2011 NFL Draft Thread (Rounds 4-7 @ 12PM EST)

[CaribbeanJoseph]

Having slept on it I only feel worse about the Locker pick, I'm trying not to even think about cause the more I do, the angrier I get.

[Aso]

As much as I've jumped on then Bills bandwagon Chan Gailey better not steal my QB.

[kyhadley]

just funny to see

[Woy]

http://woysword.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-tennessee-jake-locker.html

"He had below a 60 percent completion rate!"

"Blaine Gabbert was still on the board!"

"What a reach!"

Yes, those are just some of the comments I heard when the Tennessee Titans shocked most of the NFL world by choosing Washington quarterback Jake Locker with the 8th overall pick. The disapproval rate of the selection was overwhelming and I felt like one of the few Titans fans who were okay with the pick. I admittedly was shocked at first and wanted Nick Fairley of Auburn, but I never flat-out hated the pick because I think Locker can become a very good NFL quarterback in the right situation.

Here in Tennessee, Locker is in the right situation. The front office is more than committed to pick up a veteran free agent quarterback to start, so Locker won't be forced into action right away. Bringing back Kerry Collins is also a possibility and as much flak he gets, he actually played above-average when healthy and given time in the pocket.

He has a quarterback guru to learn under. Chris Palmer has had a lot of success with young signal-callers; most recently with Eli Manning and Tony Romo. Palmer wanted Locker from the beginning and the two have even planned to spend time in July at Cape Cod. Why is Locker going to be at Cape Cod then? He's getting married and wants to spend his honeymoon with his wife and his offensive coordinator. That's dedication.

He has plenty of offensive weapons to help him. He has the best runningback in the league in Chris Johnson to hand the ball to and on the outside, there's one of the most explosive young receivers in Kenny Britt. Athletic freak Jared Cook excited many in his extended playing time at the end of 2010 and his offensive linemates are very solid, especially former All-Pro tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart. This isn't the group of no-bodies that Locker had with Washington, no, this is one of the brightest young offenses in the NFL. All they were missing was a quarterback.

The biggest knock on Locker is his accuracy, but if you watch tape, you'd see that a positive in his game is his accuracy out of the pocket. He's probably the best quarterback in this class at throwing on the run but the concerns are when he's in the pocket. But how many times was he actually comfortable in the pocket?

Most of his offensive teammates weren't Pac 10 level talent thanks to the recruiting practices of former coach Tyrone Willingham, so plenty of times the pocket collapsed extremely early and his receivers would drop catchable balls. I'm not denying that his accuracy needs work, but the situation he was in at Washington was a tough one to say the least.

His work ethic and leadership abilities already surpass the last Titans quarterback that wore #10. I already mentioned how he's planning to vacation with his offensive coordinator, but from a leadership standpoint, he stayed for his senior year to complete two goals: to get his degree and to lead Washington to their first bowl game since 2002. Despite his stock dropping with the emergence of other quarterbacks, he completed both goals, even leading the Huskies to a revenge win over Nebraska - a team that beat them earlier in the regular season.

Ever since Mike Reinfeldt took over for Floyd Reese as the team's General Manager, the Titans' first round selections have been great. Michael Griffin, although inconsistent at times, is one of the better safeties in the league. The aforementioned Johnson was a reach but he turned out okay. Britt, like I said, is one of the most explosive young receivers and despite a knee injury, last year's selection Derrick Morgan looks like the best defensive end in Tennessee since Jevon Kearse if/when he recovers fully. With all of those positive selections, it won't be much of a surprise if Locker turns out to be a winner as well.

There has been plenty of quarterbacks who have entered the league with accuracy concerns who turned out to be great, including one of the franchise's best in the late Steve McNair. I'm not saying he's the next McNair, but I feel we've gotten an excellent individual who has a great head on his shoulders and I'm very excited to have him as a Tennessee Titan.

Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.

[EmpireWF]

Charlie Casserly supposedly said on NFLN the second round has the weakest value in terms of available talent.

lol

[bucky]

It's a great day to be an Atlanta sports fan.

You still need to find yourself a defense. I really didn't understand this trade. Atlanta lost 3 to 4 potential defensive starters over two years of drafting for one WR. And you need defense.

[bucky]

LOL @ People criticizing the Falcons for taking Jones. Who cares who they traded for Jones. They are trying to win a Super Bowl. Jones was clearly the best weapon available and a need.

Flaw in your analysis. WR was not as much of a need as defensive help. They gave up too much. If they're trying to win a SB, they should do something about getting torched in the playoffs, and at home by the way. They're needs are on the defensive side.

[EmpireWF]

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen both confirm that Da'Quan Bowers' slide out of round one was due to the fact that last year's NCAA sacks leader will likely need more knee surgery.
"He's still got looseness in his MCL, and his PCL," reported Schefter. "Teams think he'll need (more) surgery." On Thursday, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reported that Bowers has a "bone-on-bone" condition in his already surgically repaired knee, which sounds to us like microfracture is a definite possibility in the near future. Don't be surprised if Bowers continues to plummet today.-rotoworld

[RyanLeaf16]

It's a shame Bowers is sliding, but, no one wants to invest a early-mid round pick on a guy that my not even play 2-3 full years in the league. I don't see him being taken today either. I think he gets picked tomorrow. I don't think he will go undrafted, but, I do think teams will look for the overall value. It's not worth it to take him today, but, late tomorrow, it very well may be worth it due to the limited investment in overall dollars that a team will have to designate for him.

[Nevermind]

http://woysword.blogspot.com/2011/04...ke-locker.html

But the point that he was not on a good team is what is giving me the most hope that he will be able to come in and be a lot better than what people expect. You are right about the weapons that he has which should only help him look even better. It was a reach that I am pretty unhappy about but I will give him a chance.

[s@ppisgod]

Not a fan of Clayborn over Cameron Jordan, but it was expected. We've only been linked to the guy for 8 months now. One Buc has gotten better at drafting under Dom but Free, McCoy, and Clayborn have been some of the worst kept secrets of their drafts. Gotta keep that under your hat more Dom, if we keep making a good reputation for drafting and picking in the latter part of round 1....
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

[BazookaJoe5]

heard a great point this morning on the Steve Czban show about Jimmy Smith.
"he is in the best situation with Ray Lewis and Nati, those guys arent afraid to grab someone by the neck and slam them off locker and tell them to grow the hell up if they get out of hand. Plus he is learning from Ed Reed."

"There are two shut down corners in the league, Jimmy Smith is now number 3"

Ray was on the team when McAlister was and that didn't stop him from getting suspended several times, even by Brian Billick who was notorious for being a players coach and letting them get away with a lot.

Ravens have great leadership in the locker room but if Smith distances himself from the past and changes his ways, it's because he wanted to do it and put forth that effort, not because Ray or someone else got in his face and told him to.

[Mogriffjr]

Pos
1 New England Ras-I Dowling CB
2 Buffalo Aaron Williams FS
3 Cincinnati Andy Dalton QB

niners trade up...maybe taking kapernick or mallett??

[Realist]

kapernick it is. I wonder how Aso feels about this? lol

I'm not a big fan personally but I trust Harbaugh. If anything he'll be great for Madden :D

[G-men]

sucks that the 49ers STILL dont have a good quarterback