I think we should go ahead and draft DMac w/ the 1st pick. We all know that Jones has some serious wood for him, which gives us some leverage.
With the second pick, I think we can get OT Sam Baker at 32. If he's not as good as JLong, he certainly isn't for behind. I pretty confident that he has successfully recovered from his injuries and can be the same anchor for the OL that Long would be.
What I'm really hoping for is that Jerry flips out when we select DMac and he gives us an insane trade for him. Just my thoughts.
With the second pick, I think we can get OT Sam Baker at 32. If he's not as good as JLong, he certainly isn't for behind. I pretty confident that he has successfully recovered from his injuries and can be the same anchor for the OL that Long would be.
http://www.nfldraftdog.com/2008_nfl_draft/Sam-Baker-USC.htmI remember almost three years ago, after the 2004 football season, Hall of Fame offensive lineman Anthony Munoz said something to the effect that USC’s Sam Baker was the best NFL Prospect that he has ever seen. That year Baker started all of 2004 at left offensive tackle for USC as a redshirt freshman. Fast forward to 2007 and Munoz’s words of wisdom are coming true. While Baker isn’t rated as high as Michigan’s Jake Long on most NFL Draft Boards that I have seen, he is not far behind.
When you look at his past and his pedigree it’s easy to see why he is one of the most heralded offensive lineman to ever play college football. His Dad is the commissioner of the Arena Football League and formerly played pro basketball in Europe and his brother was an offensive lineman at Duke. Baker himself, out of high school was highly decorated and sought after. He was a Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Student Sports All-American, Tom Lemming All-American, USA Today All-USA second team, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, The Sporting News Hot 100, Tom Lemming Top 100. I think you get the point, he was quite the recruiting catch for USC.
Baker was given a redshirt in 2003 and like I pointed out earlier, he started at left tackle for the entire 2004 season as a redshirt freshman. That year he made the 2004 Football Writers, The Sporting News, Collegefootballnews.com and Rivals.com Freshman All-American first teams, All-Pac-10 second team, ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team and The Sporting News Freshman All-Pac-10 first team. He was also named USC's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
As a sophomore in 2006 he played left tackle again and continued to improve, He won numerous accolades:
· 2005 CBS Sportsline.com All-American first team, AP and Rivals.com
· All-American third team
· SI.com All-American honorable mention squad
· 2005 All-Pac-10 first team
· 2005 ESPN.com All-Pac-10 team
· USC's Co-Lifter of the Year Award
In 2006 as a junior Sam Baker continued to improve and get stronger and could have been a very early draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, had he entered as a junior. He emerges as one of the top offensive lineman in the nation and was awarded:
· 2006 All-Pac-10 first team
· ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team
· Rivals.com All-Pac-10 first team
· Scout.com All-Pac-10 first team
· 2006 Playboy Pre-Season All-American team.
Update: Baker, a 4-year starter, played through injuries most this season with sore ribs and tight hamstring, but was still a 3-time All-Pac-10 first teamer and a semifinalist for the 2007 Lombardi Award. He was also named to the Walter Camp All-American first team, making him USC's third-ever 3-time All-American. He is a supreme talent and has the talent to start at tackle or guard in the NFL as a rookie, but he needs to work on his strength and conditioning and he will need to have a good workout at the scouting combine to maintain his top 10 NFL Draft status.
What I'm really hoping for is that Jerry flips out when we select DMac and he gives us an insane trade for him. Just my thoughts.