So the draft is under way. Probably won't see anyone from our coverage area go today with the exception of Leodis McKelvin from Troy (who was just picked by Buffalo as I type this). But tomorrow should be a pretty active day for guys from Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Georgia Tech.
I did a story earlier this week on Philip Wheeler, the Georgia Tech linebacker from Columbus, who could go somewhere in the third or fourth round. It will be interesting to see what happens with some of his Tech teammates (particularly RB Tashard Choice and P Durant Brooks). As for Georgia, I imagine Marcus Howard or possibly Thomas Brown will be the first guys off the board.
I've done a lot of reading on the Georgia guys' draft chances over the last few days. Here's my best guess of when they might go.
Marcus Howard -- third to fifth
Thomas Brown -- fourth or fifth round
Fernando Velasco -- fifth to seventh
Brandon Coutu -- sixth, seventh, free agent
Chester Adams -- free agent
Sean Bailey -- free agent
Thomas Flowers -- free agent
Kelin Johnson -- free agent
Kregg Lumpkin -- free agent
Brandon Miller -- free agent
On an semi-related note, what do you folks think about the Falcons taking Matt Ryan with their first pick? I can't say I'm a fan of that choice. I'm not a scout by any means, but I didn't see No. 3 overall pick in Ryan in the times that I saw him play. Yeah he threw for more than 4,000 yards, but he had 31 TDs against a whopping 19 interceptions this year. And against his better competition, his numbers weren't superb. I guess I'm just a little skeptical.
I would have liked to see the Falcons take a defensive lineman there (preferably Glenn Dorsey) and then address quarterback later with someone like Chad Henne (who looked great at the Senior Bowl practices I watched). Ryan seems like a good guy and I hope he works out, but I'm not sure he's as good as he's cracked up to be.
The Falcons can really help themselves if they draft wisely over the next two days. They have a ton of needs, but 10 picks left after taking Ryan. I'd like to see them wind up with a good running back in the next round or two and really address their needs on the offensive line. We'll see what happens...
4 comments:
I'm with you David. I'm not a Matt Ryan fan at all. I understand the Falcons' need for a QB, but why not trade down and get a signal caller later in the round? They probably could have still ended up with Ryan, because no other team would have taken him in the top 15. Atlanta's impotence in the draft continues.
I know this is way, way early, but who do you like from UGA,GT, Auburn for the 2009 draft?
You know, Georgia could have a bunch of guys get picked next year. And that's without considering any of the early entry possibilities. It sounds to me as if Brannan Southerland and Jeff Owens are Georgia's best-regarded seniors at their respective positions (both generally considered in the top five). I'd think Dannell Ellerbe and Mohamed Massaquoi will be drafted, and a bunch of guys could work their way into the draft with a good senior year -- Byrd, Wynn, Chandler are the first names that come to mind. Won't speculate on the younger guys who could leave early if they choose, although that option will definitely be there for a couple of juniors.
This next senior class only has 13 scholarship seniors. You named over half of them.
(The others are Goodman, Harris, Henson, Irvin, Lomax, R. Brown)
Well, Owens and Southerland would be locks to be picked if the '09 draft was held tomorrow. I think if Dannell's got a good chance if he has another year like last year. I think Mohamed will have a good enough year to get in there next year, although I don't think he'd be drafted if he were in this weekend's draft class. The other guys probably wouldn't get picked right now, but if Georgia has the year most of you are expecting, that means at least one or two of them probably do enough to get some NFL attention next year, too. I'd say four or so of the rising seniors is a safe guess on who gets picked next year. Maybe more.
Post a Comment