|
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
January 19, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.
Congratulations to the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, both winners of their respective conference championship games today. Both games were exciting in vastly different ways. Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald (who gets overlooked sometimes because he doesn't do Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco type things) put on a clinic in the first half (scoring an amazing three touchdowns), and while the Eagles were able to charge back and take the lead in the second half, it was Kurt Warner who lead the Cardinals on a game-winning touchdown drive in crunch time to claim the victory.
 | Ben Roethlisberger is a gutsy player. (Icon SMI)
|
|
Meanwhile, the Steelers and Ravens played one of the most vicious NFL games I've seen in quite some time. In bitter cold and with so much on the line, both teams laid it all out there. No one can legitimately question Ben Roethlisberger's toughness in my opinion, and Baltimore's offensive line showed yet again that it is an underrated unit.
As far as how it applies to the draft, the Super Bowl loser picks at spot #31 while the winner gets the #32 pick. That slotting is the same for all seven rounds of the draft, unlike how teams with the same record rotate spots from round to round.
One name I didn't include in yesterday's potential franchise tag list is Houston Texans CB Dunta Robinson. The #10 pick of the 2004 NFL Draft out of South Carolina, Robinson played the cornerback position very well prior to a severe injury against Oakland in November 2007. In a flash, Robinson tore the ACL in his right knee and had his right hamstring tear off the bone.
Robinson played better than some expected after he came off the PUP list in October 2008, and it will be most interesting to see how things play out between him and the Texans. Perceived value vs. actual value can be a tricky thing, and it's high stakes for the Texans since if Robinson leaves via free agency they get nothing.
According to this list, 46 players declared for early entry into the 2009 NFL Draft. LSU wide receiver Brandon LaFell, who initially declared for the draft, changed his mind before the 1/18/2009 deadline and removed himself from the early entry list. He will return to LSU with his remaining eligibility intact.
Also, it's noteworthy that USF redshirt junior DE George Selvie, for a second consecutive year, opted not to turn pro early. Selvie was actually seen by many a better prospect last year than this year (in no small part because of how many double teams he faced in 2008 and how that kept his stats down), and it will be interesting to see where Selvie ends up going in 2010.
A friend of mine asked me today who the #3 quarterback prospect in the 2009 NFL Draft is -- and I didn't have a firm answer for him. He prompted me with Ball State's Nate Davis, but I said that I thought that Kansas State's Josh Freeman and/or Texas Tech's Graham Harrell might end up going before Davis. There is a large gap between the duo of Georgia's Matthew Stafford and USC's Mark Sanchez and the rest of the field, so much so that it's possible that Stafford could go #1, Sanchez could go #3, and we might not see another quarterback taken until the next day in round three. I still have my doubts about Sanchez going that high, but regardless he should end up as a strong first-round pick.
NFL Draft Prospect Profiles
Draft King is owned and operated by Lou Pickney. © 2003-2024, all rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, the views expressed here are those of Lou Pickney alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any media company.
| 