5/20/12
From twitter Dangle (@heyhangle)
“What do you think of the Texans draft? Did they fill their needs? Are the receivers any good?”
Overall I like Houston’s draft. I think they did a pretty good job of filling needs while also landing some players with big upside. Taking Whitney Mercilus in the first round was a quality pick. With Mario Williams in Buffalo, Mercilus should combine with Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed to give the Texans some young pass-rushers and depth to keep a rotation going.
Taking Miami of Ohio guard Brandon Brooks in the third round could turn into a nice pick. The mammoth offensive lineman is a good athlete and will fit their offense well because of how quick he is. Brooks had a great week of practice at the East-West Shrine.
Michigan State wide receiver Keshawn Martin was a sleeper receiver who has big-play potential. He was underutilized by the Spartans and is capable of contributing to the Texans offense a speed threat immediately. Of the two receivers I think that Martin has the better shot of presenting mismatches in the NFL.
Houston took two players whom I had them selecting in my final seven-round mock draft. The fourth-rounder of Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick was a real nice value. Crick at one time was a first-rounder and he should be a good understudy to Antonio Smith. In the long-term, Crick could form a bookend five-technique with J.J. Watt. Randy Bullocks was needed and he probably will pay off for the Texans more than the other players available at the end of the fifth round.
The one pick I didn’t like was Houston taking Ohio State wide receiver DeVier Posey in the third round. Not only does Posey come with off-the-field problems, he looked terrible at the Senior Bowl. He wasn’t getting separation, looked unmotivated and wasn’t presenting any mismatch capacities against All-Star cornerbacks. Posey has a quality physical skill set, but I don’t believe he’ll turn into a difference-maker as a professional.
From Christopher Kostsones, Ann Arbor, Michigan
“First off let me just say I love the site and check it daily, its my favorite draft site online. I was wondering when the Lions were drafting, both Riley Reiff and David Decastro were on the board, who would have been the better pick? I’m really happy that they took Reiff with the pick, but do you think that selecting DeCastro would have been a better move? The second best tackle usually never falls that far in the draft, and teams can usually find very talented inside linemen later in the draft, but for how good DeCastro projects to be in the NFL I was really surprised that he fell that far. Do you think that the Lions should have taken Decastro over Reiff? Thanks, Chris”
First, thanks for being a loyal reader. That is a tough question. I would say that the Lions made the right call with Reiff over DeCastro. In their division, DeCastro won’t protect Matthew Stafford from Jared Allen, Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews.
The Lions should be good for the near future, so the odds of them being in position to land the second-rated tackle in the draft are very small, as you suggested. I think they both will be good pros. DeCastro could be an elite guard, but the left tackle position is so critical that Detroit had to go with Reiff. The Lions can easily land some good guard talent in the first round and/or the second day next year.
From Alex Baker, Phoenix, Arizona
“Any players you think will take a Griffin-esque jump up the boards this year?”
Right now, you have to look at the quarterbacks. Robert Griffin and Cam Newton have made it two straight years where a fabulous athlete flew up the draft board with a dominant Heisman Trophy winning season. There are a few athletic quarterbacks that are draft eligible in 2013 to keep an eye on: Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas, West Virginia’s Geno Smith, Clemson’s Tajh Boyd, Washington’s Keith Price and Florida State’s E.J. Manuel.
All of them have a nice athletic skill set. Of that list, I think Thomas and Smith are the most likely to make that jump. Smith (6-3, 214) has some pocket-passing potential. Last year, he completed 66 percent of his passes for 4,385 yards with 31 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Thomas (6-6, 262) has a big-time skill set, and if he develops his ability to be a passer, he could skyrocket. Thomas completed 60 percent of his throws for 3,013 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He ran for 627 yards and 11 scores.
There is a lot of talent at quarterback in the college ranks, and I think Thomas and Smith have biggest potential to rise to the top of the 2013 NFL Draft.
From Miguel Ruiz, Austin, Texas
“What are some of the potential steals that came off the board in the seventh round?”
There were a lot of quality prospects who went in the seventh round of the draft, more than I can remember in past years. Lions linebacker Travis Lewis, Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and Packers offensive tackle Andrew Datko were all viewed as first-rounders at one time.
Aside from those steals, there were a few others that stood out to me. I think the Colts landed a good special-teamer and potential edge-rusher in linebacker Tim Fugger. The Vikings landed a nice backup linebacker in Audie Cole. The 49ers could have obtained a quality depth pass-rusher in Cam Johnson. The Falcons got an interesting defensive tackle in Travian Robertson. Arizona acquired a fabulous college pass-protector in Boise State left tackle Nate Potter. Lastly, I really like the Jets choosing Western Michigan’s Jordan White. He was tremendously productive in college and underrated.
From Chris Lucas, Wilmington, Delaware
“Are there any Ron Gronkowski-type tight ends in next year’s class?”
There aren’t any that look like they are on Gronkowski’s level next year. Noter Dame’s Tyler Eifert has a good shot of being a first-rounder. While Eifert is a good tight end prospect, I don’t think that he has the potential to turn into a tight end of Gronkowski’s caliber.
There is a tight end that I think could turn into an elite prospect, but he is a year away from being draft eligible. That player is Washington’s Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The 6-foot-6, 258-pounder was excellent as a freshman. He caught 41 receptions for 538 yards and six touchdowns. Seferian-Jenkins has a big-time skill set with a high ceiling. He’s worth keeping an eye on for the 2014 NFL Draft.
From Brandon Collins, Duluth, Georgia
“It seems like every year some teams that are picking in the top 10 turn things around to go to the playoffs. Which teams picking in the top 10 this year do you think could do it?”
If I had to pick two I would go with Washington and Carolina. I know those are getting to be trendy picks to do what the Bengals and Broncos did last year, but it makes sense because each team entered the offseason with one side of the ball at a playoff level.
Carolina’s offense became a postseason-caliber unit when Cam Newton took the NFL by storm as a rookie. Newton should only get better as he gains experience. The Panthers defense had tons of injuries last year. With Jon Beason, Thomas Davis, Ron Edwards and many others coming back, Carolina should instantly be improved on that side of the ball. I think first-round pick linebacker Luke Kuechly could be a big difference-maker from day one. With the Saints in a nightmare of an offseason, the NFC South is there for the taking for the Panthers.
The Redskins have a talented, young defense and only need to get more points out of the offense. Adding quarterback Robert Griffin III could be enough. I think he could provide an instant impact like Newton did last year. Griffin is very intelligent and a hard-worker, so I think his growth process will be faster than most. Plus, Washington has a respectable running game, so Griffin doesn’t have to do it all by himself. The NFC East is a tough division, but Washington making a run at a wild-card spot is definitely in play.
Once again send questions/comments via email [email protected] or on Twitter @draftcampbell.
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag Archive:
2013 NFL Draft Mailbag - June 16
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - May 20
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - May 15
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - May 6
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - April 24
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - April 16
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - April 9
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - April 3
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - March 25
2012 NFL Draft Mailbag - March 15
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