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April 20, 2009
With the NFL draft less than a week away, we will likely be inundated with rumor and speculation as to who will go where and at what pick. What GMs are talking trade. And what wide receiver the Lions will take with the first pick overall.
Okay, that last one may be more wishful thinking than anything, but even here at WFNY have we been discussing as much “talk” as we can. We can’t put much credence into pre-draft rumors as these are mostly a mirage. This morning, Mike Greenberg had a great point that there is nothing to gain by telling the truth at this stage; coaches and GMs have everything to gain by telling a lie.
But with all of this said, Browns fans that fear the team selecting USC’s Mark Sanchez with the fifth overall selection may want to choose to believe a recent piece by Peter King over at Sports Illustrated.
[Scott] Pioli, the rookie Kansas City general manager, has the distinction in this decade of being part of the tradingest draft-day team in the league. […] Snyder, the Washington owner, has one pick in the top 75, the 13th overall. He was willing to trade that pick plus next year’s first-round pick and something else to get Jay Cutler from Denver to replace Jason Campbell at quarterback. That failed, but I’m told Snyder is beyond smitten with Sanchez and will likely pursue him this week.
The thinking is that Scott Pioli doesn’t feel that any player in this draft is worth a double-figure signing bonus that would come with the third overall pick. Snyder, on the other hand, is not afraid to pay anyone an exorbanent amount of money as he recently gave $100 million to defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Would adding Sanchez to the mix help or hurt Washington’s claim of “Off-Season Champs?”
There has also been some thinking that all of the Eric Mangini-Pete Caroll-Mark Sanchez talk over the last week or so may actually be a way to get others to do such a thing. If the team does in fact want Aaron Curry (whom is widely considered the safest selection in the top 10 – and this team can ill afford to miss here), having Kansas City move out of third slot is crucial. If Washington does in fact move up, you can just picture Mangini and George Kokinis high-fiving. But not so fast…
The down side to this is that Seattle (selecting fourth) recently traded away their Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson to the Lions. Since they now have a hole at SAM, Curry could actually be a fairly ideal selection for them assuming that they cannot find an heir apparent to their veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. It’s too bad that we can’t have a Universal Draft like Michael Silver put together. I’d love to have DeMarcus Ware with the fifth selection.
As of now, consensus mock drafts have both Baylor’s Jason Smith and Georgia’s Stafford in the top five. The question marks fall in three through 10, as any of the following will be up for grabs: Curry, Eugene Monroe, Michael Crabtree, BJ Raji, Sanchez and even Andre Smith. Lane Adkins has recently inserted Tyson Jackson in to the mix – even though most mock’s have the LSU DE/OLB coming off of the board in the mid-to-late teens. If one thing is for certain, it’s that no one really knows what’s going to happen.
But one thing appears to be less likely than last week: Mark Sanchez may not be there at five by the time the Browns draft. For better or worse.
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Power of three: Why an owner, GM and prospect control the ’09 draft [Peter King/SI.com]
17 Comments
PLEASE let Curry fall to us!!!!
Also, introducing the Braylon Edwards Trade Advisory…
scott-
do we have a Brady Trade Advisory chart yet? I think he might be at elevated
We could make one. Though I’d put it at “guarded.” I dont think they’re trying to move him. Accepting phone calls gets a guarded in my mind.
Please let Rey Maualuga be there at 5. I know he will be, I just don’t want a “safe” pick. I see Kam Wimbley all over again with Curry.
Pittsburgh you are absolutely correct…..I have the same fear with curry. Big Rey has been proven dependable the last 3 years. If not him then take CM Jr or Laurinaitis with one of the 2nd rd picks. Sanchez makes NO sense….At least Quinn had 2 years to study and learn the game speed….I just hope it is all smoke and mirrors.
@Pitt: How do you see that? Did you break down any film? I have and I have repeatedly wrote my thoughts on Curry. He is nothing like Wimbley. He doesn’t even play the same position as Wimbley. But, obviously that’s your opinion so that’s fine. Maualuga is not worthy of #5 money, he might last into the 20’s with Cushing and Mathews getting selected over him. Look at his stats and look at guys like Keith Rivers, Aaron Curry, DJ Williams, etc and tell me you think Rey should go #5.
If the Browns do draft Sanchez it will only be to trade him away for more picks and rob Washington, I.E. San Diego and Eli Manning.
Rey Maualuga will not be picked in the top ten. I don’t know why people think he will be some great HOF player, because he simply is not that good. Curry is much better then him. Orakpo, Raji, Crabtree, Maclin, Monroe, and even Sanchez would all be much better picks then Rey Maualuga.
Hahahahaah. ” NOW I’m done.”
@bobby
You are correct that by “draft rules” Maualuga will not be drafted in the top 10. He should be slated to go 10-18. However, he is the player that would make the biggest impact on the Browns D. He is not the all world athlete that Curry is. However, what sense does it make to take a player at #5 that doesn’t fit your scheme as a pass rusher at OLB or you have to change his position and move him inside when you haven’t seen how he takes on guards and fullbacks straight on? Orakpo is a far cry from S. Merriman or D. Ware. I think Detroit has shown how well receivers pan out if the rest of the team isn’t up to snuff. Sanchez would sit a year which doesn’t help a desperate team. The Browns haven’t been able to stop the run since their return and lost to Cincinnati last year when Fitzpatrick threw 9 passes. It’s time to take someone who can blow up the run and is willing to lay someone out. Who on this defense really wants to hit someone? The answer is no one. Take Maualuga and take the player Jon Gruden said he would love to build a defense around. Make offenses finally game plan around somebody.
I don’t think that Maualuga will be good period. Curry makes plays, makes tackles. I think the Clay Mathews III is the best USC linebacker for the browns. And Rey is slated in the 20s for the most part sometimes high teens. Are you telling me that the 20 or however many people above him drafted wouldnt be better then him. Ya Right. Just because Detroit cant find a WR doesn’t mean Crabtree will be a bust. I like Nicks the best for the browns at WR, so does that mean he will be the pick at 5? no, you take the best player in the draft, position doesnt matter (for the most part). If Maualuga was this game changer you claim he is, someone that is an animal and breaks plays up and w/e then he should be a higher pick. Hes not.
Ray Maualuga is as instinctual player on the board. He may not seem like he will be that good, but he will. He is a football player. Doesn’t he remind anyone slightly of a certain Samoan Steeler defender who, in my mind, is the best in the game at making the big play at the right time?
Mark my words: Maualuga will be a force in the NFL.
Rey Maualuga is not Troy Polamalu, and I am so tired of people feeling the need to make that connection based on similar hair style and school attended. The more I see of him, the more I would not even consider him at 5–solid but unspectacular is not what I want for that kind of money. Trade back and get him in the late teens-early 20’s, I could see that. Matthews is solid as well, but again, in the later part of round one at best. Crabtree seems far from a sure thing. Frankly, I can’t imagine a worse pick to have in this year’s draft than this one.
Oh, and Jon Gruden is the last person I’d be taking my personnel cues from. The Bucs D did nothing but age and regress while he was in charge, focusing on collecting QBs like baseball cards.
fellas… please look at the tapes. curry is twice the lb’r that rey rey is. not even close imo. curry will be a 15 yr. player w/ multiple pro-bowl appearances. ‘mark it, dude.’
Maualuga should be the pick for the Browns….
after they successfully trade down to the end of the first round and also get another pick. I am not really predicting anything, I am still just advocating getting the heck away from the top of the first round. The stakes are still too high and the rewards don’t seem to match up with the risk for my taste.
[…] somewhere very satisfied with all the rumor and speculation surrounding their situation. As Scott pointed out yesterday, we have no idea if Mark Sanchez is really a target for the Browns or not. We know that the […]