2013 NFL DRAFT

I think Joeckel would be the right move. Would really help Smith settle in next year and give them a potential long term success slab. Whether they make the right move is another question entirely...

OAOB wrote: »

At this stage i think there's no real value pick in the no.1 spot except for Joeckel or Fisher. They are definitely worth the pick but the Chiefs will end up with a lot of money tied up at the LT position this year if they go this way. Albert is a solid enough player that's there no real need to bring in competition for that spot when there's so many holes in the roster. Ideally they'd probably try move Albert to Guard but they'd still be paying him franchise LT money so no value in that.

There wouldnt be a huge amount of money locked up at LT. You have to remember about the new rookie wage scale implemented with the CBA. Andrew Luck signed for somewhere in the region of 22 million last year over 6 years so the Chiefs would be paying their number one the same money or thereabouts. If they can get Joeckel at that sort of money they can spend 2013 seeing if he is better than Albert and then move him across to LT for 2014 and release Albert or sign him to a new contract with the knowledge that if they give him a long term deal they have two top class tackles to bookend their line. In my view it would be a very smart move to take either of the top tackles and give Alex Smith a chance to suceed. It's worth remembering too that Andy Reid always built his successful teams from the line outwards on both offence and defence

The Chiefs signed Eric Winston last off-season in FA, he was the best RT available so they already have that position covered and money invested in it so i don't see why they'd consider moving either Albert or Joeckel/Fisher across the line.
I can't understand why they franchised Albert if they planned to draft a LT first. Albert is only out of his rookie deal, has been a solid first round pick so i think they'll try do a long term deal with him. The only sense it makes is that if they plan to move him back to Guard but Albert has said he sees himself as a LT and will want to be paid as such

That solves that. They decided Winston was the weakest of the three all things considered I guess.

Chucky the tree wrote: »

They would have had to pay winston $7m if they were going to keep him. Probably felt it smarter giving that money to Fischer or Joekel and having them around longer-term.

Surprised they didn't try and trade him though

Had time to get a look at all the 40's and onfield workouts of alot of players on NFL Network over two weeks. What struck me is that there are characteristics way overrated and skills way underrated. Example Tyrann Mathieu in terms of size, strength and speed was nothing exceptional. I went off to work and thought what is all the fuss about Mathieu surely all these guys with better gym stats will draft higher. Then from what I seen in on-field workouts he was clearly out ahead. I remember one very muscular player not even being able to close in his hands in time for the catch, (looked as if his out sized shoulders left him with no adjustment ability with his hands in the air). Compare to Mathieu who was agile and could adjust his hands in the air.
Also I had a think about his 40 time, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that with his lighter frame his speed should last full game and he's likely disadvantaged coming out of a crouche stance which he won't play from on the field. There were so many very heavy, muscular players that are explosive from the crouch but you can see they won't have that same game speed in the 3rd/4th quarter of games.
Then you had coaches pointing stop watches at the 10 mark, again ridiculously innacurate. The actual 40 times then were regraded to much slower official times at the end of the day. The whole exercise seems so flawed from start to finish. There is a huge media push about the 40 times throughout the exercise. Unfair on those lighter players who will not play from a crouched stance and have full game speed. Jerry Rice had an average 40 but could maintain his speed full game, I really think he would be hammered by the analysts on NFL network. It's amazing how big a media blitz this one channel can be for or against a player.
One analyst did properly push the on-field drills noting "This is a ball meant for you, there is no excuse for dropping it.". I'v caught an American football and I really don't think Franchises should be faced with "catching skills" as a project in a player. That suggests they should not have been stepping on the grasss during the combine. How many Mathieus are not making the combine as they are dismissed as slow, too small?
My suggestions for changes would be:
1. Run the 40 from a standing start and do at least one running drill to give measurement of game stamina
2. Carry out the bench press at a lighter weight for some positions, 225 lbs is encouraging smaller framed players to overly-develop upper body strength at the expense of agility.
3. The on-field drills should have more pressure brought by covering players. I'm sorry but no other sport would take any heed to plays made under no defensive pressure bar just getting only a sense of a players agility in the air. It's only a glimpse, different adjustment needed when cover involved.
4. Boil the college career down into some better stats. Just because a player had a lot of sacks, what if his team was totally dominant in their division?. The college playing stats need to make better allowance for good players playing with poor teams and average players playing with dominant teams.
5. There needs to be a deduction for certain positions if the player is a physical beast. So if you have two running backs with roughly equal college careers but one is 6'2" 250lbs and the other is 5'11' and 200 lbs, you could make an educated guess the 250lb is unlikely to be using much evasion in his college career. However in the NFL he won't be able to just run over the top of players. Players whose college career mainly involved physical superiority are very likely to experience a significant drop once hitting the NFL. Exceptions might be likes of Vernon Davis who in College was even physically superior to many in the NFL but again his first season fumbles if known about pre-draft would have affected his signing cash surely. Where was the on-field workouts in the draft to show Davis was a project as regards catching skills (which he has improved).