All this is interesting, and you make a great arguement for Crosby CK, but we have a burner in Newson, Gilmore, and Josh D. In other words, these guys are all young. Not to mention Chambers and Boston, with DT and Booker being the slower WR's. Crosby hasn't played since 2001, unfortunate situation. If we spend higher than a 6th, that's crazy. Even if he makes the team, we loose experience with our other young WR's who atleast have a year under their belts. I'm not sold, even though he will probably be a good player in reading your account of him.
At the DT spot, Traylor 35, Zgonia, 34, Chester 29, Romero 25. BU's to them Carter 33, Holiday 31. Gardner was a great run stuffer as well as pass rusher, that's not bad at NT, Gardner role was to take on double teams and still make a impact, which he did. If Wright can play that kind of football, which do you think will make the greatest impact over the next couple of years. A receiver that has to be developed or DT who can probably play year 1.
Finally, we lose a draft pick next year on a maybe..
Newson and Davis do not deserve the title "burner". Neither is fast, especially Davis. If Davis were fast, he would have been drafted. Newson has never been fast either. Gilmore is fast, unfortunately he's not very good. Maybe he's a developmental guy too, but I would rather have some better competition as our "developmental" guy than Josh Davis and Bryan Gilmore. Kendall Newson, let me just say I believed in him too, but you have to know when the odds are worst than they are better. The guy is now injury prone in addition to his not showing up during actual games.
As for the Daryl Gardener comparison, please try and remember that when anyone comes up with these comparisons, they come up with a name everyone KNOWS, so that means a comparison with a guy that turned out to be good. I wasn't saying Manuel Wright is going to be the next Daryl Gardener, I was saying he compares to Daryl in his style of play. That could mean the dude is out of the league within 2 years. Or, it could mean he becomes a hall of famer. Nonetheless he compares with DG, IMO.
Richard Seymour does not play nose tackle much, if at all, in the Pats' scheme. Period.
With Saban's defense coming to Miami you must now segregate defensive line positions into THREE categories, not TWO anymore. Before, with the 4-3 press JJ defense, there are TWO categories, DE and DT. DTs are run stuffing huge dudes. DE's are tall lanky fast passrushers. Now, we've got DE/LBs, who are tall, lanky, fast, and can play in space and passrush, DE/DTs who are tall and possess passrush ability and are big enough to play a "tackle" position, and NTs who are WIDE but not TALL, and whose sole purpose is to tie up two blockers at one time and NOT GET MOVED. This is something people here need to understand. When you consider a guy, you can no longer say "Hey, we need depth at DT" because you have to clarify, we either need depth at NT, depth at DE/DT (or DT/DE whichever you prefer), or depth at DE/LB. Right now, I would say we have plenty of DT/DE players for the 2005 roster. I say we have plenty of DE/LB players as well. But we really only have 2 legitimate, IMO, NT players for the roster (with one being injured), because I do not like Dario Romero at that position.
So the question is, does Manuel Wright fit THAT role? Would he be depth or the future at THAT position. I don't know. That is for the coaches to decide. But what I am saying, is that at 6'6" tall, the odds are against him that he'd be a good nose tackle candidate.
This is why the supplemental draft is so dangerous, with having so few players available in it, you get tunnel vision. What do we need? We need NT. What is there out there? Manuel Wright, who's a DT. Anyone else? Nope. So, I guess we need HIM! And for that, we're going to give up a pick whose value we do not truly know. That, IMO, is as dangerous as drafting for need with the #1 pick in the draft. IMO, you draft Manuel Wright in the supplemental draft and you run the danger of trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.
Roscoe Crosby does not fill a need. He fills an opening, but by no means is that a need. If we draft him, the percentages are more on our side that we did not misevaluate him.
Believe it or not, the Manuel Wright thing in the supplemental draft reminds me a lot of the Vernon Carey situation. And, if Rick Spielman were still here, I would expect he'd end up paying par + 1 to get Manuel Wright.
The reason I've softened on Roscoe Crosby in the supplemental draft is because it is his talent and story that has caught my eye, not his position. Everyone here has had their eye caught by Manuel Wright because of his position, not his talent.