Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Mocking the mockers (including me)

Here at ColtPlay, we like to look at what other people are saying. So here’s a collection of what most of the internet draft predictors have decided the Colts would pick. Perhaps notable by their absence are The Sporting News and ESPN. That’s because they both charge for their info and I don’t want to let their cats out of their bags. They’re always wrong, anyway, so you’re not missing much. So without them, here’s what we have.

About.com Jared Odrick DT Penn State
CBS Sports’ Chad Reuter Brandon Graham DE Michigan
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
CBS Sports’ Rob Rang Charles Brown T USC
CDS Draft Brandon LaFell WR LSU
ColtPlay Devin McCourty CB Rutgers
Draft Board Insider Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Draft Countdown Charles Brown T USC
Draft Huddle Charles Brown T USC
Draft King Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Draft Zoo Jerry Hughes DE TCU
DraftDaddy.com Charles Brown T USC
DrafTek Charles Brown T USC
DraftSite Kyle Wilson CB Boise State
East Coast Sports News Brian Price DT UCLA
Fantasy Football Jungle Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Fantasy Football Xtreme Donovan Warren CB Michigan
Football Jabber Roger Saffold T Indiana
Football’s Future Brian Price DT UCLA
Football’s Future Brian Price DT UCLA
FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager Brian Price DT UCLA
GBNReport Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
KFFL Jared Odrick DT Penn State
Mocking The Draft Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
MyNFLDraft Brian Price DT UCLA
National Football Post Roger Saffold T Indiana
NESN Roger Saffold T Indiana
New Era Scouting Bruce Campbell T Maryland
New NFL Draft Mike Iupati G Idaho
NFL Draft 101 Kareem Jackson CB Alabama
NFL Draft Blitz Devin McCourty CB Rutgers
NFL Draft Dog Sean Weatherspoon OLB Missouri
NFL News and Rumors Daryl Washington ILB TCU
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks Patrick Robinson CB Florida State
NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan Devin McCourty CB Rutgers
NFL.com's Charles Davis Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Pro Football Weekly Roger Saffold T Indiana
ProFootballTalk Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Redzone Report Jared Odrick DT Penn State
RotoTimes’ Ted Carlson Brian Price DT UCLA
Saturdays2Sundays Jared Odrick DT Penn State
Scout.com’s Chris Steuber Jared Odrick DT Penn State
Scout's Notebook Bruce Campbell T Maryland
SI.com’s Don Banks Brian Price DT UCLA
Sideline Scouting Brian Price DT UCLA
Sunday Kickoff Brian Price DT UCLA
The Draft Matters Maurkice Pouncey C Florida
Walter Football Roger Saffold T Indiana
Weller and Bryan Sean Weatherspoon OLB Missouri

I’ll save you the counting, and add my take:

9 DT Price
Very productive, but sloppy and raw. Doesn’t look strong enough to distinguish himself at the NFL level right away. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Okay with it.

8 C Pouncey
Could use a few more degrees of dedication to the game, but otherwise a great prospect. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Pretty darn happy.

5 T Brown
Ugh. I hate to say it, but he looks like a potential bust to me. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering if Polian’s lost it.

5 DT Odrick
Another skinny college DT who’d be better off as a 3-4 end. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wishing they hadn’t.

5 T Saffold
Looked great in the Senior Bowl, but was inconsistent before that. Will develop, but lacks killer instinct as run blocker. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Okay with it.

4 CB McCourty
He already plays like a Colts’ DB, and could easily grab the return job. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Delighted.

2 OLB Weatherspoon
Very good college ’backer who’s smaller than NFL standards and not all that tough seeming. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Meh.

2 T Campbell
Great pass blocker who lacks bite in the run game, is that really what the Colts want? If they drafted him first, I’d be: Okay with it.

1 CB Wilson
Great college corner who may not be tough and strong enough in the run game. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering if they have changed their defense as radically as all that.

1 CB Warren
A great athlete at corner who needs to learn and use more technique and aggressiveness to succeed. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering if he’ll ever be better than a fourth corner.

1 WR LaFell
A strong and talented college star at WR who lacks speed and explosiveness. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering if the NFL is allowing the Colts to play with two balls at once.

1 DE Graham
Wow. A great college DE and a great kid. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering how he fell so far in the draft.

1 DE Hughes
A much-hyped pass-rusher whose so-so first step may translate to a tough time in the NFL. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Hoping he's a better prospect than I once thought.

1 G Iupati
A college guard who can also play tackle, he seems capable of Pro Bowl play at either position. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Surprised he wasn’t selected a dozen picks earlier.

1 CB Jackson
A pretty solid college CB who may not have the explosiveness to be an NFL star. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Wondering if they saw something I didn’t.

1 ILB Washington
This guy’s a great athlete who lacks instincts and size. And he might not have Colts-type character. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Hoping they didn’t.

1 CB Robinson
Personally, I love this kid; not just as a corner, but as a return man as well. If they drafted him first, I’d be: Pretty impressed.

So, if you agree with the media, the Colts will grab Price or Pouncey. But before you put all your mock draft eggs in one basket, keep in mind that not a single one of those experts (including ColtPlay) correctly predicted that the Colts would draft Donald Brown in the first round. And only one of them had the Colts drafting a halfback first (and that was Ohio State’s Beanie Wells).

So in honor of that record of ineptitude by us draft predictors, and the Colts’ ability to surprise us all, I’m changing my guess from McCourty to Virginia Tech Jason Worilds. Wait, nobody has him yet, do they?

1 comment:

Roy said...

Is that the Va Tech de/olb guy?