ckparrothead said:
Crowder played like a 2nd/3rd rounder if you consider that guys like Shawne Merrimen, Derrick Johnson, Odell Thurman, and Lofa Tatupu all outplayed Channing and were drafted before Channing. On the other hand, nobody after Channing played better than Channing...unless you think Kirk Morrison played better (possible, he had a ton of tackles).
I know people keep trying to pretend that Channing was first round value that we got in the 3rd because of his knees, but that isn't actually the case. Guys like Thurman, Tatupu, Johnson, and Merriman all played better and are better players. Channing might have gone about 15 spaces later than he should have, due to the knees...but he wasn't worth a first even if healthy.
Sorry CK, but that's NOT the case. Channing was INDEED "
first round value" that we got in the 3rd because of his knees. No "pretending" going on.
His talent/size/skills were 1st round calibur......his knees dropped him. Period.
Now, his ACTUAL 2005 NFL performance you could argue that he PLAYED like a 2nd rounder, but as of last April's draft, Crowder was regarded as bona fide
1st round talent......who dropped due to his knees.
There are NUMEROUS respected draft sites that say the same thing, but here's the positional rankings from nfldraftcountdown.com (I could many others):
2005 ILBs:
1.
Channing Crowder Florida
2. Barrett Ruud Nebraska
3. Odell Thurman Georgia
4. Adam Seward U.N.L.V.
5. Alfred Fincher Connecticut
6. Kirk Morrison San Diego St.
7. Lance Mitchell Oklahoma
8. Robert McCune Louisville
9. Marcus Lawrence South Carolina
10. Leroy Hill Clemson
11. Lofa Tatupu USC
12. Mike Goolsby Notre Dame
13. James Kinney Missouri
14. Boomer Grigsby Illinois St.
15. Ronald Stanley Michigan St.
16. Jonathan Pollard Oregon St.
17. Liam Ezekiel Northeastern
18. Martin Patterson T.C.U.
19. David Bergeron, Stanford
2005 OLBs:
1. Derrick Johnson Texas
2. Kevin Burnett Tennessee
3. Darryl Blackstock Virginia
4. Matt McCoy San Diego St.
5. Ernest Shazor Michigan
6. Rian Wallace Temple
7. Ryan Claridge U.N.L.V.
8. Jordan Beck, Cal Poly
9. Michael Boley Southern Miss
10. Jonathan Welsh Wisconsin
11. Derek Wake Penn St.
12. Cornelius Wortham Alabama
13. Jared Newberry Stanford
14. Marques Harris Utah St.
15. Roger Cooper Montana St.
16. Zac Woodfin, U.A.B.
17. Derek Curry Notre Dame
18. Pat Thomas North Carolina St.
19. Jonathan Jackson, Oklahoma
20. Nick Speegle, New Mexico
FYI, Merriman is under the DEs.
Also, this list is based on talent only. Most sites predicted that Crowder, despite being a 1st round
talent, would drop to 2nd or lower based on his knees.
VIRTUALLY EVERY DRAFT SITE SHOWED CROWDER RANKED #1 as ILB, and maybe #3 overall LB (behind only Merriman & Johnson).
For instance, (and there's others) this is from NFL.com:
As far as playing ability goes, Crowder is obviously the blue chip of the class, but his series of knee injuries will scare off a few teams. Crowder is blessed with incredible field awareness, outstanding speed and natural power, but durability issues will certainly come into play before a team makes a decision on whether to draft him. If someone can harness that energy and help him mature, he will be very productive at the next level. Still, with his speed and range, he might bring better value as a weakside linebacker than he can in the middle.
So I'm not pretending Channing was 1st round talent dropping to us in the 3rd because of his knees.
That is in fact what happened.
Like I said, you can argue that he PLAYED worse than the other LBs you mention, but he was indeed considered a 1st round talent.....with bad knees........and that's why he dropped (and justifiably so).