Friday, April 29, 2011

Castonzo

All I can say is wow. The Colts drafted the best lineman in the draft. Anthony Castonzo is a tailor-made left tackle, at No. 22. If you look at all my mocks, you'll see I had Derek Sherrod (basically a poor man's Castonzo) because I was sure the 6'7 Rhodes Scholar candidate would have been long gone. Note: Sherrod was later astutely snatched up by the Super Bowl-champion Packers ten picks later.

I don't have much but praise for the pick. Sure he could add some weight and strength, but he has gained 90 pounds in the last four years (and the strength that comes with it), so another 15 or so on his frame wouldn't hurt. He starts from Day 1 and protects Peyton Manning's blindside until he retires.

The numbers:

Height: 6070, Weight: 311, 10-yard dash: 1.80, 20-yard dash: 2.92, 40-yard dash: 5.21, Bench press: 28, Vertical jump: 29½ , Long Jump: 8’9, Shuttle: 4.40, Three-cone: 7.25, Arm length: 34.5, Hand length: 10.625


So now what? I think the next pick could be an offensive play maker (Jerrel Jernigan?), another offensive lineman (Ben Ijalana?), a safety (Tyler Sash) or a defensive tackle (Drake Nevis). I'm also still seriously under the belief that Ricky Stanzi will be wearing blue.

1 Carolina Cam Newton QB 6’5 248 Auburn
It kind of had to happen, it’s the kind of risk that you need to take to build a winner, I think he’ll succeed
2 Denver Von Miller OLB 6’3 246 Texas A&M
He’s undersized, but they need a pass-rush in the worst way and seem to be following the LeBeau plan, that’s smart
3 Buffalo Marcell Dareus DT 6’3 319 Alabama
No brainer, they suck against the run and Dareus had the talent to be the top pick
4 Cincinnati A.J. Green WR 6’4 207 Georgia
I guess they have an idea who’ll play QB there (I should have known Brown would never give in to Carson palmer’s pouting), and they need to clear out the old guard
5 Arizona Patrick Peterson CB 6’0 219 LSU
Again, I believe they have a plan at QB that I don’t know about; Peterson is a great value, but he’s not the sure-thing the media had represented him as; a tremendous athlete, but not a natural at the position like Joe Haden is
6 Atlanta Julio Jones WR 6’3 220 Alabama
I know, I know, they are following the Polian plan of overwhelming your opponents with offense, but their pass rush is weak and is Jones really worth two first, a second and two fourths?
7 San Francisco Aldon Smith DE 6’5 255 Missouri
Nothing against Smith, but the Harbaughs are playing to get a great pick next season
8 Tennessee Jake Locker QB 6’3 231 Washington
I could not have wished for anything better; Locker simply lacks the accuracy and drive to be a big winner in the NFL
9 Dallas Tyron Smith OT 6’5 307 Southern California
Everyone knew this was going to happen; good value starts on the right side while learning the game then moves to left
10 Jacksonville Blaine Gabbert QB 6’4 234 Missouri
I have no idea why he lasted this long and they were smart to trade up to get him as it only cost them their second; no, he’s not Sam Bradford, but he’s better than David Garrard and Jake Locker and, in all likelihood, Cam Newton
11 Houston J.J. Watt DE 6’6 285 Wisconsin
They need help all over the defense, so they took the most solid prospect, boring but astute
12 Minnesota Christian Ponder QB 6’2 229 Florida State
Nice pick if they design the offense to his abilities and it looks like they will with Bill Musgrave at the helm
13 Detroit Nick Fairley DT 6’5 314 Auburn
This is great, they need corners badly, but how do you block Suh, Fairley and Vanden Bosch?
14 St. Louis Robert Quinn DE 6’4 265 North Carolina
Nice pick to have fall in your lap; still need receivers badly
15 Miami Mike Pouncey OG 6’5 303 Florida
As predicted by most everyone, fills a need
16 Washington Ryan Kerrigan DE 6’4 267 Purdue
So many holes to fill, so they just got a nice player, trading down shows they had no faith in this year’s crop of QBs
17 New England Nate Solder OT 6’8 319 Colorado
Immense potential, but will take a while to develop – they have the time
18 San Diego Corey Liuget DT 6’2 298 Illinois
Ho hum, nice player, nice pick
19 New York Giants Prince Amukamara CB 6’0 206 Nebraska
What a gift, he’s not really what they needed most, but how do you pass him up? More NFL-ready than Peterson in my opinion
20 Tampa Bay Adrian Clayborn DE 6’3 281 Iowa
We all knew they were drafting an end, Clayborn could be the piece that pushes them into the NFL’s elite
21 Cleveland Phil Taylor DT 6’4 355 Baylor
Smart trade, smart pick; the Browns are rebuilding and can use the extra picks, Taylor lines up next to Atyba Rubin inside to form a huge wall; receivers, ends come later
22 Indianapolis Anthony Castonzo OT 6’7 311 Boston College 1
Just what they needed
23 Philadelphia Danny Watkins OG 6’3 310 Baylor
Watkins represents a good choice anywhere he goes
24 New Orleans Cameron Jordan DE 6’4 287 California
Nice pick, but I think a speedier guy would have helped more (if there was one available)
25 Seattle James Carpenter OT 6’5 300 Alabama
They see something in him I don’t
26 Kansas City Jon Baldwin WR 6’5 230 Pittsburgh
A physical presence sure, but a No. 1 receiver? Maybe in the far off future
27 Baltimore Jimmy Smith CB 6’2 211 Colorado
Great player, but a character risk
28 New Orleans Mark Ingram HB 5’9 215 Alabama
29 Chicago Gabe Carimi OT 6’7 314 Wisconsin
They needed o-line help and he was the best of what was left
30 New York Jets Muhammad Wilkerson DT 6’5 300 Temple
Not really bulky enough to be a nose, and what they really needed was rush backers
31 Pittsburgh Cameron Heyward DE 6’5 294 Ohio State
They lucked out
32 Green Bay Derek Sherrod OT 6’5 321 Mississippi State
As did they

2 comments:

BLUE, MD said...

My work area is under water (Arkansas), so here I am. Jerry, you are surprised, but the Pollians are shocked; anyhow, we all are 1 for 1. Now 2nd R.:Paea(DT), LeShoure(RB), Smith(WR), Carter (SS), Wisniewski (C/G): predicting CARTER (SS). 3er R.: Jenkins(DT), McDaniel(SS), Nevis(DT), Jarrett(FS), Acho(DE: predicting JENKINS (DT).

Jerry Langton said...

Hope everything is okay down there! We had a bit of rain up here (Toronto), but nothing terrible.

Best of luck in your predictions. Image if they got Wisniewski? That'd be great. I'm not big on either LeShoure or Paea. I like your third rounders.