The Saints no longer have a 2^nd round pick because of BountyGate (nor do they have a Head Coach) so they almost had to address the defensive tackle position in free agency. Brodrick Bunkley was actually ProFootballFocus’ best run stuffer regardless of position, but he’s had an inconsistent past, especially with injuries, so he’s no sure bet. If he’s right, he’s well worth the 5 years, 25 million with 9 million guaranteed that he got. However, I would have liked to have seen the Saints add a pass rushing defensive tackle instead. Sedrick Ellis is the other starting defensive tackle and he managed just .5 sacks last season. They needed a pass rushing compliment.

Grade: B

Trade for Philadelphia: After getting a 2012 5^th rounder from Cleveland for Bunkley a few days ago, Bunkley didn’t report to practice Monday for Cleveland and the deal was nullified. They don’t have much use for Bunkley after signing Jenkins, but it’s not like they got much of anything for him. He put them in an awkward situation when he didn’t show up in Cleveland.

Grade: B

Trade for Denver: Bunkley is a douche. I’m glad he got shipped from Cleveland to an even worse team in Denver. Normally trading for douches is a bad idea, but they barely gave up anything and they have next to nothing at the defensive tackle position.

Grade: B

Quarterback

Arizona State

6-7 242

Draft board overall prospect rank: #32

Draft board overall quarterback rank: #3

Overall rating: 81 (Borderline 1^st/2^nd rounder)

40 time: 4.84

Games watched: Arizona State/Missouri, USC/Arizona State, Boise State/Arizona State

Positives

·         Big frame (6-7 242)

·         Mobile for his size

·         Quick release for his size

·         Huge arm

·         Can make all the throws

·         Above average deep accuracy

·         Productive in 2011 with mediocre supporting cast (63.2%, 7.8 YPA, 26:13 TD:INT)

·         Poised in the pocket

·         Succeeded in spite of offensive line (28 sacks last season)

·         Impressive footwork for an inexperienced quarterback

·         A ton of developmental talent

·         Pro style experience

·         Signature win against USC

Negatives

·         Only 16 starts

·         6-7 record as a junior, including 5 straight losses to end season

·         Quit on a crumbling program by leaving early?

·         Leadership?

·         Still raw

·         Still needs work on accuracy, footwork, decision making

·         Never had elite production

·         A bit inconsistent in 2011

NFL Comparison: Joe Flacco/Philip Rivers

Osweiler is similar to both Flacco and Rivers in that he is a big quarterback with a great arm. I think as an NFL player, he’ll be inferior to Rivers and superior to Flacco, who is still a bit of a question mark heading into year 5. He’s actually taller than both Flacco and Rivers and while he doesn’t quite have Flacco’s arm strength (few do), he’s got a quicker and more fluid release than both Rivers and Flacco and he’s more athletic.

On the field this season, he always stood out to me even though I was never spotlighting him. I was very impressed with his poise, his arm strength, and his deep accuracy, in addition to his surprisingly quick delivery, his surprisingly smooth footwork, and his surprising athleticism. He looked like an NFL quarterback out there running a Pro Style offense and frequently made beautiful throws on 15-18+ yard routes. Outside of Robert Griffin, I wasn’t impressed with anyone’s deep throwing ability more than I was with Osweiler.

I had him on my watch list to be a high 1^st round pick in 2013, but he made a surprise declare as a junior with a mere 16 career starts. That decision was a head scratching one and brought up questions about his leadership and maturity. It appeared as if he was quitting on a crumbling Arizona State program that was rampant with immaturity (not just Vontaze Burfict) and lost 5 straight to end the season. Once a Pac-12 south favorite, especially after a big win over USC, Arizona State finished 6-7 and fired their Head Coach.

Had Osweiler returned for his senior season with a better coaching staff and with some of the bad apples on the team, and added another 13 starts of experience, improved on some things (accuracy, footwork, decision making, leadership), improved on his statistical production, and his win-loss record, he would have been able to distance himself from Arizona State’s rough 2011 season. There would be fewer questions about his maturity, experience and he probably would have been less raw. In that case, he probably would have gotten a high to mid first round grade from me (and I don’t give those often).

However, since he didn’t do that, I have a borderline first round grade on him. That’s still higher than most, but it’s not as high as it could be. He can affect his stock with a good (or bad) Pro Day in a few days. How he performs on his Pro Day could be the difference between the 2^nd and 3^rd/4^th round for him. I think there’s enough developmental talent that I would use a 2^nd rounder on him. I think he’s a more polished prospect than Ryan Tannehill or Brandon Weeden (even before you consider his age).

Defensive Tackle/3-4 Defensive End

UCLA

6-1 303

40 time: 5.13

Draft board overall prospect rank: #24

Draft board defensive tackle rank: #5

Overall rating: 85*

             3/27/10: I have a feeling that, if it weren’t for Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy, we’d all be singing Brian Price’s praise as a potential top 10 pick. This just adds to the idea that this is one of the strongest defensive tackle classes in recent memory. If Price had gone back to school for his senior year and continued his strong production, he would have been a top ten pick lock next year. Price had 6.5 sacks this year, the same number as McCoy, despite being about 10 pounds bigger. He also had 4 sacks last year so the idea of him being a complete one year wonder is there, though I would have preferred one more strong 6+ sack year before calling him an elite defensive tackle, which I will not. He doesn’t have Suh’s physical strength or McCoy’s agility and he doesn’t have either of their size. His lack of elite size could hurt him a lot at the next level. He does play with good leverage, but taller offensive linemen tend to almost swallow him up at times, especially if he were to play 3-4 end, though I think a 3-4 team could still take a chance on him late in the 1st (see San Diego, NY Jets) if they viewed his talent as being too good to pass on. He’s not very athletic, with shorter arms, lack of elite defensive tackle speed, and lack of height, but he’s got a huge motor. He may be maxed out in terms of physical upside, but he’s a smart, devoted player who loves the game. He has a nice explosive burst and should make for a very solid one gap penetrator, despite his lack of elite height at 6-1. In addition to this explosive first step, he’s got a good second push and doesn’t ever give up on a play or take a play off. He’s got great lower body strength and a powerful core, but he can play out of control with his burst a bit and get knocked down by taller offensive linemen with much stronger upper bodies. He should go off the board in the first round, but I would call his decision not to return to school questionable, considering how high he could have gone next year. He doesn’t have the physical tools of Suh and McCoy, but in terms of pass rushing repertoire, ability to get into the backfield, collegiate production, and pure motor, he’s right on par with Gerald McCoy

NFL Comparison: Mike Patterson

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

By Paul Smythe 

There has been talk this offseason about who will be the receiver who starts opposite of Brandon Marshall.

While I am not 100% positive who will be the other starter, I am 90% positive that Brian Hartline will be the starter. Some people may think that I am speaking too early, but I’m not sure about that.

Hartline has already emerged in training camp, and has shown flashes of greatness in less than a week. In a recent training camp he had a (to quote Ben Volin of The Palm Beach Post) “sick” catch that we will hopefully see more of during the season.

One of the reasons I am so confident in Hartline starting is that Head Coach Tony Sparano said that Hartline is currently the number 2 receiver, but that both Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess will have roles.

It may seem to early to crown Hartline as an official starter, but I don’t see him not being one. He was the best scoring wide receiver last year and he didn’t have near as many receptions as Bess or Camarillo.

Don’t get me wrong I love Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo. Greg Camarillo is actually my favorite offensive player on the Miami Dolphins, but I would still rather have a threat like Hartline in the game as the starter.

Just a recommendation for all you fantasy football owners out there: pick up Brain Hartline in the late rounds of the draft. He is a sleeper that not many people know about. He will be a nice surprise this year.

http://www.dolphinshout.com

At 3.5 million dollars for one year, this deal is a bargain for the 49ers and they’re almost sure to be getting the best of Edwards since it’s only a one year deal. Assuming there’s no chemistry problems between him and Michael Crabtree, this is going to be a smart short term signing.

Grade: A

Quarterback

Oklahoma State

6-4 221

Draft board overall prospect rank: #196

Draft board overall quarterback rank: #10

Overall rating: 53 (6^th rounder)

40 time: 4.95

Games watched: Oklahoma State/Texas A&M, Texas/Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State/Oklahoma

Positives

·         NFL caliber arm

·         NFL built (6-4 221)

·         Can make all the throws

·         Incredibly productive over 2 seasons as a starter (2011: 72.3%, 8.4 YPA, 37/13 TD/INT, 2010: 66.9%, 8.4 YPA, 34/13 TD/INT)

·         Mature

·         Athletic (5 years as a minor league pitcher)

·         Confident

·         Trusts his arm (gunslinger mentality)

·         Winner in a tough conference (23-3)

·         Won a lot of shoot outs

·         Beat Landry Jones, Robert Griffin, and Ryan Tannehill this season (signature win against Texas A&M)

Negatives

·         Age (29 in October)

·         Questionable decision making

·         Gunslinger who forces things

·         Overly confident in his arm on occasion

·         Gets flustered under pressure

·         Footwork needs work

·         Not a running threat

·         Very little under center experience

·         Possible system quarterback

·         Had a lot of talent around him

NFL Comparison: Jake Plummer

If Brandon Weeden were 22 or 23, I’d have a 2^nd round grade or so on him. I’m tough on quarterbacks. Basically, I’d have him lower than Brock Osweiler, who I love and think is incredibly underrated, and higher than Ryan Tannehill, who is very athletic, but raw, less experienced, less productive than Weeden, who he lost to head to head.

Weeden certainly has the upside to be an NFL starter, but I don’t think he’s quite ready. His major issues are his pocket presence and his tendency to force things. He’s got a great arm and he knows it, but he tends to make risky throws and overestimate his own abilities. Under pressure, his decision making gets worse.

These aren’t uncorrectable problems and some elements of being a gunslinger can be very useful (just ask Brett Favre), but he needs to learn to reign in his abilities. He’ll also need to learn to read more complex defenses (not a lot of those in the Big 12), play under center (he didn’t do a lot of that at Oklahoma State), and run a Pro Style offense (again, didn’t do a lot of that at Oklahoma State). For this reason, I don’t think he’s someone who can start right away.

That would be fine if he were 22 or 23, but he’s 29 in October. He’s already older than Aaron Rodgers, thanks to a 5 year failed minor league baseball career. This has some benefits. He’s mature and can handle professional sports and it shows he’s athletic. However, teams won’t have a lot of time to wait around on him. He’s a risk and a prospect who wouldn’t be able to start week 1. For this reason, I have a late round grade on him.

However, because of the demand for quarterbacks in the NFL, he could actually go in the first round. I expect him to be something who throws a lot of interceptions as he faces more complex defenses and continues to make risky throws as a habit. He’ll improve as his career goes along, but he won’t have a very long career because of his age.

I compare him to Jake Plummer because he threw a lot of interceptions early in his career before finally settling down once he teamed up with Mike Shanahan. Also, Plummer’s career wasn’t very long because he decided to retire unexpectedly (with 161 career interceptions). He also was a good athlete who played multiple sports in High School and became a professional hand ball player after his early retirement. 

Middle Linebacker 

Florida

6-3 253

40 time: 5.03

Draft board overall prospect rank: #100

Draft board middle linebacker rank: #8

Overall rating: 70*

3/18/10: He had looked slow this year in games, but I was waiting to see him run a 40 before I called him slow because he has run 4.6s in the past. I thought the projected 4.75 was outrageous. Turns out it was, outrageously low that is. Spikes ran a 5.03 at Florida’s Pro Day. He was regarded as slow and complacent before his Pro Day and he certainly did nothing but back either of those things up. He’s now solely a 3-4 middle linebacker and could slip out of the 2^nd day all together. No one wants a middle linebacker that slow and complacent. He has upside, but he no longer appears to care.

1/23/10: Spikes could slip out of the first round because of his position. He may have made a mistake by returning to school this year. Not only did his tackles total drop for the 2^nd straight year, from 131 to 87 to 52, he was also exposed in coverage a lot, though he did have two picks, and he had some injuries issues, as well as one character red flag when he tried to poke out the eye of an exposing player through his facemask. He may just be a 2 down run stopping middle linebacker at the next level unless he can improve in coverage.

6/23/09: Brandon Spikes is the most decorated college linebacker this season because of his role in the Florida Gators’ 2008 “National Championship”. He’s 245 pounds, up 15 from the beginning of last season, which means he might have room still to grow. He hits like a ton of bricks and is extremely aggressive in bringing down the ball carrier. Sometimes, he’s too aggressive and will miss tackles or forget to wrap up, but that very rarely happens. There really isn’t one thing he’s bad at that’s his biggest strength. As a linebacker, he is amazing is pass coverage and has great hands. He picked off 4 passes last year, looking like a cornerback in the process, and then returned 2 for touchdowns in kick returner esque fashion. He could probably play running back, but not well enough to do it on a professional level, so he’ll obviously stay on the defensive side of the ball. He’s a very smart player who can do whatever you ask of him. He was used on blitzes occasionally last year and did very well in pass rushing for a middle linebacker. He doesn’t have great speed and he’s certainly not a sideline-to-sideline type middle linebacker, but he’ll still going to run a mid 4.6s 40 which isn’t bad. However, because of his speed, he’s likely going to only be able to play middle linebacker in the 4-3, though his skills set might indicate that he is someone who can play more than one position. He’s about 10 pounds too small to play 3-4 middle linebacker, not a good enough pass rusher to play 3-4 outside linebacker, and not fast enough to play 4-3 outside linebacker. His motor isn’t great and he’s not one of those players that you can say never takes a play off, but he’s certainly not lazy. He’s just an all-around solid middle linebacker, who has a great knack for the game and should have a solid NFL career. 

NFL Comparison: Andra Davis

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

The Redskins cut OJ Atogwe so they needed another safety in the mix, but I don’t think Meriweather is much of an upgrade. He was cut by the Patriots surprisingly in Training Camp after 2 Pro Bowls, but when he was scooped by the Bears, it was apparent why the Patriots cut him. Meriweather was benched after a handful of starts and the Bears didn’t even try to retain him. The Redskins paid him 6 million over 2 years and will probably make him a starter. Those are both mistakes, but this was a weak safety class. Meriweather will probably be benched midseason, however.

Grade: C

Brandon Mebane is one of the best young interior linemen in the league. There was a noticeable difference in Seattle’s defense, especially their run defense, when he wasn’t on the field last year. He’s only 26 so getting him for 5 million per year for 5 years is a steal.

Grade: A