KC and Indianapolis defenses
National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
February 11, 2005
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Ron Scott
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 5:55 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Concerning the Titans
I think the titans should go the route of rebuilding. As much as I love McNair even if he is healthy I wonder wether he can still play at the level we are use to seeing him play. If the titans go the route of rebuilding who is the best draft choice for them. Do you think they will keep Mason and Rolle? Do you even see them going the route of rebuilding?
Aside from A. Rolle who are the other bog name CB's in the draft and are they as good or any good at all. Who are the big name CB's in free agency this year and which one does the cowboys have their eye on?
Lou: The Titans need to draft a corner at the #6 spot. I anticipate that the team will do whatever it can to retain Samari Rolle; as for Derrick Mason, losing him would be tough, but it might not be an option due to the cap hole that the Titans are in at this time. With Andre Dyson going away via free agency, I don't see the Titans being in a position where they can afford to lose Rolle, too. I say the pecking order is: Rolle, Mason, Kevin Carter, then whomever else they can renegotiate with. But if the Titans have to replace TWO starting corners... well that's a tall order.
I see two top tier CB talents in this draft: Antrel Rolle and Adam "Pac-Man" Jones. Jones keeps rising and rising in the eyes of scouts, and some have Jones actually ahead of A. Rolle at this point. I think the Titans can snap up either one of them at #6 and be fine. If they lose Mason, it will allow Drew Bennett and Tyrone Calico to move into the 1-2 spots, and it's possible the Titans would take a WR in round two in that scenario (i.e. if someone like Roddy White falls into round two).
The Titans don't have the cap room to be dabbling in the high end free agent corner market. With the persistent reality of the salary cap, it remains to be seen who will actually be available. Patrick Surtain is the best CB attainable, but he will have to be traded for with Miami, which faces similar (but smaller) cap problems with Tennessee.
From: Matt Smith
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 6:07 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Detroit Lions draft
hello,who do you think the lions should pick up in free agency.who do you think they should draft and why. i believe the lions should trade down and then maybe take Heath Miller with what ever pick they are at. i don't think they could pass on someone like Braylon Edwards or Derrick Johnson if they were on the clock....what do you think.
Lou: If the Lions are planning on taking Heath Miller (as I think they should), it would make sense to concentrate on defense in the off-season. Speculating at this point would be premature, because there are many cash-strapped teams that might have to unload some pricy veterans, which would change the landscape of the free agent market. I don't forsee a Jevon Kearse level DE talent out there, but if Detroit gets lucky maybe they will find a talented defensive lineman or two to help make their first round decision a bit easier.
Trading down from #10 would be a smart move, and unlike the teams at the top of the draft, they should have teams willing to pay to move up from the 13-16 range. It all depends on who falls, but if Derrick Johnson is there, a trade with New Orleans just makes way too much sense. That doesn't mean that it will happen, but it's logical.
Of course, as you mentioned, maybe they'll stand pat and take DJ for themselves. No way on Braylon Edwards; the team two top 10 WRs in the past two first rounds.
From: Justin Lambert
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 9:29 AM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Who wants to trade up?
Lou-> Very good question on who would like to trade up. I've got two answers to that. There are two Defenses that come to mind that cant match their offensive powers. Indianapolis and Kansas city. It is apparent that the Colts want and need someone in the secondary who can make the play. I like how the "D" came together at the end of the season but it showed through, that they lack the playmaking ability at CB. Given that E. James' fate has yet to be determined they would love to trade up and have any choice of RB to fill that void. The teams that want to sign James TB and MIA, don't exactly have the cap room for his Salary. Unless he is willing to take a huge pay cut don't expect him to wear any color other than Colts blue.
Anyone whose been in tuned with the NFL for the past 5yrs knows that the "Jesters of the Court" have been the Chiefs defense. They are one of the teams quietly shopping to possibly move up to have more options on "D". For an easy price not taking away their 2nd round pick. Defense will be the trend in the first day for the Chiefs.
San Francisco has Mike Nolan as new head coach with Mike Singletary as Linebackers coach. Where have we seen these two before? They both coached Ray Lewis and co. in Baltimore. A whole slew of playmaking lineman. True the 49ers have many needs but locking up the linebackers is in the top 3 on their list. Nolan wants to go 3-4 Defense so picking up a guy like Johnson and moving Winborn to play inside with Derek Smith would be a huge step in rebuilding that team. There is no such thing as overload when its your style!!
Lou: Indianapolis is one of the rare NFL teams with cap rooms, and it looks like things will play out like this: Edgerrin James will be franchised, and the Colts will trade their first round pick (and maybe another pick) to Miami for Patrick Surtain. Dallas might try to beat the Colts to the punch on Surtain, but at the very least that should be plan A in Indy.
The difficulty with San Francisco and Miami in working a deal with Indianapolis or Kansas City is how far down they'd have to move in a deal. Even at #15, Kansas City would have to give up some major picks to move up to #1 or #2. More realistic would be the Chiefs trading up somewhere in the 6-14 range if there's a defensive player they want. Or they could take Ronnie Brown and confuse/frustrate everyone.
It's not impossible that the 49ers could take Derrick Johnson at #1, but I just don't see that happening. DJ hasn't pulled away as a #1 prospect on any boards that I've seen, and while he was an amazing player to watch at Texas, he would not be a good value pick at #1. That's the reality of the situation. Maybe Cleveland or Arizona will fall in love with one of the QB prospects and want to move up to #1 to secure him, but that is a long shot.
The good thing for San Francisco is that there will be quality LB prospects on the board when they pick in the second round. Having Nolan and Singletary able to evaluate the talent should allow them to potentially snag one in the second round if they feel it's really worth doing. I just can't believe that the 49ers can feel good about a QB depth chart that reads: Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett, especially after the way last season turned out.
