Posted by Bill in 2011 NFL Mock Draft,Fantasy Advice on Apr 20th 2011 (Print This)
Peterson Is The Most Talented Player In The 2011 Draft
Reminder Our Q&A is free until the season. It’s never too early to start your championship run.
The NFL draft is less than a week away and the Brotherhood is getting geared up for the four day festival better known as Christmas for the NFL. Every fan and every fantasy owners will be watching the moves and players that get selected by their teams. Every fan has hope for their team and it is sometimes the best day of the year for some teams.
The on going NFL labor talks are a good thing, but the lack of player movement is a bad thing. Teams haven’t been able to address any needs due to the lock out. The biggest thing we are looking for to come out of the labor talks is the potential for a rookie salary cap. We have discussed this a few times in previous drafts but this is something that could potentially change the entire draft. With out a rookie salary cap, teams are saddled with ridiculous contracts that can haunt teams for year to come. One wrong early selection can handicap a franchise from making moves to right the ship so to speak.
Teams would also be more willing to draft and take chances on QBs. QBs are always the hardest to evaluate, but taking out the huge financial risk out of the equation and we could start seeing players with some question marks getting drafted a lot earlier. Draft philosophies and caution could be thrown to the wind with out having the fear of a Jamarcus Russell sized albatross hanging around a teams proverbial neck. Teams would also be more willing to draft the best players available since, it would be much easier to pay, say Patrick Peterson as the number one draft pick with a capped number than having to give him a guaranteed 60 million dollar contract. Teams often pass up shore things in the top few spots because the pay would make them the highest paid among their position.
From a Fantasy perspective there isn’t much offensive talent that we can project coming out of the first round. We are speaking strictly to the non IDP or Dynasty Leagues owners here. After Mark Ingram, Julio Jones and A.J. Green there is virtually no other layers that are fantasy relevant right now. These three could easily turn into only one or two relevant players if one of the Wide Outs end up somewhere where there is no passing game. We will discuss the incoming rookies in more detail after the draft.
1. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton While no one here is completely sold on Newton, his potential is just too much for this franchise to pass up on. Peterson should go here strictly from an overall talent point of view.
2. Denver Broncos DT Marcell Dareus The Broncos have a ton of needs on the defensive side of the ball. Aside from Peterson, no one can make a bigger impact right away for the Broncos
3. Buffalo Bills DE/OLB Robert Quinn OLB Von Miller is the sexy pick here, but Quinn offers much more versatility for a defense. Whether it is lining him up as a down lineman or having him come off the edge, he will give the Bills more looks on a defense that is sorely lacking a playmaker.
4. Cincinnati Bengals CB Patrick Peterson The Bengals have a ton of questions at WR and QB but here at the four spot it is not the place to address those concerns. Peterson is the best player available, I know I keep saying it, I just want to make sure I get my point across. He can be plugged in and left alone on an island for the next ten years.
5. Arizona Cardinals OLB Von Milller The Cardinals are more than happy to see Miller slide down to them. Miller replaces the lost production that was missing last season after losing Karlos Dansby to Miami.
6. Cleveland Browns WR A.J. Green Green's stock has rarely moved this off-season, since he has always been widely regarded as the best WR from the beginning in what is just an average class. Colt McCoy really needs someone to throw to besides Peyton Hillis.
7. San Francisco 49ers DE Da'Quan Bowers No one has had a worse offseason than this guy. He started as a top rated player and has been falling ever since. There are huge questions around his injured knee which has not healed as quickly as anyone has hoped. He could slide into the 20's but since he hasn't been removed from a lot of teams draft boards, I am starting to think the rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.
8. Tennessee Titans DT Nick Fairley While I'm tempted to give them Gabbert, I don't think he goes this high. His stock is over-rated. Fairley is a plug and play DT, something the Titans have been missing since Albert Haynesworth jumped ship.
9. Dallas Cowboys OT Tyrone Smith Smith brings a ton of upside to an offensive line unit that is lacking. Smith will grow into the left tackle position but can start right away on the right side.
10. Washington Redskins QB Blaine Gabbert Head Coach Mike Shanahan will love Gabbert dropping down to him at the ten spot. The QBs after Gabbert don't have nearly enough value to get drafted here. I'm still not sold on him, but Shanhan has a good reputation for grooming young signal callers.
11. Houston Texans CB Prince Amukamara With no pass rushers worthy of this spot, the Texans are forced to grab the best player available. Houston's secondary gets consistently torched. Part of the reason is a lack of talent in the secondary, the other is there is virtually no pass rush from anyone outside of Super Mario. Which also helps explains the position change for Brian Cushing, bumping him to the outside.
12. Minnesota Vikings DE J.J. Watt It seems like every year the Vikings draft a defensive end in the first round but they really haven't since 2005. Watt is high motor guy who is relentless chasing down the ball. He will be a great complement to Jared Allen.
13. Detroit Lions OT Anthony Costanzo Lions fans no doubt will cringe when another Boston College player gets drafted at tackle. Oline U has produced some great players and we can tell you. Costanzo is not Cherilus.
14. St. Louis Rams WR Julio Jones The Rams will be shocked if Jones is still here at 14 and will sprint up to the podium to make this announcement. Jones provides something they have been lacking since parting ways with Torry Holt. A competent stud receiver that can stretch the field. He will instantly upgrade the Rams passing attack.
15. Miami Dolphins RB Mark Ingram The Dolphins could just as easily sign DeAngelo Williams and grab a RB later in the draft. The Dolphins coaching staff needs to win this year. There are no QBs worthy of being drafted here anyways so that takes care of the 1st round QB question.
16. Jacksonville Jaguars DE Aldon Smith The Jaguars have struck out at DE so many times since 2008 that it is bordering on ridiculous. Derrick Harvey, Quentin Groves were 1st and 2nd round busts and last year Larry Hart and Austen Murray are starting to appear to be misses as well.
17. New England Patriots DE Muhammad Wilkerson The Patriots have a ton of needs on defense as well as the offensive line that have to be addressed in this draft. The Patriots have plenty of flexibility by having three picks in the first 33 spots. The Pats will almost assuredly move around in the draft, but they will jump at the chance to scoop up Wikerson here at 17 if he is still on the board.
18. San Diego Chargers DT Corey Liuget The Chargers would love to see Liuget slide to them. I belive he could play inside or outside in a 3/4 allowing the Chargers to upgrade at NT. Antonio Garay has been a great story, but he is also in his 30's.
19. New York Giants OT Gabe Carimi Carimi was super productive while at Wisconsin. He might not have the upside that Solder has, but seems better equipped for the Giants lunch pail mentality.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Cameron Jordan Jordan would be a great get for the Bucs. The Defense is still trying to catch up to an offense that is improving by leaps and bounds. The Defense needs to start maturing quickly to keep pace. Jordan will provide a push on the edge while Gerald McCoy and Brian Price shut down the middle. Jordan is a great fit for this defense.
21. Kansas City Chiefs OT Nate Solder Solder is an athlete trapped in an offensive linemens body. His potential is enormous as he continues to add bulk and learn the position. He might never be a solid left tackle but he will be very good no matter where he ends up on the line.
22. Indianapolis Colts OT Derek Sherrod This might be a little high for Sherrod but the talent has really begun to thin out as we approach the mid 20's. This and Philly's pick could be flip flopped.
23. Philadelphia Eagles C/G Mike Pouncey If he is at least 3/4 as good as his brother, that is good enough for me and should be good enough for the Eagles.
24. New Orleans Saints DE Ryan Kerrigan Kerrigan is a good fit for a team that relied on career over achievers at the Defensive End spot in 2010. Kerrigan is a football player with a great motor, that could potentially transition to the outside, but is better off as a 4/3 DE
25. Seattle Seahawks CB Jimmy Williams Yeah he has a ton of red flags but he also has first round talent, if there is any coach that is adept at handling immature players it's Pete Carroll. I would love to see Locker go here but I just don't think it will happen.
26. Baltimore Ravens S Rahim Moore He is easily one of the top 3 DBs in the draft, the problem is Safety's usually never get any love this early in a draft. The Ravens have a ton of needs in their secondary and Moore is a great player to start re-building things for Baltimore.
27. Atlanta Falcons DE Justin Houston Houston gets to stay at home after starring at Georgia. Houston has all of the physical gifts to be an absolute beast as a pass rusher. The good news is he will get the chance to learn from a great pass rushing DE in the form of John Abraham. This will allow him to have a sharper learning curve as a pass rusher, something that held the Falcons back defensively.
28. New England Patriots DE Brooks Reed I love Reed's potential, skill set and measurables. What I don't like is his lack of production, that is always sort of a red flag. Reed won't be asked to do much in his first season except unleash a fierce pass rush. New England has enough linebackers that can handle the coverage duties, what they are lacking is anyone that can put consistent pressure on opposing QBs.
29. Chicago Bears OG Danny Watkins Tackle is a need but Watkins, has plenty of talent to immediately improve the Bears offensive line, even if it is from the guard spot.
30. New York Jets NT Phil Taylor Back to back Baylor 1st round picks? Yikes. Taylor is built to play in a 3/4 defense. He is a monster in the middle and with aging and oft injured Kris Jenkins manning the middle for the Jets, its time for Rex to find and heir apparent.
31. Pittsburgh Steelers CB Aaron Williams Williams is the best player available at this point at least as far as the Steelers need. Then again this late in the draft and all bets are off. The Steelers are desperate to upgrade the o-line, Big Ben can not sustain the type of punishement he has had to endure over the last few seasons.
32. Green Bay Packers DE Cameron Heyward. The Packers would love a pass rushing OLB like Bruce Carter or Akeem Ayers. Heyward has the NFL pedigree and the size to make an immediate impact at DE this season. The two OLBs are just not worthy of this spot.