i agree -- each time you pick, in the salary cap era, you should take the best player available, regardless of position. but this year, there are no bona fide #1 picks in this draft -- i think the guys you mentioned are all possibilities, but they each have flaws and holes in their games. mckinnie: casserly has, publicly, at least, slighted mckinnie on several occasions; he worries he's too tall and there is some concern about his conditioning and work ethic. he's also very, very raw -- this year was just his fifth playing football. the draft is also deep in tackle talent; levi jones could very well be there at #33 and he has the physical skills to compare favorably to mckinnie peppers: if mckinnie is very, very raw, then peppers is very, very, very raw. and he doesn't fit capers' preferred defensive scheme -- the 3-4. if he could play olb, he'd be perfect, but can he? he has no experience at that position. and while peppers might be the most atheletic player on the field every saturday, he won't be on sunday, so his lack of experience and refined skills make him, imo, a project; a project with a very high ceiling, but a project nonetheless. remember: he spent most of his springs playing b-ball, so he's well behind the learning curve. plus, peppers didn't flat-out dominate this year. teams ran at him successfully, and there were games where he was a non-factor. henderson: the guy had a pretty subpar year and i think there's concern about his work ethic, conditioning and intellect. we interviewed a reporter from the tennessean who said he'd be shocked if henderson went top 5. some scouts think his teammate, haynesworth, is just as good, if not better, and still others think wendell bryant is as good, if not better. williams: not even the second best T in the draft. i think carr might be a stretch at #1, too, but you could make the same case about the other guys. i like carr, i'd prefer it if we could trade down into the 8-10 range, stockpile some picks and still get him, but, as i've said, i'm not sure he'll last past detroit at #3.
I don't think David Carr can step into the Texans' offense tomorrow and play well. That makes him raw as well. In fact, everyone is raw based on that analysis. The only players I can see coming in and doing decently well are Harrington (just seems polished to me in a Drew Brees kind of way) and Quentin Jammer. I don't see Peppers or McKinnie as "projects" or "gambles." I agree with you here. I have nothing against Carr. I happen to like the guy. I just don't think he's worthy of the #1 pick. I can see Detroit or Buffalo picking him up. Personally, I think Detroit should stick with Mike McMahon because they have way too many holes to fill. But that's just my opinion. If Buffalo gave us their 1st and 2nd round picks for the top spot, I'd do it in a heartbeat. If they grabbed Carr, we'd just take someone else (like Harrington, if need be). Reports from the Senior Bowl suggest that DeShaun Foster is coming on strong. If this is indeed the case, and he's looking good, there is a chance we could grab him in the second round (or late second round). I have Willie Green, T.J. Duckett, and Clinton Portis ahead of him at the moment, but that's subject to change...
and the "polished" drew brees sat all year... yes, every pick is raw, but there's an expected learning curve in the nfl when it comes to QBs; other picks are expected to make more immediate impacts. no one would have a problem with carr taking a year to learn the offense, but would it sit well with us if peppers took a year to learn the defense? every top pick is a gamble because of the money, and i didn't call mckinnie a project, btw; even if he flat busts as a LT, he can still play RT or be moved inside and you'd at least get production from him. of all the players in the first round, he's probably the safest pick. but it doesn't mean there aren't some question marks. and peppers is a project and a gamble if you're drafting him to play a position he hasn't previously played. if houston intended to use a straight up 4-3 where they could just turn peppers loose, i think he'd be a viable candidate and less of a project. but, supposedly, they're not.
