NFL DRAFT 101 - Offensive Tackles

 Alright Pro Football fans, here is the 2009 NFL Draft from the perspective of one very important position and the ripple effect it will have across the selection process.

First, here are the top 50 players available... These are all players that could possibly be drafted in the first round.

Offense
Position           Overall Rank         Name / School
Quarterback

                                      4            Matt Stafford   Georgia
                                    11            Mark Sanchez   USC
                                    39            Josh Freeman   Kansas State
Running Back

                                    16            Knowshon Moreno   Georgia
                                    28            Donald Brown   Connecticut
                                    29            Chris Wells   Ohio State
                                    36            LeSean McCoy   Pittsburgh
Wide Receiver

                                      6            Michael Crabtree   Texas Tech
                                    13           Jeremy Maclin      Missouri
                                    20            Percy Harvin   Florida
                                    22            Darrius Heyward-Bey Maryland
                                    25            Hakeem Nicks   North Carolina
                                    46            Kenny Britt          Rutgers
Tight End

                                    27            Brandon Pettigrew Oklahoma State
                                    48            Jared Cook     South Carolina
Off. Tackle

                                      2            Jason Smith    Baylor
                                      3             Eugene Monroe    Virginia
                                      9             Michael Oher     Mississippi
                                    17             Andre Smith     Alabama
                                    32             William Beatty  Connecticut
                                    40             Eben Britton    Arizona
Offensive Guard

                                    45             Duke Robinson   Oklahoma
Center

                                    33             Max Unger     Oregon
                                    34             Alex Mack     California

Defense
Position            Overall Rank          Name / School
Def. Tackle

                                      5             B.J. Raji    Boston College
                                    19             Peria Jerry    Mississippi
                                    30             Evander Hood    Missouri
                                    50             Ron Brace    Boston College
Defensive End 

                                    10             Everette Brown  Florida State
                                    18             Tyson Jackson   LSU
                                    38             Robert Ayers   Tennessee
                                    42             Michael Johnson   Georgia Tech
                                    47             Connor Barwin   Cincinnati
In. Linebacker

                                    12             Rey Maualuga   USC
                                    21             James Laurinaitis  Ohio State
                                    44             Clint Sintim    Virginia
Out. Linebacker 

                                      1             Aaron Curry    Wake Forest
                                      8             Brian Orakpo   Texas
                                    15             Brian Cushing    USC
                                     23            Aaron Maybin   Penn State
                                     24            Clay Matthews   USC
                                     37            Larry English     NIU
Cornerback

                                      7             Malcolm Jenkins  Ohio State
                                    14             Vontae Davis        Illinois
                                    26             Darius Butler   Connecticut
                                    31             D.J. Moore   Vanderbilt
                                    35             Alphonso Smith   Wake Forest
                                    41             Sean Smith    Utah
Strong Safety            

                                    43             William Moore   Missouri
                                    49             Louis Delmas   Western Michigan

 Next we need to take a look at each of the 32 teams' needs in this draft in terms of highest to lowest, one through seven...

Team Needs, Presented in Alphabetical Order

                    Rounds/Priorities
     Team  1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Arizona Cardinals -OLB RB CB SS DE OG C
Atlanta Falcons  -CB OLB TE DT FS SS OT
Baltimore Ravens -OT WR DE TE CB K OLB
Buffalo Bills  -DE OG TE C WR OLB FS
Carolina Panthers -DT DE OT CB QB OG C
Chicago Bears  -OT WR DE CB QB FS OG
Cincinnati Bengals -OT OG RB WR OLB ILB C
Cleveland Browns -OLB TE CB RB DE WR SS
Dallas Cowboys  -WR OT QB FS DT CB OG
Denver Broncos  -DT DE CB WR OG OLB FS
Detroit Lions  -QB OT ILB OLB CB DT OG
Green Bay Packers -DT DE CB TE RB SS OT
Houston Texans  -OLB DT CB RB FS DE TE
Indianapolis Colts -WR DT ILB OLB RB OT CB
Jacksonville Jaguars -WR DT OT CB OG SS C
Kansas City Chiefs -DE OG WR OLB DT RB ILB 
Miami Dolphins  -CB WR OLB OT DT OG SS
Minnesota Vikings -WR C QB CB OT DT TE
New England Patriots -OLB CB ILB SS FS WR C
New Orleans Saints -RB CB FS SS DT DE OLB
New York Giants  -OT WR DT OLB RB ILB CB
New York Jets  -WR QB DE ILB TE OT CB    
Oakland Raiders  -SS WR FS OT CB OG DE
Philadelphia Eagles -OT FS TE RB CB DE C
Pittsburgh Steelers -OT OG WR DT DE C CB
St. Louis Rams  -OT ILB WR C SS DT CB  
San Diego Chargers -SS OG DT DE RB OLB OT
San Francisco 49ers -OT OLB QB RB FS DE WR
Seattle Seahawks -OT OLB FS RB WR SS QB
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -WR DT OLB OT QB DE OG
Tennessee Titans -WR DT OT OLB OG CB RB
Washington Redskins -OT OG ILB DE C OLB RB

 Okay, so we've got fifty of the top prospects all lined up as well as the player needs of all thirty-two NFL teams, all based upon a composite of several nationally known ranking services and the latest rumors.

 So, how do the team needs balance out against the number of top prospects?

Take a look at this:

The # of Teams represents how many teams have their top need at each position given while the line of numbers just below the need number is the number of prospects that play each position out of the top fifty prospects in this year's draft:

Top Need ----  QB RB WR TE OT OG C Total
# of Teams -    1     1     7     0  10    0   0  19
# of Prospects- 3    4     6     2    6     1   2  24
Net -                    2    3    -1     2 - 4      1  2    5 
 
Top Need ----  DT DE ILB OLB CB SS FS Total Grand Total
# of Teams -     3     2    0     4      2    2    0    13         32
# of Prospects- 4     5    3      6     6    2    0     26         50
Net -                    1     3    3      2     4    0    0     13        18

 The need for offensive tackles and wide receivers in the first round exceeds the number of top prospects that are available at those positions. How far down into the draft will the teams that need an OT have to go to get them? Here is a look at the rankings of the #7 through #10 tackles:

Position                    Overall Rank              Name / School                   Round?
Offensive Tackle             53              Jamon Meredith  So. Carolina    2 to 3
                                           56               Phil Loadholt   Oklahoma           2 to 3
                                           86               Fenuki Tupou   Oregon               3 to 4
                                         102               Xavier Fulton     Illinois                    4

This is just to fulfill the ten first round offensive tackle needs. There are two teams that have offensive tackles as their second highest need and three more with OT as their third highest need in this draft. You see where this is going? 

 Half of the teams with an offensive tackle as their top need have an absolute need. Here's a run down on when the ten teams that need an OT have their selection: (The five with an absolute need are in italics and red)

Team                   Selection Number
St. Louis Rams                 2
Seattle Seahawks            4
Cincinnati Bengals          6
San Francisco 49ers     10
Washington Redskins  13
Chicago Bears               18
Philadelphia Eagles  21 & 28
Baltimore Ravens  26
New York Giants   29
Pittsburgh Steelers  32

 With this much demand for top quality OT's, it makes very good sense that the teams picking first should fill their top need with the best tackles available. It's either that or risk getting stuck with a potential bench warmer later in the draft.

          Looking at Seattle, just as with nine other teams this year, the Seahawk's highest need is for an OT, but it's not an absolute need at this time. For this reason, I'm hearing a lot of speculation coming from the peanut gallery concerning what the Hawks should do with the number four pick in the 2009 draft, and it's almost unanimous that they shouldn't take the OT.  It's almost as if the teams that also need an OT and happen to be further down in the selection order are wishing out loud that the Hawks will pass on filling their highest need. They want them to pick off some hot shot wide receiver or running back. The reasoning is that they say new Head Coach Mora needs to "make a splash". Well, the way I see it, that is just so much hot air!
          Think about this... This is the first time in years that the Seahawks have had a pick in the top ten let alone a top five selection. One of the very best players this team has had over the past few years is their left tackle, Walter Jones, a top draft pick that turned out to be a perennial Pro Bowler. Walter is still a very good player, but like it or not, he's on the down side of his brilliant career. Seattle's management needs to insure the Seahawk's future while the gettin' is good! Top left side offensive tackles are few and far between and they happen to be one of the most critical ingredients a team needs when trying to assemble a winning program. Just ask the guy who assembled the 2008 Miami Dolphins... 

         

         With this in mind, here is the first round of my 2009 Mock NFL Draft:

Pick #  Team  Player/Position/School
1 Detroit Lions  Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
2 St. Louis Rams  Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
3 Kansas City Chiefs Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest
4 Seattle Seahawks Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
5 Cleveland Browns Everette Brown, DE, Florida St.
6 Cincinnati Bengals Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
7 Oakland Raiders Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
8 Jacksonville Jaguars Michael Oher, OT, Miss.
9 Green Bay Packers Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio St.
10 San Francisco 49ers Brian Orakpo, OLB, Texas
11 Buffalo Bills  Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
12 Denver Broncos  B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
13 Washington Redskins  Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC
14 New Orleans Saints Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
15 Houston Texans  Brian Cushing, OLB, USC
16 San Diego Chargers Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
17 New York Jets  Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
18 Chicago Bears  Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
20 Detroit Lions  Aaron Maybin, OLB, Penn St.
21 Philadelphia Eagles William Beatty, OT, Connecticut
22 Minnesota Vikings Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
23 New England Patriots Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut
24 Atlanta Falcons  Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Ok. St.
25 Miami Dolphins  Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
26 Baltimore Ravens Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
27 Indianapolis Colts Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
28 Philadelphia Eagles Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
29 New York Giants  Clay Matthews, OLB, USC
30 Tennessee Titans James Laurinaitis, ILB, Ohio St.
31 Arizona Cardinals Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State
32 Pittsburgh Steelers Max Unger, C, Oregon

 In this rendition, the teams that had an OT as their top need and yet went with a different position player are as follows:

         San Francisco went to their second highest need in taking a possible freak pass rusher, a guy that will warm the heart of Mike Singletary, Brian Orakpo who played for the University of Texas. I have them picking up OT Augustus Parrish out of Kent State in the fourth round with the 111th pick of the draft.

 
         Instead of an opening round offensive tackle, Washington grabs off Rey Maualuga, the beast of a middle linebacker from USC, to anchor their defense. I've got them taking OT Fenuki Tupou out of Oregon with their second pick of the draft, the 80th selection overall in the third round.

 
         Chicago uses their 18th pick in the first round to take a wide receiver that could turn out to be the best in this draft, Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri. This took care of their second highest team need. I have the Bears parlaying their third round supplementary pick (no. 99 overall) into OT Xavier Fulton from the instate University of Illinois Fighting Illini.

 
          Baltimore also fulfilled their second highest need with another top wide out, Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. The closest I have them coming to fulfilling their top priority is with the 123rd pick overall in the fourth round when they select the eighth best offensive guard in the draft, T.J. Lang who played college ball for Eastern Michigan.

         Finally, the Steelers, with needs up and down their offensive line, settle for the best lineman available with their 32nd pick at the end of the opening round by taking Max Unger out of Oregon. Max is listed as a center but can also play guard and right tackle. Not a bad pick for the world champs. They follow up by getting huge Herman Johnson from LSU, the second rated guard in the draft, with their second pick, number 64 overall at the end of the second round. I've got the Steelers having to wait until their 132nd selection overall in the fourth round before getting their OT when they pick up Gerald Cadogan out of Penn State.

 There were two teams that selected OT's in the first round even though the position wasn't considered their greatest need:

         The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn't resist taking Mississippi's big left tackle, Michael Oher, with their first pick in the draft, even though their needs list had an OT as third highest. Oher, the third ranked OT in the draft is noted for having a mean streak, the type of player that I think Jacksonville could use. The Jags fill their top need for a fast wide out in the fourth round when they take Jaret Dillard (4.45 40 yd. dash time) out of Rice University.

         Lastly, I've got Bill Parcells and his Miami Dolphins snatching up the University of Arizona's OT, Eben Britton, to compliment their first round left OT pick from last season's draft, Jake Long. Britton will make defenses think twice about overloading the left side of Miami's offense when attempting to stop the run. 

          Well, there you have some insight into the 2009 NFL Draft and how several teams' needs to fill a certain position effects darn near every other phase of the selection process.

          P.S. The Seahawk brass better toe the line and do the right thing taking the second or third best offensive tackle in this draft. Who knows when they'll have a draft pick this high again...