Draft Winners and Losers

[Warhammer]

Anyone have any thoughts about who did well in the draft, this is based upon quality of picks, not quantity.

Fresno - Picked up some guys that I think are going to develop nicely. I am thinking that one of his QBs is going to boom, his first three picks were great values, and Mannino will be a 7th rounder to keep your eye on.

Cleveland - I question their later round OL guys, but early on, and a couple of their later round picks are very nice.

Madison - I really like all their picks. They may not have had many picks, but they all counted.

Norfolk - They haven't finished yet, but again, no picks I can quibble with.

Pittsburgh - Again, they're not done yet, but all three picks are good. I especially like Blackman and Levine.

[SteveBsFan]

Boston - Anyone who picked Webb was instantly a winner, but they also landed a solid FS in the 2nd round (although it may take awhile to develop, hopefully he has a mentor), a solid RB, and a decent backup T

Portland - Picked up 3 solid receivers, although that may be overkill since they already had 5 receivers signed, but it's not like they were stars.

Reno - Beefed up their defense, especially secondary quite a bit

Wichita - Another solid draft. Martin should be a stud, although two of their big picks are kickers, Molnar was a nice grab. Maloney looks to be a well rounded QB to go along with their other talented QB group, all they need is a QB mentor to produce some fine guys.

[spunkywhitebread]

Portland - Picked up 3 solid receivers, although that may be overkill since they already had 5 receivers signed, but it's not like they were stars.

That was pretty much my thinking when grabbing the 3 WR's in the draft. Our current receiving corps wasn't what I had hoped for and hopefully in a few seasons with a little luck I'll have a couple of solid WR's from this draft.

As for the current receivers, some of them will not be at the training camp with the rest of the Seals.

Anyone have any thoughts about who did well in the draft, this is based upon quality of picks, not quantity.

The Houston GM suggested Boston and I would agree. I really think they did a good job in adding some quality young talent that should make an impact immediately.

Dakota had a solid draft with the addition of Chester Lavigne and Tommy Johnson on defense.

Houston made some nice pickups on offense that should help them over the next few seasons as some of their older starters move on.

I'll also throw in Little Rock. They didn't have a first rounder, but they added some potential depth in the second and third rounds.

[Coder]

I won't say I made any big splashes in the draft, but contemplate this:

1.27 LT R.J. Robertson

Scott Daniels will retire next year, of that I'm almost certain. He's a 13-year veteran with a major contract expiring in 2007 and I'm not resigning him for what he's asking for.

However, he's still a great LT and he's a mentor. So I add a young decent LT with the 1.27, the best tackle available at the time according to my scouts.

Robertson might not get many starts, but he'll be suited up for every game he can, thus gaining the benefits of Daniel's mentorship.

5.27 FB Monty Ross

I was short one fullback after Zacharias retirement and was going to pick a FB with my next pick.. however, the FBs available when 3.27 came around (which was my second pick of the draft) weren't good enough to avoid the temptation of receiving a 2nd rounder next year in exchange for my 3rd and 4th this draft. The gamble didn't quite pay off, as I had my sights set on Aguiar and Boulware for the fifth round.. unfortunately I was too optimistic.. but Monty Ross feels like a good pick, and he was carefully chosen for matching the skills that fit into the Vermont system.

6.27 P Winfred Wright

To be honest, I'm sick of Offut.. He's by far my weakest starter and though I was hoping for either Jue or Kelly, they had been taken late in the 4th and early in the 5th (I would have taken a P in the 5th had one of those two had been available). If my scouts have been correct about Wright, he will be my starting punter and Offut will face the knife.

7.27 FL Mitchell Erickson

I was hoping for Heath Florian but I'm pleased with Erickson. Of the WRs available he fit my profile the best with a decent skillset in the key-skills. Might not make it past TC, especially since I don't have any WR mentors, but he'll get a few glances for sure.

Summary

Well, with 4 picks in the draft, I get at least three players who will be dressed for every game this season (unless anything goes wrong)

[P. Diddy]

Can't complain. Hardy Mitchell busted a little, but could still make an impact on teams. And I did get a Mentor for the DBs in FA, so we'll see. Happy with D'Arcy and Borders and hope to work their asses off in preseason.

[Warhammer]

Boston - Anyone who picked Webb was instantly a winner, but they also landed a solid FS in the 2nd round (although it may take awhile to develop, hopefully he has a mentor), a solid RB, and a decent backup T.

Don't get me wrong, I was not happy with Boston's draft at all because I need to play him twice every year.

But, when you have 3 picks in the top 34 picks, its hard to screw those up. I have no issues with any of their top picks, it was the backside of their draft where nothing really jumped out at me.

Murphreesboro falls into this same category for me as well. The difference is they had two picks in the early second round rather than first. Although, Mel Andrews is a solid pick.

My draft is going to really depend on what happens after training camp. If Fisk, Chrebet, and Forland develop as they should, I will have my RDE, NT, and LT of the future. Forland is probably the shakiest of the group, but even if these guys stay the way they are now, I have improved my depth at all of those positions. Norton, even if he tails off in potential a bit, is going to be a solid backup QB for years to come who shouldn't be all that expensive against the cap. Hernandez immediately moves into my #2 TE slot, and is the heir apparent when Sala retires. Pitman was a flyer, if he improves he gives me much needed depth at CB (he could even be a starter depending on how his bars are). The only thing I was unhappy about was that I did not pick up another OLB, but that is not that big of a deal.

[Warhammer]

Can't complain. Hardy Mitchell busted a little, but could still make an impact on teams. And I did get a Mentor for the DBs in FA, so we'll see. Happy with D'Arcy and Borders and hope to work their asses off in preseason.

I liked the top of your draft board a lot.

[MrBigglesworth]

Dakota had a solid draft with the addition of Chester Lavigne and Tommy Johnson on defense.

I have a strong feeling that Chester Lavigne will bust hard.

[iceman99]

Was very hard not having picks. But we feel we got good depth on our OL...

David

[Coder]

By the way, isn't it past 7 a.m. CST yet? Time to pick for Anchorage and get this draft over with?

[Matt]

I'll be picking for them shortly

[dberner30]

The Outlaws hope to get a good post-draft grade based on taking enough quantity to find a little quality mixed into the bunch. The top picks are always good quality guys. The true success of a draft is in the middle and bottom. As you can tell from my commentary, only 1 or 2 of these guys are actually expected/needed to fill starting roles. The rest are depth and/or future guys for the next year or two. Im really hoping one of the WRs and one of the RBs and one of the DBs booms a little and has a bit more impact than I planned for.

1.3 (3) WIC - MLB Wes Martin -- Will take over as a starter from day 1. We have a good mentor backing him up to accelerate his growth.

1.29 (29) WIC - TE Irv Molnar -- Will be the No. 2 TE in Wichita for now. Has skills to be a No. 1. May need to run more 2 TE sets with him.

3.3 (67) WIC - FB Karl Ackerman -- A little disappointed at his stats after coming onto the roster. He will backup Rau who is a stud but may be too expensive to keep next year. Ackerman better be ready to start then.

3.10 (74) WIC - K Bobby Daft -- Likely to move Mintz along and replace him with Daft who is a lot cheaper. Depends on how he looks after camp.

3.11 (75) WIC - QB T.J. Maloney -- This guy dropped way too far considering his talents. Maybe best QB in draft. He will compete for the No. 3 spot on the roster and may eventually serve as the No. 2 in a year or two.

3.15 (79) WIC - SE Lawrence Franks and 3.28 (92) WIC - SE Lorenzo Cole -- Its time to get some depth and young quality at WR. These guys will compete for the No. 3, No. 4, and/or No. 5 spot and will contribute in the return game and on special teams.

3.19 (83) WIC - LCB Broderick Gerhardt and 3.26 (90) WIC - FS Leon Knight -- Will replace some of our depth that is average in talent but getting a little pricey for the role they serve. Look for a couple DBs currently holding 4th, 5th, and/or 6th CB spots to be looking for work.

4.11 (107) WIC - RB Charlie Eschtruth and 5.11 (139) WIC - RB Matthew Clinton -- One of these guys becomes our No. 3 back to replace Cook who we traded away. Depending on how they do it is possible they will be the No. 2 and No. 3 backs next year as Yee is getting old.

5.3 (131) WIC - P Vinny Kelley -- Punter needs to be upgraded in terms of quality. Kelley looks very good. Will probably become the man this year.

5.8 (136) WIC - LT Chad Herndon -- He is cheaper and looks to be better than our existing 3rd OT. He will be our new depth guy in the OT group and someone else will be looking for work.

[Kobeck]

Murphreesboro falls into this same category for me as well. The difference is they had two picks in the early second round rather than first. Although, Mel Andrews is a solid pick.

FL Dixon and CB Boren were possible reaches at 3.1 and 3.6, but Mules had seen too many CB and WR go by at that time.

SILB Woods and SS Heath will probably get some PT.

CB Peterson was just insurance in case Boren busts.

NT Lester is a preseason experiment.

[Suicane]

Cornelius Hutton will own you all.