gaines Adams was one. Julius Peppers, Strahan, Trevor Pryce, Ogunlye, Kampman, Tamba Hali, Robert Mathis, Leonard Little, Patrick Kerney. The best rushers are
usually RDEs, but the LDEs are no slouches themselves. I could see a guy like Nicks becoming a Kareem McKenzie type whipping post if he doesn't improve his pass blocking. I've soured on Baker too, but you can't deny his talent at the top of round 2. Colllins is TERRIBL.......Y underrated by the fans. He's going to be a very good, very balance tackle who may end up playing LT.
Mayo is good and Tennessee certainly knows how to produce linebackers. I couldn't argue with taking him at #34 if he is there. I'm a bit skeptical of Lofton because OU seemingly has all these great linebackers every year but they don't look like much on the NFL - Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman, Lance Mitchell, Rufus Alexander, etc. GTech has a pretty good reputation with under the radar linebackers.
Thats always some sketchy logic there, FRG. You're going to say
Lofton isn't good because someone like
Rufus Alexander isn't? One, I don't think thats fair to the player. Two, wouldn't that make Booty and whomever his successor is are stud QB prospect because Leinart and Palmer were? Three, Rufus' stock plummeted. Lofton's should hold steady. Likewise, I wouldn't crown Wheeler a stud because Daryl Smith turned out ok.
The Falcons can't even be expected to be .500 until 2009 at the earliest. I think they can handle a project. These players can learn on the field without worrying about screwing up an already humming machine.
It's not that they want to get better right away, it's that these picks are the safest possible. Like the position the Dolphins are in. Probably, and the Falcons are right there with them, the least talented roster in the entire NFL. And they have this prior #9 overall pick that they spent on a WR who may not pan out to much. It's just like with us and our OL. We knew our limitations and we knew our track record wasn't the best on the OL, so we took very good college players from notoriously good OL colleges. We went to the Tennessees, BCs, Oklahomas, and Wisconsins and we found a few keepers. It's not fool-proof by any means, but it's the safe route to go.
It's not that they don't have the time to wait for these guys to pan out, it's that they shouldn't be taking these big risks when their pantry is damn near empty. Now if the Phins would have taken a LB, which is known to be one of the safest and most productive positions, especially when you're talking about a Pat Willis type elite talent, they'd have a piece they could build around instead of a question mark.
I actually like smaller school players in the secondary. Bigger schools with more experienced coaching staffs tend to play more sophisticated coverages to hide their players' weaknesses. Small schools just let them play.
They have their advantages, but in line with my last point, small school guys are a little too unproven for my taste in their shoes.
That would be a solid haul but part of me just sees Barrett as a workout warrior and Young appears to be just as much of a project as Cousins but without as much upside.
I'd like Barrett in their position because he's a true SS with size who can play very well in the box if coached right, and he's got that great 40 time as just a bonus. A nice compliment to Jimmy Williams' skill set at FS. Young is a less talented OL than Cousins, but I don't see him as a project any more than you're usual player. Cousins is a TRUE project. Young projects perfectly to guard and has experience at both tackle positions. And, of course, there is the reason that he is a 4th round pick (a quality on IMO) and Cousins would be hypothetically taken 35 picks higher by you.
