The Rams got their man in the first round of this years draft. Carriker will come in and be an iunstant starter most likely and he will help out on an improving defense.
Breaking Down The Draft - AFC South
Monday, May 07, 2007
Houston Texans Who They Took: 1.(10) DT Amobi Okoye, Louisville 3.(73) WR Jacoby Jones, Lane College 4.(123) CB Fred Bennett, South Carolina 5.(144) S Brandon Harrison, Stanford 5.(163) OT Brandon Frye, Virginia Tech 6.(183) OG Kasey Studdard, Texas 7.(218) LB Zach Diles, Kansas St. Key Draft Needs: 1. Offensive tackle 2. Cornerback 3. Wide receiver 4. Linebacker 5. Defensive tackle The Bottom Line: Scouts had Okoye rising and rising all the way up near the top five. In reality, He is an unknown who probably fell right around where he should have. He's still very young, 19, and no one knows how he will handle the NFL. Jones is another question mark. He comes from a small school so you don't know how he will handle the NFL. He too fell right around projected, but having two guys with questions like that may end up hurting in the long run, or it could really turn out well. I like the pick of Bennett in round four. He has the size and cover skills to match up well in the NFL. I'm not sold on much of the Texans draft as of now not having a round two pick doesn't help. Grade: C+
Indianapolis Colts Who They Took: 1.(32) WR Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio St. 2.(42) OG Tony Ugoh, Arkansas 3.(95) CB Daymeion Hughes, California 4.(98) DT Quinn Pitcock, Ohio St. 4.(131) S Brannon Condren, Troy 4.(136) LB Clint Session, Pittsburgh 7.(242) DE Keyunta Dawson, Texas Tech Key Draft Needs: 1. Linebacker 2. Cornerback 3. Running back 4. Tight end 5. Defensive line The Bottom Line: Although, the Colts didn't really follow their needs, they filled their holes. Gonzalez should turn out to be a great slot receiver behind Harrison and Wayne. He replaces Brandon Stokley. Ugoh was a highly recruited player coming from high school. His choice of Arkansas may have hurt his draft status slightly, but he still is a great player. I really like both picks of Hughes and Pitcock. Both players started the offseason as first round projections, but as things advanced, they fell. Both players have extreme talent when they play to their potential. Both should have good careers in an improving defense. I put the colts in my draft winners category for a reason, they had a great draft. Grade: A-
Jacksonville Jaguars Who They Took: 1.(21) S Reggie Nelson, Florida 2.(48) LB Justin Durant, Hampton 3.(79) WR Mike Walker, Central Florida 4.(101) P Adam Podlesh, Maryland 4.(113) DE Brian Smith, Missouri 5.(149) OG Uche Nwaneri, Purdue 5.(150) S Josh Gattis, Wake Forest 5.(166) DT Derek Landri, Notre Dame 7.(229) WR John Broussard, San Jose St. 7.(251) S Chad Nkang, Elon College 7.(252) OT Andrew Carnahan, Arizona St Key Draft Needs: 1. Defensive back 2. Wide receiver 3. Quarterback 4. Offensive line 5. Defensive line The Bottom Line: The Jags had eleven total picks, eight of which came on day two. Nelson was a good senior season and shouldn't have too much trouble transferring it to the pros this season. He is very athletic and can even play CB if needed. Durant may have gone a little high. He played good in his entire college career, but needs to toughen up some. He could develop into a good pro eventually. The Jags elected to not draft a QB and stick with Leftwich, Garrard and Grey. Other then that, they tried to address their needs. Grade: B-
Tennessee Titans Who They Took: 1.(19) S Michael Griffin, Texas 2.(50) RB Chris Henry, Arizona 3.(80) WR Paul Williams, Fresno St. 4.(115) C Leroy Harris, NC State 4.(128) WR Chris Davis, Florida St. 5.(152) DT Antonio Johnson, Mississippi St. 6.(188) WR Joel Filani, Texas Tech 6.(204) DE Jacob Ford, Central Arkansas 6.(206) CB Ryan Smith, Florida 7.(223) OT Mike Otto, Purdue Key Draft Needs: 1. Wide receiver 2. Cornerback 3. Running back 4. Defensive tackle 5. Safety The Bottom Line: The Titans liked Griffin's physical ability enough to use the 19th pick on him. He's got the talent, he just needs to polish his tackling. Chris Henry is a guy i liked. i wanted him to fall to St. Louis in round three. When he was taken mid round two, I knew that was too high for him. he is good, but not that good. There were lots of better backs available at the time. I like the pick of Chris Davis in round four. He is a good football player, but he never got the chance to shine playing on a week passing team. Overall, not too good of a draft at this time, but nothing too bad either. Grade: C+
Winners of Draft Weekend 1. Carolina - Trading down and still getting the great talent of Jon Beason. Then they got a big steal by selecting Dwayne Jarrett mid round two. Jarrett would have been a top 10 overall pick had his 40 time not been so disappointing. He still plays hard and can be dominate at times. Later in round two, they got another steal with center, Ryan Kalil. Kalil was a late first-early second round talent. Charles Johnson is a good end that will help add depth to that position. Ryne Robinson can help out the receiving core. Since that position is already deep, it may take time or an injury to really give him some gametime.
2. Indianapolis - Normallydrafting last will hurt your picks, but not for the Colts. They filled their need of a good slot receiver right away by selecting Anthony Gonzalez. They got another good value pick by taking Tony Agoh near the middle of the second round. Then with their two third round picks, they snatched up Daymeion Hughes and Quinn Pitcock. Both players were first round projections at the start of the offseason, but there stock fell. If the Colts can get them to play to their full potential, they got some real steals. Finally, I really like the pick of Michael Coe at the 173rd overall pick. Coe will fill in at a CB spot and I think he can contribute early in his career.
3. Minnesota - I like the Vikings Draft because they got some explosive players. The addition of Adrian Peterson, healthy or not, will help out a lot. He will split time with Taylor and eventually take the full load. Sidney Rice is either a major hit or a big flop. He only played two years in college, but what a two years they were. He had monster receiving stats. Becasue he doesn't have the full experience as most, he may not know how to adjust his game to the NFL. Getting Marcus McCauley in the third round is also a very good pickup. He will help address a week pass defense. Rufus Alexander could turn out to be a big steal as well. If he can perform at his potential, he can be very good.
4. Cleveland - Cleveland got what everyone is calling the "sexiest" draft, it doesn't reflect that they don't have a first round pick next year. Getting Joe Thomas at 3 was a good fit for them. They decided to pass on Brady Quinn, but got lucky when they traded up to get him at 22. Both players had top 10 grades. Getting Eric Wright in round 2 was a good pick as well. Wright was a part of USC until off the field issues led to a transfer to UNLV. He's got enormus talent, but some teams didn't want to take the gamble on him. Other then those three players, their draft wasn't too special.
5. New England - Belichick gets another one. It wasn't the draft that impresses me, it't the fact that they get Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. They started Saturday with two first round picks and ended it with one one total pick. That one pick was Brandon Meriweather though. Meriweather is a versitile safety that will help out the team right away. Oscar Lou was a good pick that they got in the seventh round. Coming from USC, he's bound to be good. Moss alone would make this draft one of the best, but add Meriweather and I give them a top 5 grade.
First Round Ends With Gonzalez The Colts ended the longest first round in NFL history by selecting wide receiver, Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez will move into the slot receiver roll, replacing Brandon Stokley. It was a question of would the Colts go for a LB or a WR and they went with WR. Steve Smith was another good option here, but they decided to pass on him. Good pick still from the Colts. Gonzalez should have a good career and hes got some of the best teachers.
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
