2010 NFL Draft Mailbag

NFL Draft Mailbag Notes: Note that the e-mails I received have been italicized and left mostly unedited. My responses follow them.

5/2/10

2010 NFL Draft E-mails – NFC (Post Draft)

From Craig P:

You said the Eagles offensive line is in “shambles.” I disagree:

LT – Jason Peters, King Dunlap – Peters was beat last year, but in large part did a good job in his first year in a new scheme. Dunlap is entering Year 3 and was a project type guy. For me that spot is relatively solid.

RT – Winston Justice, Fenuki Topou – Justice played really well last year and was rewarded with an extension. It was his first offseason staying in Philly, working with the OL coach Juan Castillo and actually getting better. He’s come a long way since the Osi game in his 2nd year. For Topou, he was IRed all last year, but Herremans can swing out at either tackle spot.

LG – Todd Herremans, Mike McGlynn – Herremans started slow last year due to injury, but finished strong. He’s a young, reliable guard who can swing out to either tackle spot in a pinch. McGlynn is just a rotation guy because Nick Cole will probably be starting at center.

RG – Stacey Andrews, Max Jean-Gilles – Last year Andrews just couldn’t go on his knee that was less than 8 months from ACL surgery. He should be back to his level with the Bengals. Max is a vet backup with some decent starting experience. IMO they go 2 deep here.

C – Jamaal Jackson, Nick Cole – Jackson is an above average center, but coming off a late season ACL tear/surgery I think he’ll go the same route as Jamaal Jackson. Look for Nick Cole to start the year. He did poor subbing for Jackson late last year, but he faced top NFL caliber talent (Dallas) and didn’t really get much time to develop chemistry.

Anyway, that group actually looks above average in many spots. When you say ‘shambles’ I think of the Bills, Chiefs, Bucs or Rams. Surely you can’t be comparing teh Eagles to those groups in your assessment? Anyway, the Eagles have a solid, young, and fairly deep OL. They aren’t teh best, but one can make an argument that they are in the top 3rd, or bare min. top half of the league.

–> When the Eagles traded for Jason Peters, I called him Jason “Derrick Coleman” Peters. He’s fat. He doesn’t care. He’s not in shape. He’s got great talent, but the Eagles are never going to get 100 percent out of him because they gave him a ton of money.

Winston Justice played OK for most of the year. He had trouble with Anthony Spencer though.

I am a Herremans fan.

Stacy Andrews is always hurt and isn’t very good anyway. Right guard is a huge area of weakness. So is center unless Jackson can make a miraculous recovery.

In summary, I think the Eagles have major holes at left tackle, right guard and probably center. They did not do enough to keep DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff at bay – one of the two main reasons they couldn’t beat Dallas last year.

From Multiple E-mailers:

Why did Jimmy Clausen fall into the middle of Round 2?

–> What happened to Clausen was the same thing that happened to Aaron Rodgers back in 2005. Rodgers came from a system (Cal) that produced a huge bust (Boller) and you had Todd McShay grading Rodgers as a second-round prospect because of his “lacking creativity.” (WTF?) This year, Clausen came from a system (Charlie Weis’) that produced a bust (Quinn) and you had McShay spreading false rumors about Clausen’s personality.

Ultimately, Rodgers became a great quarterback and people forgot that McShay had Brian Brohm rated much higher than Rodgers. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Clausen, only people won’t forget this time.

From George M:

I think you have it wrong on the reason the Vikes didn’t select Clausen. It’s not that Brett feels threatened, it’s that you would have used the pick on a guy who’s not gonna help you win “now.” Brett was ticked off when the Packers took Rodgers, not because he figured the kid would take his job, but because in looking out for the team’s future, you weren’t paying enough attention to his need to win “now.”

–> That could be a possibility as well, but it’s still a big mistake. Now that Brett Favre needs surgery on his ankle, he might be a bit more reluctant to come back. If he doesn’t, the Vikings will be kicking themselves for not drafting Jimmy Clausen.

From Lou B:

I’m more than a little embarassed to say that I didn’t realize this myself, but did you realize that if the Seahawks hadn’t made the Charlie Whitehurst trade that they would have been in position to take Jimmy Clausen instead of Golden Tate? Adam Schefter made that point and what a draft that would’ve been with Okung, Thomas, AND Clausen. I c…an’t help but wonder if Pete Carroll is kicking himself now, especially since he seems to be the one NFL coach without a grudge against Notre Dame.

–> Yeah it’s definitely pretty crazy, but hindsight is 20/20. They could have never guessed so many teams would be that stupid. That would have been a dream draft for Seattle and all of its fans though.

From Ian C:

I noticed that you have 2011 NFL Draft Offensive Prospect Rankings up, but not the defensive ones. I need to know which OLB the Saints will decide NOT to move up for next year (still bitter about Sean Weatherspoon).

–> Defensive prospects will be posted this upcoming week. And yeah, Bruce Carter or Travis Lewis – more likely the latter, but he may not be available if the Saints go deep into the playoffs.

2011 NFL Draft Mailbag Archive:

2011 NFL Draft Mailbag Home
Post-Round 1 E-mail - April 29
Hate Mail Volume 7 - April 10
Crackhead Mail Volume 2 - April 10
Random AFC Questions and Comments Volume 5 - April 10
Random NFC Questions and Comments Volume 5 - April 10
Hate Mail Volume 6 - April 3
Crackhead Mail - April 3
Trade and Prospect Speculation - April 3
Hate Mail Volume 5 - March 28
Cam Newton Mailbag - March 28
Random AFC Questions and Comments Volume 4 - March 28
Random NFC Questions and Comments Volume 4 - March 28
Hate Mail Volume 4 - March 13
Random AFC Questions and Comments Volume 3 - March 13
Random NFC Questions and Comments Volume 3 - March 13
Random Questions and Comments - March 7
Hate Mail Volume 3 - March 7
Combine Questions and Comments - March 7
Combine Hate Mail - March 7
Hate Mail Volume 2 - Feb. 22
Random AFC Questions and Comments Volume 2 - Feb. 22
Random NFC Questions and Comments Volume 2 - Feb. 22
Quarterbacks - Feb. 15
Hate Mail - Feb. 15
Random AFC Questions and Comments - Feb. 15
Random NFC Questions and Comments - Feb. 15

NFL Picks - Dec. 13

2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11

NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9

2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29

Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4