NFL Draft 2003 (1 Viewer)

[John Thomas]

The NFL draft is this weekendand there's the typical speculation over top picks. What will be interesting to see is where the two players who had injuries late in the season, Byron Leftwich and Willis McGahee, go in the draft.
I'm not up to date on the Corey Dillon situation with the Bengals but the impression I get is that he won't be around much longer. Do they go with a McGahee, maybe trading down and getting something for it? Are there any Cincy fans out there?

Bengals, Lions, Texans, Bears and Cowboys are the first five picks, but I'm not sure if there's really anyone out there that is an impact player to help these teams out right off the bat.

An interesting article written by Len Pasquarelli talks about the top 5 colleges for producing pro prospects. (of course I'm a bit biased since #2 is my alma mater..)

I imagine I'll be tuning in sporadically to see who the Raiders pick with their 20 picks in the first 3 rounds.
I say sporadically since watching it from start to end is akin to watching paint dry..

 

[Jed M]

The reason nobody is talking much about it yet is because of the NBA playoffs and also the fact that you are a week early. Its next week, but it never hurts getting a head start http://www.nfl.com/draft

I love the draft, can't wait till next weekend. I feel bad for Carson Palmer if he ends up a Bengal, what a nightmare. Who knows though? They have a new coach and... never mind, sorry Bengal fans.

 

[Brandon_T]

Well here in Lion country there are raging debates on who to take. It seems that most people want them to take Charlie Rogers from MSU. A lot of people want them to take the corner back from KSU.

I am having a draft party with a bunch of people and beer. Of course, during the 3 hours or so between each pick, we will be playing a lot of Madden on the PS2.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Lions will definitely be taking Charles Rogers with the #2 pick if he is still there. However, since Cincy seems to be leaning towards Carson Palmer, they could gamble a little and swap picks with Houston, moving down to #3. That would allow Houston to take Rogers (who they really want), and the Bengals could still get Palmer at #3, provided that Detroit does not also trade down with another team that may be hot for Palmer. The Lions will not take a quarterback with their first pick, since they drafted Harrington at #3 last year and also have young Mike McMahon at 2nd string.

The Lions spent significant money on free agent corner Dre Bly this offseason, so they will go for the big play receiver if he's available. If Rogers is gone and they cannot trade down, I expect them to take Newman, the CB from Kansas State, since he would be the best impact player available.

 

[Marvin]

I imagine I'll be tuning in sporadically to see who the Raiders pick with their 20 picks in the first 3 rounds.
I say sporadically since watching it from start to end is akin to watching paint dry..

Actually, I always look forward to watching the draft. It's usually more exciting than the Super Bowl turns out to be. The Giants won't draft until #25, so it will be late in the afternoon unless they can swap positions as they did the last couple of years.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I do not expect McGahee to get past the Raiders in the first round. Since they have two first round picks, Al Davis will gamble one on McGahee's knee. The Raiders can afford to have him miss this season, if necessary, since they already have Charlie Garner at RB. Also, Davis has a history of such draft day gambles -- Bo Jackson comes to mind.

 

[John Thomas]

Wow. Y'know I could swear the ads on ESPN were saying that it was this weekend. Hmph.

As far as the Raiders, I figure they're gonna pick up someone like a Kelley Washington. I'm pretty sure that either Brown or Rice are going to retire or maybe not play such a key role. At any rate, they'd need to pick up someone to groom him like they've done with Jerry Porter.

 

[Shane Martin]

I expect my Cowboys to take either Newman from KSU or Terrell Suggs(they need a pass rusher) or one of the DT's that are available.

The only shocker I could imagine is if they were offered a high quality Cb to trade down like say for instance..Charles Woodson.

Outside of those, I'll be shocked if it goes any other way. 2nd round I expect a qb or rb to be taken. The latest draft talk has been the guy from Georgia but I could hope Mcgahee is there as I would be akin to take a shot at him.

Chris Simms isn't a bad choice but I don't like him because he choked all the time against my Sooners

 

[Brian E]

I'm expecting my Purple to take a DT with the 7th pick. Either Kennedy or Robertson if they're still there (I'm sure one of them will be).

 

[Evan S]

The latest draft talk has been the guy from Georgia but I could hope Mcgahee is there as I would be akin to take a shot at him.

Latest draft rumors (for what they're worth) have McGahee going #30 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles. Your guess is as good as mine, but I highly doubt if the Eagles don't take him that he will get by the Raiders at #31. The Raiders love to take fliers on players that probably aren't worth their draft slot (Sebastian Janikowski?!?!) but they have the depth at that position to sit Willis out a year and still retain his services in 2004. I wouldn't put anything past Al Davis.

I'm just hoping the Broncos take an offensive lineman in the first round for the first time since 1982. We need serious help there. We gave up 49 sacks last year, the most since 1976. If they go O-line in round one followed by D-Line in round 2, I will be very happy. Then in the middle rounds we would take guys that would shore up depth in the secondary as well as maybe draft a QB if Plummer doesn't pan out, backup tight end, and a couple more pass rushers.

A perfect draft for Denver (in my mind) would go something like this...

1 - O-Line
2 - D-Line
3 - QB
4 - CB
5 - Safety
6 - O-Line
7 - D-Line

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Yes, there are some of us still foolish to cheer for the Bengals. They will take Carson Palmer, no doubt about it in my mind. At least this time they'll be doing the right thing with the quarterback and not shoving him into the starting role right away.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yes, there are some of us still foolish to cheer for the Bengals. They will take Carson Palmer, no doubt about it in my mind.

Mark, what is the word out of Cincy regarding the Bengals swapping picks with Houston? Unless Detroit then trades down, Cincy could still get Palmer at #3. From the national news reports, I know the Bengals are in contract negotiations with Palmer. However, the local news sometimes has a different slant on things.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Most of the talk has been that nobody wants to trade for the top pick. We'll see if things change, although obviously the Bengals would likely get Palmer at #3. (They brought in Palmer, Newman, and Leftwich for evaluation, FWIW.)

 

[Shane Martin]

I think the #1 will could be traded with a team that wants to jump ahead of Detroit and steal the Rogers. The texans are capable of that but what will they give up? The Bengals would save some dough though probably

I'm expecting my Purple to take a DT with the 7th pick. Either Kennedy or Robertson if they're still there (I'm sure one of them will be

Alot of teams want these 2 guys so I wouldn't necessarily expect them both to be there at 7. It all depends on who moves up and down. Alot of teams want these 2 DT's including Dallas.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's interesting to think that possibly the best quarterback prospect eligible for this draft may not even get selected. This is the first draft where former Michigan QB Drew Henson is automatically eligible for the NFL draft (he needed to declare himself eligible last season, but didn't). Since Henson is stuck in the Yankees minor league system unable to hit a curve ball, some team make take a chance on Henson with a 7th round choice.

Had he stayed with football, Henson may have been the #1 overall pick in last year's draft (barring injury).

 

[Jeremiah]

Scott, this artical pretty says that Henson is not going to play football so teams shouldn't waste their time. It's a shame b/c I want to see Drew Henson starting in the NFL.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/columnist?id=1540300

Man, it seems every year I know less and less about the players being drafted, I do think the Texans should jump Detroit and grab Charles Rogers, him and Carr would be a nice duo. The Miami WR has not really impressed me, definantly not like CR has.

 

[Marvin]

.. Henson is not going to play football so teams shouldn't waste their time.

That's what he's saying now. If he's still struggling in the minor leagues in a couple of years, he may have second thoughts then. So it might be worth it for someone to gamble a 7th round draft pick. I think I read something about the Giants doing that, being that they don't need a quarterback for the near future anyway. I forgot where I saw that.

 

[Dheiner]

Any choice made in the draft this year, is only good for a year (about). If he has not signed he would be re-drafted the next year. I suspect Drew is saying he'll never play football so as to remain a free agent.

 

[Jeremiah]

In 2004 Drew Henson would become a FA and could sign with any team he wants, he would be able to get drafted.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Actually, if Henson is drafted in this year's draft, his rights would belong to that team until the 2004 draft, when he would once again be eligible to be drafted by any team other than the one that took him in '03. If he is drafted in 2004, he would not become a free agent until the 2005 draft. This was per a recent article in the Detroit News (unfortunately, it's not currently on their website).

Of course, if he goes undrafted this year, he automatically becomes a free agent.

Since 7th round picks probably do not make the roster more times than they do, he may be worth a gamble in the final round. Henson still states that he has no intention of quiting baseball, but he may get tired of riding a bus in the minors eventually.