vinivedivichi
So you're telling me there's a chance...
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 1,133
- Reaction score
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- Age
- 41
Jason Allen- I won't even try to hide the fact that I was very disappointed with this selection at first (as almost all of us probably were). Why was I disappointed..?...For one, this draft was deep with quality secondary players. If we were gonna go secondary with our first rounder, I felt from the beginning that we should have traded down and settled for whichever DB fell to us. I didn't necessarily dislike Jason Allen, it's more that I didn't feel he represented value at 16 when figuring in the depth of the position in this draft. My personal favorite @ 16 was Lawson.
In hindsight, especially after reading some of the information on the internet, my initial reaction was wrong. The main reason for my change of heart is based on Saban's disclosure (essentially) that he felt Allen was a cut above the other DB's in the draft. I assumed that all of the DB's that were on the board @16 were fairly similar in talent, but Saban felt different and I will certainly take his judgement over mine considering his track record.
That said, I don't really think that we got the guy we targeted. From all indications Saban thought Wimbley had a chance to fall to us and would have snatched him up had he made it to 16. He didn't, so we went with the last guy that we felt was worthy of that pick. I am comforted knowing that we at least had an opportunity to trade down, but Saban felt that Allen was too good to risk losing by accepting the offer.
In short, we got a DB that Saban really likes. It wasn't a huge need for us, but it certainly helps the secondary. Some of the big time draft talent evaluators are more qualified than I am to express an opinion on his talent, but by most indications it's pretty clear to me that the guy can play and his talent warrants a first round selection. As long as his hip stays in place, we should have a good/great corner/safety for the next few years.
Derek Hagan-I really like this pick. Now I saw the senior bowl practices that contributed to his fall, but IMO you can't over value that week of practices when looking at his whole body of work up to this point. He couldn't catch a cold at the Senior Bowl, but before that week he had never been known as a guy that dropped passes. I think it's safe to say he was nervous and just had a bad week.
He's a guy that's big, apparently has good acceleration, and can run. His forty time is pretty good, but I find it odd that most accounts say he is not a deep threat (maybe some of the real draft gurus can explain that). Even so, he fits very nicely into our offense as a slot receiver and has the talent to eventually supplant Booker if we choose to go that route. There is also the chance (based on his measurables) that he is a steal and develops into a stud. Essentially we have a guy that is good short term and could be great long term.....Great value for the third round.
Joe Toledo- A very big guy that is quick (used to play TE) and projects either as a T or G. All accounts say he has a lot of potential, and Houck has a knack for developing O-line potential. I don't know a lot about the guy, but again, I defer to our staff on this one....If Houck likes him then I like him.
Remember, we shouldn't be too disappointed if 4th rounders don't pan out. I think at this point Saban & Co. are looking for guys with potential that may need some time to develop. If they do develop, Great...but if not we haven't lost much. I'd much rather take a chance on a guy with good measurables than settle for a guy who can come right in and help on special teams but doesn't have much potential.
Fred Evans/Rod Wright-Both of these guys, again, seem to have a lot of physical talent. Wright may be miss this season with a shoulder injury, but that's fine because we probably won't need him this year. Evans will have an uphill battle competing with Manny Wright and Vickerson for a roster spot, but he's another guy that has potential. In '07 I'm 90% sure one of these guys will be on our roster, and that's plenty good enough for a pair of seventh round choices IMO.
Devin Aromashodu-I really liked this pick a lot. He's a burner that could compete with Kelly Campbell for offense's burner, but at the very least he should be able to help us out on special teams in the short term. Good chance he makes the team, so again, I like the pick.
Summary-I'll be the first to say that our draft was not flashy. No Manny Lawson or Chad Jackson(fan favorites), but we acquired guys that should fit well into our schemes and we really did well in finding some potential in the later rounds. What did we accomplish?
-Our wide receiver position is no longer "thin." Hagan is polished enough to start the year in the slot, and Campbell/Aromashodu are is perfect for the 4th receiver spot. We went from being thin to being deep in two days. Not too bad.
-Our secondary should benefit greatly from a talent like Allen. I don't really know how he fits (i.e. safety or corner), but I do know that he is an instant upgrade at either position. I'm actually fairly comfortable with our corners, so I'd prefer to see him take over one of the starting safety positions, but again I'll accept whatever Saban decides.
-Long term potential. We already have Vickerson, M. Wright, and Alabi incubating.... now add to that list R. Wright, Toledo, and Evans. It may take a while, but eventually we will see some of these guys on the field and they could develop into starters. I love Saban's restraint, so to speak, to be able to build for the future as well as the present. Instead of picking limited players to fill out need positions on the roster, he seems to target guys that could develop into players down the road. Some may disagree, but I think that is a great philosophy and it should pay dividends down the road for us - especially considering that we have an excellent coaching staff that should be able to develop these guys. One of my big beefs with the previous regimes was their short-sightedness; I love that Saban balances current competitiveness with long-term value.
In hindsight, especially after reading some of the information on the internet, my initial reaction was wrong. The main reason for my change of heart is based on Saban's disclosure (essentially) that he felt Allen was a cut above the other DB's in the draft. I assumed that all of the DB's that were on the board @16 were fairly similar in talent, but Saban felt different and I will certainly take his judgement over mine considering his track record.
That said, I don't really think that we got the guy we targeted. From all indications Saban thought Wimbley had a chance to fall to us and would have snatched him up had he made it to 16. He didn't, so we went with the last guy that we felt was worthy of that pick. I am comforted knowing that we at least had an opportunity to trade down, but Saban felt that Allen was too good to risk losing by accepting the offer.
In short, we got a DB that Saban really likes. It wasn't a huge need for us, but it certainly helps the secondary. Some of the big time draft talent evaluators are more qualified than I am to express an opinion on his talent, but by most indications it's pretty clear to me that the guy can play and his talent warrants a first round selection. As long as his hip stays in place, we should have a good/great corner/safety for the next few years.
Derek Hagan-I really like this pick. Now I saw the senior bowl practices that contributed to his fall, but IMO you can't over value that week of practices when looking at his whole body of work up to this point. He couldn't catch a cold at the Senior Bowl, but before that week he had never been known as a guy that dropped passes. I think it's safe to say he was nervous and just had a bad week.
He's a guy that's big, apparently has good acceleration, and can run. His forty time is pretty good, but I find it odd that most accounts say he is not a deep threat (maybe some of the real draft gurus can explain that). Even so, he fits very nicely into our offense as a slot receiver and has the talent to eventually supplant Booker if we choose to go that route. There is also the chance (based on his measurables) that he is a steal and develops into a stud. Essentially we have a guy that is good short term and could be great long term.....Great value for the third round.
Joe Toledo- A very big guy that is quick (used to play TE) and projects either as a T or G. All accounts say he has a lot of potential, and Houck has a knack for developing O-line potential. I don't know a lot about the guy, but again, I defer to our staff on this one....If Houck likes him then I like him.
Remember, we shouldn't be too disappointed if 4th rounders don't pan out. I think at this point Saban & Co. are looking for guys with potential that may need some time to develop. If they do develop, Great...but if not we haven't lost much. I'd much rather take a chance on a guy with good measurables than settle for a guy who can come right in and help on special teams but doesn't have much potential.
Fred Evans/Rod Wright-Both of these guys, again, seem to have a lot of physical talent. Wright may be miss this season with a shoulder injury, but that's fine because we probably won't need him this year. Evans will have an uphill battle competing with Manny Wright and Vickerson for a roster spot, but he's another guy that has potential. In '07 I'm 90% sure one of these guys will be on our roster, and that's plenty good enough for a pair of seventh round choices IMO.
Devin Aromashodu-I really liked this pick a lot. He's a burner that could compete with Kelly Campbell for offense's burner, but at the very least he should be able to help us out on special teams in the short term. Good chance he makes the team, so again, I like the pick.
Summary-I'll be the first to say that our draft was not flashy. No Manny Lawson or Chad Jackson(fan favorites), but we acquired guys that should fit well into our schemes and we really did well in finding some potential in the later rounds. What did we accomplish?
-Our wide receiver position is no longer "thin." Hagan is polished enough to start the year in the slot, and Campbell/Aromashodu are is perfect for the 4th receiver spot. We went from being thin to being deep in two days. Not too bad.
-Our secondary should benefit greatly from a talent like Allen. I don't really know how he fits (i.e. safety or corner), but I do know that he is an instant upgrade at either position. I'm actually fairly comfortable with our corners, so I'd prefer to see him take over one of the starting safety positions, but again I'll accept whatever Saban decides.
-Long term potential. We already have Vickerson, M. Wright, and Alabi incubating.... now add to that list R. Wright, Toledo, and Evans. It may take a while, but eventually we will see some of these guys on the field and they could develop into starters. I love Saban's restraint, so to speak, to be able to build for the future as well as the present. Instead of picking limited players to fill out need positions on the roster, he seems to target guys that could develop into players down the road. Some may disagree, but I think that is a great philosophy and it should pay dividends down the road for us - especially considering that we have an excellent coaching staff that should be able to develop these guys. One of my big beefs with the previous regimes was their short-sightedness; I love that Saban balances current competitiveness with long-term value.
