40 Acres Sports

A quick look at the Longhorns I don’t think will be going in the first round on Saturday. At different points in their careers (and even at times this year) some of these guys were looked at as first round guys, but most likely Vince Young and Michael Huff will go in the top ten and be the only Longhorns drafted in the first round. Six former Longhorns are likely assured of being taken in one of the seven rounds in this weekend’s draft while three more sit just on the outside with their fingers crossed.

Cedric Griffin, Jon Scott, David Thomas, and Rod Wright

This set of Longhorns will likely all be drafted on the first day in the second or third rounds. Either Griffin or Wright could be the first one off the board. Griffin has good size & strength and the versatility to play either cornerback or safety at the next level. Unlike many of the corners being drafted ahead of him, he also has good cover skills. He doesn’t make perfect adjustments to the ball when it’s in the air, but he’s always in the right place. Better in zone coverage than man, he might end up becoming an excellent safety in the league. Griffin could go early in the second round to Buffalo or Arizona, two teams in need of secondary help but not likely to take a CB in the first round.

Wright also could go early in the second round, I’ve even seen him going as early as to the Steelers as the last pick of the first round in one mock draft. Wright has all the physical tools to make scouts drool, he’s big, strong, quick, and possesses superior athleticism. However, the production just wasn’t there the last two years while he battled double teams and injury and teams wonder about his motivation and effort. He has Pro Bowl ability and if he steps up the increased challenge of the NFL will be an absolute steal in the middle of the second or possibly even the third round. He might work as a defensive end in a 3-4 defense. I see him possibly going to whichever of Cleveland, Baltimore, or St. Louis doesn’t take a DT in the first round. If someone takes Michigan’s Gabe Watson over Wright they’ll regret it in three years.

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Here’s our projections for how the first round of this Saturday’s NFL Draft will go down. After the first seven picks all hell breaks loose as Matt and I very greatly on who we think goes where. Just one of the many reasons why the NFL Draft is like Christmas and Opening Day rolled into one weekend for both NFL and college football fans.

We’ll have a little further analysis and thoughts on where the other Longhorns like David Thomas and Cedric Griffin will be headed in the next couple of days.

Here’s the picks for the First Annual BevoSports Mock Draft:

The Tennessean asks the three top quarterback prospects fifty useless questions but actually gets some interesting answers…

What’s in your CD player right now?

Matt Leinart: Billy Joel.
Jay Cutler: “I have XM radio.”
Vince Young: Yolanda Adams.

Biggest pet peeve?

Matt Leinart: People chewing with mouth open.
Jay Cutler: Slow drivers.
Vince Young: Losing.

Biggest fear?

Matt Leinart: Failure.
Jay Cutler: Heights.
Vince Young: None.

Leinart’s answer to that first question is really embarassing. Billy Joel? Are you kidding me? Do people still listen to him? Meanwhile Young’s biggest peeve and his biggest fear explain 41-38 in the Rose Bowl nicely. While Leinart was worrying about people with bad manners and thinking about failing, Vince was busy playing the game of his life with no fear. And of course Cutler was at home on his couch watching the game on TV.

They need to be buying ads telling them to trade the pick.

“I’m telling you, this guy’s John Elway. All those people saying he won’t be good, what are they thinking?”

Vince’s stock is rising again, I guess scouts are actually watching film.

ESPN’s NFL Draft Special was pretty darn entertaining last night. In addition to Merril Hoge’s idiotic opinions, they also had an excellent segment on Vince Young’s draft stock and his NFL potential.

I certainly don’t agree with everything said, but it was still really well done. Not that Vince should be compared to Alex Smith, but where was all the “takes most of his snaps in the shotgun” comments last year? Maybe it was Smith’s suckiness that made them pay attention to it with Young. I also call BS on Chris Mortensen’s claim that NFL scouts hadn’t studied Vince just because they didn’t think he was coming out this year. There was always a decent chance he’d leave early, I hope scouts put out enough effort to check in on one of the top players in the nation once in a while.

ESPN analyst Merril Hoge, who has clearly taken too many hits to the head, says there’s not a single QB worth taking in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.

“Kellen Clemens from Oregon is better than Matt Leinart and Vince Young when you study the tape.” Yikes. What tape is he watching? Compare Leinart, Young, and Clemens’ stats and it’s not even close. Maybe Hoge likes that he’s coming off a major injury or that he’s much smaller and slower than either of the two more heralded QB’s. Or maybe he’s got brain damage.

Wow, that’s one of the dumber things I’ve heard in a long time.

Update: Check out his latest idiocy.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon spent some time on yesterday’s Pardon the Interruption discussing Vince Young and his draft stock. They think it’s completely ridiculous if he’s dropping and Wilbon thinks it’s all misinformation and that he’s not dropping at all.

It’s amazing what happens when people base their opinions on ability and on-field performance instead of their preconceived notions of what an NFL quarterback should be. The last couple of seconds of the video includes a classic exchange between the two hosts:

Kornheiser: “I don’t understand how you would not want Vince Young.”
Wilbon: “You don’t want to win.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. (Which is probably why they have a TV show and I have a blog.)

The Statesman has up some excellent footage from yesterday’s Pro Timing Day.