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Draft King Analysis

November 3, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com

Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.


My sympathies go out to the family, teammates, and friends of Mississippi State DE Nick Bell, 20, who died yesterday after a battle with cancer. Specifically it was synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that most typically strikes young male adults.

Bell was a redshirt sophomore recruited to Mississippi State by Sylvester Croom. He was 6'3", weighed 265 pounds, and could run a 4.6 40 yard dash. To be sure, he had NFL potential, as this memorial video shows. Bell began the year as a starter for Mississippi State at defensive end, and he started in his final game for Mississippi State, a victory over Georgia in Starkville in September that I happened to attend in person.

There will be an extra layer of emotion for Mississippi State in their next game, which takes place at Alabama on November 13. Bell went to high school in Bessemer, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham located less than 45 miles from Tuscaloosa.

Along with the tragedy of his death is the shock in how quickly Bell's condition regressed. Bell watched some NFL football on Sunday, but by that night he was in the emergency room. By 2:20 p.m. yesterday he had died. Bell will certainly be missed.


It's not often that the NFL waiver wire draws a great deal of attention from the general public, but today's 4 p.m. ET deadline has people across the country watching for where WR Randy Moss and DE/OLB Shawne Merriman will go. There is an element of poker to the process, as it goes in the reverse order of the NFL overall standings, similar to how the non-playoff teams are sorted out for the draft. In theory Buffalo could pick up both Moss and Merriman, though it's not expected that they will do that. The contracts for both Moss and Merriman expire at the end of the year, making them both tempting pick-ups for teams looking for help in making a playoff run or hoping to get an extra boost for when the playoffs begin.

Time now for me to delve into the Draft King mailbag -- this one has been in there for far too long.


From: Jon Sarver
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 5:45 PM
Subject: browns

I see you have Ryan Mallet as your choice for the Browns in your mock draft. While I wouldnt mind him or Luck, the fact remains Cleveland lacks playmakers at almost all positions. I dont see a ton on benefit of drafting Mallet or Luck, and having no running game or no passable Wr's to throw to. Fact Remains Cleveland lacks speed at crucial positions. Thats why I feel A.J. Green, Julio Jones, or a top DL or LB prospect will be chosen instead of a QB. Cleveland needs to upgrade an aging DL, a sorry LB core, a dismal WR core and a abysmal running game before they draft a QB. Im not against Mallet or Luck at all, just we have bigger issues besides the QB.

Lou: Look for Ryan Mallett to be slotted elsewhere with my next Draft King 2011 NFL Mock Draft update. The reality is that Colt McCoy has played far better for the Browns that most would have expected for him playing for a Cleveland team that has faced a variety of difficult injuries. McCoy was thrown into a very difficult situation in his first NFL start playing against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, and despite going up against that skilled defense, he kept his composure and played as well as any rookie quarterback could hope to play.

What makes the most sense for the Browns is to draft either Georgia WR A.J. Green or Alabama WR Julio Jones. I'm not sure if either will be on the board when Cleveland picks, but if so adding an elite playmaker at wideout makes sense. Alternately, Cleveland could trade down (or up from round two) to try to land a wideout like Pitt's Jonathan Baldwin or perhaps an up-and-comer like Miami WR Leonard Hankerson.


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