2009 Prospects to Watch

College football and the NFL Draft

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G08
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Just thought I'd fire up this thread for the college football fanatics that have some players in mind that could be/should be wearing Navy and Orange next season (*cough* WAB *cough*) :D
9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES IN THE PAST 35 SEASONS

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RING4CHI
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Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
Greg Orton, WR, Purdue (I don't know much about him at this point, but why not look at an Orton from Purdue?)
Herman Johnson, G, L.S.U.
Andy Levitre, G, Oregon State
Patrick Chung, S, Oregon
David Bruton, S, Notre Dame
Chris Miller, P, Ball State
Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State
Tyler Roehl, RB, North Dakota State
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wab
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I think our top needs in no particular order are WR, DE, OL. Here's who I have on my short list for picks I'd like to see....

Round 1 - Again I think WR, DE, and OL are the obvious picks. If we are picking somewhere in the 20's we should have a shot at guys like:
WR:
Darius Heyward-Bey, Maryland - 6'2 208
Demitrius Byrd, LSU - 6'1 200
Derrick Williams, Penn St - 6'0 200

I think Crabtree and Maclin will be top 10 picks, so as big of a man crush as I have on Crabtree...it's not happening. I'm still of the opinion we should give AZ whatever the hell the want for Boldin.

DE:
Greg Hardy, Ole Miss - 6'5 265
Will Davis, Illinois - 6'3 260
Maurice Evans, Penn St - 6'3 265

It's a pretty weak DE class this year. Orakpo and Johnson should be top 15 picks and Orakpo should be the 1st DE selected. I like to type "O R A K P O" :D

OL:
Andre Smith, G/T - 6'3 330
Duke Robinson, G/T - 6'5 330
Alex Mack, G/C - 6'4 310

I have a hard time believing that Andre Smith is going to be the 1st OL selected. He's BARELY 6'4 and goes anywhere between 330 and 350. He's similar to Shawn Andrews and I don't think he's nearly athletic enough to play on the outside in the NFL. A lot of things have to go right for Smith...he has to measure in at at least 6'4 and he has to keep his weight in check. If he's there, and I think he might be, he should be the pick. Beekman has played fine, but I still say he's Olin's successor. I'm also starting to lose a little faith in Garza...


Some other guys to consider after round one are:

Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio St
Brandon Tate, WR, North Carolina
Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas
Jonathan Luigis, OG/C, Arkansas
Dallas Reynolds, G/T, BYU
Jeremy Perry, OG, Oregon St
Rylan Reed, OT, Texas Tech
Sean Sester, OT, Purdue
DeAngelo Willingham, S, Tennessee
Morgan Trent, CB/S, Michigan
Myron Rolle, S, Florida
Kevin Ellison, S/LB, USC
Clay Matthews JR, DE, USC
Jeremy Lomax, DE, Georgia

We are probably going to need to pick up a safety, OLB, and a RB. I also wouldn't be mad if they threw a 4th rounder at Rhett Bomar...

I'll do my normal "draft stuff" later in the year, but this is a pretty good early list for you to ponder. It's not going to be a particularly strong draft this year, but there is some solid talent...
swami
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This is my list so far:

Michael Johnson
Duke Robinson
Phil Loadholt
Vontae Davis
LeSean McCoy

More to come, but I haven't watched a ton of college ball this season.
swami
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Here's a clip of Michael Johnson going up against Eugene Monroe, generally considered the top OT in this draft: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_tbnh9F9A
Fumblebuck
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Mock draft link.

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/mockdrafts.htm

Has us taking WR in the first.
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Fumblebuck wrote:Mock draft link.

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/mockdrafts.htm

Has us taking WR in the first.
I sure hope we don't draft a reciver in the first rd. The percentages of first rd WR's being flops is pretty high over the years in the 1st rd..
No doubt wide receiver is a need but I'd rather BEARS wait until after rd 1.
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I'd rather Jerry just trade his first round pick for an established star, but if he keeps the pick it better be spent on a safety.
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gaba
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Macklin's pretty good though.
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wab
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If we get Boldin in here we won't need to draft Maclin. I'd like to have Crabtree though...
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gaba
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I would MUCH rather trade the #1 for Boldin. Maclin looks good, but no rookie is a sure-thing.
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Maclin's a phenom. I don't know why, but I don't like Crabtree that much.

Regardless, there is nothing I'd rather see than Boldin wearing a Bear uniform. Nothing. No player I'd rather have on my team.
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swami
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I'll say "thanks, but no thanks" on Maclin.

I think you draft players to improve the lines first. They're the most important positions in the game IMO and both of our lines need to be fixed before we start talking about "skill positions". After the lines, I would say S/CB would be more important than WR at this point.

One guy I forgot about for a while was Vince Oghabassee from Duke. He's a huge DT who uses his hands well and is a great athlete. He needs work with leverage and all that though.
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gaba
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I don't know if it's a great idea to buy into the hype coming out of Mizzou. They seem a little lost and gutless to me.
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swami
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I just don't like Maclin that much. I see a lot of Troy Williamson/Bernard Berrian in them, and those aren't guys you want with your 1st rounder.

I think in general you can find some decent WRs on the free agent scrap heap. It's much easier to find WRs in free agency than it is to find offensive linemen IMO.
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IE
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swami wrote:I just don't like Maclin that much. I see a lot of Troy Williamson/Bernard Berrian in them, and those aren't guys you want with your 1st rounder.

I think in general you can find some decent WRs on the free agent scrap heap. It's much easier to find WRs in free agency than it is to find offensive linemen IMO.
Oh, I agree with the "lineman first" thing... was just commenting on Maclin vs Crabtree & who I liked better of the two.

I'd rather go OL or DL, or trade the first to AZ for AB in a sign&trade thing.
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swami
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If it's between Maclin and Crabtree I think I'd take Crabtree. He's not extremely athletic but he seems to know how to find openings in the coverage and use his body to make catches. I could compare him to Boldin in that regard, though I think it will be hard for any WR to match Boldin's impact. Maclin to me is a guy who can run a sideline or a deep post route and maybe get you a few big plays a year, but those guys are all over the NFL and a lot of them are sitting on the sidelines.
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The new mock from NFLDraftBlitz has us taking WR Kenny Britt out of Rutgers

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/mockdrafts.htm
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