Top 5 Draft/FA

[jdbillsfan]

Here is my top options for the 11th pick, assuming Ellis is gone.

1) Trade down - Get more picks, good talent at end of the first round
2) Rivers - Fills a big hole at OLB with a Top Talent player
3) Campbell - A Freak. Would be nice to have one freak on our team.
4) Harvey - Pressure on the QB is key
5) DRC - A personal favorite. I think he will turn out to be a big time playmaker. Could be had later, but if no one wants to trade up...

Top 5 Options in Free Agency

Haynesworth, Briggs, Asomugha and Dallas Clark are all relatively obvious, nice options. They seem a little unrealistic to me, so here is my best of the rest. I am actually not that excited about the talent in Free Agency this year.

1) Antwan Odom. Someone who is actually able to pressure the QB
2) Corey Williams. Hard to find a DT in the draft that is able to help right away.
3) LJ Smith. Such a big need. Injury prone the past couple seasons.
4) DJ Hackett. Good size and speed.
5) Tommy Kelly. See #2. 6-6 300.

[kernowboy]

For me this would be the options

1) Trade down, get an extra Day1 pick and draft a DT like Pat Sims
2) Draft Dan Connor - not as athletic but a more versatile LB than Rivers
3) Worse case scenario - pick Malcolm Kelly

I don't think we'd go for a DE and there are CBs like Justin King who'll be available in R3-4

I'd go

R1 .. Pat Sims DT
R2 .. Dre Moore DT
R2 .. Adarius Bowman WR (extra pic)
R3 .. John Carlson TE
R3 .. Justin King CB




As for FA, I think Odom will prove too expensive and how much of his achievements were playing with VanDenBosch and Haynesworth? Williams will be hugely expensive with Haynesworth likely to be resigned. I like Hackett but Smith and Kelly are major injury risks

So I'd go

1) Jeff Faine, C, a massive upgrade over Fowler
2) D J Hackett WR
3) Teddy Lehman or Caleb Miller LB
4) Dan Kreider FB - a mobile 'lineman' for Mashawn
5) if we were going to give a massive FA contract then I'd plump for Jared Allen DE of the Chiefs

[PECKERWOOD]

With our 1st day picks that we have now:

Rnd 1.) Rivers ( Best LB in this years draft. )
Rnd 2.) Smith ( I'm praying that we somehow get him, he would also be worth a late 1st round pick, imo. )
Rnd 3.) Rice (If he is available here in 3rd round he is way too good to pass up, even with Lynch and Jackson.. )
Rnd 3.) Sullivan ( Can never have enough good O-linemen.. )

If we could trade down and scoop up 2 2nd rounders:

Rd 1.) Reggie Smith, DB, Oklahoma
Rd 2a.) Early Doucet, WR, LSU
Rd 2b.) Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee
Rd 3a.) Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame
Rd 3b.) Jermichael Finley, TE, Texas

FA:

1.) Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago
2.) Eric Johnson, TE, New Orleans
3.) Andre Davis, WR, Houston
4.) Kelly Holcomb, QB, Philly
5.) * Matt Jones ( If released by Jacksonville.. )

[yordad]

With our 1st day picks that we have now:

Rnd 1.) Rivers ( Best LB in this years draft. )
Rnd 2.) Smith ( I'm praying that we somehow get him, he would also be worth a late 1st round pick, imo. )
Rnd 3.) Rice (If he is available here in 3rd round he is way too good to pass up, even with Lynch and Jackson.. )
Rnd 3.) Sullivan ( Can never have enough good O-linemen.. )

If we could trade down and scoop up 2 2nd rounders:

Rd 1.) Reggie Smith, DB, Oklahoma
Rd 2a.) Early Doucet, WR, LSU
Rd 2b.) Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee
Rd 3a.) Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame
Rd 3b.) Jermichael Finley, TE, Texas

FA:

1.) Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago
2.) Eric Johnson, TE, New Orleans
3.) Andre Davis, WR, Houston
4.) Kelly Holcomb, QB, Philly
5.) * Matt Jones ( If released by Jacksonville.. )I like Eric Johnson..... but, Andre Davis? Um.. no.

[venis2k1]

How many times have we cut Andre Davis in the past 2 years. He goes down to houston and has a big year, and all of a sudden we want him back??

[Mr. Pink]

In Rd1 top 5 choices...I'll eventually get around to doing a mock seeing I was geared towards us getting Malcolm Jenkins before learning he was going back to school for his senior season.

1. Mike Jenkins CB
2. Sedrick Ellis DT - unlikely to be available at our pick
3. Kentwan Balmer DT
4. Derrick Harvey DE
5. DRC CB bit of a reach at 11

Free Agency, top 5 guys realistically able to be had for us...

1. Corey Williams DT
2. Alan Faneca OG
3. Jeff Faine C
4. Josh McCown QB
5. Boss Bailey LB

[venis2k1]

If the top of our draft board at #11 reads like:

3. Kentwan Balmer DT
4. Derrick Harvey DE
5. DRC CB bit of a reach at 11

I will kill myself.

Also Alan Faneca and Jeff Faine. Would be a huge upgrade, but lets be realistic. Last year we gave out a 49 mil and a 28 mil contract for our o-line. Faneca and Faine would command about the same respectivly. That would be 150 mil tied up in the offensive line...BEFORE we Resign Jason Peters. Who as a young Pro Bowl left tackle will command a contract much larger than that of Dockery or Faneca. I just cant see ralph spending over 200 million dollars in contracts to offensive lineman over a 3 year period.

[Mr. Pink]

If the top of our draft board at #11 reads like:

3. Kentwan Balmer DT
4. Derrick Harvey DE
5. DRC CB bit of a reach at 11

I will kill myself.

Also Alan Faneca and Jeff Faine. Would be a huge upgrade, but lets be realistic. Last year we gave out a 49 mil and a 28 mil contract for our o-line. Faneca and Faine would command about the same respectivly. That would be 150 mil tied up in the offensive line...BEFORE we Resign Jason Peters. Who as a young Pro Bowl left tackle will command a contract much larger than that of Dockery or Faneca. I just cant see ralph spending over 200 million dollars in contracts to offensive lineman over a 3 year period.

Balmer would be a good fit here, I don't think he'd be much of a difference maker than taking DeMario Pressley in Rd2 though. Ideally, I'd like to go Ellis in Rd1 then Trae Williams in Rd2 as it stands now. But, I don't think realistically Ellis is going to be available at our pick. I highly doubt we trade up to get him as well. So in my mind it comes down to which is the better pairing on day 1. Barber - Williams or Jenkins - Pressley. I'm torn right now on which I believe is better, monetarily wise choice 1 is better because the third DT taking in Rd1 is going to command less money than the 1st or 2nd CB is going to get. So, I'd probably go Barber - Williams.

Basically, it's do we get a guy who can get to the passer faster to alleviate some of our problems in the secondary or get some one in the secondary who can cover longer. I believe we need both and bringing in a corner and a dt on day one would immensely help our defense.

Faneca I'll give you as probably a non-realistic aspiration at this point, but I do believe that Faine is an absolute must at this point. The center of our line gets continually blown up, running or passing. Fowler gets manhandled on plays and completely eliminates our ability to run up the middle, even with a good RB. Or 2 good RBs as the case is here with McGahee before and now Lynch. Faine is easily the best Center available via FA and is better than any of the draft day options. I am big on Korey Lichtensteiger out of Bowling Green however think he's about a 5th round pick.