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THE SCOUT'S NOTEBOOK
<>WARTS AND ALL!
by Colin Lindsay, GBN Editor and Publisher
April 15, 2009
Don't know if anyone has yet up come with a slogan for the 2009 draft, but if they did they might call this year's player lottery 'The Year of the Wart!' Certainly, no one is calling the 2009 draft a great one; indeed, this year's draft class has as much fluidity in the final two weeks before the actual picking starts as any draft in recent memory. Of course, it doesn't help that Detroit, which has the #1 pick, still hasn't settled on the player to be selected first overall. At the same time, though, the 2009 draft class appears to have an inordinate number of players, including some of the very top prospects, who have enough red flags that nobody really knows where they are actually going to be selected.
It probably starts with Texas Tech Michael Crabtree, who many considered to be the top player period in this year's draft class before he was prevented from ever working for pro scouts, by foot surgery, could still go in the to 5-10 picks, but could also drop well in to the middle of the opening round if teams are scaed off by the injury. Meanwhile, who really knows where one-time prospects like OTs Andre Smith of Alabama and Ole Miss' Michael Oher, Boston College DT B.J. Raji; and Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins end up, while more than one second tier prospect including Florida WR Percy Havin and Illinois CB Vontae Davis, while others like USC LB Rey Maualuga and Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew still appear to engender a lot of disagreement among the NFL scouting community. Then, of course, there are the QBs USC's Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman of Kansas State, each of whom could go almost anywhere in the top 10-20 picks.
There also appears to be an inordinate amount of late movement in the overall ranking of prospects for the 2009 draft. Hee's a quick run down on who appears to up or down, although one has to be careful about the status of just about every prospect out there as there is a lot of smoke being blown about these days.
Who's hot....
Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno... Moreno appeared to have dropped out of the top 20 after running poorly at the combine, but teams went back to the tapes and saw a guy one scout described to us as 'just a football player' who is going to keep the chains moving. Indeed, there are whispers that more than one team with a top 10 pick has Moreno back on their radar and one of the 2009 drafts most interesting duels will be which RB - Moreno or Boomer Wells of Ohio State - is first off the board.
Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey... Doesn’t have the greatest hands and runs inconsistent routes, but pro teams love speed and Heyward-Bey, who is 210 pounds and ran a blistering 4.3 40 at the combine, has a couple of extra gears. Like Moreno, DB is starting to be talked about as a possible top 10 pick especially if teams looking at WRs have concerns about Crabtree.
Tennessee DE Robert Ayers... This one is something of a poser as Ayers isn't all that big (6-3, 272) or strong, really isn't all that fast at all with a 4.8 40 time, and had only 3 sacks as a senior, but pro teams reprtedly like his quickness and motor.
Florida TE Cornelius Ingram... Didn't play in 2008 because of a knee and isn't all that big or physical blocking, but is a potential elite receiver who can stretch defenses and could be the second player off the board at the position after Oklahoma State's Pettigrew. North Carolina junior TE Richard Quinn is also reportedly moving up draft boards around the league and could get a call as early as the middle rounds.
Oregon CB Jairus Byrd... Worked out late and didn't run all that wel, but pro teams reportedly loved his physicality, quickness and overall athleticism enough to possibly slip into the latter part of the opening day; the fact that he could also factor at S also doesn't hurt.
Louisville C Eric Wood... Fellow Cs Alex Mack and Max Unger get all the pub, but Wood is almost as good.
Wisconsin OT Kraig Urbik... There isn't much depth at tackle past the top 6-7 guys, but Urik, who can also play OG, could help early on at RT.
Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee... Could be the answer to the question which QB gets taken after the big three of Stafford, Sanchez and Freeman.
Who's not...
Florida WR Percy Harvin... Has as much pure talent as any player in the 2009 draft, but along with durability issues, has enough character red flags to slide right out of the opening round as teams worry that Harvin and the money and freedom associated with pro athletes could end up being a combustible combination.
Northern Illinois DE Larry English... More of a tweener type who may not be strong enough to play a 4-3 DE and lacks that quick-twitch explosion to be an every-down 3-4 rush LB.
<>This and that from around the league... There is surprisingly little draft buzz around the league these days; ProFootballTalks Mike Lomabrdi, though, a one-time Browns' executive, has been reporting that Cleveland is very intrigued by WR Michael Crabtree; and if, indeed, the Browns' ultimately trade WR Braylon Edwards as has been rumored for weeks, that would make a lot of sense as Cleveland would be left shockingly thin at WR. Just to confuse the issue, though, Pro Football Weekly is reporting that Crabtree has fallen into disfavor with a lot of teams who question his mental toughness... The league is still recovering from that blockbuster deal the other day when Green Bay got a future pick from Carolina for a rookie free agent LS on injured reserve. There are other deals out there involving veterans that could shake up the draft. Buffalo, for example, is reportedly shopping disgruntled LT Jason Peters with Philadelphia a possible buyer, while Cleveland is also trying to move QB Brady Quinn and claims to have received at least one offer of a first-rounder; meanwhile, rumors of some kind of deal between Atlanta and Kansas City for TE Tony Gonzales continue to percolate, especially in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Oakland may be shopping RB Michael Bush... There is also a sense that teams like Kansas City, Cleveland and Cincinnati, may have started to cool on Texas DE Brian Orakpo as a possible top-5 type pick. No questioning Orakpo's college produtivity, but there is a feeling he may have already maxed out his physical potential and may not have that much of an upside once he gets to the pros.
If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the editor. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 692-1088 or regular mail at PO Box 5282, Merivale Station, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2C 3H5.
Great Blue North Draft Report Privacy Policy.
<>WARTS AND ALL!
by Colin Lindsay, GBN Editor and Publisher
April 15, 2009
Don't know if anyone has yet up come with a slogan for the 2009 draft, but if they did they might call this year's player lottery 'The Year of the Wart!' Certainly, no one is calling the 2009 draft a great one; indeed, this year's draft class has as much fluidity in the final two weeks before the actual picking starts as any draft in recent memory. Of course, it doesn't help that Detroit, which has the #1 pick, still hasn't settled on the player to be selected first overall. At the same time, though, the 2009 draft class appears to have an inordinate number of players, including some of the very top prospects, who have enough red flags that nobody really knows where they are actually going to be selected.
It probably starts with Texas Tech Michael Crabtree, who many considered to be the top player period in this year's draft class before he was prevented from ever working for pro scouts, by foot surgery, could still go in the to 5-10 picks, but could also drop well in to the middle of the opening round if teams are scaed off by the injury. Meanwhile, who really knows where one-time prospects like OTs Andre Smith of Alabama and Ole Miss' Michael Oher, Boston College DT B.J. Raji; and Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins end up, while more than one second tier prospect including Florida WR Percy Havin and Illinois CB Vontae Davis, while others like USC LB Rey Maualuga and Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew still appear to engender a lot of disagreement among the NFL scouting community. Then, of course, there are the QBs USC's Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman of Kansas State, each of whom could go almost anywhere in the top 10-20 picks.
There also appears to be an inordinate amount of late movement in the overall ranking of prospects for the 2009 draft. Hee's a quick run down on who appears to up or down, although one has to be careful about the status of just about every prospect out there as there is a lot of smoke being blown about these days.
Who's hot....
Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno... Moreno appeared to have dropped out of the top 20 after running poorly at the combine, but teams went back to the tapes and saw a guy one scout described to us as 'just a football player' who is going to keep the chains moving. Indeed, there are whispers that more than one team with a top 10 pick has Moreno back on their radar and one of the 2009 drafts most interesting duels will be which RB - Moreno or Boomer Wells of Ohio State - is first off the board.
Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey... Doesn’t have the greatest hands and runs inconsistent routes, but pro teams love speed and Heyward-Bey, who is 210 pounds and ran a blistering 4.3 40 at the combine, has a couple of extra gears. Like Moreno, DB is starting to be talked about as a possible top 10 pick especially if teams looking at WRs have concerns about Crabtree.
Tennessee DE Robert Ayers... This one is something of a poser as Ayers isn't all that big (6-3, 272) or strong, really isn't all that fast at all with a 4.8 40 time, and had only 3 sacks as a senior, but pro teams reprtedly like his quickness and motor.
Florida TE Cornelius Ingram... Didn't play in 2008 because of a knee and isn't all that big or physical blocking, but is a potential elite receiver who can stretch defenses and could be the second player off the board at the position after Oklahoma State's Pettigrew. North Carolina junior TE Richard Quinn is also reportedly moving up draft boards around the league and could get a call as early as the middle rounds.
Oregon CB Jairus Byrd... Worked out late and didn't run all that wel, but pro teams reportedly loved his physicality, quickness and overall athleticism enough to possibly slip into the latter part of the opening day; the fact that he could also factor at S also doesn't hurt.
Louisville C Eric Wood... Fellow Cs Alex Mack and Max Unger get all the pub, but Wood is almost as good.
Wisconsin OT Kraig Urbik... There isn't much depth at tackle past the top 6-7 guys, but Urik, who can also play OG, could help early on at RT.
Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee... Could be the answer to the question which QB gets taken after the big three of Stafford, Sanchez and Freeman.
Who's not...
Florida WR Percy Harvin... Has as much pure talent as any player in the 2009 draft, but along with durability issues, has enough character red flags to slide right out of the opening round as teams worry that Harvin and the money and freedom associated with pro athletes could end up being a combustible combination.
Northern Illinois DE Larry English... More of a tweener type who may not be strong enough to play a 4-3 DE and lacks that quick-twitch explosion to be an every-down 3-4 rush LB.
<>This and that from around the league... There is surprisingly little draft buzz around the league these days; ProFootballTalks Mike Lomabrdi, though, a one-time Browns' executive, has been reporting that Cleveland is very intrigued by WR Michael Crabtree; and if, indeed, the Browns' ultimately trade WR Braylon Edwards as has been rumored for weeks, that would make a lot of sense as Cleveland would be left shockingly thin at WR. Just to confuse the issue, though, Pro Football Weekly is reporting that Crabtree has fallen into disfavor with a lot of teams who question his mental toughness... The league is still recovering from that blockbuster deal the other day when Green Bay got a future pick from Carolina for a rookie free agent LS on injured reserve. There are other deals out there involving veterans that could shake up the draft. Buffalo, for example, is reportedly shopping disgruntled LT Jason Peters with Philadelphia a possible buyer, while Cleveland is also trying to move QB Brady Quinn and claims to have received at least one offer of a first-rounder; meanwhile, rumors of some kind of deal between Atlanta and Kansas City for TE Tony Gonzales continue to percolate, especially in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Oakland may be shopping RB Michael Bush... There is also a sense that teams like Kansas City, Cleveland and Cincinnati, may have started to cool on Texas DE Brian Orakpo as a possible top-5 type pick. No questioning Orakpo's college produtivity, but there is a feeling he may have already maxed out his physical potential and may not have that much of an upside once he gets to the pros.
If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the editor. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 692-1088 or regular mail at PO Box 5282, Merivale Station, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2C 3H5.
Great Blue North Draft Report Privacy Policy.
