Is Matt Flynn good? I don’t know. He could be Kevin Kolb. He could be Matt Schaub. Flynn has looked excellent in 2 career starts with the Packers, but that was with Green Bay’s weapons around him, not to mention against not so tough defenses in New England and Detroit. It was also 2 starts and Flynn was thought so little of that he went all the way in the 7^th round in 2008. Yes, he led LSU to a National Championship, but Jordan Jefferson was a game away from doing the same.

However, is Matt Flynn better than Tarvaris Jackson? Probably. The Seahawks were not in a position to grab a quarterback in the first round of the draft unless they traded up to grab Ryan Tannehill, who isn’t a whole lot less of a crapshoot than Flynn. They probably would have had to settle for Kirk Cousins, best case scenario, in the 2^nd round. They didn’t risk a ton of money (10 million guaranteed, 26 million max over 3 years) and this was a risk they almost had to take given the state of their franchise.

Grade: B

Matt Birk is a great center who ranked 9^th last season among centers on ProFootballFocus. The Ravens are getting an absolute steal getting him for 8.52 million over 3 years with 3 million guaranteed. He’s older and turns 36 this offseason, but centers have a pretty long shelf life and the Ravens needed to lock up their leader on their offensive line.

Grade: A

By Adam McFadden 

In a what seems to be a very lucky season for the Bears, one of the Giant’s top pass rushers will be out for the game this Sunday. Mathias Kiwanuka has been ruled out because of a bulging cervical disc. 

This news comes after hearing Robert Mathis has aggravated his knee and has been limited in practice. He is listed as questionable on the injury report, but is expected to play.

Any news about injury to the Giants defensive front is good news for a Bears team whose offensive line has resembled swiss cheese this season. The Bears stand a very good chance of starting the first quarter of the season undefeated.

http://www.dabearsandbulls.com/ 

Kiwanuka will have to prove himself after major surgery last year, but this is a fairly low risk deal, 8.6 million over 2 years with very little guaranteed, and if he can prove himself once again, this deal is going to be a bargain.

Grade: A

Outside Linebacker

Washington

6-1 245

Draft board overall prospect rank: #62

Draft board overall outside linebacker rank: #5

Overall rating: 76 (late 2^nd)

40 time: 4.70

4/23/11: All the hype at Washington has been surrounding their quarterback Jake Locker. However, even with their terrible record in recent years, they still have managed to have 2 day 2 prospects on their roster. Mason Foster is that other day 2 prospect. Like stats? How about these: 162 tackles, 106 unassisted, 14 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 3 passed deflected. That’s one season for Mason Foster, his senior year.

He’s a three year starter, putting up 105 tackles in 2008 and 80 in 2009. He’s a leader on defense, a great motor, high character, vocal leader. He takes great routes to the ball and has very nice run instincts. He doesn’t have the best athleticism, but he gets by. He’s more of a run stuffer than a sideline to sideline guy and he doesn’t cover that well, but he can play both outside and inside in a 4-3 and inside in a 3-4. He’s consistent as well. His season low in tackles: 9.

I think he’ll be an above average starter at the next level, someone who racks up 100+ tackles every year, provides leadership, and does all the things he needs to for you to win the game. He’s a strong character guy who can play special teams if need be, but I think he’s good enough as a linebacker that it shouldn’t need be.

NFL Comparison: DeMeco Ryans 

Defensive Tackle/3-4 Defensive End

North Carolina

6-2 309

Draft board overall prospect rank: #36

Draft board overall defensive tackle rank: #8

Overall rating: 79 (early 2nd)

40 time: 4.80

4/23/11: Marvin Austin could end up being the best defensive tackle in this strong defensive tackle class when we look back on it in 5 years time. However, he’s got a lot of red flags. He missed all of last season with a suspension. Though that suspension was for something stupid, much like Dez Bryant and Austin’s teammate Robert Quinn, he still didn’t get a chance to play his senior season, which really hurts him because he underachieved in his first 3 years as a starter at North Carolina and he has a lot of bad tape.

He came to North Carolina as an elite prospect with amazing athleticism and guy seen as a future first round pick. However, he disappointed with just 9 sacks in 3 years. He took a lot of plays off and coasted on his natural athleticism. He had a reputation for being lazy, having a poor work ethic, and a poor motor.

A few months ago, he was regarded as a late 2^nd or early 3^rd round pick, which is probably what he would have been regarded as had he come out last year as a junior. However, he has had a great offseason and raised his stock about a whole round and could go as high as 24 to New Orleans. You need to be wary of late risers like that.

Of course, he’s not rising for no reason. He’s rising because he dominated in the East/West shrine game, his only real game this season. He’s rising because he showed up to The Combine in excellent physical condition, even after missing a season, which basically destroyed his poor work ethic reputation. He exceeded possibly even what people thought he would do at The Combine, and he had high expectations. He ran a 4.80 at 6-2 309 and looked great in drills.

However, I’m not joining the love fest with him. You have to go back and look at the tape. He didn’t produce a lot of good tape in 3 years as a starter at North Carolina and certainly not enough to be a first rounder. What he’s done in these past few months has been great, but the tape is still there.

Defensive linemen picked in the first round have been busting at a high rate in recent years and Austin shares a lot of the same red flags as these busts. He doesn’t play up to his athleticism on tape. He has off the field character concerns and on the field character concerns, with a weak motor on tape. He hasn’t played organized football in a year, always a concern. I would take him in the mid to early 2^nd round because he’s got upside, but I’d let someone else use a first rounder on him.

NFL Comparison: Tank Johnson

Middle Linebacker

Illinois

6-4 250

Draft board overall prospect rank: #26

Draft board overall middle linebacker rank: #2

Overall rating: 83 (late 1^st)

40 time: 4.44

3/28/11: Martez Wilson has been much hyped since he was the #5 overall high school player in 2007, committing to Illinois as an end and moving to linebacker. He definitely has the upside and the natural athleticism, but doesn’t always live up to it. He showed a lot of upside as a backup as a freshman, before disappointing as a starter as a sophomore, and then being hurt as a junior, before finally putting at all together this year as a redshirt junior.

He had 111 tackles, 4 sacks, and a pick as primarily a middle linebacker this year, though he can play outside some and he showed that natural athleticism big time with a 4.44 40 at 6-4 250. He is a former end, so he is an above average pass rusher for his position. He can’t play rush linebacker or another, but he is above average as a blitzer so that’s just like a cherry on top to his game.

His major concerns are of course his durability and also his instincts and his work ethic. He has really never lived up to his upside, so it’s important not to fall in love with his athleticism and make him a true first rounder. I have a late first round grade on him, remember middle linebackers rarely get picked early, and I think that’s going to be where he goes. His absolute ceiling in terms of being drafted is 26^th to Baltimore, but he’ll likely go in the early 2^nd round.

NFL Comparison: Karlos Dansby

Bennett was a 2^nd round pick in 2008 by the Cowboys, but with Jason Witten in town he was largely underutilized, except as a run blocker, where he was a fantastic one. He’s been a top 5 run blocker at the tight end position according to ProFootballFocus in each of the last 2 seasons, including 2^nd in 2010 and 1^st in 2011. That alone is worth the 2.5 million dollars the Giants paid him, especially since they need tight end help with Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard suffering torn ACLs in the Super Bowl.

However, Bennett does have some natural pass catching abilities as well (49 catches during his final season year at Texas A&M), though he was underutilized in this aspect in Dallas. He’s got great upside to become a legitimate starting tight end in this league. I love this deal for the Giants. The only bad part is that it’s a one year deal so if he breaks out as a legitimate top-15 tight end, they will have to pay after the season to keep him.

Grade: A

Based on the season Marshawn Lynch just had, I’d say 8 million per year is a reasonable value for him. Based on his age (26 in April) and his usage (1157 career carries), 4 years is also reasonable for him. However, I’d be nervous to commit 18 million guaranteed to someone like Lynch, a career disappointment with character issues after being drafted 11^th overall in 2007, who had his best season in a contract year. The Seahawks didn’t use their franchise tag on anyone, so I think using it on him and making him prove himself for another year would have been the smarter move.

Grade: C 

Wide Receiver 

Cincinnati

6-0 187

40 time: 4.56

Draft board overall prospect rank: #80

Draft board wide receiver rank: #9

Overall rating: 74*

2/28/10: I have a feeling Gilyard was just having a bad day, he looked WAY faster this season than the 4.56 he ran today. However, I’m moving him down my board a little until he runs a faster time at his Pro Day.

1/30/10: He was the North’s leading receiver with 5 catches for 102 yards and a score and made some very impressive catches against tough coverage. These catches were ones where the defender didn’t give him a ton of room, but he either was able to create just enough separation to get the ball, or able to make an acrobatic catch away from his body. He also was one of the better kick returners in this game as well. I think he dispelled the concerns about his size from earlier this week (weighing in at 8-10 lighter and 2 inches shorter than he was listed), and actually got a comparison to DeSean Jackson by the commentators. I wouldn’t quite say that, but he certainly has the look of an NFL wide receiver and also a kick returner.

1/26/10: Measuring 2 inches shorter than what you were listed at is never a good thing. 

1/17/10: Needs to bulk up, but he projects as a nice slot receiver at the next level. He has very good agility and would be a welcome addition to a team as a punt returner as well and he runs fast straight line like a gazelle, but he comes from a spread offense so he may be a system player that doesn’t translate well to the NFL. 

            9/6/09: Marshawn Gilyard is a long lanky wide receiver with excellent quickness and elusiveness. While he needs to work some on his route running, as do most wide receivers his age, and he needs to lower the amount of passes he drops and the amount of balls he fumbles, he still has an extremely bright future in NFL scouts’ eyes. He put up amazing numbers last year at Cincinnati with almost 100 yards per game played despite playing without his starting quarterback for several games. He also caught 11 touchdowns and, with his combination of long arms and height, established himself somewhat as an endzone threat. He has extremely long legs and gets faster the long he runs, which is why is 40 time is not a great indication of his speed. He’s elusive in the open field and on kick/punt returns, where he was one of the best in the country. His only issue on kick/punt returns is the same issue he has at wide receiver, his hands. He fumbled too many punt returns and kickoffs last season, but when he did maintain control of the ball, which was still a good percentage of the time, he made the most of it. He has an extremely wiry frame and is not a good blocker. He can get out muscled by a lot of cornerbacks. He’s a great jumper and wins a lot of jump balls with jumping ability, long arms, and height. He has shown amazing endurance in the past, living out of his car in 2006 because he got his scholarship taken away from cheating during his freshman year. He has built tremendous character and emerged in 2007, after getting his scholarship back as a better man and a more gracious football player. He’s not the diva wide receiver that is so common in the NFL. Unless he bulks up some he’s not going to be a star in the NFL, but he has great quickness and can be an asset to a team on special teams and as a slot receiver. His ceiling appears to be a #2 receiver and that’s enough to earn him some looks in the middle of the 2^nd round in a draft thin at wide receiver.

NFL Comparison: Steve Breaston

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here