On Draft:
AFC West
By Matt Meier and John Scott Gibney
April 22, 2012
Happy Draft season football fans! To celebrate the annual April relevancy of the best sport in the land, Talk Sports / Drink Beer will be examining the needs and projected picks of EVERY SINGLE TEAM, one division per day, until Draft Day on April 26. Matt will play GM, detailing the needs of each club, and John Scott will play Scout, suggesting which prospects would be best, and where to draft them.
April 18: NFC East
April 19: AFC South
April 20 (hee-hee): AFC North
April 21: NFC West
April 22: AFC West
April 23: NFC North
AFC West
Divisional Drink: Caribou Lou
Denver Broncos
Team Microbrew: Myrcenary Double IPA (Odell)
Draft Picks: 1(25), 2(25), 3(24), 4(13), 4(25), 5(2), 6(18)
Top Needs: OL (interior, namely center), DT
Other Considerations: RB, CB, S, LB
For the record, I predicted Peyton Manning to sign with the Broncos the moment the colts released him back in March. I never formally documented that prediction anywhere, so saying it here probably doesn’t mean all that much, but fuck it—I’m proud of myself nonetheless. While landing Peyton Manning would seem like the jackpot of free agency periods, obtaining Peyton forced Denver to neglect a boatload of other pressing needs, namely the line in charge of protecting their $100mil acquisition. Having Tim Tebow and a good run game caused most people to overlook how bad Denver’s o-line was; but if you go back to the games played by Kyle Orton, the holes really start to show. Second-year center J.D. Walton shows no hope of being a viable option, and the guards beside him are not much better. Alas, apparently this woeful interior line concerns no one else because all anyone wants to talk about is DT, CB, or WR. The loss of Broderick Bunkley in free agency to New Orleans cannot be overstated as he was one of the top rush-stopping DTs in the game last year, and UFA Justin Bannan of St. Louis is far from an adequate replacement. They signed CB Tracy Porter to play opposite Champ Bailey, which provides a short term solution to an important need, but in two years they’ll likely find themselves without either—kinda makes you wonder why they let Brian Dawkins considering the anti-youth movement the team is going through. But the argument to draft a receiver is (i.e. in the first) is just plain stupid. Denarius Thomas and Eric Decker are decent receivers as is, but with Peyton Manning they’re practically Pro Bowlers already. Denver also brought in two solid TE options in Joel Dressen (formerly of Houston) and Jacob Tamme (Peyton’s former teammate), which took care of an important need for them. I have my doubts that Willis McGahee can have another good season at RB, especially since most of that came under Tim Tebow (and numerous stats suggest that RBs perform better when paired with running QBs—don’t ask me why), but that’s a position not worth addressing until the middle rounds. Center and Guard is the best way to go in the first, though I have a feeling they’ll go BPA and draft a DT.
John Scott Recommends:
Jerel Worthy DT – Michigan State
Matt, follow that feeling. At this point, if DeCastro, Glenn, and Martin are off the board, the OL will out of the picture. Worthy, at DT, will be the way to go here.
John Scott's Sleeper pick:
Devon Still DT – Penn State
I could’ve gone Andre Branch from Clemson or even Kendall Reyes from Connecticut, but I know how Peen State talk arouses you, Matt. Still it is.
Oakland Raiders
Team Microbrew: Burning Oak Black Lager (Linden Street)
Draft Picks: 3(32), 4(34), 5(13), 5(33), 6(19)
Top Needs: More Draft Picks
Other Considerations: LB, CB, OL, TE
If you’re wondering where the Raiders’ draft picks went: first round went to Cincy for Carson Palmer (along with next year’s second), second round went to the Patriots for their 3rd and 4th rounders last year, third round was used in the supplemental draft for Terrelle Pryor, fourth round was traded to the Redskins for Jason Campbell (who lasted less than a year), and seventh round was traded to the Seahawks for first-round bust LB Aaron Curry. Their third, fourth, and second fifth round picks were all supplemental picks from the losses of Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller, and Robert Gallery last year. After reading all that, you can imagine why owner Mark Davis and CEO Amy Trask—yes, the ONLY female CEO in the NFL—brought in a new GM, Reggie McKenzie, who subsequently cleaned house. The bad news: the most poorly run organization in football for about a decade now only has five picks going into this year’s draft. The good news: they only have four positions of dire need—well, four positional categories is more like it since o-line entails more than one position, and they can technically use help in other areas as well, so yeah…. I guess if you really want to look for the black and silver lining—see what I did there?—this season is pretty much destined to be a wash; so perhaps with next year’s first overall pick, they can draft the presumptive 2012 Heisman-winning QB from USC to replace the 2002 Heisman-winning QB from USC. Good luck with that, Reggie.
John Scott Recommends:
Orson Charles TE – Georgia
He’s slated to go right around the end of the third and while he doesn’t fit the trend of the super-sized, catching tight ends that have been booming lately, I like his hands and production.
John Scott's Sleeper pick:
…It’s the third round… …and it’s the Raiders. Whoever is the fastest guy left.
San Diego Chargers
Team Microbrew: West Coast IPA (Green Flash)
Draft Picks: 1(18), 2(17), 3(15), 4(15), 5(14), 6(13), 7(19), 7(43)
Top Needs: New Management
Other Considerations: WR, DL, CB, LB, OL
The Spanos family—Alex (owner), A.G. (CEO), and Dean (President)—apparently have acquired a palate for mediocrity and underwhelmed expectations, because they opted to bring back GM A.J. Smith and head coach Norv Turner for a seventh and sixth season, respectively. No franchise has mastered the art of wasted talent quite like the San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Lorenzo Neal, Michael Turner, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Shawne Merriman, Antonio Cromartie, Quentin Jammer…just to name a couple from the past five years. They need to add a bunch of help at WR after losing Jackson as well as bolster their shitty-ass defense; but honestly, the Chargers don’t even deserve my time here. Even if they ended up with Justin Blackmon—who gives a shit? He’ll have a few great years with the team, establish himself as a future Hall of Famer, and win a Superbowl with someone else before he turns 30. Fuck the Chargers. Read the needs, make the pick, and move on.
John Scott Recommends (2):
Michael Brockers DT – LSU
Brick House! I said it before. He makes sense here.
John Scott's Sleeper pick:
David DeCastro OG – Stanford
I have Cincy stealing him right before San Diego can get there. But if they don’t, I think it’s a coin toss between DeCastro and Brockers
Kansas City Chiefs
Team Microbrew: Boulevard Wheat (Boulevard Brewing Co.)
Draft Picks: 1(11), 2(12), 3(11), 4(12), 5(11), 6(12), 7(11), 7(31)
Top Needs: QB, OL, DT/NT
Other Considerations: FB, TE, WR, CB & Safety depth
Don’t tell Mike this, but Kansas City has every reason to be excited—and I’m not just talking about the acquisition of Brady Quinn this off-season (lolz). Romeo Crennel is an underrated head coach with the kind of experience that really meshes with this young team. They have a ton of great talents on the roster, and if it weren’t for injury issues last season, they may even have beat out the Broncos for the division title. Peyton Hillis was a great sign in that he perfectly complements Jamaal Charles, who may or may not be back to 100% by the beginning of the season. Brandon Carr was a big loss at CB in free agency, but signing Stanford Routt means it’s not a pressing need for them heading into the draft. Unfortunately, one of their biggest problems is Matt Cassel, whom I really want to like but simply can’t given his generally mediocre performance and whose future is now even more uncertain after sustaining a season ending injury. QB is one of the hardest positions to upgrade at through the draft, especially when drafting outside of the top 10. Unless Tannehill falls and they’re really into him, I can’t think of a QB who warrants an 11th overall selection. That leaves them with a few different options. They technically don’t need a receiver with Dwayne Bowe, Jon Baldwin, and Steve Breaston on the roster; though a guy like Michael Floyd may intrigue them, assuming he’s still available. Some type of offensive linemen has been projected here more commonly than anything else. It’s not that the Chiefs are desperate for o-lineman, but they could certainly use the help and at pick 11 it will probably be the position of most talent available. D-line would be the other choice, and there are plenty of DT prospects who could plug into their 3-4 system. Twelve-year-veteran NT Kelly Gregg has yet to be resigned by the Cheifs; perhaps they already have their eyes on a certain prospect who’s likely to be there at eleven (Dontari Poe?).
John Scott Recommends:
Dontari Poe DT – Memphis
I apologize in advance since I don’t put too much attention towards Conference USA play, but apparently neither do most people. Dontari’s semi-truck like 40 time and overall killer combine has brought him a lot of attention and could be signs of things to come.
John Scott's Sleeper pick:
Riley Reiff OT – Iowa
If Kansas City puts their o-line priority above DT, there is a lot to like about Reiff.
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