Kiper on the Skins

[RayNAustin]

Sweed is a fine prospect (I'm biased, as I live a mile from UT, and it's manditory to root for the Longhorns if you live in Austin....I think there is a law, ) But I'm not sure that the Skins can spend a first rounder on a WR. A pass rusher on the other side of Carter is more pressing.

And a stud CB is also a NEED, well ahead of WR. I've never been sold on rodgers anyway (I like Smoot better), and how he comes back from that injury is yet to be determined. We absolutely need Springs and Smoot to stay healthy, as we are one injury away from big trouble on the corner.

Those are the two most pressing needs, and also spots where rookies can usually make an early impact And it's difficult and costly to address this in free agency....nobody gives up sack machines and shutdown corners cheaply.

[CanesSkins26]

) But I'm not sure that the Skins can spend a first rounder on a WR. A pass rusher on the other side of Carter is more pressing.

And a stud CB is also a NEED, well ahead of WR. I've never been sold on rodgers anyway (I like Smoot better), and how he comes back from that injury is yet to be determined. We absolutely need Springs and Smoot to stay healthy, as we are one injury away from big trouble on the corner.

I agree with you that Dline is the most pressing need. The only problem with this draft is that there really aren't that many good defensive linemen that will be around when we pick. Dorsey, Gholston, Long, Ellis, and Balmer will be gone without a doubt by the time that we pick. Campbell may or may not be there, and even though I am a big fan of his, from what I saw of him this year at Miami, he is a couple of years away from being an impact player. He needs to add some strength, learn how to keep containment, and how to handle a double team before he can be an impact NFL player. So if we want a defensive lineman we are most likely going to have to reach for a guy like Harvey or Groves, which I don't think makes all that much sense.

As for cb, I think that we need a veteran at that position. I think that cb is one of the hardest positions to draft and it is also a position where it usually takes a few years for the player to be ready to start. Most likely we are going to need a starter this season so I'm not sure if the draft is going to be our best option. On top of that, the only 2 corners that are guaranteed to go in the first round are Jenkins and Talib and both should go in the top 15. So again we'd probably be reaching for a corner if we were to draft one in the first round.

Ideally, a guy like Gholston, Balmer, or Ellis would drop to us, but if not, I think we need to either take Campbell (and hope our staff can coach him up quickly) or draft an impact receiver like Sweed (who if not injured this season likely would be a top 10 or 15 pick).

[RayNAustin]

I think the Bobby Beathard approach to the draft is the best course. When you draft for needs, you pass up better players, so I think taking whoever is the best player available at the time is usually the right move, unless you trade up specifically for a particular player to fill a need. Rarely are you lucky enough to actually have the best player who addresses a critical need available at the time you pick.

I like Sweed, and he would be a good pick, though we have a decent complement of WR now, so it's a difficult call. At the same time, we need help on offense more so than defense, so it's a crap shoot.

As for picking up a free agent CB that is a good one, we're likely to have to give up a pick or two for that, so I suppose it all boils down to how badly do we feel the need, and how far are we willing to go to get a solid CB. Same with a pass rusher.

Unfortunately, pass rushers and solid CBs are probably the most difficult positions to fill on defense, be it free agency or draft.

[PulpExposure]

Johnson actually had a very good season for the Lions. 48 catches, 756 yards, and 4 td's. That's more td's than any of our wide receivers and more catches and yards than all of our receivers but Moss.

That is actually a very good rookie season for a WR. One thing about WRs is that it usually takes them a few years to get going.

I'm not against drafting one in the first round because of prior history...if your draft board says they're worth it, pick one. Don't reach for one, and don't pass one up if they're worth the pick. If Sweed is there at our pick, I'd be more than happy with him. But you can't discount the numbers in that post I liked, either, CanesSkins (and your top 10 argument is disingenious, since every player, regardless of position, picked in the top 10 is generally going to a bad team). It IS a tough position to predict. And the numbers bear that out.

[SkinsFreak]

Actually, everyone has some valid points and legitimate arguments. I think we all pretty much know where our holes are and what positions are needed.

I've been on record stating a stud DE would be priority. And others are correct about holes or depth at CB, DT, WR, O-line, FS... etc...

If you look at our draft history, with what few picks we've had over the past 5 years, we've taken a lot of defensive players. The last 4 years in a row, we've used our 1st pick on a defensive player. The year before last, in 2006, we took McIntosh, Montgomery, Doughty and Golston.

I only mention that because I've been thinking over the past few days, that is hasn't really been our defense that's lost games for us this year. As a matter of fact, it's been our defense that's kept us in games and gave us chances all year. And yet I still think we need more help on that side of the ball.

The failures of our offense to score in the red zone and sustaining drives on 3rd and long is what's killed us. So the notion of drafting a 6'5 speedster like Sweed, who's known for scoring TD's in the red zone and sustaining drives as a possession receiver, is not all that far fetched.

In several games this year, Campbell threw some interceptions deep in the red zone, late in the game, when we had an opportunity to win. Well... a guy like Sweed, 6'5 with great hands, just might be the ticket.

It's gonna be a tough choice though. I'm in with the crowd and ideology that in the 1st round, you take the best player available, and hopefully it's a position of need. I'm now torn between the DE and WR position with that pick.

[CanesSkins26]

I think the Bobby Beathard approach to the draft is the best course. When you draft for needs, you pass up better players, so I think taking whoever is the best player available at the time is usually the right move, unless you trade up specifically for a particular player to fill a need.

Agree 100%. That philosophy is especially sound in the first round. The only reason I've been throwing Sweed's name around is because I think that because of his injury he is being underrated and therefore will be the best player available when we draft, and just happens to play a position of need.

[SkinsJock]

First thing is to see if any of the free agents fit what we are looking for - then with the draft, take the best player available, even if that happens to be a receiver (who will most likely not be productive initially) we can take him and hope he becomes a force down the road.

then again you can get really lucky in the draft and find a Colston in the 6th round.

These talent evaluators we have for both college and the NFL need to do a much better job IMHO - we need to get some players in here that will make the other players we already have better.

I just hope we find a couple of "players" in free agency that for whatever reason did not make it where they were - I guess I just have more faith in experience than with a lot of the college players who do not seem to have the drive to succeed - it seems like they just want to get into the NFL and then do not play up to the team's expectations.