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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
April 7, 2006
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Philip Rosen
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 7, 2006 11:44 AM
Subject: VIKINGS
Dear Lou: wonderful coverage, as usual. I was surprised at the latest mock forecasting DeAngelo Williams to the Vikes. That will not happen. Vikes have good depth at RB with Chester Taylor, Mewelde Moore and Ciatrick Faison. Vikes have needs at LB, DB and QB. They would be well served to keep the picks and build up LB and DB and draft a project type QB in the second or third round.
What are your overall thoughts on Vikings team needs in the draft?
Lou: Remember, it's not what I think the Vikings should do, it's what I think they're most likely to do. There is an important distinction there.
This may surprise some people, but I think that the Vikings didn't have any holes before the Daunte Culpepper trade. I realize that they traded him because they had their hand forced, but on paper there were few teams in the NFL (and besides the Steelers, I can't think of one offhand, actually, not even the Seahawks) that has depth at every position. Sure, they could use more LBs and DBs, but even though they lost LB Sam Cowart to the Texans, the Vikings countered by signing OLB Ben Leber from San Diego.
The only real hole created by free agency is the loss of SS Corey Chavous, so the Vikings might look at that position. But I could see strong safety being more likely to be a spot filled with one of the second rounders.
The Vikings lost a ton of players to injury in 2005, which made them look terrible (before that late season surge), but in reality I think they had one of the strongest, most balanced teams going into the 2005 training camp. 37-year-old Brad Johnson needs a capable backup, and Minnesota using one of its second round picks (#48 or #51) on a QB seems very likely. Don't discount the possibility of Minnesota trying to move up to snag one of the "big three" QBs (Matt Leinart, Vince Young, and Jay Cutler), since it has some pretty good bargaining chips with which it can play.
As for DeAngelo Williams, I am applying the "best player available" mindset to the pick. Remember when Atlanta drafted T.J. Duckett the same off-season when the team paid big money to lure Warrick Dunn away from Tampa Bay? I realize that things are different for Minnesota, and I am a big Ciatrick Fason fan, but I think that to presume that the signing of Chester Taylor secures Minnesota's RB status is to be short-sighted.
One more thing: I have to disagree about the Vikings being weak at CB. They have Antoine Winfield, Fred Smoot *and* Brian Williams there. Maybe you were referring to the Chavous departure when you said DB (encompassing CB and S), but if that's the worst thing the Vikings have to worry about, then they're sitting pretty, in my eyes.
From: Larry Ball
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 7, 2006 7:45 AM
Subject: (no subject)
The Saints did not get Akin Ayodele from the Cowboys . The Cowboys just got him from Jacksonville through free agency. The Saints got Scott Fujita from the cowboys. Just thought you would want to make the Change before you got called on the carpet.
Lou: Thanks... The change is made. The grand irony of the mistake is that I spent quite a bit of time writing a mailbag response about the Ayodele/Fujita moves by the Cowboys, and then I put the wrong name in there. That's what I get for not proof-reading close enough, eh?
From: Scott Arendt
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 7, 2006 2:50 PM
Subject: Bad information
Love the website, however, there is some
misinformation on the updated mock draft. In the
opening commentary, you stated that the Saints got
Akin Adoeleye from the Cowboys, which in incorrect.
The Cowboys signed him to a 5 year, $15 million dollar
deal in March from Jacksonville. Just thought I would
let you know.
Lou: Yep, my mistake. It's good to know that I can't slip one past the readers. Or, more accurately, that you guys are here to help me out when I screw up.
From: Mike Brand
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Apr 7, 2006 4:24 PM
Subject: Broncos
Hi Lou,
I like your website. You have good insight, though I think Tamba Hali—a great kid but an overachiever—should not be picked by the Broncos.
Regarding previous email’s on your sight addressing the Broncos trading up, it is true that the trade value chart does come close for picks # 15 and # 22 being even for the # 4. I do think the Broncos would like an option of moving up to say at least #10. Then dream of selecting TE Vernon Davis or QB Jay Cutler—neither or whom will be available at pick #10.
What nobody is talking about is that the one guy Mike Shanahan is worried about the Raiders selecting at pick #7 is Jay Cutler. Big, mobile, leader, cannon arm—all the traits that the Broncos coach would like in his future QB. Remember, it is Shanahan that loves to torment his adversary Al Davis by thumping the Raiders every year. Word has it Shanahan never got over being fired by Davis. What you see with Leinart is what you get, which is the most pro-ready guy. And Vince Young is a boom/bust QB that a lot of GM’s out there would rather see other clubs take the chance on. I don’t think Shanahan cares if the Raiders get either Young or Leinart. Though no QB—at least in my lifetime—will ever be another John Elway, Jay Cutler is the guy that conceivably will lead the Broncos back to the big dance.
Jake Plummer is not, at least based on his final-season performances the last 3 years against the Colts (twice) and recently the big, bad Steelers.
Jay Cutler is conceivably the long-term answer.
Or, to win now, the Broncos could get a pass-rusher (easier said than done) and a playoff-tested QB. Both of which won’t be easy. But why not try. I’ll be specific. When the Titans cut McNair, Denver outbids the Ravens and whomever else for Air McNair. Big Steve is better on a bad day that Plummer is on a good day. Then Denver offers the Saints Picks #15, #22 and #61—close to the point equivalency total for pick #2. And then they draft DE Mario Williams.
You now have a stud QB that can win right right now and a legitimate pass-rusher. The Broncos don’t get Santonio Holmes, Chad Jackson or DeAngelo Williams or even promising OT prospect Darryn Colledge (pick #61), but a leader like McNair would get the most of Rod Smith, Ashlie Lelie and the other journeyman WR’s on the Bronco roster. What do you think?
Lou: Wow, the #15, #22 AND #61 for Mario Williams. The word out of New Orleans is that they are shopping the pick for a defensive player, though I wonder what position the Saints are looking for since they could get a great OLB or DE at #2 and not bother with trading. I'd think that it's just bluster to leverage a trade out of Tennessee at #3, but FoxSports.com reports that they will DEFINITELY trade the pick, so... it is shaping up to be a game of chicken.
It's no secret about Shanahan's loathing of the Raiders. Between the Raiders, Broncos and Chiefs, all three teams have great rivalries with one another, but with Mike Shanahan, it's definitely personal.
There may be some teams that would prefer Jay Cutler to Vince Young, and that is going to simply depend on team preference. It's similar to how some preferred Philip Rivers to Ben Roethlisberger in 2004; when you are making subjective judgments, results will vary. All I know is that my major reservation about Young coming into 2005 was his arm strength/throwing accuracy. Young quelled my concerns about that and then some, and that was by mid-season. Anyone who saw Texas play in 2004 saw Young turn into Superman from time to time (him single-handedly leading the Longhorns to a comeback win over Kansas in '04 is embedded in my mind permanently), but with so many big wins in 2005, he didn't have to do that as much this past season. Until the Rose Bowl, of course, where he showed the entire world what he can do when the pressure is on and the stakes are high.
That is not to slight Cutler; if anything, I would be a homer for him based on the fact that he played in the city where I grew up (Nashville) and that he played high school football in Indiana when I was working as a producer for a high school football TV show in Evansville, IN (1997-1999.) But there's a reason that you still hear talk of the Texans potentially taking Young #1 overall; besides the emotional, irrational factors, Young is a great QB.
As for the Broncos situation, they do need to plan for the future at QB, in my opinion. As good as Plummer played at stretches in 2005, he's still The Snake. Much like pro wrestling's Jake Roberts, you keep waiting for that moment when, like Roberts, Plummer will kick you in the gut out of nowhere, hit you with a short-clothesline, and then DDT you. In 2005, Plummer went 227 attempts without an interception. But then, the NFL's Jake, just like the WWF's Jake, made a sudden turn. For Plummer, it happened in the AFC Championship Game (at Mile High), when he threw two interceptions and fumbled twice in front of a stunned home crowd.
The 31-year-old Plummer returns as the starter in 2006. But will Broncos fans trust him again? Or, more importantly, does Denver management trust him as a long-term solution?
As for Steve McNair, I think that the Titans will work things out with him. Tennessee has too much to lose by letting him get away. McNair the Mentor would be great (remember how Chris Chandler coldly brushed off McNair when the then-Houston Oilers drafted McNair as Chandler's heir apparently; McNair doesn't want to remembered like that.) But "rookie thrown to the wolves?" Bad idea. McNair I'm sure would prefer starting one more season versus playing backup to a Snake, and Tennessee doesn't want a rookie or someone like Tommy Maddox to be lining up behind center on opening day.
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