KA1Z3R's Ramblings: My Last Draft Thoughts

Well we're officially in the month of the almighty draft and I thought I should give my last two bits on some draft stuff. Keep in mind, I'm pretty much just going to ramble on so forgive me for the disorganization.

-Draft Needs-

Going into the offseason our needs were WR, OT, C, DT, DE, and LB. Through smart offseason moves, that list has now shrunk to WR, D-Line, LB, and S. Satele and the new OT's have rid us of O-Line needs (though some guard depth would be nice) The release of Wilson made an already lacking position of S an official need. So let's see, 5 draft picks, 5 needs (D-Line consists of DT and DE so that's two) Now where wil we draft what, and who will we draft?

I would like to remark on two draft conundrums. What LB spot do we really need? Do we keep Morrison in the middle and draft an outside man? Or do we move Morrison to his natural OLB position and get an actual MLB? This problem could have been solved by signing FA Angelo Crowell who plays both OLB and MLB very well. But I'm talking draft and not FA. Personally I think it has to be draft a middle guy and move Morrison. Either way we need a LB.

The other conundrum, what type of safety are we going to look for? Are we going to have Huff play SS or FS, will Huff even start, will we instead start Branch or Eugene, and if Branch, at what position? I hope Oakland has figured that out. I think that Branch should be starting at FS and we should be trying to find an SS. I understand Huff at SS, but he wasn't good there either. Both of the aforementioned conundrums need to be sorted out before Oakland starts drafting.

-How I think Oakland's Draft Will Go Down-

There's a lot of draft speculation around here and there's pretty much four distinct "parties" for what we should do with our first round pick. There's the Crabtree Party, the Raji Party, the Orakpo Party, and the Trade Down Party. I fall under no real party as I believe that if neither Orakpo nor Crabtree is available when we pick, we must trade down for extra picks. Raji's not a very solid pick in my mind, and thus not worth our #7 pick. Orakpo is an every-down DE, which means a run-stopper other than Richardson and a pass rusher other than Burgess and Scott. Chances are Burgess is out after this year and will most likely get injured this year. We need our DE of the future. Enter Orakpo.

I also agree with the Crabtree Party (officially headed by posey) that we need a true #1 receiver. Now while I don't want Crabtree, I must express why he's one of my three primary options. He's arguably got the best hands in the draft (i personally think nicks does but I'm trying not to input much of my own opinions) and is also a speedy guy. That's a combination that Oakland doesn't possess.  He also possesses a lot of moves to turn a five-yard catch, into a 30-yard catch-and-run. However, he is banged up right now and we don't know if that will affect his abilities or not.

Then there's the Trade Down Party. I like this, especially if the Eagles will comply. Admittedly a long-shot, but moving into the the late first and getting a couple seconds sounds like something a team like New England would be interested in. Pick up Heyward-Bey, maybe Laurinitis, or even someone like Michael Johnson or Robert Ayers. Then there's the second round where we could get a solid DT. Trading down sounds very good to me as we're getting short on draft picks and have a lot of question marks on the team.

Now what do I think will happen? I see two possibilities which revolve around the Browns. Will they draft Crabtree, or Orakpo? You have to remember that their WR corps are now really weak. All they have left is Edwards and Cribbs, and Edwards is on the trading block. How long till he's gone? No more Jurevicious (or however you spell it), no more Stallworth, and possibly no more Edwards. That leaves Quinn/Anderson with no targets (especially with Winslow gone). So Crabtree is just as much an option as Orakpo. Whoever they don't take will fall to Oakland. Whoever that is, Al will most certainly draft him.

Personally, I see us drafting Crabtree which does anger me slightly. But not too bad as he does give our already decent offense yet another playmaker.

As for the rest of the draft? In the second Oakland will take a DT, no matter who we draft in the first. Look for Brace or Hood to be called up. Both are big run stoppers and will most likely start in Oakland this year. However, two second round wild cards that would please me are Jarron Gilbert and Paul Kruger. Great pass rushers at DE with Gilbert also being a quality run stopper. Both could play full-time and would be very nice pickups by Oakland. Final verdict on Round 2: DT Evander Hood

The third round is where things get tricky. Do we try to reach for Brinkley, draft Vaughn for our gap at S, because I picked Hood in the second; does Oakland go after Sidbury, or will we draft an unknown? I think Oakland's going to try to round off the secondary with a non-question mark player in Chip Vaughn. FS is a big question mark and I think Oakland will try to make SS less of a question mark. though I'd rather we draft Bruton in the fourth, I think that Al's gotta be drooling over a physical specimen like Vaughn. However, don't count out Brinkley. A guy with that kind of size and strength is worth reaching for and Al knows that. Final Verdict: S Chip Vaughn.

To the fourth round we go. We pick pretty late here so it's hard to tell who will fall this far. Will Johnson at DE is a name that interests me. A big Michigan man who has the size to play either DT or a big DE is intriguing. Al loves versatility and might find him a good pick. I know I do. This guy's a run stopping freak. He also the last quality DE left at this point. However there's also two great MLB in Nick Reed and Jason Phillips. Both are good in the run game, especially Phillips. After all, TCU thrived on it's run D. They were the Steelers of college football last year. Both could fall this far and both raise my interests. Personally, this round is practically impossible to pick, but I have to say that Al's too confident in his DE's and is looking to bolster the middle of the defense to help the run D. Final Verdict: LB Jason Phillips

Now we go clear to the seventh. Al's either going to look for S depth, a DE sleeper, or OG depth. The only DE I could find that might fall that far is Maurice evans, admittedly this because he's last one Scout.com's list of top-30 DE's. So it's very uncertain. I do strongly believe that Oakland will try for a sleeper DE to possibly push Gunheim to earn a roster spot. Final Verdict: Best DE.

-Final Notes-

This was not a dream draft, but what I actually think will happen. I didn't add any possible player-for-picks trades, but I do think one will happen. I just have a gut feeling about it. I'm thinking one of our DT's (hopefully Sands), Huff/Eugene, and or Fargas/Bush will be traded for a pick. Al's probably going to shoot for a fourth or third-round pick. We might even see our late fourth bundled with a player to try to get a late third. Hard to tell, but I strongly believe Oakland will trade a player(s) for a pick.

Peace and good night all (almost 10:00 here)