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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
January 26, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.
This morning my former boss Bubba the Love Sponge had Deion Sanders on the air for an interview on his syndicated radio show. It was entertaining (as Bubba's show usually is), but also there was a bit of insight given by Deion about Cowboys WR Roy Williams. Deion said: "[Williams] wasn't the answer. They found that -- that was quick. I don't know why Jerry got him, honestly. Jerry does his homework pretty much on everyone. I really don't know why he got him." Ouch!
My roommate Dustin was watching ESPN and saw the latest Mel Kiper mock draft listed on the bottom line. He actually paused the show (gotta love the DirecTV DVR) and then went through pick-by-pick to get my take on each selection. Here's an example.
Dustin: "Malcolm Jenkins, number nine to the Packers."
Lou: "I agree. The Packers need a blue-chip corner and I have also Jenkins going to Green Bay at that spot in my mock."
 | Malcolm Jenkins is a potential top ten pick. (Icon SMI)
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It might sound tedious, but it was actually quite fun. Kiper of course knows his stuff and there were few times where I had a strong disagreement with him, such as with the projection of Michael Oher to go very late in round one. And while I still don't see Kansas State QB Josh Freeman as a first-round pick, perhaps Kiper will prove to be right on that one.
Defensive end is a position where we could see some major movement in the rankings between now and draft day. Texas DE Brian Orakpo and Florida State DE Everette Brown may be the best of the defensive ends in the mix, but there are some talented guys at the position who are also moving up and/or down the draft board -- with a number of guys likely to move up and down in the mix between now and April.
The stock for Georgia Tech DE Michael Johnson has dropped, but at 6'7" 260 he has great size to go with impressive athleticism. The knock on him is that he is still relatively raw at the position, and there is some talk that he might be better served as an OLB in a 3-4 defense. Normally I wouldn't think of a 6'7" player being a prospect for an OLB position, but Johnson is so athletic that he could potentially pull it off. We shall see.
Another OLB/DE hybrid prospect is Penn State OLB/DE Aaron Maybin. He wasn't even a starter when the 2008 season began, but he had a huge breakout season in 2008 with 12 sacks (most in the Big Ten) to the point where he decided to make the leap to the pros despite being just a redshirt sophomore. Maybin is speedy (in the 4.6 range) which makes him appealing at the DE spot, but he might be the best fit as a 3-4 OLB.
An interesting repositioning is going on at the top of the running back chart, with many scouts moving Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno ahead of Ohio State RB Chris "Beanie" Wells. I personally think Wells is a better pro prospect; Moreno is all-around solid but he doesn't have the breakaway speed that Wells has. Regardless, both players should be first round picks, but it will be interesting to see who goes first in the 2009 NFL Draft.
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