| I’ve come around in my thinking on what the Redskins should do with
their two first-round picks that fall among the top three overall picks in the draft. My
original thinking was (assuming the Browns select WR Peter Warrick) that the
Redskins should take LB LaVar Arrington and DE Courtney Brown since they
would have the best grades on the board. Now I’ve changed direction and think the
Redskins should take Arrington and OT Chris Samuels, which is the latest buzz.
The reason for this change in thinking on my part is that the Redskins have addressed
defensive end in free agency. Under normal circumstances I’d say they should still
take Brown since Bruce Smith isn’t getting any younger. This is not a normal
circumstance, however, since the Redskins have thrown everything they have into a win-now
approach. I have to believe there will be cap problems sometime down the road as a result.
Thus, Samuels fits better into the win-now philosophy since he would plug a much bigger
area of need for the team. If the Redskins have any hope of winning the Super Bowl,
they’d better keep QB Brad Johnson in one piece. Samuels increases the
likelihood of that.
If Arizona takes RB Thomas Jones in the first round of the draft, look for QB Jake
Plummer to have a nice bounce-back season. An extra year of maturity coupled with
someone to take some of the pressure off on offense should do wonders for Plummer.
A year ago, the Vikings were a Super Bowl contender that needed defensive help and
proceeded to outthink themselves despite having two first-round picks. The prediction here
is that the Buccaneers, a Super Bowl contender with two first-round picks this year, will
be much smarter and really help their offense on Draft Day.
The Chiefs need to draft a running back in the first round. They’ve had a great
offensive line for quite some time now. It’s time that they found a prime-time
running back to run behind that line. Sure, their RB-by-committee approach still resulted
in the Chiefs ranking No. 4 in the NFL in rushing yards per game last season. However, if
they are going to become special, they need a star running back who can really make some
noise behind that terrific offensive line.
I’ll be very curious to see how RB Ron Dayne does when the holes
aren’t so big and the defenders are bigger/faster/stronger in the NFL. I’m not
saying that Dayne will definitely be a bust in the NFL, but I am saying that I’m
taking a wait-and-see approach to how he’ll do vs. the big boys. I’m also saying
that there are a lot of NFL teams that run offensive systems in which Dayne could fail. He
needs to go to a smash-mouth team with a very good offensive line. The Chiefs would be a
perfect fit. Given the fact that he doesn’t fare well if hit early in a run, I would
be very concerned about taking him on a team with a weak offensive line.
I just have three words for Minnesota on Draft Day: defense, defense, defense.
I would not take PK Sebastian Janikowski in the first round of the draft. I
would never take any kicker in the first round of the draft.
Was QB Chris Redman wearing dress shoes and a tuxedo when he ran a time of 5.3
in the 40? For comparison purposes, the estimated 40-time on OT Chris Samuels (who
weighs 325 pounds) is 5.15. The actual 40-time on OT Todd Wade (who weighs 325
pounds) is 5.2. My goodness, at 222 pounds, Redman should be able to run into a hurricane
and clock better than 5.3.
Teams in need of top cornerbacks have to be concerned by the lack of quality 40-times
being run by this year’s top cornerbacks. Get out your stopwatches and take a look at
the scarcity of sub-4.5 times attributed to most of the top-six CB prospects on the
current PFW draft board: No. 1 — Ahmed Plummer (40-time estimated at 4.5 but
lacks great deep, catch-up speed); No. 2 Ike Charlton (4.49); No. 3 Rashard
Anderson (has run 4.4 on a fast surface but 4.61 at the Combine); No. 4. Deltha
O’Neal (estimated at 4.65); No. 5 Lewis Sanders (4.54); No. 6 Hank
Poteat (has run faster than 4.5 at his college but in the 4.6 range at the Combine).
Penn State LB Brandon Short won’t hear his name called in Round One, based
upon his current grade, but I think some team is going to get terrific value when it takes
him. |
