Early NFL Power Rankings Up

Yes, it’s early.  Camp has not even started yet.  The page has been sitting there with a “Coming Soon” on it for way to long.  So here are the Football Jabber Pre-Season NFL Power Rankings.  Feel free to voice your argument in the comments.

NFL Jabber | Old, New, Stiff Arming RB’s, and More

Chris Johnson is already raising eyebrows in practice for the Titans. Just wait until he is comfortable (seems to be what the staff and players are saying). Read more

2008 AFC West Draft Grades

Denver Broncos

Needs - LT, DT, KR/PR, WR, CB

With the retirement of Matt Lepsis, the Broncos absolutely had to have a left tackle of the future out of this draft. Pair that with the loss of Javon Walker and a dismal run defense in which much of the blame was placed on the defensive line, it was easy to see what positions Denver was going to target early in the draft.

1.12 - Ryan Clady OT Boise State
2.11 - Eddie Royal WR Virginia Tech
4.09 - Kory Lichtensteiger OG Bowling Green
4.20 - Jack Williams CB Kent State
5.04 - Ryan Torain RB Arizona State
5.13 - Carlton Powell DT Virginia Tech
6.17 - Spencer Larson OLB Arizona
7.13 - Josh Barrett S Arizona State
7.20 - Peyton Hillis FB Arkansas

Draft grade: B

Comments: The Broncos hit on Clady; I think that kid is the real deal. He is athletic enough to get out and block in space for Denver’s zone blocking scheme. Royal is a bit of a head-scratcher. Everyone is quick to compare Royal to Steve Smith of the Panthers but the AFC West is chock full of physical corners and I think Royal might get fed his lunch at the LOS by guys like Quentin Jammer and DeAngelo Hall. He is a legitimate return threat however. I believe Barrett in the 7th is a huge steal and one always has to take notice when Denver drafts a running back in the late rounds. With the Denver backfield in a bit of flux with Travis Henry’s poor performances last year and Mike Shanahan’s unwillingness to give Selvin Young the job outright, Torain may make a splash.

Kansas City Chiefs

Needs: OG, OT, DT, DE, WR, QB, CB

Kansas City had holes on both sides of the ball and needed a huge draft; especially in the wake of trading away Jared Allen. I think that was the right move. Chiefs brass needs to admit that they are rebuilding. Trading Allen gave them the extra ammo needed to get some young impact players and bring their team back to respectability.

1.05 - Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
1.15 - Brandon Albert OG Virginia
2.04 - Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
3.10 - Jamaal Charles RB Texas
3.13 - Brad Cottam TE Tennessee
3.19 - DaJuan Morgan S North Carolina State
4.06 - Will Franklin WR Missouri
5.05 - Brandon Carr CB Grand Valley State
6.04 - Barry Richardson OT Clemson
6.16 - Kevin Robinson WR Utah State
7.03 - Brian Johnston DE Gardner-Webb
7.32 - Mike Merritt TE Central Florida

Draft Grade: A-

Comments: Some may argue that if you can’t give KC an A+ with this draft, you can’t give anyone an A+. I disagree with some of the moves that KC made. Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Albert and Brandon Flowers are a monster rounds 1 and 2. A dream for Coach Herm and GM Carl Peterson. But in the third round, it gets dicey. Jamaal Charles opened the Chiefs third round. I get that they want support for Larry Johnson but if LJ were to ever go down to injury, you’d want another bowling ball type of back. I think that if you wanted an RB that could handle 20-25 carries to back up LJ, then Tashard Choice was the pick. If you wanted an RB that would split time with Kolby Smith if LJ fell to injury, you could have waited for that guy. Either the Charles pick was a miss in my opinion. My second biggest beef is the lack of OL picks. Brandon Albert and Barry Richardson are good value for where they were picked but you can make a case for replacing 4 of the 5 starters on the Chiefs line. Yet only two OL selections were made. I think that OL could have been addressed with the Cottam pick and TE could have been selected later. All in all though, KC had the big draft they needed. I view their defense being upgraded greatly as well as half of their line. It will be interesting to see what Herm’s plans are for Jamaal Charles.

Oakland Raiders

Needs: WR, KR/PR, OL, DL, LB

Oakland dipped into the free agent pool hard this year; signing talent like Javon Walker, Drew Carter and Gibril Wilson. They also traded for DeAngelo Hall; giving a second round pick to Atlanta in return. Oakland’s draft was thin but they had the 4th overall pick and a smattering of mid round picks to cover depth and a few needs.

1.04 - Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
4.01 - Tyvon Branch CB Connecticut
4.26 - Arman Shields WR Richmond
6.03 - Trevor Scott DE Buffalo
7.19 - Chaz Schilens WR San Diego State

Draft Grade: C+

Comments: Crazy Al Davis strikes again. I realize that dynamic playmakers score touchdowns and touchdowns help win football games. I get that. But Oakland had the following players at running back; Justin Griffith, Oren O’Neal, Dominic Rhodes, LaMont Jordan, Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Adimchinobe Echemandu. Mike Bush hasn’t been evaluated at the NFL level and had first round grades before his freak leg injury last year. You just resigned Fargas for three years. Glenn Dorsey is still on the board and you know that New Orleans is foaming at the mouth for him and is willing to sell the farm to get him to the tune of two 1s (this year and next) and a 2. I think a trade down was the right call there. The Raiders are jammed right up against the cap and a cheaper rookie pick would probably have served their purposes moreso. My feelings of Oakland’s right course of action aside, I think that Tyvon Branch will serve the Raiders return game well as the replacement for Chris Carr. Arman Shields has a shot to crack the roster this year.

San Diego Chargers

Needs: OT, DT, CB, RB, S

With the departure of Shane Olivea, the Chargers have a big hole on the offensive line. Mike Turner also left via free agency and LaDainian Tomlinson needs a backup. Injuries to Jamal Williams last year also exposed a shallow defensive line. The Chargers had few holes as a team and had the luxury of taking BPA for many of their picks. Like Oakland, San Diego’s draft is thin due to pre-draft trades.

1.27 - Antoine Cason CB Arizona
3.06 - Jacob Hester FB/RB LSU
5.31 - Marcus Thomas RB Texas El-Paso
6.26 - DeJuan Tribble CB Boston College
7.27 - Corey Clark OT Texas A&M

Draft grade: B-

Comments: Antoine Cason is good value in the late first round; I don’t think any of the remain tackles were of decent value there. I think that a trade down would have served the Chargers better but they may not have had any takers. Going back to back RBs in the third and fifth is a bit of a head scratcher, Andrew Pinnock seemed to be the heir apparent at FB and Darren Sproles remains as a scat back option. Taking Tashard Choice (can you tell I’m a T Choice fan?) as a guy who can handle a full load should LT fall in the early third and going line (offensive or defensive) with the fifth round pick would have made more sense to me. Waiting until the seventh round to take a shot at a tackle would suggest to me that the Chargers are confident in their ability to replace Shane Olivea from within. Time will tell whether that thinking is correct or not.

tag: NFL, Football, NFL Draft, Grades, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, footballjabber.com

3 Round NFL Mock Draft|Football Jabber

The Mock Draft has grown into three rounds! Here are the Top Ten and links to the rounds.

Round One | Round Two | Round Three

Round One
#1 Dolphins - Chris Long, DE, Virginia

Long becomes the anchor end for the Tuna’s new 3-4 defense. Although many may argue that Dorsey was the more worthy 1.01 choice, Dorsey would not make a good 3-4 NT. Thus the choice is Long.

#2 Rams - Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

The Rams happily snap up Dorsey facilitating last year’s 1st round pick Adam Carriker to play more end. The Rams defensive line will be feared if Dorsey is the choice and Leonard Little can stay healthy.

#3 Falcons - Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

The Falcons take the best player available and gamble that they will be able to grab a decent signal-caller later in the draft. With an aging Warrick Dunn and unproven Jerious Norwood as the components of a lackluster RBBC, Atlanta needs more of a power back than rookie Jason Snelling can provide. McFadden gives them a solid thunder and lightning running attack.

#4 Raiders - Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC

The Raiders take Sedrick Ellis to shore up their poor run defense. Ellis have been skyrocketing up the top 100 charts lately and one needs look no farther than his performance at the Senior bowl to find out why. Ellis will make an impact on a heavily regressing Raider defense.

#5 Chiefs - Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

Word on the street is that Carl Peterson is feeling a bit of man-love for the BC pivot. Dwayne Bowe proved to be a pleasant surprise for the Chiefs last year and Peterson make look to grab a first round QB to get him the ball more often.

#6 Jets - Jake Long, OT, Michigan

The Jets grab Jake Long, the best offensive tackle prospect in the draft to bookend D’Brickashaw Ferguson. If Long pans out, the Jets may have one of the better offensive lines in the league for years to come.

#7 Patriots - Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State

The Pats select Gholston to infuse some youth into their aging linebacker corps. Gholston will likely be moved to WOLB and I am betting that Adalius Thomas moves inside more often. Not that the Pats LB are ever stagnant anyways. This move is made in anticipation for the eventual retirement of Junior Seau and Tedi Bruschi.

#8 Ravens - Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State

Rumor has it that Johnathan Ogden will call it a career after this year. If that is the case, expect the Ravens to select Ryan Clady here. Clady has all of the makings of a franchise tackle and will be able to step in and take over for the former pro bowler, Ogden.

#9 Bengals - Keith Rivers, OLB, USC

The Bengals hand is forced to select a linebacker as injuries, suspensions and poor play had them signing guys off of the street last year. With lone bright spot Landon Johnson likely to leave via free agency and Odell Thurman expected to return to the team, the Bengals go with Keith Rivers as a more natural OLB fit to Lewis’ defensive scheme.

#10 Saints - Kenny Phillips, FS, Miami

The Saints are forced to upgrade a terrible secondary that was repeated torched throughout the season. It’s too early to cut bait with Jason David despite his poor play at CB last year so the Saints select Kenny Phillips to replace Josh Bullocks. Phillips’ good coverage skills will allow Roman Harper to play more in the box.

tag: NFL, Mock, Draft, Football, Sports, Rankings, Dolphins, Rams, Falcons, Raiders, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Ravens, Bengals, Saints, Round One, Round Two, Round Three

Let the Speculation on McFadden Begin

Who wants to have the next stud running back in the NFL? Or we can ask…who doesn’t want to pass on what could be the next Adrian Peterson? Darren McFadden has officially announced he will enter the 2008 NFL Draft. Let the speculation begin.

The Dolphins? Last year there were a lot of people that thought the Dolphins would have taken Adrian Peterson despite having recent high pick Ronnie Brown on board. Rumor has it that The Tuna will try to net one of his running backs from Dallas.

The Rams? Could you imagine a backfield with SJax and McFadden? That’s Madden material, won’t happen.

The Falcons? It is getting time for the Falcons to possibly think about a stud runner. But they have a very serious QB situation to fix first.

The Raiders? A crowded backfield already, but none of those guys are a franchise back. Michael Bush may be but we won’t know that until he can play in the NFL. Could Al Davis grab the guy to pair with JaMarcus Russell? They have a lot of other holes to fill but this is a very interesting spot.

The Chiefs? These guys could go in any direction as they need help everywhere. They have a guy, if not injured, that they appear pretty happy with at RB though.

The Jets? Watch out Thomas Jones. Just when you think you have the starting spot and have done nothing to lose it, you could see your team take a RB once again. Another team with other needs but if he falls this far he could be hard to pass up.

The Patriots? By now McFadden is likely either picked by one of the above teams or someone (very likely) traded into position to pick him already. Just for “what if” sake…could you imagine this guy joining the Patriots? There is nothing wrong with Maroney but the Patriots could care less about having one go to guy at any particular position. Scary stuff…

Thoughts from the readers? Speculate my friends!
tag: NFL, Draft, Darren McFadden, Arkansas, Football, Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, Chiefs, Raiders, Falcons