Thursday, April 17, 2008

Full Draft Board

There is a good chance the Colts don't get Chris Johnson, so I'm going to rank some more
players the Colts won't be able to get, but would love to draft. I'm going full on into fantasy land and starting at the top. If I was running the Colt's draft (and you can be happy that they have someone much, much better) here's what my draft board would look like.

1. Glenn Dorsey
Dorsey would be a dominating nose-tackle in the Tampa-2, Matt Miller even compares him to the original dominant Tampa-2 nose-tackle Warren Sapp. Great size with an amazing first step.
Could Be As Good As:Warren Sapp
Exceptional quickness and great short quicks. Dominates in 10-yard and under sprints.
Dorsey would not just replace the pass rushing nose-tackle they lost when McFarland blew out his knee, he would be an improvement. The best DT of the Dungy era by far. The quickness of that line would be unmatched. All four would be in the backfield before the QB could even look up.
Injuries are the only major concern for Dorsey, but he appears to be well healed from the leg injury that hampered up last season.

2. Sedrick Ellis
A little less athletic and disruptive in the passing game than Dorsey, but still an amazing player who will do all the same things, just not quite as good.

3. Chris Long
Bigger than both Freeney and Raheem Brock, and much bigger than Robert Mathis, Long could play both left end and the under tackle spot (in passing situations). He isn't an elite speed rusher, but gets to the QB just fine anyway. Drafting Long would move Robert Mathis back into a backup/3rd down rusher role, which I think is a waste, but some people like.

4. Vernon Gholston
An elite speed rusher with a variety of other moves Gholston rushes the passer better than anyone in the draft. Run defense and consistent focus are his weaknesses. Gholston would initially backup both end spots but if he improves in run defense his size would give up an advantage over Robert Mathis for a starting spot.

5. Jake Long
The likely #1 overall pick falls because tackle is not a pressing need for the Colts. His talent is too great for him to fall any lower. The main knock on him is questions of whether he can handle the left tackle spot in the pros. With Tony Ugoh locked in as the Colts franchise LT, Long can settle into a spot he is sure to dominate at right tackle. Ryan Diem is a good starter, a powerful run blocker and only struggles against the best of the speed rushers, but Long is a class above him. A dominating run blocker with great athleticism (he's a possible Pro LT). He'll seal off Peyton's front side even vs the fastest left ends. Long may start at guard temporarily if he can't immediately unseat Diem. Diem started his career at guard and moved back there when his mobility was limited by injury. No matter who's the guard and who's the tackle a right side of Diem and Long, along with Ugoh, Lilja and Saturday rounding out the line, would be the best in the league.

More Later

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