2006 NFL Draft Blog Days 1-6

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

Michigan defensive tackle Gabriel Watson is an intriguing player. He is a two gap DT that dominates from time to time. He was absolutely unblockable at the Senior Bowl. He gets off the ball well, fills space, and does a good job of sealing off the inside run. While some question his effort, I do not think that is nearly the problem after watching him closely for four years. In my opinion, he simply is not in the type of condition to maintain his stamina and he becomes a completely different player when he is tired. He is not a pass rusher, but he has enough athleticism to be decent in that role. The plain and simple fact is that if Gabe Watson becomes serious and gets in condition, he has Jamal Williams type potential. Based on his career at Michigan, I question whether he will display that type of conditioning.



Saturday, March 18th, 2006

Florida wide receiver Chad Jackson was underrated throughout the year. When I watched him, I saw a fluid WR with good hands that ran solid routes. Unlike most Florida WR’s of the past, he showed pretty good strength and the ability to fight off jams. Despite the fact that he looked like a great athlete, you did not see a big play player. Then the combine happened and he had a lights out workout. At 6-foot-1, 213-pounds, Jackson ran a mind boggling 4.32. Now, he has NFL teams salivating. He is a guy with possession receiver skills and great speed. He should be the number one WR in the draft and could go higher than anticipated.

Friday, March 17th, 2006

In my opinion, DeAngelo Williams is a very intriguing player in this draft. He is talented and has that “it factor” that most marketing people love. He is charismatic and will immediately become one of the most quotable players around. He is simply a highly intelligent, class kid. That said, there are other RB’s I like more than him. For as talented as he is, DeAngelo has been snake bitten with injuries and will need a lot of work on his pass protection. He is a very instinctive RB who runs with speed and power. He has great cutback skills with superb change of direction, body control, and balance. He runs low, can really hurt LB’s who misjudge his speed, and has decent hands.

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

Vanderbilt QB Jay Cutler has become a media darling after choosing to work out at the combine and some people are actually comparing him to Brett Favre. Outside of being a reckless QB with some questionable decision making skills, I fail to see the comparison. While he lacks glaring weaknesses and I admire his toughness, he is more like Jake Plummer than Brett Favre. He is a good athlete with good size and a pretty quick, fundamentally sound release. He shows solid accuracy and timing. My biggest problem is that he tries to do too much and throws off his back foot way too often. Maybe that is a byproduct of playing with inferior talent, but the team that gets him will need to be patient. Good QB prospect, but a little overrated. I would rate him higher than Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith, but lower than Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Matt Leinart, and Philip Rivers.

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

Anyone who watched NC State play defense saw two players creating a ton of havoc. I know Mario Williams gets all the publicity and it is well deserved, but NC State had another great pass rusher in Manny Lawson. They are different players. Lawson is a terrific athlete showing good instincts and taking great angles. In many ways, he will remind you of Jason Taylor coming out of Akron. He is not great against the run, but put him outside in a 3-4 WOLB and he might not be better suited to play against the run. With 10.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss, Lawson was an extremely underrated player before the combine. After measuring in at 6-foot-5, 241-pounds with a 4.45 speed at the combine, he is no longer underrated.

Tuesday, March 14th, 2006

The first time I saw USC OT Winston Justice play was in High School. I was amazed at how much talent was in this big, 17-year old kid. In many ways, he will remind you of former Arizona State and current Cincinnati left tackle Levi Jones. At 6-foot-6, 320-pounds, he is an excellent overall athlete, solid competitor, and plays with good toughness. He is a strong run blocker for a LT with good initial quickness and the ability to get to the backside cut off block. The primary problem is that he is still a very raw pass protector who can get his feet tangled when going against a superior athlete. The promising component is that he takes pretty good angles in pass protection.