2010 Record: 13-3

Draft Position: 27

2010 Season Recap: Click Here

Offseason Needs: Click Here

Free Agents/Team Transactions: Click Here

Draft Grades: Click Here

Key Offseason Moves: None

Defensive End/Rush Linebacker

USC

6-3 273

40 time: 4.64

Draft board overall prospect rank: #25

Draft board defensive end rank: #3

Overall rating: 85* 

            3/28/10: Everson Griffen has had the eyes of the scouts glued to him since he was a freshman at USC. He was an amazing athlete with possible 4.5 speed at 6-3 260, who had 5 sacks, despite making two starts only, as a true freshman in 2007. He was being compared to Vernon Gholston who had recent been drafted 6^th overall with similar measurables. However, neither he nor Vernon Gholston ever lived up to their hype and as a result, many scouts have gone sour on Griffen. Instead of being a top 10 pick lock, Griffen may not even go in the first round and if he does, it’ll be on the strength of his 4.64 speed at 6-3 273 and his athletic upside rather than the 11 sacks he had in the last two years as a starter since that eye opening freshman. I will not deny the upside because that would be impossible, but he could be a huge risk as a first round pick. The tape doesn’t match the measurables and the upside so he’s a major boom or bust prospect. He’s an extremely fluid athlete with experience and past comfortably dropping into coverage so he may be able to play rush linebacker, despite his added weight, though I am no longer so sure. He did add the extra weight, but that didn’t help his game as much as it should have. He lacks consistency, awareness, instincts and an elite motor. He doesn’t have work ethic issues, but his work ethic and his effort and motor are not the greatest which limits his potential to capitalize on his upside. He struggles when run at, despite his size, and often looks disinterested against the run. His pass rushing repertoire is very raw, like the rest of him. He is inexperienced. He lacks elite hand use and good leverage and he may end up being just a situational rusher at the next level. He doesn’t disengage from blockers very easily and looks very demotivated by blockers. He’s excellent in space and when holes are freed up for him, but he doesn’t free up a lot of space for himself often. He’s very comfortable and fast in pursuit of a back to the outside and has excellent chase speed. He’s certainly one of the more interesting NFL Draft prospects from this draft class, but he’s really boom or bust.

NFL Comparison: Will Smith

*For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Evan Mathis was actually ProFootballFocus’ #1 rated guard last season, though that’s a bit misleading. He’s had trouble with injuries and inconsistencies in his career in the past so there’s no guarantee he’ll be even close to the #1 guard next season. Because he’s not established, I wouldn’t even call him an elite guard.

However, he’s certainly got potential and he’s a great fit for Howard Mudd’s scheme in Philadelphia so getting him at 5 million per year (5 years 25 million) is quite a bargain, especially when you look at what other guards got (Ben Grubbs got 5 years 36 million, Carl Nicks got 5 years 47.5 million). And if Mathis regresses or gets hurt, they only owe him 7 million guaranteed. I love this deal.

Grade: A

Trade for Lions: Interesting deal. I like Tony Scheffler as a player. However, the Lions just spent the 20^th overall pick on Brandon Pettigrew last year (over a potential franchise left tackle guy like Michael Oher nonetheless). Yes, Pettigrew is a great blocker and Scheffler is a great pass catcher and you can use them in that way, but do you really want to make the 20^th pick in the 2009 draft a run blocking primarily. Plus, they lose Ernie Sims, one of their best defensive players, in the process. Sims probably would have left as a free agent next offseason, but still. It’s not like they’re not losing a talented player. Overall, I don’t like the idea of moving your 2009 1^st round pick tight end to the role of a primary run blocking tight end and losing one of your best defensive players in exchange for an upgrade at the pass catching tight end position and a 7^th rounder.

Grade: C

Deal for Broncos: What is Josh McDaniels doing? He has gotten rid of pretty much every talented player the Broncos had when he came in! Tony Scheffler is no Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez, but he had 89 catches for 1194 yards and 8 touchdowns in the two years prior to last year, before his stats dipped (as did everyone’s) in Josh McDaniels’ brilliant offensive scheme. What do the Broncos really accomplish by moving up from the 7^th to the 5^th round (other than once again making me change my mock draft)? Who is Kyle Orton going to throw to next year. Brandon Marshall is gone. Tony Scheffler is gone. This whole offensive unit is going to struggle next year and their defensive unit isn’t too great either. They good be really bad next year.

Grade: D

Deal for Eagles: In the words of Dick Vitale, I absolutely love it! (randomly flails hands in air) I love the idea of getting a starting caliber player for a 5^th round pick. What were they going to do with that 5^th rounder anyway? Ernie Sims is not a star player, but he plays a position that doesn’t require stars for your team to be a good team. Teams can have good defenses with average caliber linebackers and Sims is a huge upgrade at weakside linebacker over anyone on the roster or anyone they could have gotten in the 5^th round of the draft. At the end of the day, this is all about value and adding starting caliber players for cheap, both of which are things I love.

Grade: A

Erin Henderson might be the single most underrated player in the league. In his first year as a starter, he ended up grading out as the 4^th best 4-3 outside linebacker on ProFootballFocus. Most of the league hasn’t really caught up to that yet because there’s only so much tape you can watch (meanwhile ProFootballFocus watches every snap of every game), but Henderson really is a good one.

He was only a 2 down run stuffer last season, but only two outside linebackers (Von Miller and Jarret Johnson) graded out as better against the run at his position. This year he’s expected to become a 3 down player as his teammate and brother EJ Henderson is not expected back and he could move to middle linebacker. He might not be capable of that, but for 2 million over 1 year, he’s an absolute bargain even if he remains a 2 down run stuffer for the whole season.

Grade: A

Well, the Buccaneers needed a cornerback. That’s about where this one stops making sense. Eric Wright isn’t very good. Ask Browns and Lions fans. There’s a reason he was available on a one year deal for the Lions last offseason. There’s a reason the Lions weren’t too eager to resign him.

Despite having one of the best front 7s in front of him last season, Wright ranked 105 of 109 eligible cornerbacks by ProFootballFocus last season, allowing a completion percentage of 62.5%, 7.0 YPA, 5 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, all while ranking below average against the run. He was actually thrown on more than any cornerback in the league except Jabari Greer, being thrown on 120 times. How exactly is he worth 37.5 million over 5 with 15.5 million guaranteed?

Grade: F

There were questions about Winston’s ability to play left tackle, but the Chiefs are paying him right tackle type money to be their right tackle, where they have a huge need. Winston is one of the better right tackles in the league (11^th rated offensive tackle, 4^th rated right tackle by ProFootballFocus) so 4 years, 22 million is very reasonable for him, especially in a weak offensive tackle market that just give Jeff Backus 5 million per year.

With right tackle shored up, nose tackle is their biggest non-quarterback need. In fact, it’s their only big non-quarterback need after the Winston signing and the Hillis signing. That could signal that Dontari Poe will be the pick at 11, but it could also signal that they are planning a move up for Ryan Tannehill. The Chiefs pick at 11 and would only have to move up to 7 to leapfrog Miami for him. That would cost them their 2^nd round pick, but it might be worth it.

Matt Cassel is not a long term option and I don’t expect much from Brady Quinn. I really hope he was just signed to compete with Ricky Stanzi and Tyler Palko for the #3 quarterback job and the Chiefs are still planning to add a young quarterback  early in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Grade: A

Eric Weddle is a great player and a top 5 safety in this league. I just don’t like the idea of giving 5 years, 40 million, with 19 million guaranteed the richest deal ever for a safety, to anyone not named Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed. This deal pays Weddle like he’s Polamalu or Reed and he’s not.

Grade: C

Rush Linebacker/outside linebacker 

South Carolina

6-1 245

40 time: 4.67

Draft board overall prospect rank: #34

Draft board rush linebacker rank: #4

Overall rating: 82*

1/21/10: He has experience playing standing up at South Carolina, despite being a defensive end, and he has looked dropping back into coverage on occasion as well so those are major pluses for rush linebacker prospects that can be so unpredictable. He also has 30 sacks in his 4 year career at South Carolina and had 7.5 this year, so he’s a good pass rusher as well, though not a great one. He’s versatile and can play 4-3 strong outside linebacker and maybe even some 3-4 middle linebacker. His 40 time for his weight could keep him out of the first round.

Update (11/2/09): I may have been wrong on this guy, or at least made a decision too soon. He hasn’t been playing well lately.

            10/8/09: On paper, Eric Norwood is one ugly linebacker prospect. He is only about 6 feet and change and barely 250 pounds. That would be ok, if he had any good timed speed. But his 40 time is expected to be in the mid 4.7s. However, Norwood is one of the few 2010 NFL Draft prospect I have seen that simply does nothing wrong. For the position he plays and the position he projects to play at the next level, rush linebacker, he does it all. He has good hands and can drop back in coverage which is something you rarely see out of a young rush linebacker prospect, but none the less its something very important. He is an amazing pass rusher. He is simply relentless in rushing the passer and breaking up the play in the backfield. He’s a real playmaker. He doesn’t have the natural athleticism you’d expect out of an elite pass rusher, but he has an amazing motor and always gets the job done. He proves that natural athleticism, while nice, is not all what its about and there certainly have been players that have survived in the NFL with this than stellar athleticism and a few that have not just survived, but strived. James Harrison, the 2009 NFL defensive player of the year, is a great example. Harrison is a 240 pound rush linebacker with mid 4.8 speed. Norwood’s complete game and motor are comparable to Harrison’s. Norwood isn’t going to be able to play on a defensive line in the NFL because of his lack of size, so if he were to be drafted by a 4-3 team, he would have to move to outside linebacker where he would lose a lot of value. He has a ton of value as a rush linebacker though and could be the first rush linebacker off of the board in a weak rush linebacker class.

NFL Comparison: Mike Vrabel

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

Although Eric Karkovack was born and raised in Pennsylvania, he became a Saints fan at a very young age.  Living in a town that was at the time home to the Washington Redskins training camp, not to mention a plethora of Eagles and Steelers fans, Eric somehow managed to attach himself to the lovable losers from the south.

Back then, the Saints weren’t on local television very much and even finding a t-shirt was a challenge.  But as technology evolved, being a Saints fan from afar became much easier.  The internet and NFL Sunday Ticket made Eric feel like a true N’awlins native (even without the magic of Bourbon Street). 

In 2006, he created The New Orleans Saints Review in order to connect with other fans.  Initially, the Review was a weekly interactive podcast.  In 2009, it morphed into a blog.  You can find it at http://www.nosreview.com.

The blog isn’t necessarily the place to find breaking news regarding the Saints.  Instead, it features in-depth reviews and previews of games, players and even the occasional interview.  During the season, Eric also enjoys taking a look at some of the other highlights from around the NFL.

Personal Info

Eric is a professional web designer based in Central Pennsylvania.  Besides Saints football, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, listening to indie rock music, and is also a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers and Baltimore Orioles.