2010 Draft: A Quick Glance at Round 1

As much as I would like a stud mike, the idea of bringing in a center that could solidify a five to seven year run of bad-ass O line sounds pretty nice. Maybe, with some creativity, we could end up with Pouncey and Mays? Or is that just kidding myself?

Pouncey would be great. Iupati would be nice too and so would McClain. NO Taylor Mays. the guy is a bum. he is ONLY fast. we NEED O-linemen, ILB, and D-line help.

first choice has always been mcclain. i'd be ok with dez, not thrilled though- i think tate will be as productive a pro as him. pouncy is not a good fit for the spot we are drafting in. unless we trade back to get him i wont be happy if he is our first rounder. iupati is ok if we trade back too- assuming pouncy is off the board.

i'd probably be happier not taking bryant given the rate of return on first round wr's lately. lb's have proven themselves more. especially from top college defenses. the pass happy offenses produce good numbers for their wr's, and the coaches in those programs are masters of getting their wr's matched up against poor defenders or soft zones. meaning it's far easier to miss on a wr than a ilb. at this point we need to play the odds.

If they use the first round to trade down for Pouncey and then to select Weatherspoon– at the end of round-one or the beginning of round-two– they can address the glaring weakness of the defense: pressure up the middle (along with strengthening the core of the interior offensive-line as well).

Unlike Iupati, Pouncey is as good against the pass as he is mowing down defenders on running-plays.

But with Doom and Ayers pinning their ears back around the edges on speed-rushes, Rivers can't be allowed to heave the ball down-field after continually stepping into a clean pocket's comfort-zone.

Weatherspoon had 13 TFL and is a helluva blitzer (who can take advantage of Jamal Williams presence on early-downs).

But, if McClain is passed-up and Weatherspoon is gone by pick 45-46, I could see Denver arranging for three 3rd rounders to fill their immediate needs plus selecting a big Safety to someday pair with McBath.

To wit: Mike Vrabel-like, intense-hitting South Carolina LB Eric Norwood… after LSU's bull-rusher extraordinaire DT Al Woods is the first of our third-round picks to come off-the-board.

We can cobble together three 3rd's with the Scheffler trade and also from trading down from 11th overall to select Pouncey at around 16th (plus there's always the option of trading down from one of our second-round choices… if McDaniels can avoid the temptation to draft Kareem Jackson, Toby Gerhart or a theoretically-falling Everson Griffen or Corey Wootton… none of which are immediate priorities).

LSU's Woods, at nearly 6'4 and 320 lbs., can approximate what Jumpy Geathers once did as an aging veteran DT for Shanny's Broncos: the ever-vanishing “forklift maneuver.” Although a do-nothing until his Senior campaign, Woods can hold his ground at the point-of-attack, shed blocks and drive his blocker into the QB (as well as chase down a few running-backs with some decent quickness).

We'd all prefer Weatherspoon to Norwood, but an ILB before round-four is a necessity (if we are planning on going into training-camp with only the uneven Mario Haggin penciled-in next to the relatively slight-of-frame but fast downfield D.J. Williams and Wesley Woodyard).

I don't know whom they''d target with their third 3rd rounder, but possibilities could include Safety Kam Chancellor of Va. Tech (who has better sideline-to-sideline coverage abilities than you'd expect for a 6-3, 232 lb. smart and instinctive hitter… and possible poor-man's Taylor Mays).

The over-30 Hill and Dawkins are always at risk of injury and Bellichick likely instilled in his protege the importance of addressing a need one year before it becomes pressing (to keep the following post-season's agenda uncluttered with inflexible demands). McBath can be the Free Safety but Bruton may not have impressed the Broncos brass with his potential as an eventual starter to fill the once-essential role that Sam Brandon once did locking down Antonio Gates and the Chargers stable of 6'4 wide-outs (but Chancellor is said to be adept at both Safety spots, once he's gotten some experience under his belt).

Chancellor does well covering receivers man-to-man and– unless we shock everyone by drafting “clean” can't-miss Texas Safety Earl Thomas at 11th overall and bypassing the chance to trade down for Pouncey– the Va. Tech product can be ready to start in a year or two once his run-support skills and ability to fight through blocks are coached-up enough for him to consistently utilize his well-built frame to fly up the field against the run and screen-pass.

In round four, we'd be counting our lucky-stars if Oregon chain-moving RB LaGarrette Blount is still available. And in later rounds, USC TE Anthony McCoy and Missouri's “Baby B-Marsh” WR Danario Alexander are also possible gold-mines.

After that, if QB Armanti Edwards is still available, we'd be crazy to pass up an athletically-gifted big-game standout who can literally play 6 different positions in the future.

Oh, and to develop behind Jamal Williams as an admittedly one-dimensional run-stuffer who can plug gaps by drawing double-teams, Stanford's early-downs A-gap clogger Ekom Udofia, 6-4, 330 lbs., can provide some security if Jamal Williams injuries resurface and Marcus Thomas and Chris Baker still haven't tapped their potential at the point-of-attack.

Of course, all this goes out the window is Denver shocks the league by trading UP with Seattle for the 6th overall pick (if Kansas City– chastened by previous investment-grade fliers on Glenn Dorsey and possibly Tyson Jackson– foolishly passes up Suh so they can draft technically-sound Iowa offensive-tackle Brian Bulaga).

I'd even trade one of the 2nd round picks to move up 5 spots and nab Suh (and Seattle could still get a WR like Bryant at 14th and a RB like Spiller, or another offensive-linemen, at 11th if they made a deal with Denver).

Suh could be such a disruptive force destroying the pocket on passing-downs and could easily roate with, or supplant, Bannan and Green as “five-technique” DE's as he waits for Williams to retire while adding 25 lbs to his powerful frame.

It may not be our biggest need NOW, but if Suh turns out to be the best player in the draft, who's going to care that we traded half of the B-Marsh second-rounders to move up five-spots to select him (once he makes Pro-Bowl trips a regular occurrence and allows Denver to use its DE's for more than just occupying blockers).

In other words, we can find a place for his talent and build around him for the decade to come (and losing out on the chits to trade-down for three 3rd rounders– who may never even fulfill their potential– is also a small price to pay).

Young stud D-linemen like that will rarely be available in the draft if we never fall below .500 (and are near impossible to obtain as free-agents without Julius Peppers or Albert Haynesworth-type risky-contracts).

I'm just saying….

yeah i could see McClain at 11. or a trade down and Pouncey or Iupati. but here is something else, the way McD was drooling all over Tebow at his presser the other day, i could totally see Tebow wearing 15 for Denver. i sure hope not though.

East – Great analysis. I'll take either. Iupati is good too. I think its so obvious that this the plan. IF McClain is off the board, maybe the Pats or Titans will trade up and get Haden if he's on the board.

Grab a WR in the second or third.

All I ask from Josh is that there's no surprises with the first pick, I don't think I can take it.

good god, what a disaster that would be. hopefully the bills or jags snag him before we have a chance to.

You certainly did your homework Gary. However, you need to be realistic on the impending Scheffler trade. I don't think Denver will get three 3rds. They'll be lucky to get one third or a combination of lower round picks.

I on the other hand do not think Chancellor is a stud, I think he is in fact a system guy. Almost all defensive players from VaTech are system guys. Bud Foster is one hell of a defensive coordinator and he gets the best out of all of his guys, which can make them look better than the really are.

Sean Weatherspoon is a text book 4-3 linebacker OLB. At only 239 pounds he would be overwhelmed in any 3-4 position. Just take a look at Wesley Woodyard.

The trade with Seattle is very intriguing, and definitely not impossible, but I think it's unlikely that Suh makes it to 6. Also, Denver would have to give up more than just a 2nd to move up 5 spots. Suh may be considered an amazing talent, but so was Courtney Brown. In the draft it is important to keep your expectations at a baseline. A lot of fans thought Moreno was going to run for 1,500+ yards as soon as his name was called.

Also there is no way McDaniels even entertains the possibility of taking Blount.

If Denver really wanted Dez Bryant, they could have held out for a 1st rounder for B-Marsh and tried forcing Parcells hand after he saw the Broncos take Dez one spot ahead of the Dolphins pick. The fact that we didn't want to envision this scenario– so we could focus on getting a trade-down for Pouncey/Iupati– tells me that Denver wasn't all that keen on using their first-selection on Bryant to begin with.

Of course, if we trade down and still miss out on Iupati and especially the more balanced run-and-pass-blocking-ready Pouncey, I could see Denver selecting Bryant as a consolation pick in the mid-to-late teens of the first-round.

But Parcells also wanted the B-Marsh deal done before draft-day so he could also concentrate on wheeling-and-dealing.

I see what you meant on the Scheffler trade now, my bad.

I agree with you on the ILB prospects this year, besides McClain they're all 4-3 guys. I really like Sean Lee from Penn State but he's just as small as Weatherspoon.

I didn't exactly mean to compare Suh to Brown. I more meant to state that a lot of players are supposed to be amazing future HOFers before they even take a snap. It's good to keep expectations in line before trading the farm away. If Denver can get a good deal on the 6th pick to grab a fallen Suh then awesome. I'm just saying that there is no point in negotiating a Ryan Leaf style trade for Suh or any player for that matter.

A guard is very important for Denver, but it does depend on whether McDaniels believes Huchstein can get the job done.

Maybe I'm just high off the exhaust fumes from this off-season's tractor-load of finally-prioritized D-line starters (which is already so much better than what we've endured since Trevor Pryce and Keith Traylor played next to an aging Neil Smith and Alfred Williams).

So, I probably have no right to even imagine getting anything more than a young bull-rusher to supplement Williams on passing-downs (like LSU's Woods… whom the Broncos apparently worked-out already).

And we probably aren't going to spend any of the first three rounds on the defensive-backfield either (especially since the additions of Bannan, Green, Jamal Williams up-front and Nathan Jones/Ty Law have seemingly got 2010 covered at all except a starting ILB and depth to develop elsewhere).

And if McClain continues as he did at 'Bama, we could have a dramatically-strengthened defense up-the-middle (that could rival the Gradishar and Rubin Carter combination of old).

But I see your point about Suh and what I assume you're inferring about the annual way that pre-draft group-think unnaturally raises expectations on certain “can't-miss” prospects.

So, perhaps a better warning could be the likes of Amobi Okoye, Glenn Dorsey or Adam Carriker?

As always, thanks for your polite and thoughtfully-informative reactions. I just wish I could see some film on Sean Lee of PSU (as well as Donald Butler, Boris Lee and South Carolina's Norwood).

Although some have mentioned Brandon Graham and Everson Griffen as possible ILB's, I doubt that McDaniels would feel comfortable going into 2010 with them trying a new position (when we saw how much difficulty Ayers and Doom just had in adjusting to their new-roles in chasing down screens and running-plays after previously being exclusive DE's).

But looking for out-of-the-box ideas goes with the territory this time of year (when most teams have more needs than they have high-selections and versatile skill-sets get minds racing about theoretical-injury concerns… like Ryan Harris' problematic big-toe).

And then there's always the chance that Denver could get Brandon Spikes with their second or third-round selections.

Is it just me or do all draftniks subconsciously prefer collegians who play for the same color-scheme as their pro-team (which I may be unknowingly doing with regards to Pouncey, Hernandez and Spikes).

After all, a lot of mock-drafts have the Saints taking Weatherspoon, the tangerine-clad Dolphins taking Dan Williams and the Broncos– gasp– taking Tebow and/or company.

Just a theory (but Ryan Clady certainly worked out fine, even without the blue-turf under his surprisingly nimble feet).

Gary, good words, but a couple things i'll point out.

1) Suh will not fall past 3, STL will take Sam, Detroit could let him fall by taking Okung, but TB's biggest need is DT and have forced themselves into loving McCoy because Suh will be likely gone at 2. If he some how still wasn't taken, Wash wouldn't take him, but with Okung gone, could move down to take a LT at a more reasonable place, as well as pick up a couple picks which Shanny could really value. Someone would def trade up at 4 to snag him. KC and Seattle would look strongly as well unless they were blown away with a trade down offer which would be sure to come from multiple teams for Suh. Not gonna happen unless we trade up to 3, which is a possibility I suppose, but not likely. I think a more realistic option is if Clausen makes it past 6, to move up with CLE at 7 and take him ahead of the Bills. Not what i'd want really, but what I would see us moving up for.

2) Weatherspoon has been projected to be a pure 4-3 OLB, but many scouts say his ability to blitz, cover, and athleticism give him a good chance to be a monster inside of a 3-4. Look at 3-4 ILBs, they aren't asked to have the size or pass rushing skills of a OLB, and are a mix of a 4-3 ILB and OLB having dual duties in coverage, and run support. McD's comments about him in his press conference were extremely high and if he falls to the beg of the 2nd, look for us to try and package our 2 twos to move up if we don't take McClain in the 1st. He's a very good talent, and certainly not limited to 1 position.

I'd highly expect us to try and trade down from our 11th pick, and trade up the 2 seconds for someone who falls to the top of the 2nd if we're enamored with him.

we will take dez bryant we need a wide reciver. we could get a center in the 2nd round

Gary, good words, but a couple things i'll point out.

1) Suh will not fall past 3, STL will take Sam, Detroit could let him fall by taking Okung, but TB's biggest need is DT and have forced themselves into loving McCoy because Suh will be likely gone at 2. If he some how still wasn't taken, Wash wouldn't take him, but with Okung gone, could move down to take a LT at a more reasonable place, as well as pick up a couple picks which Shanny could really value. Someone would def trade up at 4 to snag him. KC and Seattle would look strongly as well unless they were blown away with a trade down offer which would be sure to come from multiple teams for Suh. Not gonna happen unless we trade up to 3, which is a possibility I suppose, but not likely. I think a more realistic option is if Clausen makes it past 6, to move up with CLE at 7 and take him ahead of the Bills. Not what i'd want really, but what I would see us moving up for.

2) Weatherspoon has been projected to be a pure 4-3 OLB, but many scouts say his ability to blitz, cover, and athleticism give him a good chance to be a monster inside of a 3-4. Look at 3-4 ILBs, they aren't asked to have the size or pass rushing skills of a OLB, and are a mix of a 4-3 ILB and OLB having dual duties in coverage, and run support. McD's comments about him in his press conference were extremely high and if he falls to the beg of the 2nd, look for us to try and package our 2 twos to move up if we don't take McClain in the 1st. He's a very good talent, and certainly not limited to 1 position.

I'd highly expect us to try and trade down from our 11th pick, and trade up the 2 seconds for someone who falls to the top of the 2nd if we're enamored with him.

we will take dez bryant we need a wide reciver. we could get a center in the 2nd round