Poll: who do you want in the first round

[Evil Ash]

can lightning strike twice...see last year!!! there is better than a fifty fifty chance thomas is around...i am more afraid of cleveland taking thomas than detroit...detroit needs a future qb and quinn might fit the bill..cleveland is brutal up front....so we have russell, johnson quinn, anderson? and then thomas....don't dismiss it too quickly as we have a shot...if he is not there look for a trade down and a selection of levi brown...f/a might upset the applecart as well (duh)

As long is Martz is on their staff, they won't be taking a QB in the early rounds. He prefers to find later round guys that fit into his system.

Any of the 4 teams ahead of us could take Thomas

 

[Redsz]

Agreed, none of the top QB's look like a prototypical Martz QB ether.

 

[Stout]

Like every year with all the talk of trading down what team realistically wants to trade up and is willing and able to give up what it takes to move up to the top 5?

I see talk of Houston trading up but they can stay where they are and select Peterson if we do not draft him, I don't see Washington or Minnesota taking him and unless Houston fears another team is going to trade ahead of them there probably isn't a lot of motivation. If Peterson isn't there I don't think Lynch is exactly chopped liver.

Actually, Washington has been whispering about replacing Portis. Now, that was a while ago in the offseason, but they might be in the market.

 

[joeshmo]

Concerning the top 5 picks, I think we may be in for some big changes on the QB front.

Plummer, Leftwich or Garrard, and Shaub all look to be trade bait this coming offseason. Could one of them, or maybe even 2 of them being going to a top 4 drafting team. I can completely see Al Davis picking one of them up, but I dont think detriot, Cleveland or Tampa have the balls to pull something like that off. But we shall see and things may be fun on the trade market this year.

If 1 QB goes top 4 I dont think we have a shot at Joe Thomas, if 2 go top 4 the odds are far greater.

Thats all assuming you would want Joe Thomas in the first place. Steelers didnt have a tendancy of taking OL in the first couple of rounds while Grimm and Wiz were there, will that philosophy come on over to us as well.

 

[joeshmo]

Like every year with all the talk of trading down what team realistically wants to trade up and is willing and able to give up what it takes to move up to the top 5?

I see talk of Houston trading up but they can stay where they are and select Peterson if we do not draft him, I don't see Washington or Minnesota taking him and unless Houston fears another team is going to trade ahead of them there probably isn't a lot of motivation. If Peterson isn't there I don't think Lynch is exactly chopped liver.

I agree. A while ago I thought we would be in a good spot with Gaines Adams being the only blue chip DE in the DRaft, then Anderson goes and declares and that draft spot looks less enticing for a team needing to jump up a few spots for the only blue chip DE on the board now that there is 2 of them. Also this is a really, really deep draft for WR's, so if Calvin Johnson falls to us teams will be less willing to trade up knowing they can most likely still get a good prospect at their 1st round spot or the 2nd round.

I see the only way we can trade down is if Branch falls to #5 and with him being the only blue chip DT and it being average to below average DT draft class, i can easily see that as something to entice a team to be a trade partner with us. The Dolphins may be the most intrigued by a trade like that. There top 3 DT's are all UFA's, and all are relics, they could be desperate for a DT.

And then it always depends on how the QB drafting situation goes, the #5 spot could be enticing as well.

Other then that I dont see the trade down market for us to be all that great for us at the moment.

 

[Stout]

Concerning the top 5 picks, I think we may be in for some big changes on the QB front.

Plummer, Leftwich or Garrard, and Shaub all look to be trade bait this coming offseason. Could one of them, or maybe even 2 of them being going to a top 4 drafting team. I can completely see Al Davis picking one of them up, but I dont think detriot, Cleveland or Tampa have the balls to pull something like that off. But we shall see and things may be fun on the trade market this year.

If 1 QB goes top 4 I dont think we have a shot at Joe Thomas, if 2 go top 4 the odds are far greater.

Thats all assuming you would want Joe Thomas in the first place. Steelers didnt have a tendancy of taking OL in the first couple of rounds while Grimm and Wiz were there, will that philosophy come on over to us as well.

Eh, I'm not so sure about that trade bait. I bet Jax tries to keep Lefty and Garrard for another year. Plummer will likely be cut instead of traded, and I seriuosly doubt Schaub is going anywhere. I have no idea when the QBs will go. I know there will probably be a lynch mob in Detroit if they don't take a QB. Should be interesting.

 

[Zeno]

Actually, Washington has been whispering about replacing Portis. Now, that was a while ago in the offseason, but they might be in the market.

The talk about replacing Portis was with Betts after Betts had such a good string of games when Portis was out. I hadn't heard of them drafting someone to replace him though.

 

[Zeno]

Concerning the top 5 picks, I think we may be in for some big changes on the QB front.

Plummer, Leftwich or Garrard, and Shaub all look to be trade bait this coming offseason. Could one of them, or maybe even 2 of them being going to a top 4 drafting team. I can completely see Al Davis picking one of them up, but I dont think detriot, Cleveland or Tampa have the balls to pull something like that off. But we shall see and things may be fun on the trade market this year.

If 1 QB goes top 4 I dont think we have a shot at Joe Thomas, if 2 go top 4 the odds are far greater.

Thats all assuming you would want Joe Thomas in the first place. Steelers didnt have a tendancy of taking OL in the first couple of rounds while Grimm and Wiz were there, will that philosophy come on over to us as well.

Rmor has it that the Texans are shopping Carr as well. Kubiak may be targeting Plummer as his short term fix if that trade goes through. Not sure what teams would be interested in Carr but they are supposedly only asking for a 3rd round pick.

Here is a part of an article...

"This rumor is good news for some Texans fans, but bad news for others. Unfortunately for Carr, it seems like an indicator that the end is near.

I checked with a couple of league sources: two said they were aware of it, another said he had not been told that by any reliable source, but got wind of the talk at the Senior Bowl this week. All said it is too early to tell if the talk is legit and it would be premature to assume anything is imminent if they are.

"The Texans are probably just feeling out the market," one said. "It wouldn't be out of the question that they might not get an offer they deem acceptable and they bring Carr back.

"You can do worse at quarterback than David Carr, and nobody wants to just throw away a former No. 1 pick."

A pro personnel assistant said there is no way the Texans could get a third-round pick for Carr, but a conditional fourth-rounder probably isn't out of the question.

Last offseason, the Vikings got a second-round pick for Daunte Culpepper and the Lions picked up a sixth-round choice (moved up to a fifth-rounder after Harrington reached a certain amount of playing time).

If a Carr trade were to happen, it would not go down until around the start of free agency (March 2). Expect talks, or rumors of said talks, to heat up the week before that at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

If the Texans can't get more for Carr than the Lions got for Harrington, it might make sense to keep him."

 

[Southpaw]

If the Cards are locked in I see Peterson as the glamor pick with a huge upside. If the Cards could trade down to someone in love with him or one of the QBs, I think this is the draft to do it in. I suspect there is a better batch of talent that will be available in the later first and the 2nd 3rd. I like Levi Brown Left OT Penn State 10-20 slot, Sidney Rice WR SC late first - early 2nd. Brian Leonard FB/TB/ HB anywhere after the 1st. Patrick Willis LB early 2nd. Brandon Merriweather CB/S early 2nd or late first if Cards have multi 1st round late picks from trade down.

Zach Miller/Greg Olsen TE late first - early 2nd if trade down occurs.

P.S. I am well aware of the Calvin Pace/Bryant Johnson fiasco, but hopefully Graves won't give a repeat performance.

 

[Southpaw]

The Ginn love is hysterical. I can't wait to hear the crickets chirp around here when all those who have man crushes on Ginn find out he sucks in the NFL.

Ginn could be one of those Green room guys, where ESPN starts talking about quality left on the board, and his posse starts creeping away, and he waits for his name to be called, and waits , and waits... and waits.

 

[Southpaw]

Huh? Almost all scouts agree that he's a franchise LT and an elite prospect in the draft. Not only is Thomas a better player than Peterson (though it's hard to compare two different positions), but he fills a huge need for us at LT whereas Peterson is a luxury pick.

LTs don't need quick feet in the Big 10. Joe is said to not have quick feet. Robert Gallery deja vu???????

 

[Southpaw]

I want Joe Thomas but I doubt if he will be there. I think Detroit will take him with the second pick.

If Detroit passes on one of the ( over rated QBs ) Matt Millen may as well turn his resignation in at the draft headquarters. IF he takes Joe with the #2 and Joe doesn't play like a Pro Bowler the first year ( and that won't happen ) , there won't be another year for Matt. Oakland, Cleveland and Detroit needs QBs to shut the fans up.

 

[Southpaw]

Ginn is a game changer at WR... any Buckeye fan who tells you Gonzalez is the better WR is clueless... Gonzalez was only effective because Ted Ginn was drawing safety help on every single play leaving the other WRs matched up man to man or against LBs (when lined up in the slot)...

Without Ginn.. Gonzalez wouldnt even be in this draft, let alone being discussed as a 2nd round pick...

OSU's nightmarish offensive game vs Florida was in large part due to not having Ginn... the WRs couldnt get open at all because Teddy wasnt there to draw the attention of the DBs...

That being said I dont think we should draft him at #5... No Branch either... Somebody said the idea of Watson and Branch for an interior defense makes them happy... Well I've seen those two play DT together at Michigan and it's nothing special...

We need to focus on Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, and Jamaal Anderson... Those are the 3 best players who also fill needs

If it is true that Ted Ginn is the reason OSU got slapped around in every aspect of that game, then I think Ted Ginn should bypass the NFL and go right to Canton and the Hall of Fame.

 

[Stout]

Ginn could be one of those Green room guys, where ESPN starts talking about quality left on the board, and his posse starts creeping away, and he waits for his name to be called, and waits , and waits... and waits.

Could very well happen. Ah, but some team will be stupid enough to take him early, ala Terrell.

 

[Stout]

The talk about replacing Portis was with Betts after Betts had such a good string of games when Portis was out. I hadn't heard of them drafting someone to replace him though.

Yeah, I heard plenty of that, but I heard on ESPN radio once that they might consider drafting one of the RBs. Granted, I only heard it once, so it was probably wild conjecture.

 

[lobo]

Eh, I'm not so sure about that trade bait. I bet Jax tries to keep Lefty and Garrard for another year. Plummer will likely be cut instead of traded, and I seriuosly doubt Schaub is going anywhere. I have no idea when the QBs will go. I know there will probably be a lynch mob in Detroit if they don't take a QB. Should be interesting.

we share the same thoughts regarding detroit taking a qb....there are also some doubters around...wel'll see....to me they have to go the qb route...

 

[lobo]

As long is Martz is on their staff, they won't be taking a QB in the early rounds. He prefers to find later round guys that fit into his system.

Any of the 4 teams ahead of us could take Thomas

i gues we will see...that's what makes horse racing....could certainly have said the same thing about matt dropping to 10 as far as the four teams in fron of us..

 

[kerouac9]

I agree. A while ago I thought we would be in a good spot with Gaines Adams being the only blue chip DE in the DRaft, then Anderson goes and declares and that draft spot looks less enticing for a team needing to jump up a few spots for the only blue chip DE on the board now that there is 2 of them. Also this is a really, really deep draft for WR's, so if Calvin Johnson falls to us teams will be less willing to trade up knowing they can most likely still get a good prospect at their 1st round spot or the 2nd round.

I see the only way we can trade down is if Branch falls to #5 and with him being the only blue chip DT and it being average to below average DT draft class, i can easily see that as something to entice a team to be a trade partner with us. The Dolphins may be the most intrigued by a trade like that. There top 3 DT's are all UFA's, and all are relics, they could be desperate for a DT.

And then it always depends on how the QB drafting situation goes, the #5 spot could be enticing as well.

Other then that I dont see the trade down market for us to be all that great for us at the moment.

Really? Are you sure about this? Everything that I've been reading says quite the opposite. There are two 1st round graded WRs in this draft in Ginn and Calvin Johnson. Maybe three if you're talking about that kid from LSU. I think there are a lot of bodies available, but I heard a lot of negative talk about the guys at the Senior Bowl being below-average. This seems to be a weak year for OTs, WRs, and QBs. After the first 40 picks or so, I'm not sure you'll see a QB taken until the late 4th or 5th round.

 

[kerouac9]

LTs don't need quick feet in the Big 10. Joe is said to not have quick feet. Robert Gallery deja vu???????

That's true. While he was a good pass blocker in the Big 10, who were the elite DEs that he was facing off against. Part of the reason that I wonder if he skipped the Senior Bowl is because he'd probably be facing better DL than anyone he saw in college, and that could only cause those question marks to rise earlier.

 

[ajcardfan]

That's true. While he was a good pass blocker in the Big 10, who were the elite DEs that he was facing off against. Part of the reason that I wonder if he skipped the Senior Bowl is because he'd probably be facing better DL than anyone he saw in college, and that could only cause those question marks to rise earlier.

He did block Jamaal Anderson very well in their bowl game.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

LTs don't need quick feet in the Big 10. Joe is said to not have quick feet. Robert Gallery deja vu???????

Thomas has great feet, not sure who's saying that he doesn't. While you might compare him to Robert Gallery, I see more similarities in another Big Ten OT... Orlando Pace.

 

[Southpaw]

He did block Jamaal Anderson very well in their bowl game.

Maybe Anderson shouldn't be the opponent to judge Joe by.

Negatives:
Anderson is very, very, very, raw. His technique is sloppy, and he frequently gets by on his unrefined ability and sheer strength. That does the job in college, but he'll have a harder time of it in the pros. He has a ton of burst and acceleration, but he doesn't have much speed to burst and accelerate to, which means he'll have a hard time pursuing the run or chasing down a quarterback from behind.
Overview:
Anderson is a high-quality prospect, but with how raw he is, he has a high bust potential. He'll still be a high pick on pure talent and his awesome potential (he could be the next Reggie White with the right coaching), but he should have stayed for his senior year. In the end, he'll probably be a mid-first round pick, with a chance at cracking the top ten.

 

[joeshmo]

Really? Are you sure about this? Everything that I've been reading says quite the opposite.

I am positive.

6 WR's in GBN's top 30.
6 WR's in nfldraftcountdowns top 30.
huddlereport is down right now but if I remember correctly they have something like 7 WR's as having 1st round talent so far on their list. Edit - The site is now up and one guy has 6 WR's in his top 31, and the main guy has 7 first round talent WR's on his list.

Besides Calvin and Teddy, there is also Rice, Jarrett, Samardzija, Bowe, Meacham. This is a great year for WR talent.

 

[Evil Ash]

i gues we will see...that's what makes horse racing....could certainly have said the same thing about matt dropping to 10 as far as the four teams in fron of us..

True to a point but OT is considered to be a safe pick while QB is considered one of the more risky picks.

We could get luck and have Thomas fall into our laps (injury concerns may be one of the reasons his stocks drops) but I'm not counting on it

 

[Stout]

I am positive.

6 WR's in GBN's top 30.
6 WR's in nfldraftcountdowns top 30.
huddlereport is down right now but if I remember correctly they have something like 7 WR's as having 1st round talent so far on their list. Edit - The site is now up and one guy has 6 WR's in his top 31, and the main guy has 7 first round talent WR's on his list.

Besides Calvin and Teddy, there is also Rice, Jarrett, Samardzija, Bowe, Meacham. This is a great year for WR talent.

Samardzija isn't entering the NFL draft.