How Many RBs Can We Start At Once?
By zbest
So, first let me admit that I know NOTHING about scouting college talent. You can see that by reading my incredible post about how the Titans should pick Mad Mario in the first round. He was actually taken in the third. Whoops. I guess that’s why I’m not a GM. I’m going to list each of the Titans seven picks and give some initial feedback on each of the players.
1st Round – 24th Overall – Chris Johnson – RB – East Carolina
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. A number of outlets have reported this, but I think it should be brought up again. The Titans have used a first or second round pick on a running back the last three years. I know that Johnson is basically The Flash and all, but shouldn’t we have gone WR/DE here? All the so-called experts seem to think this was a reach. I tend to agree. I guess it’ll be fun to have an insane athlete that can give defenses fits. Maybe he’ll be an uber-Donte Hall. That could be good.
2nd Round – 54th Overall – Jason Jones – DE – Eastern Michigan
This addresses one of our bigger needs headed into the draft. Most people seem to like this pick. When in doubt, I would have rather gotten a DE from a BCS school later in the draft. Shouldn’t they be more battle tested? I mean Jones played an important role on a team that went 9-26 against average competition. Here is a link to the school’s athletic website. They seem very excited about having ONE player drafted. This worries me a bit.
3rd Round – 85th Overall – Craig Stevens – TE – California
Here’s how Rivals.com described him: “Stevens doesn’t stretch the field as well as you would think for a player with his speed and he lacks elite size for a tight end.” Well that sounds promising.
4th Round – 103rd Overall – William Hayes – DE – Winston Salem
Again, I’m going to lean on Rivals for their great analysis. I mean, that is what they’re paid to do! “At 6-foot-2, 258 pounds, Hayes is an undersized defensive end who may be a better fit at outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. This pick seems like a huge reach.” Those are the best things to hear as a fan….huge reach. If I were GM, I would ALWAYS take best available talent just to get props by Mel Kiper the next day. Our team might not be worth a crap, but at least we’d get a little B+ by our name after the draft.
4th Round – 126th Overall – Lavelle Hawkins – WR – California
See I like this pick. This seems to be great value. Some scouts said he has better pro potential then former Golden Bears teammate DeShaun Jackson. But didn’t some scouts say Ryan Leaf was a better prospect than Peyton. I’m beginning to think this whole draft thing is blind luck.
4th Round – 134 Overall – Stanford Keglar – OLB – Purdue
I’m glad we got depth at linebacker, but I was hoping we could package one of our THREE 4th round picks to move back up into the second round to get a #1 caliber wide receiver. Hopefully this guy can have a solid impact.
7th Round – 229th Overall – Cary Williams – CB – Washburn
Ok, here’s a fun quiz to wrap up the initial draft pick recap. Where is Washburn University? Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Kansas. If you know this, well…I’m impressed.
Over the next couple days, I’ll be posting full bios on the players we selected, with the attempt to see how they’ll fit into our plans for the 2008 season.