4/25/2005

The Clarett Decision

I like Maurice Clarett, I think that the situation at Ohio State was completely unfair to him. When the Buckeyes did things like keep him from attending a friend's funeral he became disillusioned. The situation was unfortunate.

I think that Clarett has all the tools to be a good back in the NFL. But I don't agree with taking Clarett at the point that we did, or even at all. Let's take a look at who the Broncos already have at runningback:
-Tatum Bell amazing talent and a back who has proven he can gain yards in the NFL
-Quentin Griffin undersized but great quickness and speed inconsistent but dangerous
-Mike Anderson former rookie of the year and a great runner
-Ron Dayne former Heisman winner who has underachieved since his rookie year do we need another stretch as big as this?

There just isn't room for Clarett. As a compensatory pick, a pick that you cannot trade and seeing that the Broncos did not have another pick until the late sixth round they shouldn't have passed up both Adrian McPherson and Antaaj Hawthorne .

Shanahan is trying to prove how he's a "genius" again. The mastermind better make sure it works out this time.

Day 2: Our best pick, and a kicker

Chris Myers is the best pick that the Broncos made in this draft, he is a perfect pick for our system. Myers was thought to be undersized, but at 6'4" 300 he is the ideal guard for our system. When Nalen leaves and Hamilton moves over to center Myers should be a piece of our line for a long time to come.

Oh, and we took a kicker in the seventh round. Paul Ernster is some guy that kicked at Northern Arizona with an elevation of 7000 plus. How he can kick at elevations across the country we really don't know. But, he's a seventh rounder so whatever.

What do you do when you already have five cornerbacks?

Well, you draft three more of course. With a roster that sports Champ Bailey, Lenny Walls, Willie Middlebrooks, Roc Alexander, and Jeremey Leseur the Broncos thought it would be prudent to draft three cornerbacks. Three cornerbacks that all have huge physical or character concerns.

With Justin Miller still on the board the Broncos took Darrent Williams. Williams is a prolific punt returner, but he is a complete head case coming off of an injury plagued senior year. Williams' biggest advantage is his speed, but is he faster than Roc Alexander? This pick is retarded.

The problem with deciding against taking Justin Miller and instead taking Williams is that if they didn't want the best available corner they should have taken Vincent Jackson out of Northern Colorado. Jackson is a poor man's Mike Williams. 6'4" 241 pounds. The kid is a beast, a clone of Antonio Gates who is an outstanding wide out. Instead, we let the Chargers snatch him up.

Karl Paymah was just a bad pick, he's got good size but is slow. His main strength is press coverage and being physical with a receiver, something the new rules make sure you cannot do. Unless they are thinking about moving him to safety I don't see what sets him apart from Leseur.

Dominique Foxworth is the only pick out of the three that I agree with, Foxworth was a steal out of the compensatory pick slot and well worth the pick. He has a chance to make an impact at the nickel back position if he can prove that he's better than Middlebrooks in camp.

Shanahan took three good picks and managed to come away with one player that will make an impact. Williams will be Deltha O'Neal part deux, and Paymah is a joke.