SI's top 45 Draft prospects

Based on this list it strikes me as a sub par year for talent.

What kind of idiot writer would have Matt Stafford at #24? Even worse, the dude from Draft King- he says that Staford is a nice QQB, but lacks arm strength. You may not like Stafford as QB, but to question his arm strength should require immediate termination of one's right to even have a draft blog.

What a jerk:

1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia *
The crop of quarterbacks in the 2008 senior class is rather weak as far as NFL prospects go, but there are three underclassmen who could declare for the 2009 NFL Draft: Stafford, Tim Tebow, and Sam Bradford. I've changed my tune on Bradford (more on that a little further down), but ultimately I project Stafford as being the most likely of the three to go first in the draft if all three are in the mix.

Some might question Stafford's arm strength, but ultimately his accuracy is what should make him project as such a strong pro prospect. However, there isn't a great deal of separation between Stafford, Bradford, and Tebow, and how they perform in the combine if any/all come out (and the inclinations of the first team to take a QB) could have an impact on how things play out in the draft.

The Lions need major help on defense, but it also has a major need at quarterback. And with Detroit also holding Dallas' first round pick, the Lions can still land a first-round quality defensive player while also filling their long-term QB need.

2009 NFL Mock Draft - Draft King

 

Tony Pauline is no idiot first of all.

Second of all, what has Matthew Stafford done this year that would merit him going higher than 24th? Is he a better QB at this stage than Aaron Rodgers was when he went 24th? Answer is no.

The bigger idiot is someone who chooses Detroit to select Matt Stafford when it has Drew Stanton on it's roster.

 

Drew Stanton hasn't done jack and was extermely inconsistent at MSU. Uh, who's starting now for the Lions, him or Orlovsky? Curious indeed. And Stafford has question marks, that's for sure. But to question his arm strength is a joke. That being said, I shouldn't have called him a jerk. I retract the jerk comment. Kind of.

p.s. the venom was, for the most part, directed at the guy from Draft King for the comment about Stafford's arm strength.

 

Stanton's been injured which is why he isn't starting. He's only just got healthy again after rehabbing a thumb injury, quite apart from the torn ACL.

 

Thumb injury, torn ACL, Martz trying to alter his throwing motion for whatever reason- and he hasn't shown squat, injuries or no injuries. As to Stafford re: his arm, talent level, and rather average year that he's having- that reminds me of the year that Dan Marino came out. And I'm not comparing the two, so don't even bother.

As to your A Rodgers comment- yes, at this point his senior year was much better than Stafford's is shaping up to be. You can say the same about Alex Smith- how did that work out? Stafford is a talent, bottom line. But these guys are all crap shoots, for sure.

If Stanton works out for the Lions, that's great. I just don't see it, nor do I see the Lions passing on a top QB if available. Hindsite is 20/20, but Ernie Sims over Jay Cutler? Please. And even if they took Leinart and it failed, they still should have made the move. New regime, new start, new QB if they can swing it. Who was their last really good QB, Bobby Layne?

 

I've finally gotten around to watching some USC footage and ... well ... either I have gone blind or there's two Ray Maualugas. The one I saw lacked basic football instincts and was basically a non-factor every time a play didn't involve someone being kind enough to run right at him. I'm genuinely baffled. What's up with the hype? Where's the other Maualuga? Anyone? Simon?

 

He hasn't shown anything because he's been injured. There's no argument about that.

Alex Smith had a tremendous senior year. His career was screwed for him as a pro not because of lack of talent. Stafford flashes ability but has been thoroughly average.

Jay Cutler took a pretty remarkable rise up the charts in the last month or 6 weeks before the draft because we were pretty sure he'd be there when we picked, so.......

I don't see them drafting a junior who has a big arm, but plenty of issues with his game and who has turned in some pretty mediocre performances. Hell, Josh Freeman has had a better year than Stafford and he has a bigger arm. I don't see people talking Josh up as Detroit's pick.

 

I'll confess to knowing nothing of Josh Freeman. I see your points re: Stafford, but you could have made the same arguments about Chad Henne- who is still, of course unproven. The one that suprises me is Flacco- I thought that he had bust written all over him. Shows what I know. Still lost in the mist and a guy who I still like- John Beck. What a shame. I still wouldn't mind him to the Cowboys for a Crayton or Austin. maybe Robert Meachem from the Saints, but that's a reach.

I kind of like the looks of that guy from Fresno St.- Brandstater or something like that. Cullen Harper is screwing the pooch but might end up being a value pick- and I do like that running back Davis from Clemson.

 

That's a little high for Orakpo, and every year at this time there are a couple of ILBs that are waaaay up on the list...and then by the time we get to draft day it seems they come back down to the mid-first or even second round.

 

holy Taylor mays is overrated

BTW.. To agree with boomer, Tony is defiantly not an idiot.

I agree with him spot on with Stafford. Why would a team want Stafford bad knowing that McCoy and Bradford will be there next year. The QB class is a weak this year.. big time.

 

We all saw how last year's Colt worked out. Take Stafford while you can get him.

 

Actually Colt Brennan had some pretty impressive series for the Redskins in pre season.

 

I saw that. In spite of my smart a** comment, I think that Brennan has a shot. Still, he was what he was, a 5th rd pick and average talent. I'd still take Beck over him, and I'm not all that interested in the Brennan weight loss/stomach flu stories/excuses et al. Give pro scouts a little more credit than that- Brennan went in the 5th or 6th or whatever it was for a reason.
Or should I say reasons.

 

There were a lot of people saying this past draft was very weak for QBs too. If you work a kid out and think hes pretty good, you take him. You just dont pick a player and hope someone else is there for you next year, thats a horrible way to draft.
What happens if that kid gets hurt? Has a dismal final year. What if you draft 3rd and either 1-2 picks him before you.

Find your player and draft him. Im not saying Detroit should or would take Stafford or any other QB, but if they arent sold on Stanton, they should be taking a long hard look at that position in THIS years draft, naysayers or no. Frankly though, they need to go and overhaul that line a bit before putting a rookie under center. At least Atlanta had that somewhat going for them when Ryan got the job, though who thought Baker would be so solid?

 

I liked Baker. Atlanta saw a player at a need position and made the move. Hats off to them. They (Detroit) just took Cherilus last year in the 1st, so unless they REALLY like Smith from Alabama they probably draft Stafford or a defensive stud. Then maybe take Mack in the 2nd if he's there. Detroit is a 50-year wasteland. Take Stafford and roll the bones. They popped their 2nd rd nut on Stanton last year- we'll see what happens there.

 

It's amazing Jochen, but that's pretty much the same Maualaga I've seen as well. He clearly is an artist in the game of "pick a hole, any hole". Plus he has a crazy name and is a crazy guy.

 

That's a LOT high for a guy who basically has a bull rush.

 

If Detroit end up with the first pick, they could certainly do a lot worse than follow Miami's plan. It's not like they are bereft of talent on that team. Detroit could do a lot worse than bring in a veteran like Kurt Warner or Kyle Orton if they don't think Stanton is the man and move from there. They could deal a pick to Green Bay for someone like Brian Brohm. But they could add a cornerstone tackle or end to their armoury a la we did with Jake Long and Houston did with Mario Williams. I certinly don't believe Michael Johnson is worthy of the top pick, but I know Chris is a much bigger fan than me. Might turn out that the new GM thinks the same. Or he may think Andre Smith is the guy. They might go out and strike a deal for Jordan Gross in free agency and concentrate on end in the draft. They could throw money at Julius Peppers and draft one of the Smiths or Monroe at LT.

I just don't see them drafting a raw junior like Stafford who probably won't play for at least 2 years given the issues he has.

 

The thing is, the Lions are going to suck for 2 years anyway. At least they have the moral victory of dumping Millen. Maybe the team is a metaphor of it's owner- for ages drifting at sea and lost. Case in point the price of Ford stock. Like the team, it's as bad as it was 60 years ago.

What they need is hope and direction- they and the Bengals are lost at sea, and Cincy HAS a QB. Why do these franchises suffer and fail so consistently? My guess is that the answer lies well beyond the scope of a Stafford success or failure. Or any star player for that matter. The rot is internal, they're dying from within. What they needed was Bill Parcells- a rebirth of determination, hard work, and pride. For some reason Marinelli isn't cutting it, and that surprises me a little. All the same, I say screw it- take Stafford, suck for two years, and hope that he bonds with Calvin Johnson. And then concentrate on the OL, the obvious backbone of any good team.

 

I was thinking the same thing for the Lions Boom, its not like Kitna is a horrible QB that needs to be done away with. I just the the Lions as the opposite to our new front office in terms of the draft with Millen in charge. Millen went after too many star positions instead of going after the meat of a team.

Hopefully with a new GM they will focus on re building their lines. For the top of the draft as it stands right now I would say you have more talented players at the OT position that at DT or DE.

The Lions may be making a better choice in Smith, Oher or Monroe whichever they like best to man the LT spot to pair up with Cherilus at RT from last year and then look at adding to the DL in round 2 and 3.

 

I have watched 3 USC games so far, and agree. Not sure what all the hype is. Last weekend I watched an extremely mediocre U of A team manhandle him all night long.

 

I really don't like Andre Smith's frame for playing high quality LT at the pro level. I just hate seeing something new. New rarely works.

I like Eugene Monroe...and agree that there will be sort of a push to follow the Miami/Cleveland prescription.

But either way, Cincinnati is much more likely to end up with the #1 overall pick than Detroit IMO. In order to go 1-15 or something along those lines you have to have a bad team, that really gets made worse halfway through the year. Otherwise, even bad teams get better by mid season and start winning a few. The Bengals got worse, Carson Palmer could easily be out the rest of the year with the elbow, and Keith Rivers is on IR with a broken jaw. The Bengals are reaping the rewards for 10 years of awful personnel decisions by Mike Brown. Team character is just absolute CRAP and so when the going gets tough, the weak start waiting for a pay check. The defense features basically three players worth anything and they're not even worth that much...Antwan Odom, Jonathan Joseph, and Leon Hall. They need the offense to lead them out of this funk but Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't the QB to lead that charge, and Chris Perry and Cedric Benson are not the backs to power it. With injuries just making the team worse and team character being so utterly poor...the Bengals could threaten for 0-16.

I think the Lions actually are giving signs of getting a little better already.

So, with the #1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals (ehem, Mike Brown) select...?

There could be your Michael Johnson bidder.

 

Yeah, but they still have Ocho Stinko......

Of course I chide CK. I believe you nailed it, I could easily see the Bengals running the gambit, to perhaps winning 2 games (Maybe...maybe). They should be choosing number 1 next year.

 

I agree that they will likely be picking first. However, it wouldn't shock me to see them trade down a few spots and acquire more picks as well as select a guy like Chris Wells. They need a run game with Palmer there.

 

As we found last year, it is really really tough to trade down out of the #1, and I think this year is no different. Without an absolute STUD coming out at QB (Bradford MIGHT be there if he comes out.....) teams really dont want to give up
A: Salary cap for #1 overall
2) Whatever else it takes for the trade.

 

That's a good point. However, its not out of the possibility.

 

Everyone has Beanie Wells to the Bengals. I'm a little torn. I mean, when everyone has something like that, they're usually wrong. But with Mike Brown, when "everyone" has something like that, I view it that he'll go ahead and take that player because everyone will have done the research for him, and that's sort of his style. That's the reason he keeps taking all these low character problem children, because the consensus opinion is that the players are really talented...so he just ignores the character stuff and takes them knowing they're talented according to the peanut gallery. I'm not kidding, the Bengals employ I believe the smallest scouting department in the NFL.

 

Indeed, they do employ the smallest scouting department and its a reason why they make all those bad character picks as you mention. I honestly think they go with Wells because they really need a run game. Perry fumbles too much, including in the fourth quarter. I believe he has cost them three games this year all by himself, which is terrible. What I question is how successful the next coach will be working with Mike Brown. I've heard that Lewis isn't able to do his own scouting on the draft prospects and that his choices are overruled by Brown. Not only are his draft choices overruled, but his roster moves. I recall him not being happy with Brown bringing back the troubled Chris Henry. The rumblings around the league were that Brown and Lewis argued over Henry and Lewis didn't want him back but Brown made the choice for him. I have no clue how that organization plans on functioning with Brown there. This may be the NFL's second coming of the Oakland Raiders, if it hasn't happened already.

 

I think they fire Marvin (thank god) get someone in there to clean house and draft a Tackle.

 

Why will they suck for 2 years? They arguably have as much talent as we do. 12 months ago we went 1-15, we're talking playoffs on this forum.

But the bottom of bottom lines is that if you take Stafford and play him as a rookie from week 1, you'll ruin him because he isn't ready. And couple that with the $70 million loss you'll make......

 

You know, I could just as easily see Knowshon Moreno as the Bengals pick as I could Wells.

And Chris, I take your point on Andre Smith and I see it. And I know Con does as well. I'm on the Monroe/Jason Smith wagon and I'd love to see Oher do well.

 

Knowshon would be a better pick IMO. I didn't think about him coming out.

 

Only because he is healthy.

 

So sit him for a year and play one of the other QB's. The draft class is weak- would you rather pay stupid money to an underachieving Michael Johnson or a questionable Andre Smith? Pick your poison. When the Lions start producing and actually win a game or two I'll be happy to engage your conversation re: their possible upswing. Now, especially with Roy Williams gone, they suck.

And if Stafford isn't the guy, so be it. But who else is worthy of a #1 or 2 pick? Paying Johnson that type of top money seems like a joke to me.

 

The question with the Lions is who will be the coach. If they decide to keep Marinelli then a DE becomes a serious possibility. To be honest if the Lions had the pick I wouldn't be shocked to see them value a guy like George Selvie a lot more than Johnson. Selvie would ahve to draw comparisons to Simeon Rice in Tampa when Marinelli coached him down there. As of right now, that would be my pick if the Lions kept Marinelli on.

It doesn't mean I like the pick, but hey what can I do?

 

We're clearly not going to agree on this, but I'm not sure Detroit are in a position where they can draft a QB, sit him on the bench for 2 years whilst he learns how to play NFL QB, all the while spending their money.

They need to win soon, not fanny around for another false dawn.

 

You really think so? I dunno, mate. I think Detroit is as far away from being a contender as anyone in the past decade. That's one horrible, horrible football team. Records aside, Miami was a better football team in terms of pure talent last year. I look at their depth chart, I see Sims and Johnson and, hands down, the worst trenches in the business by far. Whoever takes over in Detroit will have to completely rebuild their O- and D-line and such a project usually takes more than one or two years. I don't see Detroit competing for at least two years, probably longer. However, I'm completely with you in regard to them going QB in the draft. It'd be nuts. Like Alex Smith in SF, putting Stafford behind that line in Detroit would be a spectacular waste of a perfectly good first round pick. They absolutely have to go OL and DL early and often.

 

They certainly have talented players; Backus has been a steady LT, Cherilus has struggled some but can play, Raiola and Peterman can play, Calvin Johnson and Mike Furrey can play, Kevin Smith looks a keeper and I think Stanton could really energise that group.

Defensively they struggle greatly; Cory Redding, Ernie Sims and Leigh Bodden can all play. They have too many high round underachievers on that group; Ike Alama-Francis, Shaun Cody, Daniel Bullocks. With the right GM who has the right plan, then that's a pretty quick turnaround.

 

I don't see it. You have four offensive linemen as talented players while that unit gave up 63 sacks in 2006, 54 sacks in 2007 and is currently on pace to give up 50+ again this season. Something doesn't smell right there.