Ludacris
FinHeaven VIP
Deception is not a bad word…I always thought Saban was a coach who kept his cards close to his chest. So when I heard he was speaking quite openly to Chad Jackson at the senior bowl, I thought that was quite out of character. I seems that, since WR is not his greatest need, could he be deceiving everyone? He obviously wants the best value from this draft so if value can’t come to him he had to go get it by implying he needs a 1st round WR. This way, other GMs will value WRs more and perhaps jump in front of Miami to pick a WR. Denver my have called his bluff and taken the bait already. Now, players with great value whom he targets could drop to the 16th pick. Having said that, here is where I think Saban will go with his first 3 picks (just for fun). I wish I had a crystal ball…Round 1) Manny Lawson – OLB/DE NC State. - Saban will try like hell to trade down because this draft is deep. If however he fails that, I believe he picks Manny Lawson. Lawson is dangerous, relentless, big, fast and is an intelligent explosive playmaker. The type of player Saban likes. Saban has tried to go after Arrington, which means his defense needs a big menacing pass rushing OLB to blitz the edge, beat the OT opposite Jason Taylor (so the offense can’t slide to JT) and affect the passer. This, I believe is more important than the secondary for Saban’s defensive philosophy and scheme. Round 3) Pat Watkins – S Florida State - I think the Dolphin’s are ok with Will Allen, Will Poole, Travis Daniels and Andre Goodman as their corners but there is a deep concern for the safety position. I believe Watkins will get picked up here because of his size to defend tight ends, his speed and his ability to make plays. He is big enough to play in the box and even rush the passer. Because of his height though, he is not very agile around the field. Round 4) Jonathan Orr – WR Wisconsin. - Culpepper will need a third receiver to throw to and Orr could be that big, speedy target. Like Chambers, he could be another Wisconsin product who could get overlooked because of their run-first style of offence. Orr has good hands but needs to work hard on his route running.