My opinion on next years draft

[InSabanWeTrust1]

Now i know who we take first round is very debateable and no matter what position i mention i will get grief for it. So just hear me out and then you can leave your opinions.

This season our defense is #1 in yards per game. Yes, it is ageing. Yes, we need a play making de/olb and a defensive back. But somehow we are managing to keep opposing teams under 17 points week in and week out. Yeremiah Bell, Andre Goodman, and Renaldo Hill have showed so much improvement in our backfield. Jason Allen even shows promise. We can't give up on him just b/c he didnt come in his first season and dominate. Those guys and Will Allen and Travis Daniels have combined for a fine job these past couple weeks. If they keep this up the rest of the season, i think wewill be in very good shape. Our dline is very old as well. Rodrique Wright, Manny Wright, Evans, and Matt Roth are all young guys that can come in. Hopefully, one of those is our future DT and replacement for kevin carter. Jason Taylor is also old but he is playing like he is still in his prime. I think we have another 3 years before we need someone to fill in for him.

OFFENSE: Ronnie Brown, Chris Chambers, Randy Mcmichael, and vernon carey are the only positions set in stone. Booker has only a few years left so wr is an option. Daunte Culpepper still will have a couple years more to improve. Our offense starts with the o-line. if they don't play well, we won't run the ball. (They have let up 6 sacks in last 6 games very good improvement from 21 in first 4 games).

So what position do we adress? WR? OLB? LT? DB?

I think this offseason we need to strongly pursue the best lt in free agency. this way we know we have a proven stud to protect our qb and help ronnie get free. We spent a #2 overall pick on ronnie but he can not perform well b/c of the olines runblocking in front of him.

assuming we adress LT and possibly wr in free agency, I think we will have around a 10-16 pick( hopefully we make the playoffs and this is not hte case but assuming we dont). This drafts first round is not deep for linebackers or olineman. The top of the draft has studs at these positions but the middle is really DBS, oline, and dline. Maybe we find a de that can move to outside linebacker there or maybe posluzny falls, but most likely well take the BPA here which will most likely be a Defensive Back, Outside Tackle, or a Defensive End/Defensive Tackle.


DBS in middle of 1st: Landry, Mccauley, Revis
OTS: Long, Levi Brown,
DLINE: Branch, Pit****, okam

and posluszny might be an option as well as jarret wr usc.

hopefully we can adress one or two of our major needs with big free agent signings.

our second round pick is essentially a late first and those late 1st guys usually fall to early 2nd so, abiamiri the de from notre dame, sidney rice wr usc, or aaron rouse s virginia tech will be there for us to grab an amazing 2nd round pick.

-Insabanwetrust!

 

[Nick13]

i like your analysis. however, Antoine Cason is a middle 1st round CB prospect and in my opinion the best CB in the draft. i agree we should get a LT in FA so that we have someone proven in there, i really think Cason is a pick that will energize this defense, take some pressure off the front seven knowing they dont need to get a dynamite pass rush every single play because cason has half of the field locked down. it gives us more flexibility with blitzing because we dont have to drop LB's into coverage, and it allows us to shut down runs because the D-line doesnt have to get that big push to collapse the pocket on everyplay which opens holes for RB's.

 

[mmikel30]

somebody on here made a really good point and yesterdayit made alot of sense saban tried to trade up last year for haloti nagata when traylor is out of the lineup there is a noticeable difference and he is old and won't be back next year i bet money we go dt with our #1 pick unless we get a tracktor clone in free agency

 

[RoninFin4]

Who you planning to get in FA that's a proven LT? There's not gonna be many prospects out there.

 

[Puffboy(ricky)]

Who you planning to get in FA that's a proven LT? There's not gonna be many prospects out there.

And with that said, they come with huge price tags that we can't afford and still make upgrades throughout the team. We do not send enough early round pics on offensive linemen and very much need to have real quality talent there. At least some, ya know. How many years have we been trying to get by with less. One time at band camp, just kidding, Shula drafted Webb and Simms and we were fine for a long long time. We need that kinda of good, lucky draft.

 

[RoninFin4]

And with that said, they come with huge price tags that we can't afford and still make upgrades throughout the team. We do not send enough early round pics on offensive linemen and very much need to have real quality talent there. At least some, ya know. How many years have we been trying to get by with less. One time at band camp, just kidding, Shula drafted Webb and Simms and we were fine for a long long time. We need that kinda of good, lucky draft.

And with that said, I agree, it's high-time we drafted a cornerstone OT, and I think that one will be available in round 1 or 2 this year.

 

[InSabanWeTrust1]

early to mid 2nd there will be some good prospects = to first round picks. at 10th overall i want a playmaker and THEN 2nd round grab a guy equivalent to mcneil this year (2nd round pick who has been playing studly).

i dont want a robert gallery bust in the first round. i'd prefer DT, OLB, or CB first round since we wont go qb, rb, te, and i hope we get a solid wr in FA. Adress the oline with 2 picks in rounds 2-4. Dont forget Joe Toledo is coming back.

 

[Ozfin77]

I can't help but think we'll take LaRon Landry in the first round.

Not that I necessarily agree with it, but he's a guy Nick knows and would help to solidify our seconday. We've been ok the past couple weeks, but as we all know, we got toasted that many times earlier in the year, it's something that needs to be looked at.

If Landry's there, and BPA, I see Nick taking him. No Question.

Whichever way you go, it's going to be expensive to get a top OL or DL. I think I'd find a top OT through FA and take a young DE/DT in the draft if we're in the 10-16 range.

Just to get the conversation going alittle more, here are the main FA OL that I could find for next season;

Max Starks RFA Pittsburgh Steelers
Leonard Davis UFA Arizona Cardinals
Mike Gandy, UFA, Buffalo Bills
Eric Steinbach, UFA, Bengals
Jordan Black, UFA, Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Carswell, UFA, Denver Broncos
Derrick Dockery, UFA, Washington Redskins
Chris Gray, UFA, Seattle Seahawks
Sean Locklear, RFA, Seattle Seahawks
Vincent Manuwai, UFA, Jacksonville Jaguars
Roman Oben, UFA, San Diego Chargers
Eric Steinbach, UFA, Cincinnati Bengals
Todd Steussie, UFA, St. Louis Rams
Floyd Womack, UFA, Seattle Seahawks

Who do you guys think would be the best OL to persue?

 

[InSabanWeTrust1]

oben carswell or starks

denver, san diego, and pittsburgh have had killer rushing attacks the past couple years no matter who was running the ball. they wouldnt be that expensive and would definitely solidify another spot on the line

 

[VanDolPhan]

early to mid 2nd there will be some good prospects = to first round picks. at 10th overall i want a playmaker and THEN 2nd round grab a guy equivalent to mcneil this year (2nd round pick who has been playing studly).

McNeil's don't come in every draft in the 2nd round for OT's. They are the exception not the rule.

McNeil slid because of spinal stenosis an injury that many teams think may end his career early on. He's a risk vs reward pick.

I do believe we need to draft a LT prospect I just think we go first round on that unless there is a DT in the same area that can replace Traylor (cause I can't see Saban passing on such).

 

[colmax]

oben carswell or starks

denver, san diego, and pittsburgh have had killer rushing attacks the past couple years no matter who was running the ball. they wouldnt be that expensive and would definitely solidify another spot on the line

Starks from Pittsburgh isn't going anywhere IMO. ALL of Denver's OLinemen are undersized, which enables them to dominate in their zone blocking scheme. From what I see, Saban is going for bigger OLineman. He wants big guys to punish defenses at the line.