Upon Further Review

April 26, 2007

Buy, Sell or Pick…

Welcome to the latest edition of “Upon Further Review”, the Draft Special. Now, I’m going to hold firm to my stance of no mock draft, even though I worked tirelessly on one, because why bore you with yet another attempt by a “so-called” know it all to predict how the draft will pan out. Instead, I’m giving you my “Buy, Sell or Pick” edition of the draft. In this edition I will simply ask, myself of course, what the teams in the Top 10 should do with their pick…Buy (move up), Sell (trade down) or Pick (well……….make a pick). Here we go:

1. Oakland Raiders: SELL, SELL, SELL! Al Davis loves to make a splash so I doubt he trades out of this spot unless a team goes Mike Ditka and offers their entire draft for the #1 pick, which isn’t going to happen. So, look for Davis to make the biggest splash possible and take Calvin Johnson. JaMarcus Russell makes much more sense for them, but when was the last time Davis did anything that made sense? In my opinion, this team needs to trade down and gather as many picks as possible because they need all the help they can get.
    

2. Detroit Lions: Pick. I actually surprised myself with this answer. As much as I feel they truly should trade down and fill as many holes as possible, I feel stronger that they need to stay put and take either of the quarterbacks or Joe Thomas. The quarterbacks would give the Lions a face for their organization that they’ve been missing ever since Barry Sanders retired. Thomas would give them a franchise LT for the next 10-12 years, and we all know how important that is.
    

3. Cleveland Browns: Sell. This team needs help on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense, and the #3 pick can only fill one of those needs. Trading down will allow draft guru Phil Savage to work his magic and fill many more needs. The ideal scenario for Cleveland is if Calvin Johnson is still on the board, their phone lines will be ringing off the hook and Savage should be able to fleece another team fairly easily. If, Cleveland stays put Adrian Peterson or Joe Thomas makes the most sense (don’t give me this franchise quarterback crap, Charlie Frye is fine given a better OL and talent around him).
    

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Pick. People keep talking about how Oakland, Detroit and Cleveland are in great position to help their teams, but no one seems to talk about Tampa. Talk about a no lose situation, they could be looking at a chance to draft either the consensus #1 talent in the draft Calvin Johnson, get some much needed help for the OL in Joe Thomas or get a speed rusher to help bolster their defense in Gaines Adams. Talk about sitting in the catbird seat.
    

5. Arizona Cardinals: Buy. As much as it pains me to say it, but the Cardinals are only a few players away from being playoff contenders and one of those players is a dominant left tackle. The Cardinals need to do whatever it takes to trade up and grab this guy. If, they are unable to trade up, then a possible trade down should be considered and then grab either Levi Brown or one of the defensive tackles.
    

6. Washington Redskins: Pick. I thought long and hard about this one. Daniel Snyder graduated from the Al Davis School of NFL Ownership and loves to make a BIG splash, which is why I’m afraid he will try and trade up and grab Calvin Johnson or someone of that ilk and pay thru the nose for it. Snyder would be best served to stay put and just take the best player available…..period!
    

7. Minnesota Vikings: Buy. If one of the quarterbacks slips past the top 3 then the Vikings need to jump on it and trade whatever it takes to get a deal done so they can draft one of them (most likely Brady Quinn).
    

8. Atlanta Falcons: Buy or Pick. I was torn here as well, that’s why I hedged on my pick. If Calvin Johnson is not one of the top 2 picks then they need to be on the phone with Cleveland and make a deal happen. Talk about an exciting offense with a tandem of Michael Vick and Johnson…wow! But, Johnson is gone then they would be best served staying put and possibly getting a chance to take Bobby Petrino’s boy in Amobi Okoye.

9. Miami Dolphins: Pick. The Dolphins need help along both lines, staying put makes great sense here. They should have their pick of either Levi Brown, Alan Branch, Jaamal Anderson or Amobi Okoye. They can’ go wrong with any of them. However, with all that said, I wouldn’t fault them at all for a trade down either.
    

10. Houston Texans: Pick. This one was tough, I thought to have them trading down but trading down at this spot will almost be impossible unless one of the top 5 players slips this far. Of course if that’s the case then Houston should stay put and take that player anyway. I believe the Texans best bet would be to stay put, no matter what, and just take the top guy left on their draft board…sometimes doing nothing is best.