[CBFF] Will There Be Any Offensive Tackles Left For the Bears?
Tom Shannon
tshanno at gmail.com
Sun Apr 6 10:04:31 MDT 2008
http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=218
I've never been a big fan of the mock draft. It always seemed to me like
the vast majority of the time these things are put together by a bunch of
rubes who wouldn't know a fly route from the end of a fishing line. I have,
therefore, usually restricted myself to only a few drafts run by experts who
I think know what they're talking about (i.e. a darned few).
However I recently felt the need to put one together myself. I began to
worry about whether any offensive tackles worthy of the 14th overall pick
were going to be left to the Bears. Indeed, Bill Johnson, who represents
former Vanderbilt offensive tackle Chris Williams, recently said that he
felt as
<http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2008/03/stacking_up_the_competition_fo.html
> many as 13 of the top 20 teams in the draft might be looking to draft
one.
So I set out to play GM and build a mock draft for teams 1 thru 14. Having
made up my mind to do this right, I immediately set out to list what I felt
were the top 25 draft prospects in order. I scoured the colleges, watched
tape of every game, watched the combine workouts and went to every pro day.
I then made my list which, by coincidence, looks amazingly like the 25
prospects on Mel
<http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/insider/columns/story?columnist=kipe
r_jr_mel&id=3327000&univLogin02=stateChanged> Kiper's Big Board. What can
I say? Great minds think alike:
Rank
Name
Pos
Rank
Name
Pos
1
Glenn Dorsey
DT
14
Phillip Merling
DE
2
Darren McFadden
RB
15
Jerod Mayo
LB
3
Matt Ryan
QB
16
Jeff Otah
OT
4
Chris Long
DE
17
Keith Rivers
LB
5
Jake Long
OT
18
Felix Jones
RB
6
Sedrick Ellis
DT
19
Leodis McKelvin
CB
7
Vernon Gholston
DE
20
Devin Thomas
WR
8
Ryan Clady
OT
21
Jonathan Stewart
RB
9
Brandon Albert
OG
22
Mike Jenkins
CB
10
Rashard Mendenhall
RB
23
Derrick Harvey
DE
11
Chris Williams
OT
24
Kentwan Balmer
DT
12
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
CB
25
Joe Flacco
QB
13
Aqib Talib
CB
Having spent so much time constructing this list, I felt compelled to spend
even more effort scouring rosters, scouting every position player and
phoning personal contacts in every city to find out what the team needs
were. Having spent so much effort on the first list, no longer having a job
helped tremendously with the time constraints on the second, though not with
the phone bills.
By incredible coincidence, the team needs which I found to be most relevant
exactly matched those
<http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/story?page=snmock08>
determined by ESPN's Todd McShay. Who 'da thunk it?
1. Miami Dolphins
Needs: OL,DT,LB,CB,QB
Pick: Jake Long
Comments: The Dolphins could realistically take Ryan here. He's a higher
ranked prospect but he'd be expensive. I'm betting that Bill Parcells will
feel that the need at tackle is greater and that they'll get more bang for
their buck there. Left offensive tackles tend to have
<http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=210> a lot of value in the first
round.
2. St. Louis Rams
Needs: OT,G,DE,LB,CB
Pick: Chris Long
Comments: Pass rushing defensive linemen are hard
<http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-080226-pompei-
nfl-draft-pass-rushers,1,2078992.column> to pass up.
3. Atlanta Falcons
Needs: QB,DT,OT,S,RB
Pick: Glenn Dorsey.
Comments: The smart pick though they could go Matt Ryan. They've got no QB
worthy of the name on the roster. I'm betting they'll consider DT to be the
bigger need and Dorsey to be the safer pick.
4. Oakland Raiders
Needs: OT,DT,RB,WR,DE
Pick: Darren McFadden
Comments: Highest rated player at a position of need.
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Needs: OT,G,CB,DE,C
Pick: Ryan Clady
Comments: I thought it was interesting that Mel
<http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/insider/columns/story?columnist=kipe
r_jr_mel&page=kipermock080401> Kiper's latest mock draft had the Chiefs
taking Brandon Albert here and moving him to tackle. Interesting idea but
too unorthodox for me with Clady still sitting there.
6. New York Jets
Needs: DE,CB,WR,LB,RB
Pick: Vernon Gholston
Comments: Highest rated player at a position of need.
7. New England
Needs: Not much. For depth: RB,LB,S,CB,OL
Pick: Sedrick Ellis
Comments: Best player available who won't cost an arm and a leg to sit
behind Tom Brady.
8. Baltimore Ravens
Needs: QB,CB,DE,LB
Pick: Matt Ryan
Comments: About time.
9. Cincinnati Bengals
Needs: DT,DE,LB,OT
Pick: Brandon Albert
Comments: I almost put Gholston here, having found out only this week that
one player can, indeed, play
<http://myespn.go.com/blogs/hashmarks/0-6-35/Jenkins-becomes-first-player-ta
ken-twice-in-draft.html> for two different organizations at once. Some how
I think Albert is the better choice. They could also take Chris Williams.
10. New Orleans Saints
Needs: DT,TE,LB,CB,C
Pick: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Comments: Highest rated player at a position of need.
11. Buffalo Bills
Needs: DT,WR,CB,LB,TE
Pick: Aqib Talib
Comments: Highest rated player at a position of need.
12. Denver Broncos
Needs: DT,OT,LB,S,WR
Pick: Chris Williams
Comments: The Broncos could go anywhere with this pick. There isn't a DT
or a WR worthy of the pick anywhere in site. They really need to trade
down. I mean they all want to but the Broncos really need to. In any case,
not being known for using highly rated RBs in their offense, I went with the
best player available behind Mendenhall.
13. Carolina Panthers
Needs: OT,S,DE,WR,DT
Pick: Phillip Merling
Comments: Highest rated player at a position of need. Note that if Chris
Williams makes it this far, they'll probably take him.
OK, and that leaves us with the situation below:
Rank
Name
Pos
Rank
Name
Pos
X
1
Glenn Dorsey
DT
X
14
Phillip Merling
DE
X
2
Darren McFadden
RB
15
Jerod Mayo
LB
X
3
Matt Ryan
QB
16
Jeff Otah
OT
X
4
Chris Long
DE
17
Keith Rivers
LB
X
5
Jake Long
OT
18
Felix Jones
RB
X
6
Sedrick Ellis
DT
19
Leodis McKelvin
CB
X
7
Vernon Gholston
DE
20
Devin Thomas
WR
X
8
Ryan Clady
OT
21
Jonathan Stewart
RB
X
9
Brandon Albert
OG
22
Mike Jenkins
CB
10
Rashard Mendenhall
RB
23
Derrick Harvey
DE
X
11
Chris Williams
OT
24
Kentwan Balmer
DT
X
12
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
CB
25
Joe Flacco
QB
X
13
Aqib Talib
CB
Conclusion: the Bears are in some trouble with this pick.
They could take Mendenhall. He'll probably be the best player available.
But as I said before, taking another running back in the first round is not
a great idea. The Bears would rather see Cedric Benson
<http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=212> pushed by another draft pick
but not a first rounder. They've been loading up on young linebackers so
Mayo and Rivers are almost certainly out. Merling is a possibility but they
are set at defensive end and hoping Dan Bazuin develops for depth.
Bottom line is that though the Bears would really like to see Chris Williams
fall to them, I don't see it. If they want help where they need it most,
they'll have to take Jeff Otah. Not the kind of pick that will cause
laughter in draft rooms all over the country but not at all ideal. It's a
slight reach and Otah is supposedly more suitable for the right side where
the Bears would really like to have someone on the left.
So the answer to the question is, "Yes, the Bears will probably be able to
take an offensive tackle if they really want one." But with so many teams
ahead of them, all looking for offensive linemen, the odds are good that
they'll have to take whoever is left. That will likely be Otah. The age
old question is, do you take a guy who is at the right position even though
he isn't an ideal fit or do you take the best player available regardless of
position? I think I'd take Otah. We'll see what Angelo thinks.
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