Monday, April 09, 2007

If I were GM of every team....

here is what the top 10 picks of the draft would look like. (Thought I would take a different angle than most people who try to guess what notoriously kooky and deceiving GMs might do based on the quotes and general disinformation that is disseminated this time of year.)

If you're interested in a dynasty fantasy football rookie mock draft, check these out.

1. Oakland Raiders: Brady Quinn, QB Notre Dame

Plenty of people have Oakland taking Russell, although more recently, more are guessing Cal. Johnson. I think going WR would be a mistake. It is rare that a team wins the Super Bowl without a premier QB. (The only semi-recent team that comes to mind is the Baltimore Ravens with T. Dilfer) Teams only ever pick in the top 3 of the draft ever so often, and if there are QBs considered to be potential great QBs, you need to take a chance on these guys (even if there are notorious flameouts to look at in the past i.e. R. Leaf, J. Harrington and D. Carr) You don't ever think of a WR carrying a team to a championship, that's what the right QB will do. So, if Al Davis wants to win it all he needs to go QB (and I personally prefer Quinn to Russell), and if he wants to sell tickets, he should go ahead with Cal. Johnson.

2. Detroit Lions: JaMarcus Russell, QB LSU

Using the reasoning above, the Lions must take a QB. J. Kitna is just good enough to possibly get you too the playoffs, but he is not transcendent enough of a talent to carry this team to the ultimate prize. Time to take a chance on another QB, and hope for the best.

3. Cleveland Browns: Joe Thomas OT Wisconsin

A. Peterson is a popular pick here, but going RB fails to realize what is going on in the NFL currently. That is, that just about anyone can run the ball behind a good line (i.e. what the Denver Broncos prove to us) and even great talents cannot run the ball behind a bad line (i.e. Edge James going to Arizona). So, rather than waste the money and pick on a RB who you can probably find the basic equivalent of in Free Agency or in a later round of the draft, first shore up that line and make it possible for a RB to go somewhere with the ball. Gotta create the holes before anyone can run through them.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech

With no premier players at more important positions left, time to grab the best player in the draft in Calvin Johnson. He can't win games on his own, but he may be able to turn a mediocre QB into a good to great one (like Randy Moss did for Daunte Culpepper), and with the way that Tampa Bay is stocking QBs, you'd hope there's at least one mediocre QB in the bunch.

5. Arizona Cardinals: Levi Brown OT Penn State

Offensive line is a huge area of need for this team, and if they ever want to make any of those dollars that they are sending to Edge James worth it, they need to open up some holes for the guy. Brown did a great job run blocking at Penn State and should go a long way in helping out the Cardinals in that area.

6. Washington Redskins: Gaines Adams, DE Clemson

The way to build up a championship team (other than getting the right QB) is to dominate in the trenches. The Redskins already have a good offensive line, time to work on putting together a solid defensive front. Adams will be a huge step in the right direction.

7. Minnesota Vikings: Leon Hall, CB Michigan

Minnesota was great against the run last year, but perhaps that was because teams enjoyed passing against them so much. In fact that's exactly how New England game planned against them in week, where they only rushed 13 times the entire game with almost half of those coming in the 4th quarter after the game was well in hand. Hopefully Leon Hall can slow teams down enough through the air, so that teams have to consider trying to run against that tough run defense.

8. Atlanta Falcons: LaRon Landry, S LSU

Hanson's an Atlanta resident now, so I'll count on him for this one.
From Hanson's mock draft, "The Falcons biggest weakness last year might have been safety play. Chris Crocker seemingly got beat on every double move and Landry would immediately contribute to Atlanta with his speed and versatility."

9. Miami Dolphins: Amobi Okoye, DT Louisville

Keith Traylor (and the rest of the Dolphins defense for that matter) is aging at an alarming pace. Okoye brings in talent and youth (19 years young) to a defense in desperate need of both.

10. Houston Texans: Marshawn Lynch, RB LSU

Help is desperately needed on the offensive line, but neither Thomas or Brown made it this far. So, the next best thing is a RB who can catch some balls out in the flat and do something with them. A. Peterson is not the right fit here, since he is not a very good receiver out of the backfield and Lynch is the better blocker as well. Lynch's receiving and blocking abilities will help take some pressure off of Schaub, plus with Ahman Green already on board, and destined to get hurt in the first 2 weeks of the season you don't need Peterson to come in and follow up Green's injury by getting hurt himself before week 8.

I'm sure there will be some arguments with some of these selections, and I will be happy to hear them....let me know why you think I'm off my rocker, and just remember, I'm not trying to guess what teams will do, just saying what I think they should do.

3 comments:

Hanson said...

Based on your comments regarding the Browns #3 pick, why would Houston take a RB at 10? If RBs are a dime a dozen, then why would you waste more money and roster space on Lynch when you are already paying A. Green for 4 years and $30 mil? You can get insurance for Green later in the draft instead of using up your top 10 pick. Houston has holes all over the defense. Can you name someone who starts in the secondary other then Dunta Robinson? I can't...

Chremdacasi said...

You're probably right. Part of thinking is that A. Green will get injured, so I almost don't consider him as being on the team, and with no Offensive Lineman that makes sense at this point, I thought I would try to help keep the pressure off of Schaub by giving him a fairly decent blocking bock and one that can receive out of the backfield. Defense would be a good option as well though....

Hanson said...

Yeah, Houston would do well to get some help on defense instead of reaching to add depth to a position on offense. You just can't waste first round picks, especially not top 10 picks. On defense in 2006 Houston was ranked 20th against the run, 22nd against the pass, and 25th in scoring defense.
While I agree the offensive line is in need of help, if you can't get Levi Brown, then grab a DT or DB to improve your defense. And Houston's O-line wasn't as horrible last year as in the past. There were 7 quarterbacks who were sacked more often then David Carr last year. Carr was sacked the most in each of the 2 previous seasons - so there has been some progress in that department.