Check out this mock draft

[leftcoaststeelerfan]

Peter Schrager from Fox Sports put out this doozy. Please grade and critique.

Schrager's First Round (As of 3/23/2008)
1. Miami Dolphins: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
2. St. Louis Rams: Chris Long, DE, Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
4. Oakland Raiders: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs: Jake Long, OL, Michigan
6. New York Jets: Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State
7. New England Patriots: Leodis McKelvin, Troy
8. Baltimore Ravens: Ryan Clady, OL, Boise State
9. Cincinnati Bengals: Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
10. New Orleans Saints: Keith Rivers, LB, USC
11. Buffalo Bills: Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
12. Denver Broncos: Chris Williams, OL, Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers: Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
14. Chicago Bears: Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
15. Detroit Lions: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee State
16. Arizona Cardinals: Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
17. Minnesota Vikings: Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida
18. Houston Texans: Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
19. Philadelphia Eagles: Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: James Hardy, WR, Indiana
21. Washington Redskins: Calais Campbell, DE, Miami
22. Dallas Cowboys: Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jeff Otah, OL, Pittsburgh
24. Tennessee Titans: Limas Sweed, WR, Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks: Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas
26. Jacksonville Jaguars: Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC
27. San Diego Chargers: Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
28. Dallas Cowboys: Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas
29. San Francisco 49ers: DeSean Jackson, WR, Cal
30. Green Bay Packers: Kenny Phillips, S, Miami
31. New England Patriots: Pick Forfeited
32. New York Giants: Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee

He has Otah falling to us at 23 and no mention of Albert in the 1st.

[motownsteeler]

Is this because Otah didn't work out to rest his ankle?

[smithessmokin]

not bad.....does anyone think we could get albert with our 56th pick?? if we cold get both that would be great. my new mock based on yours:

R1- jeff otah OT
R2- branden albert(really hopeful) OG
R3- kendall langford DL
R4- charles godfrey CB
R5- jamie silvia S
R6- adrain arrington WR

[Ghost of Frenchy Fuqua]

Let me take a crack at the Steelers' first five picks:

1. A guy who some of us never heard of until a few weeks ago.

2. A guy who a lot of us never heard of until a few weeks ago.

3. A guy who most of us never heard of until a few weeks ago.

4. A guy who nearly all of us never heard of until a few weeks ago.

5. A guy who all of us - except Mel Kiper, Frank Coyle and the Ghost of Joel Buchsbaum - never heard of until a few weeks ago...

[Tres Rios]

I think I've made it clear I want Hardy in Rd. 1. But will accept any OL that is not named Otah. Someone else can be saddled with that slow, stiff, uncoordinated waste of money.

[DrunkinIrishman]

Sorry I think Otah will be a right tackle. This team will need a LT. I watched him play at Pitt and I just do not have a good feeling about him. Hope I am wrong for the kid. I really hope he is gone before we are up.

[Big Fella]

I like how when we don't draft any of the guys from the handful of names posters go crazy...Thats good stuff.

[Supersteeler]

not bad.....does anyone think we could get albert with our 56th pick?? if we cold get both that would be great. my new mock based on yours:

R1- jeff otah OT
R2- branden albert(really hopeful) OG
R3- kendall langford DL
R4- charles godfrey CB
R5- jamie silvia S
R6- adrain arrington WR

Not a prayer on Albert making it to us in the 2nd Round. His stock is rising so fast he may not be there at #23 now.

[RevBillyC]

I think I've made it clear I want Hardy in Rd. 1. But will accept any OL that is not named Otah. Someone else can be saddled with that slow, stiff, uncoordinated waste of money.

As we get closer to the draft & considering recent events, I'm lining up with you Tres.

Since we signed Hartwig & it appears Starks is likely staying, OL isn't the "must-pick" in round 1.

I'd be happy with either Hardy or Talib with our #1 - I'd even be happier if we could trade down a few slots & grab an extra pick before we take one of them. (unlikely, I know)

Then grab a guy like Nicks or Cherilus in the 2nd round.

If Hardy's gone, I'd wait until 3 to try & get Jordy Nelson

[BermudaSteel]

No thanks to Otah...

I prefer this mock: http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=F204D6AF6624DD97FD74B320026461B7? id=09000d5d807619d5&template=with-video&confirm=true

BUT, like Tres, I'd prefer BPA (Hardy) in rd. 1

[leftcoaststeelerfan]

No thanks to Otah...

I prefer this mock: http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=F204D6AF6624DD97FD74B320026461B7? id=09000d5d807619d5&template=with-video&confirm=true

BUT, like Tres, I'd prefer BPA (Hardy) in rd. 1

23. Cherilus-Overview
After starting 37 consecutive games at right tackle, Gosder Cherilus moved to the demanding left tackle position as a senior. It is an understatement to say that he struggled most of the year at that position.


Penalties -- seven total and four vs. Notre Dame -- were his worst enemy. Cherlius allowed 5 1/2 quarterback sacks and four pressures, acceptable totals when the offense throws the ball 659 times in a season.



With his limited change-of-direction agility, along with a solid reputation as a mauler for the ground game, Cherilus would welcome a return to right tackle at the next level. The Haitian is a tireless worker and with patient coaching, he could join the long line of steady Boston College offensive linemen now playing in the NFL. Cherilus closed out his career with 51 consecutive starts for the Eagles, establishing a new school record.

Couple of things that stood out when I read this......

[Avoid Lloyd1975]

I think I've made it clear I want Hardy in Rd. 1. But will accept any OL that is not named Otah. Someone else can be saddled with that slow, stiff, uncoordinated waste of money.

LMFAO!!!!! Otah is a second round prospect IMO. Hardy would be F'n awesome in the first but unlikely. Kendall Langford in the third, that is if he is still available is what I want as well. Anything after that is garbage/BPA.

[Far51]

Gosder is what we need at RT, altough he could be a good LT as wwell, just rather have him at RT, Shane Olivea still thier any possibility we can squueze him under the cap with Ced's release any one and say, we work out a very affordablwe extension for Stark i.e. 4 years 14 mill 2 mill bonus a far cry from what idiots were saying he would get the 6-7 mill offers.

[BermudaSteel]

Gosder is what we need at RT, altough he could be a good LT as wwell, just rather have him at RT, Shane Olivea still thier any possibility we can squueze him under the cap with Ced's release any one and say, we work out a very affordablwe extension for Stark i.e. 4 years 14 mill 2 mill bonus a far cry from what idiots were saying he would get the 6-7 mill offers.

If we even attempt to get Olivea...I'll have a hard on for a week!!!:eek:

[Steeltime]

IMO, Otah will be an NFL tackle. RT seems to be made for him, and he could well be a better RT candidate than Colon since he is bigger, more powerful, has much more reach and longer arms, and played against some pretty good competition in college. His experience at LT in college also means that he usually faced the other team's best pass rusher.

He ran a very slow 40. But some pretty good right tackles in the NFL ran some poor 40's:

Marc Columbo, RT for the Cowboys - 5.25 in 2002.
Levi Brown, RT for the Cards - 5.39 last year.
Jon Jansen, RT for the Skins - 5.3 in 1999.
Shane Olivea, RT for the Chargers - 5.3 in 2005.

Yes, not as slow as Otah's showing, but he was battling an ankle injury (or so his agent said).

The point is that very good RT's can run in the 5.3 or 5.4 range. If Otah was slowed by the ankle injury, and is back at full health by training camp, he could be a contender at RT from day one.

[Tres Rios]

He was more than a bum ankle. Twice at the other drills a coach had to shove his ass lower in his stance because that oaf was standing almost straight up and down. No thanks.

[Steeltime]

He was more than a bum ankle. Twice at the other drills a coach had to shove his ass lower in his stance because that oaf was standing almost straight up and down.

So, the Steelers get special dispensation from the NFL to have a coach on the field to shove Otah and get him to bend his knees.

This is a problem how?

[End of sarcasm]

From the games I saw Otah play at Pitt (not a ton, I admit), he seemed adept at handling speed rushers. He gave up very few sacks, and was not prone to jumping early - which is a problem that I associate with tackles who have trouble with speed rushers.

[kurtistb]

23. Cherilus-Overview
After starting 37 consecutive games at right tackle, Gosder Cherilus moved to the demanding left tackle position as a senior. It is an understatement to say that he struggled most of the year at that position.


Penalties -- seven total and four vs. Notre Dame -- were his worst enemy. Cherlius allowed 5 1/2 quarterback sacks and four pressures, acceptable totals when the offense throws the ball 659 times in a season.



With his limited change-of-direction agility, along with a solid reputation as a mauler for the ground game, Cherilus would welcome a return to right tackle at the next level. The Haitian is a tireless worker and with patient coaching, he could join the long line of steady Boston College offensive linemen now playing in the NFL. Cherilus closed out his career with 51 consecutive starts for the Eagles, establishing a new school record.

Couple of things that stood out when I read this......


I think anyone that expected Cherilus to be able to play LT in the NFL wasted their time evaluating him there. The guys was born to play RT plain and simple. I was especially impressed when I heard them say he was probably the smartest Olineman in the draft in terms of football IQ and also a hard worker. To me those are the two determining factors on whether a guy will make it or not, regardless of position. He also got bonus points when he messed up on a drill at the combine and got visably pissed with himself. I hate when guys screw up and then pretend like everything is everything.

[smithessmokin]

Not a prayer on Albert making it to us in the 2nd Round. His stock is rising so fast he may not be there at #23 now.

and that would be why i saying "really hopeful". that mock was more fantasy than actual thought.