Call them the dueling draft gurus as ESPNs Mel Kiper, still the dean of draft gurus, and NFL.com’s Mike Mayock, the new kid on the block, have different views on what Detroit should do with the first overall pick at next week’s draft. Kiper still believes that the Lions should take Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with the pick, while Mayock thinks Virginia OT Eugene Monroe should go #1 overall.
In an ESPN interview on Thursday, Stafford reiterated earlier comments that he’d very much like to be taken by the Lions and isn’t daunted by the fact that Detroit is starting over once again. Stafford didn’t go so far as to say he would be the pick though; there had been media reports last week that Stafford was telling friends at Georgia that he’d be signing a $40M contract with the Lions.
There has also been something of a quiet drumbeat around the league that even though many teams have him rated right a the top of their boards, Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry may not necessarily be a top 5 pick at this month’s draft.
Nothing wrong with Curry’s game or attitude; indeed, they’re both exemplary, however, Curry really isn’t going to rush the passer at the next level and therefore will play either MLB or on the strong side and neither is a highly-valued draft day position…Meanwhile, just what the 2009 draft needs is another quality tweener DE who looks like a potentially good it as a 3-4 rush LB, but add the name of Michigan State’s Brandon Long to that list which already includes the likes of Brian Orakpo, Aaron Maybin, Everette Brown, Michael Johnson, Larry English et al. Long was an undersized 4-3 DE at MSU where he had 5.5 sacks last fall, but at 6-2, 255 has good size for a 3-4 OLB, and really started to get some notice when he ran the 40 in close to 4.6 seconds at the Spartans’ pro day. For good measure, Long has a great motor and should also be able to impact on special teams early in his NFL career.
http://www.gbnreport.com/draftbuzz.html
In an ESPN interview on Thursday, Stafford reiterated earlier comments that he’d very much like to be taken by the Lions and isn’t daunted by the fact that Detroit is starting over once again. Stafford didn’t go so far as to say he would be the pick though; there had been media reports last week that Stafford was telling friends at Georgia that he’d be signing a $40M contract with the Lions.
There has also been something of a quiet drumbeat around the league that even though many teams have him rated right a the top of their boards, Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry may not necessarily be a top 5 pick at this month’s draft.
Nothing wrong with Curry’s game or attitude; indeed, they’re both exemplary, however, Curry really isn’t going to rush the passer at the next level and therefore will play either MLB or on the strong side and neither is a highly-valued draft day position…Meanwhile, just what the 2009 draft needs is another quality tweener DE who looks like a potentially good it as a 3-4 rush LB, but add the name of Michigan State’s Brandon Long to that list which already includes the likes of Brian Orakpo, Aaron Maybin, Everette Brown, Michael Johnson, Larry English et al. Long was an undersized 4-3 DE at MSU where he had 5.5 sacks last fall, but at 6-2, 255 has good size for a 3-4 OLB, and really started to get some notice when he ran the 40 in close to 4.6 seconds at the Spartans’ pro day. For good measure, Long has a great motor and should also be able to impact on special teams early in his NFL career.
http://www.gbnreport.com/draftbuzz.html