The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread

[JenksAnejo]

..I can't think of any

[smitty81]

I'm excited to see where Nebraska's Lavante David ends up and when he will be picked.

[Stephen]

My favorite part of the NFL combine weekend by far.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by smitty81

I'm excited to see where Nebraska's Lavante David ends up and when he will be picked.

Has a chance to be picked in the second, but I see him going at earliest in the third.

[JenksAnejo]

Stephen what did you think of Dontari Poe? That guy is a beast!

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by JenksAnejo

Stephen what did you think of Dontari Poe? That guy is a beast!

A guy that big shouldn't be able to move like that. It simply isn't fair. He's raw though (from watching him on film) and needs to be coached up. That being said, I don't think he falls out of the top 15, but definitely a boom or bust player. Personally, I think the perfect landing spot would be with the Chiefs, who have the 11th pick, although I could see him going as high as six to Washington (unlikely) or eight to Carolina (entirely possible).

[shilala]

He definately shot up the draft order with his showing at the combine. He'd be an amazing fit for the Steelers, but the odds of him lasting till 24 are slim to none at this point.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by shilala

He definately shot up the draft order with his showing at the combine. He'd be an amazing fit for the Steelers, but the odds of him lasting till 24 are slim to none at this point.

Scott, any truth to the rumor that the Steelers are going to cut ties with Hampton and slide Ziggy Hood inside? If true, that could allow the Steelers to draft a five-technique guy like Fletcher Cox or Devon Still (if he's still around). If DeCastro happens to fall in your laps, you guys have to take him, right?

[shilala]

They're looking for Casey's heir apparent, Stephen. Poe was going to be that guy before the combine happened.
I think Hampton has one year left on his 3 year deal that included a lot of guaranteed money. At the end of that deal he'll have been around for 12 years. That's probably a little long in the tooth, no? I'm not sure what the life expectancy is for a nose tackle, but that seems about right.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by shilala

They're looking for Casey's heir apparent, Stephen. Poe was going to be that guy before the combine happened.
I think Hampton has one year left on his 3 year deal that included a lot of guaranteed money. At the end of that deal he'll have been around for 12 years. That's probably a little long in the tooth, no? I'm not sure what the life expectancy is for a nose tackle, but that seems about right.

He's also coming off a third acl surgery, no? Not to mention his backup Chris Hoke retired. That Steel Curtain looks to have a lot of rust on it...

[Stephen]

Talking about the lack of defense yesterday in the Big XII and Casey Hampton today, it reminded me of those Longhorns teams back in the late 90's early 2000's that had both Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton as their starting DT's.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Stephen

He's also coming off a third acl surgery, no? Not to mention his backup Chris Hoke retired. That Steel Curtain looks to have a lot of rust on it...

Yup. And Aaron Smith will likely retire. He needs neck surgery and the docs told him one hit in the right spot and he'll be coming off the field on a board and be peeing in a bag for the rest of his days.
Evidently that diagnosis has eased, because I haven't heard anything about his retirement.
The Steel Curtain is definately rusty. Despite their ranking last year, their numbers were way off from the year before. We're used to fielding a suffocating D and a marginal offense. That has always worked. With this new crap where we don't need a halfback and we want to sling the ball and make people go "Whee!!!", I really don't have any idea what kind of identity Pittsburgh is looking for.
You can't do it all under the cap.
If we're planning to have no o-line like we have for years, and no substantial D, I guess we'll just settle for Ben throwing to Wallace twice a game so we can go "Wheeee!!!"
I really have no idea what they're doing, my friend. If you can figure it out, you need to tune me in. They're driving me nuts.
If Hines Ward isn't back this year, and Heath Miller for some reason no longer shows up, I really don't have much left to root for.

I should mention that Casey may or may not be ready for camp. He may start the season on the PUP.

[JenksAnejo]

If DeCastro happens to fall in your laps, you guys have to take him, right?

I could never see this happening. I know it's a what if scenario; however, there are so many teams that need interior lineman help and DeCastro is the best guard prospect we've seen in the last decade.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by JenksAnejo

I could never see this happening. I know it's a what if scenario; however, there are so many teams that need interior lineman help and DeCastro is the best guard prospect we've seen in the last decade.

Eh, there's been lots of guards who were held in similar regard, and were even thought more of because of their potential to play multiple positions along the line (Mike Iupati/Branden Albert/Mike Pouncey immediately comes to mind). DeCastro doesn't offer that; what you see is what you get (albeit a talented guard). So even if DeCastro is a better player, because he plays a position that frankly is about the least important position on the team, he's not going to be drafted relative to his (perceived) talent. Does that make any sense?

*edit* And I'm not saying that DeCastro will assuredly fall to the Steelers. I will say, though, that's he much more likely to fall to the Steelers than he is to get drafted in the top 15.

[JenksAnejo]

It's not just me who thinks this kid is special. Also where did you see that DeCastro is only stuck in one position?

8. Miami Dolphins - David DeCastro, G, Stanford - Positional value aside, DeCastro has the highest floor in the 2012 NFL draft. Historically, we have seen a few guards go in the top 10, and they're trending upwards as a position group which makes this a reality

If you've been following the NFL Draft beat, you're pretty aware of the impressive skills of one David DeCastro.

I know that Bleacher Report's team down at the NFL Combine right now are loving what they see from the Stanford product, with Andrew Kulha recently tweeting about how fundamentally sound DeCastro is.

The great thing about this guy is he can play guard or center, which gives the Cowboys options as to where they want to put what would have to be their first round pick.
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David DeCastro is, in my estimation, the best offensive lineman in this draft class. I firmly believe that.

I think that Matt Kalil shows some spectacular potential and elite characteristics, but the bottom line is that he showed weakness on his inside shoulder and got beat too often to stack up with DeCastro.

David is also a better performer at his position than Riley Reiff was at his position. His combine performance is what I would call sneaky good, not unlike John Moffitt's performance a year ago. DeCastro showed what he needed to show, which is an exception combination of brutal strength, and the ability to move well on his feet.

These were just a couple of the first mock drafts that I pulled up. Each one had him going in the top 11.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by JenksAnejo

It's not just me who thinks this kid is special.

Not saying that he isn't a good guard project. But being the best guard project is akin to being the tallest midget. In other words, elite offensive lineman aren't wasted (relatively speaking) at guard. I went looking, and the last guard to get drafted in the top ten was Chris Naeole back in 1997. I don't know much about the two guys drafted in the top ten in 1986 to comment (Brian Jozwiak/John Rienstra).

Originally Posted by JenksAnejo

Also where did you see that DeCastro is only stuck in one position?

Because he doesn't have the feet/hips to play outside. Woe unto the quarterback whose team drafts this guy and tries to make him a tackle.


Not intending to be mean-spirited, just passing along some of the things I've learned over the years watching/playing/coaching football. Hey, to show there's no hard feelings, if DeCastro does end up getting picked in the top ten, I'll send you a nice fiver to celebrate.

[JenksAnejo]

Oh no man, no hard feelings at all! Just discussing some football is all! I hope you didn't think anything I said was mean spirited.

We will differ on our opinions on a lot of things, but that's ok it makes things more interesting to talk about.

No need to send a fiver brother!

[JenksAnejo]

Come to think of it you and shilala both will be sending me a 5-pack at the end of baseball season.

[shilala]

I looked around a bit, and there's a lot of hack talk about the Steelers picking up a Tight End at 24. Specifically, Cody Fleener.
It never occurred to me that we could use a tight end to work with Heath, but that'd be a huge move, offensively.

I do know that we have kids from last year that should be ready to go this year on the o-line. There were a number of season-ending injuries at camp. I have no idea what the Steelers have in the bag defense-wise, maybe they think they're solid enough to play shootout ball now?
Once again, it's a lot of guessing. I have no earthly idea what they're doing or what direction they're heading. They're been heading towards an all-pass offense with Ariens, so they hire a coach who likes to run. Mendenhall is broke down, Moore in an unrestricted free agent as is another one of our rb's (I forget which). That leaves us John Clay. Who's John Clay? Exactly.
If someone has any clue, I would LOVE to hear what you got. I don't even care if you're clueless, at least if you have an idea, that's somewhere to start. It's more than I have.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by JenksAnejo

Come to think of it you and shilala both will be sending me a 5-pack at the end of baseball season.

Scott says he's the man when it comes to fantasy baseball. I haven't played in nearly a decade so I know someone's gonna be having a smoke on me come September.

Funny, but I think the key to the entire 2012 NFL draft is Matt Kalil.