SBN Mock Draft Update: Brian Brohm Is Gone

by Dave the Falconer on Apr 9, 2008 11:34 PM EDT in Falcons News Comment 8 comments

I think it's fair to assume that you guys would like me to select one of the second round QBs, which I wholeheartedly support. The problem is that Brian Brohm is already off the board, thanks to the damned Seahawks and their uppity "drafting a player they like and need" philosophy.

My question to you thus becomes who we should draft. I imagine many of you will say Joe Flacco, so be aware that he, too, may be off the board before we pick. Gimme some options, guys.

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Um, I like my Joe Flacco with sugar please!

Ha-ha, I think it's evident that I am an avid Flacco pusher, kinda like that guy down on the corner of W. Peachtree and Ivan Allen Jr by the Marta station. (Shh, you didn't hear that from me!)

Given the possibility that he will be gone before it gets back around to our first second round pick, I suppose we really have two options concerning the QB situation. We either, A, draft one or B, we don't and see if we can get the same value later in the round. I mean it really does come down to who has been taken from the QB pool versus who is available at other positions of need for us. But for now I'll play your game and say we are taking a QB with our first second round pick.

Flacco, Henne, Woodson, and Booty would be my top choices. There's also Ainge, Dixon, Flyn, Brennan, Keller, Smith, and Brink. I like Henne but I'm slightly concerned that maybe his slight decrease in health and performance, mainly his inconsistent performance, may be a sign of even worse performance given the dramatic ramp up of talent in the NFL compared to the college game. I like Woodson and I suppose his only downside would be the amount of time it would take to get his skills up to par with his talent. Booty is ok, but he is surely no Palmer and the jury is still out on Leinart.

Dixon and Flynn are extremely intriguing and definitely worth a second look as both have some phenominal talents and abilities, Flynn with the strong arm and above average speed for what is typical of a pocket passer, and Dixon with his amazing play-making abilities reminding us all of the glory days of Vick. Not sure how the mass will feel about that one, but I am at least smart enough to know not to compare one with the other as they are separate individuals. Keller would be the next in line to catch my eye and also someone that may possibly end up being the sleeper of the draft. I would stay away from the rest though. As much as I love Brennan he wouldn't be a great NFL QB. I'm as tall as he is and no one that short will ever be able to see downfield. Just think Reggie Ball and you'll understand.

Now these are obviously just my personal opinions on what few game film I have seen on each. Henne, Flacco, and Dixon are about the only ones I have done any kind of extended research on. But, you asked for options so there they are. Hope that helps.

by Jesse on Apr 10, 2008 8:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Now that's analysis

I think if Flacco and Henne are gone in the second round, I'd be tempted to wait until the fourth or so in hopes of getting Flynn. I think he offers the best value beyond the second round, and I'm just not sold on Woodson in the second round.

If that happens, I'll be trying to fill key needs at corner (Justin King?) and defensive tackle (???) in the second round. This ought to be interesting.

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by Dave the Falconer on Apr 10, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RE: Corner

It's interesting that you bring that up. I've made mention before that I like Aqib Talib and if you have noticed, he's still available in the SB Nation mock draft. I really don't think that is any chance that he will fall out of the first round come the real draft at the end of April, but in our little fantasy world he seems to be doing just that. If he is there, I could make an argument to take him over our other needs, given your scenario of course. I don't know why he is being overlooked by so many here in SB Nation, but the guy has amazing hands and great footwork. His average 40 time is 4.44 with a low of 4.3 so I think he's got enough speed to hang with most receivers and his skills and talent should be able to handle the rest. I actually think he might be the second best corner in the draft.

Waiting for Flynn in a later round, or just later in the second round, would be a fantastic move when considering the value/draft position ratio.

As for DT I'm still going to go with Red Bryant in the second round. At 6'4" and 318lbs, the guy is a beast in the middle and had a great senior season after missing five games in his junior year, quelling any concerns about injuries or health. He also posted a 4.9 40' at his Pro-Day, faster than what he ran at the Combine, so everyone can get off the "he's slow" wagon. The biggest problem I have with this argument is that in most cases these comments come from people who have never seen Bryant play, but also love Rod Coleman or Haynesworth. If that isn't hypocritical I don't know what is. Everyone's man-love Dorsey, who is 6'2" 297lbs, posted times ranging from 5.04 at the lowest to 5.24 at the highest. Yeah, the speed argument is dead. Bryant is the best DT in the second round period.

And as always, that's just me, ha-ha.

by Jesse on Apr 11, 2008 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Talib

From what I saw at the combine, Talib looked a little stiff in the hips during some of the position drills, so footwork and technique need to be worked on. That being said, I think the Falcons will be relying less on man coverage and I think Talib is better suited to a zone scheme.

I like your thoughts on Bryant for sure, but if we go for Dorsey at 3, then I think we look at OL during round 2. It is going to be an exciting draft for Falcon fans that's for sure. We are having a big draft party at my buddy's house for the second straight year. CAN'T WAIT!

by VBfalconfan on Apr 11, 2008 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My thoughts

Talib is a good value, but his off-the-field concerns are starting to scare people. It's possible--but not likely--that the Falcons roll the dice on him if he's still there.

There's a definite second tier of corners that are worth looking at, so I'd still be very tempted by Flacco if he was at the top of the second. After that, there's CBs like Justin King and DTs like Red Bryant who are definitely worth a look.

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by Dave the Falconer on Apr 11, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Huh?

I have had Aqib Talib on my college fantasy football team for two years now and I have only read on thing about him and off-the-field concerns, which happened early on and was nothing that any other major college players hasn't done. I also haven't read anything where people are being scared off of him in the draft. Also, people should really stop paying attention to the Combine unless that is the only thing a player participates in. The Pro Days are where the good stuff is at. Below is an update after Talib's day:

"Update (3/19/08): At Kansas' Pro Day on the 11th, Talib further cemented his status as a first-round prospect and strengthened his case to be one of the first couple taken after an excellent workout in front of the scouts.

Talib ran times of 4.4 and 4.45 on the AstroTurf and according to Russ Lande on SportingNews.com, the first-team All-American was extremely impressive in his workout; saying that Talib wowed everyone with tremendous quickness, agility, and explosiveness when changing directions, that he showed great footwork and hip movements, and also that he showed good hands catching the ball. Lande added that one scout told him that it was one of the best cornerback workouts he'd seen in years."

Now, it seems to me that we lost track of the point of this post and subsequent thread, which is of course not what the Falcons will do in the real world, but what Dave is going to do in the second round of SBN's Mocking The Draft...mock...draft...thingy, ha-ha. I mentioned Talib because just in our own little user vote driven mock draft he was jumped by lesser CB's and I was simply using that as a reference stating that if he was still available when Dave's turn in the bigger mock draft came around, with both Brohm and Flacco off the board, I could surely make an argument for Dave to take Talib. (I will however admit that I had not been keeping up with the SBN mock draft at the time I wrote my post about Talib and therefore was making my comment on the basis of him still being there, which after looking I see was taken at 21 by the Skin's so throw this whole thing out the window I guess.)

We would still have two picks remaining in the second round to go after a QB and a DT. In the SBN mock draft, Dorsey went to the Jets at 6, so he obviously would not be there, nor would Ellis, and I think that Bryant would be the best option for us to take at the DT position. Flynn would be my pick over Henne for the final third round spot mainly because I don't think he will be available to us in the third or fourth and we really need to have the QB thing sorted out by then anyways. Also, Flynn decimated the Ohio State defense in the Championship game, Henne however looked like a JuCo QB. Sure, some might claim that he was playing hurt, but guess what, if you want to make it in the NFL, you better be able to play hurt. Teams don't fork out millions of dollars to have you sitting in the hot tub or riding the exercise bike on Sundays. I guess Henne just really ticked me off because he was supposed to have this Heisman breakout senior season and although he did have his moments, he just never lived up to expectations, mine nor the nations.

Flynn however shined just about every time he touched the field. That last second pass to win the game over Auburn was sensational. And his size is nothing a NFL trainer can't fix, PED's aside.

by Jesse on Apr 11, 2008 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, true

It might be pre-draft shenanigans, but there's been a lot of noise about Talib's off-the-field stuff after marijuana (which is bullcrap.) I'd be thrilled if he was there, but teams get as skittish as a herd of cows in a thunderstorm lately.

By the by, my pick will be up tomorrow. I think you'll be happy.

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by Dave the Falconer on Apr 11, 2008 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's true

Teams do seem to over-react to a lot of hearsay. I know a lot of it is driven from sports agents though. A couple of years ago, maybe one or two tops, I was watching Behind the Lines the Saturday morning a couple of weeks before the darft and the topic was about how sports agents will "leak" bad info on other players in the same position as the one they represent in an attempt to get their player drafted higher. Stupid crazy or crazy stupid, depending on where you stand.

I have yet to check out the SBN Draft over the weekend so I look forward to finding out how you went. Cheers!

by Jesse on Apr 14, 2008 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs