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

Trade for the Broncos: In Josh McDaniels time with the Broncos, he has traded Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, a 1^st round pick, and a 3^rd round pick for a Robert Ayers (who doesn’t fit the scheme), Richard Quinn (a blocking tight end who caught 12 passes in college), Alphonso Smith (currently 4^th on the depth chart), Kyle Orton, a 1^st round pick, and 2 2^nd round picks. This may be just me, but I thought the idea was to make your team better. This severely restricts an offense that was already severely restricted when they swapped the cannon armed Jay Cutler for the girly armed Kyle Orton. Marshall was their only deep threat and YAC guy and without him, their offense becomes a bunch of short passes, extremely one dimensional. They tried playing without Brandon Marshall in week 17 last year and they got destroyed by the lowly Chiefs. He had about 3 times more catches last year than any other receiver on their team. They’ll probably target a wide receiver in the first 2 rounds this year, seeing as they now have 3 picks in that area, but he’ll still be a rookie. He won’t be Brandon Marshall.

Grade: C

Trade for the Dolphins: Bill Parcells has experience working with and dealing with so called diva receivers like Brandon Marshall (Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens). I know he’s not in a coaching position, but I think he is somewhat involved with the players personally, in addition to his duties as team president. Plus, the only reason Marshall was acting out in Denver is because he wanted to be paid what he deserved. The Dolphins did what the Broncos should have done a year ago and signed Marshall to a 4 year 48 million dollar extension hours after receiving him. The price is 2 2^nd rounders is extremely cheap for a guyHe  who is one of the best wideouts in the league. He’ll be extremely important to the development of young Chad Henne.

Grade: A

Trade for Bears

The Bears have one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. No one caught more than 37 balls last year and the receiver who played the most snaps for them was Roy Williams. Brandon Marshall was an absolute steal for 2 3^rd rounders and Jay Cutler has to be thrilled. The pair combined for 206 completions from 2007-2008. The Bears still have cap space to go after another receiver or to sign Mario Williams and take a receiver in the first or second round. If they’re smart (which they appear to be), they’ll sign Eddie Royal. He has past chemistry with Cutler and would come cheap enough for them to sign Mario Williams, who they are reportedly the favorite for.

Update: Even with Marshall’s off the field issues, I still think this is a good trade for them. I think the chemistry with Jay Cutler is too strong and a change of scenery could be a very good thing for Marshall. They’re buying low and his contract is such that he can be cut for no penalty after any of the next 3 seasons, in which he’ll be paid 9 million per year.  

Grade: A

Trade for Dolphins

I’m holding off on this grade for 24 hours because of Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning loves things his way so there’s a possibility that he told the Dolphins, get rid of Brandon Marshall (who has some character problems), sign Reggie Wayne instead and then we have a deal. If that didn’t happen, the Dolphins are just depleting their receiving corps for a rookie quarterback. No one else on the roster had more than 527 yards last year. That’s just stupid and the Dolphins sold Marshall for 25 cents on the dollar. 2 years ago they got him for 2 2nds, now they get 2 3rds for him.

Update: The trade makes a lot more sense now that we know about Marshall’s off the field issue. Marshall has all sorts of off the field issues and the Dolphins might be smart to cut bait with the troubled receiver as they go into a rebuilding process. Best case scenario for them, they sign Matt Flynn and then they can use their #8 overall pick on Michael Floyd to replace Marshall. 

Grade: A

By Paul Smythe 

As soon as the Miami Dolphins added Brandon Marshall I immediately started thinking about how he would improve the Miami Dolphins offense and how he would be the threat Miami and Chad Henne was looking for.

He will definitely do all of the above, but he will also help Miami in another way.

He will help other players develop. Training camp only started last Friday, and I have already heard of two different players who said the Marshall would directly help them get better.

Those two players were CB Sean Smith and WR Patrick Turner.

Sean Smith said this on Friday after he was beat by Marshall in training camp:

“He’s a great receiver. Now I see why we went out and got him. I’ll learn a lot from him.”

And, it is true. If you want to be the best you have to play the best, and Brandon Marshall is the best. Marshall beat Smith twice on Day 1, and you can bet Smith learned something from Marshall in just that day. Imagine Smith learning from Marshall over the course of multiple seasons.

He could develop into one of the top CBs.

The most recent player to admit Marshall’s help is receiver Patrick Turner. Turner made a great play in training camp Sunday. He later spoke about how he had been learning from Marshall. He also had this to say:

“You can’t help but learn something from the guy every day. Brandon being sort of the same size and the same body type, I can go ask him questions and pick his mind a little bit.

It was good to hear that Turner was finally doing something because he has been a disappointment since the Dolphins drafted him. He still may not make the team, but now he has a much better chance now that he has learned from Marshall.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/ 

The Bears are clearly the busiest team early in free agency. Manumanumalemalemanumaleuna (I might have added a few more syllables, but you get the point) is one of the best run blocking tight ends in the league and combined with Devin Aromashodu, the Bears now become a play-by-play announcer’s nightmare. However, did they really need to give him a 5 year deal? He’s a run blocking tight end. Desmond Clark wasn’t that bad of a blocker.

Grade: C-

Every offseason one player always signs for way less than he’s worth. Last offseason it was Stephen Tulloch signing in Detroit for 3.5 million over a year. This year it is Brandon Lloyd and like with Tulloch, it was all about rejoining a former coordinator. Tulloch wanted to rejoin Jim Schwartz, former Tennessee defensive coordinator and current Lions head coach.

Lloyd wanted to rejoin Josh McDaniels, who has been his offensive coordinator over the past 2 years in Denver (Head Coach in Denver too) and St. Louis, as he has become a surprise breakout wide receiver. I’m sure playing for Belichick, catching passes from Tom Brady, and competing for a Super Bowl just made the deal sweeter, but Lloyd almost definitely took less money (12 million over 3 years) to sign with New England.

McDaniels and Lloyd are awesome together. Before McDaniels was fired as Head Coach in Denver in 2010, Lloyd caught 60 passes for 1153 yards and 9 touchdowns in 12 games with Kyle Orton as his quarterback. In 2011, he was traded to St. Louis, where McDaniels was the offensive coordinator. He caught 51 passes for 683 yards and 5 touchdowns in 11 games with an injured Sam Bradford, AJ Feeley, and Kellen Clemens at quarterback.

In the last 2 years, he has 111 catches for 1836 yards and 14 touchdowns in 23 games with McDaniels. Over 16 games, that’s 77 catches for 1277 yards and 10 touchdowns. With Kyle Orton, AJ Feeley, Kellen Clemens, and an injured Sam Bradford throwing him the football. Now he has Tom Brady throwing him the football.

There’s always a chance that Lloyd just doesn’t fit in the very unique culture that is New England, but this is an absolute steal of a deal. It’s absolutely insane that Lloyd got less total money than Robert Meachem and Laurent Robinson got in guaranteed money even though those two have career highs of 45 catches and 54 catches respectively with Drew Brees and Tony Romo. Lloyd is the deep threat that Brady needs and he comes much cheaper than Mike Wallace. This is a fantastic deal! What’s higher than an A? An A+? Do I give those? I do now.

Grade: A+

Wide Receiver 

LSU

6-2 211

40 time: 4.59

Draft board overall prospect rank: #40

Draft board wide receiver rank: #4

Overall rating: 79*

2/28/10: He wasn’t supposed to be a speed demon, but a 4.59 hurts a lot. He’s not going to get a lot of separation at the next level. He also measured in at 6-2 this week instead of 6-4 so his stock could be taking a drop this week.

1/17/10: The perfect fit for a run heavy pro style offense because he has experience running pro style routes and he’s an amazing run blocker for his age. His frame is still a bit wiry and that could lead to injuries at the next level as he tries to make some of the crazy catches he made in college, but he’s certainly not afraid of anything and will throw his body around for the ball fearlessly. 57 catches for 792 yards doesn’t seem like much for a senior season, but when you consider that LSU passed 336 times this season, all of a sudden those numbers look really good. He was by far the most dominant end zone threat on his roster and his 11 touchdowns more than tripled the total of the guy who was second on the team. He’s got good height, good hands, good fearlessness, good run blocking, and a good red zone presence, but needs to put on more muscle and he’s not fast in comparison to some of the receivers in this draft class.

Update (11/2/09): Big tall wide receiver with solid hands and great run blocking ability. Perfect for a run heavy offense and has the potential to be a top receiver at the next level.

            7/28/09: Brandon LaFell put up very good stats last season as the #1 for LSU, despite the fact that LSU runs one of the most conservative run heavy offenses in the country. What really impressed me about LaFell was his consistency. He didn’t have any games last season that made you say wow, with the exception of a 12 catch 126 yard performance against Troy, but he had at least 48 yards in every game last season. LaFell fits right into the gritty tough style of LSU. He loves to go over the middle and catch balls. He never gives up on a ball and will throw himself out there to get the ball even if it puts himself at risk. On one hand, that’s great and you love that if you’re an NFL scout. On the other hand, you look at how Anquan Boldin, a player who does the same thing, is always hurt in one way or another in the NFL, and then you look at the fact that Boldin is 10 pounds heavier than LaFell and lot bulkier and you worry about LaFell’s health going forward. He needs to add at least 10 pounds to his frame, if not more, to be able to dive after balls over the middle of the field, with all of the big safeties in the NFL. He’s tall, at 6-3, and a great possession receiver, but has not flashed the high touchdown numbers that would suggest that he’s a big time end zone threat, although that may be because of the bad pass offense he played in at LSU. He’s a very physical and tough to guard because of that. Physical wide receivers normally have an easier time transitioning to the NFL than speedsters. His timed speed is below average and if he runs a 40 in the 4.5s, that could really hurt. If he runs one at about 4.48, he should be fine, assuming he can add on the bulk that he needs to, which shouldn’t be a problem because he’s a hard worker. He has very reliable hands and should be a reliable player in the pros going forward. He’s not a future #1 option, but he should be a solid #2 possession receiver that will always be there to make a play on the ball. Because of this weak wide receiver class, that could be enough to sneak him into the 1^st round, but I give him a 2^nd round grade overall. 

NFL Comparison: Dwayne Bowe

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

Cornerback

Miami

5-10 191

Draft board overall prospect rank: #12

Draft board overall cornerback rank: #3

Overall rating: 89 (mid 1^st)

40 time: 4.43

3/22/11: The hype of this cornerback class is on Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara, but for the first half or so of the season, Harris was right behind them in terms of the type of season he was having. He didn’t pick off a lot of passes, but he was rarely thrown on either. Offensive coordinators game planned around him and quarterbacks avoided. He blanketed receivers very well.

He struggled, relatively, later in the season, especially in their bowl game against Michael Floyd, and for a while was believed to be returning to Miami for his senior season, in hopes of becoming the top cornerback in the 2012 NFL Draft and being a potential top 10 pick. He eventually declared, but since has kind of fallen out of favor with draftniks. Once a potential top 15 pick, Harris is being mocked in the 2^nd round. Jimmy Smith has risen above him on several draft boards, thanks to a strong Combine, despite Smith’s character flaws.

Harris measured in small at the Combine, at 5-10, which hurt his stock. He ran well though at 4.43 and did very well in the drills, something that seems to get overlooked about his Combine. Being 5-10 isn’t that big of a deal. Cornerbacks can get away with being that size in the NFL if everything else is there and for him, it is.

He’s very fluid and athletic. He mirrors well. He times his jumps well to tip away passes. His ball skills need improvement, but he’s above average against the run and very physically within 5 yards. He’s stronger than he looks and can hold his own strength wise with bigger NFL cornerbacks. He’s also very smart and very crafty.

NFL Comparison: Devin McCourty