2.5 - RG Reggie WellsWells is a player I was hoping was going to fall to one of my picks, and of course it was no one else except Kevin (would have been Travis if there was a trade up) who snagged him before I had the chance. Wells is one of the biggest freaks in this whole draft, and the only reason he made it out of the first round is because of just how raw he is. The preliminary numbers show him as having 71 PBK and just 68 RBK. That is abysmal. The good news is that he has 62 AWR, and won't need as much work there. With 67 SPD/93 STR/70 AGI/76 AGI has the potential to be one of the absolute best lineman in the whole league, but he's got a long way to go to earn that distinction. The trouble for the Jets is that they have Superbowl aspirations and it could be hard to give someone as currently inept as Wells playing time. Perhaps they will try to shelter him at LG where his deficiencies can be masked a bit, especially if he is surrounded by good players. I'm interested to see how - and if - the Jets will make Wells they player they drafted him to be.
2.19 - DE Tyler BraytonI don't see this as a huge steal, but I definitely think the Dolphins found great value here. Brayton has great athleticism with 84 SPD/80 AGI/83 ACC, but what I really love about him is his 6'6", 280 lb frame, which should help make up for his somewhat lackluster 68 STR. I would be fascinated to see how this guy would play out of position as an OLB, especially in a 3-4. I've had success with it in other leagues, even when it means taking quite a hit in AWR to do so. Linebackers of his size are just too valuable. If the Dolphins decide to stick with him as a DE, he should still be effective too, but not nearly as unique of a player who could be a strategic chess piece on the defensive side of the ball.
2.23 - HB Willis McGaheeI worked out McGahee in addition to the HB I drafted, Chris Brown, and both turned out to be almost exactly the same player despite the somewhat drastic differences in their pre-draft ratings, so obviously I think this is a great selection almost twenty picks later. The big knock on McGahee coming out is his low injury rating, but there seems to be differing opinions on just how much that really matters. When McGahee is health he can be up there with some of the better HBs in the league, and I'm certainly going to keep eyes on how much his injury rating truly ends up impacting his career. For a player that was mocked in the first round and I had a first round grade on, you can't beat the value here in the late 2nd round.
2.27 - QB Kyle BollerI will start off by saying that Boller was the #12 ranked player on my board. His 72 AWR is phenomenal for a rookie quarterback, and 84 THA isn't terrible at all. Now, my ranking is a bit misleading, because I did not at all pick up on the fact that Boller will actually be a scrambler, which is a combination of frustrating and disappointing to me. I'm not entirely sure what the point of making a player who can't run but is just barely considered a running QB by the game engine. Either way, if the Packers can muster the activity points to convert him to a pocket quarterback, this is a steal with the 27th pick of the 2nd round, at least this early in the history of the league where QBs are still hard to come by. Some will hate his THP, but I think we've all seen that low THP quarterbacks can be effective, even throwing the deep ball. Now for the age old question - how long does this young, talented QB have to sit behind Brett Favre before getting a crack at the starting job?
2.28 - OG Eric SteinbachWith back to back picks making the list, things are starting to heat up. Steinbach probably didn't make a ton of draft boards with just 81 STR on paper, but veteran GM Travis Robbins knew where opportunity might lie and gave him a private workout anyways. Word on the street is that Steinbach skewed up in STR, and he will receive at least +2 STR through rookie progression. If the Patriots are willing to invest some extra time in him and get him up to 87 or 88 STR, this could be a true steal due to Steinbach's elite athleticism. 69 SPD/68 AGI/77 ACC is the kind of athleticism that most offensive lineman in this league simply don't have, and to find a unique athlete this late is a great job scouting and drafting by New England. And while most of the super-athletic lineman coming off the board at this point are also super-raw, that's not the case at all here. Steinbach has 72 AWR and 86 PBK, and has the technique to come in and play right away if his STR can hold up.
3.14 - OG Derrick DockeryThis OL class was deep, probably the deepest for any position in the whole class. That's evident by a talent like Dockery coming off the board in a sea of mediocrity. While others were drafting players that according to some would never have a chance to start anyways, the Vikings were busy finding a beast like Dockery. His STR is a bit low at 86, but the thing you have to understand about OL and DTs in this league is that they are automatically given +2 STR, +3 STR if they are not to 84 OVR yet by the end of their second year. That puts Dockery to 89 STR. Then factor in 62 SPD/64 AGI/70 ACC, and you have a player. But the best part about Dockery is that he is a massive 6'6", 347 lbs. Having a big guy who can move like that is a boon to any offense. He's also one of the few talented offensive lineman left who wasn't extremely raw with a good 64 AWR to go with 79 PBK and 86 RBK. The Vikings found a future starter and a future mauler here with this pick.
3.27 - HB Larry JohnsonI was pretty surprised to see that Larry Johnson
almost made it to the
4th round. I think it speaks to just how much more talented the RBs were at the onset of this league compared to some of the other positions. 88 SPD/74 STR/88 ACC is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consdier his 6'1", 228 lb frame. He's not going to be a stud, but he is a player you can feel good about handing the ball to in a pinch. Great value here with the 27th pick in the 3rd round.
3.30 - RG Taylor WhitleyI traded a future 2nd to get back into the draft and select a very similar player to Whitley who I knew I would have trouble retaining in 4 years, so it's no wonder Whitley made this list. He's another OL that has elite athleticism but needs work in other areas. But the good news is that he has that automatic help coming his way to boost his 85 STR -> 88 STR, and should automatically progress to 66 SPD/88 STR/72 AGI/80 ACC. That is a fantastic lineman! Of course, Whitley will need development with 56 AWR/79 PBK/74 RBK starting out, but if the Bears are willing to put the work in they have a future starter on their hands. And if you haven't noticed by now, I'm all about finding potential starters as late into the draft as possible. This is the kind of draft where I would draft five lineman if I had to, and is how I've become to be known as having a "cornerback problem." If I had 3 third round picks in this draft, I would have had a "lineman problem." Love the pick by the Bears here three picks before the start of the fourth round.
