Draft Thoughts.....
It's been a busy week for me. I worked out with the team Thursday morning at 7:30 and then had a flight at noon to Miami to attend a Jay Fiedler charity event that raised money for CF (Cystic Fibrosis). Then I got on a plane to Louisiana to celebrate my birthday. I spent a lot of time on the plane thinking about the upcoming draft.
The draft is intense for everyone involved. The whole thing is a long waiting process. For a lot of guys, you sit around not knowing if you are going to be drafted. I watched the draft with my family and when I wasn't selected, I knew it wasn't the end of the world. I actually got a few calls twenty minutes after the draft. It was a relief to know I had an opportunity to show teams what I had to offer.
Even for expected top picks like Russell, Quinn and Johnson the whole process is intense. They'll have more security, but every rookie has something to prove. I think each of those players have something special to bring to the table. Russell is a big and smooth athlete with a tremendous arm and loads of potential. Then there's Brady who has a lot of experience in a NFL system and has been guided by Coach Weis. Johnson has size, speed and playmaking ability which forces teams to consider him the #1 Choice. Who would you pick 1st if you where a GM? I think that each of these players are safe picks, but if I had to chose....Calvin Johnson would be my guy. That would mean, Johnson and Moss would be on opposite sides. That's tough for defenses. When you have two guys like that with similar abilities someone is going to be left one on one. You can't always bring a safety over the top for help. When you have big receivers, that's a mismatch for our defensive backs. The addition of Johnson would affect the way AFC West teams gameplan for the Raiders.


