Draft King News

Playboy Magazine has released its 2004 All-American Team. Now I love Playboy Magazine, and their picks are for the most part solid, though keep in mind that this is as much of a crapshoot as anything at this point. Though in particular that defense looks damn impressive. Kevin Burnett, A.J. Hawk *and* Derrick Johnson at linebacker. Wow. Unless you're the 2003 Miami Hurricanes, that's an impressive trio. Anyway, on with their list (my comments are included below the selections):

Offense

RB: Cedric Benson, Texas
I'm not sure if the list I'm reading on nfl.com is in any particular order, but I'd rank Benson below Williams as far as pro potential goes. At this point he's above Sproles because of size, though I do love Sproles' speed...

RB: Cadillac Williams, Auburn
If he stays healthy, Williams may be the first RB taken in the 2004 Draft. And I, for one, hope that happens. Williams passed up moderate cash to play another year and potentially get big money.

RB: Darren Sproles, Kansas State
Yes, Sproles is undersized, but get him in the open field and he has gamebreaking speed. He's a fun player to watch perform on the gridiron. It's too bad though that T.A. McClendon from NC State couldn't make the cut, but there are only three slots.

WR: Mark Clayton, Oklahoma
Should be a Top 10 pick if he stays healthy, even if Mike Williams has to wait until the 2005 Draft to come into the NFL.

WR: Braylon Edwards, Michigan
This spot should've gone to Mike Williams, though with his situation in limbo (thanks to the NFL's age discrimination against young adults which somehow is deemed legal in this country) he might be pulling a Tamarick Vanover, minus the drugs, and playing CFL ball for a year, which is a shame for all involved. Anyway, I know some of you think I don't like Edwards since I initially didn't rate him in my 2005 Round One mock, but I do like him. He just needs to catch the ball more consistently this year and he'll be fine.

TE: Heath Miller, Virginia
I say there will be zero tight ends taken in the 2005 first round. Prove me wrong, Mr. Miller.

C: Greg Eslinger, Minnesota
If Eslinger can play to his potential, he could be a second rounder in the '05 Draft.

OG: Elton Brown, Virginia
He's no C.J. Brooks, but Brown is a very capable guard. I'd have gone with Nebraska's Richie Incognito here, though he is a hybrid player so perhaps that's not fair.

OG: C.J. Brooks, Maryland
Right now Brooks is looking like the best offensive guard in the country, and he has a legit shot at being a first round pick.

OT: Alex Barron, Florida State
A good player, but how did Barron and Whitworth beat out the likes of Miami OT Eric Winston, Tennessee OT Mike Munoz, and even Washington State's Calvin Armstrong?

OT: Andrew Whitworth, LSU
See above... though I do like Whitworth. Maybe there's some rule about underclassmen and the All-American team. As a Playboy subscriber I should know these things. But those sweet "Girls of the SEC" can make reading the articles seem much less important...

Defense

DL: Shaun Cody, USC
Ditto for USC's Cody with Kenechi Udeze. Even though they were co-national champs, I still don't think that enough of America realized just how good USC's defense was last year.

DL: Matt Roth, Iowa
Would it have killed Playboy to designate DTs and DEs? Apparently so. Anyway, I'd have taken Shaun Cody's teammate Mike Patterson, or Oklahoma's Dusty Dvorcek, or even NC State's Mario Williams over Roth. No offense to Roth, but I don't think he's one of the four best defensive linemen in the country at this point.

DL: Marcus Spears, LSU
Please no "Hit me baby one more time" jokes here. Spears is the sort of defensive end that NFL coaches crave: strong, quick, perceptive and agile. Can you imagine the battles in practice that Whitworth and Spears must have? Good grief.

LB: Kevin Burnett, Tennessee
For those of you looking for biases in my coverage (and believe me, I get accused of the most ridiculous things because of this site, like the time I was accused of being both a Patriots AND a Dolphins fan in separate e-mails in the same day earlier this year), let me serve notice that I'm a fan of the University of Tennessee (I grew up in Nashville). But there's no bias in me saying that Burnett is a badass who should be a first round pick. However, with that said, I think he's only the third-best LB out of the Playboy trio.

LB: A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
If drinking games are your thing, try this one: do a shot every time an announcer refers to Hawk as a "ball hawk" on a play. Do two if he says it on purpose. Point being, Hawk has incredible play recognition skills and the ability to run to the ball with blazing speed (I almost wrote "fly to the ball" there, which would be another no-no).

LB: Derrick Johnson, Texas
Johnson is the sort of player that a team can build their defense around. He might not be a Ray Lewis (who is a once in a decade type), but he can spy the QB, provide pass coverage, and oh yeah... he can lay a lick on a RB that will knock him into next week. He has Top 10 talent.

DB: Josh Bullocks, Nebraska
Bullocks is sufficient, but not the best choice IMO (that would be Oklahoma State's Darren Williams).

DB: Marlin Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a good player who made the right move by returning to Michigan for the 2004 season.

DB: Antrel Rolle, Miami
The Miami machine keeps on cranking out the talent. I predict great things for Rolle this year.

DB: Corey Webster, LSU
Webster loses two pieces of a great supporting secondary (Jack Hunt and Randall Gay), but he's good enough where he'll be able to shine on his own in 2004.

Special Teams/Coach

Kick Returner: Antonio Perkins, Oklahoma
Hint to opposing coaches -- kick AWAY from Perkins. Every time. Don't chance it. If you roll the dice, don't blame me.

Punter: Tom Malone, USC
I'm being serious when I type this: Malone might make the difference in the USC/Virginia Tech game scheduled for 8/28/2004. The further you keep Marcus Vick from the end zone, the better off you are as a team.

Scholar Athlete: Morgan Scalley, Utah State
Remember, they're students first and athletes second. And whores for the NCAA money machine third.

Coach: Nick Saban, LSU
If Saban ever, ever, ever gets tempted to leave LSU to go to the pros, he should be forced to sit down and talk with Steve Spurrier first. And then look at Joe Paterno at Penn State, where JoePa has achieved a Pope-like status -- a job for life. Saban could be coaching at LSU 30 years from now. I'm serious. Think long term, Coach Saban. If he goes to coach the Chargers after next season, then you know he's wearing the "Bad Idea" jeans.