My 3 favorite players at 19

[bossFALCON™]

now that our secondary is set to go i've spent the last few days reviewing draft prospects, reading scouting reports, watching highlights/lowlights. these are my 3 favorite players that are almost sure to be there at 19.

let me start off by saying i feel our 2 biggest problems on defense last year was pass rush and pass coverage. our coverage on the back end should definitely be improved with the signing of dunta robinson, but people seem to forget that lb's play a role in pass coverage as well.

while i like peterson and what he brings to the table for our team (leadership, experience), i feel his biggest weakness is his pass coverage. let's face it, peterson should NOT be covering reggie bush, slot WRs and TEs...that showed last year.

biermann and babineaux definitely emerged as good pass rushers for our team last year. abe had a down year sack wise and it didn't seem he got the overall pressure he did in 08...that said i'm not giving up on abe BUT it does seem the end is nearing for him. davis was invisible last year for the most part, anderson sucks terribly and the jury is still out on sid (although he did show potential at times in pseason).

1. Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan

i really like graham. he was a very productive player at michigan (8.5 sacks in 07, 10.0 in 08, 10.5 in 09). he was a starter for nearly 3 years, hard worker, defensive captain and undoubtedly the wolverine's defensive leader last year. i love his motor and he seems to know how to use his hands well. his motor definitely reminds me of a jared allen or a dwight freeney. he's always going 110% out there. i think he'll help improve our pass rush from day 1 and i also think he may be a candidate to take over for abe when he goes (move to RDE).

the only thing that worries me about graham is his height (6'1). i don't think it'll be too much of a hinderance for him from a pass rushing standpoint (there are some shorter pass rushers in the NFL), but i think he'll struggle at times at LDE going against 6'6 320-330 lb RTs.

2. Sean Weatherspoon, WLB, Missouri

similar to graham, spoon was a highly productive player in college. 3 year starter (400+ tackles in that span), team leader, 12.5 sacks, 4 INTs, 17 PBUs. it's obvious when you watch him that he's undoubtedly better than peterson in pass coverage. he can make plays on the ball in the air, he can cover backs and TEs. i would not feel nearly as bad with spoon covering reggie bush out of the backfield. he's also a physical freak as he was a top performer in nearly every combine drill.

the thing that worries me about spoon is his ability to shed blocks in the run game. there's no doubt that he struggles with that when you watch him BUT that's something i feel like can be improved with coaching and NFL experience.

3. Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame

now i know there aren't many that would want a WR with our 1st and quite honestly i wouldn't be jumping up and down about that pick, but i wouldn't be upset either. tate is also a TD/smith player like graham and spoon (clean off the field, hard worker, leader). he was a productive starter in college 2 1,000 yd seasons, 10+ TDs in both and he also played in a pro style offense (weis' WCO). also has good speed (4.42 40 at the combine) and he offers value in the return game (very productive returner for the fighting irish)

i feel as though jenkins 08 year was a fluke and he should be a depth player at best. i like harry douglas and think he could be an effective 2 or slot player for us, but i am not sure about how quick he'll be after his knee injury. we have no other #2's on our roster aside from those two guys, and that is kind of worrisome. i think tate would be an upgrade over jenkins from day 1. better hands, MUCH better at getting yac, and despite his height he's better at making plays on jump balls.

the only things i worry about with tate is his height. there's not a doubt in my mind that he'll be a productive player in the pros, but we'd offer little to no height at WR (roddy 6'1, tate 5'10, douglas 5'11).

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as much as i'd like to get my hopes up, i think there's little chance we have a shot at morgan. JAX needs a DE, SEA needs a DE, TEN needs DE. i don't see TD trading up for him and i have a hard time seeing him fall to 19 without anybody trading up for him. i also think there's a good chance that any of these 3 will be available after 19 (we could trade down).

so what do you guys think? questions? comments?

[FlyHighFalcons]

I'm a huge fan of Graham, a fan of Spoon, but instead of Tate on my list, I have Morgan. It is becoming to look a little more realistic, I really hope we can land any of those 3. I think Tate would be a bit of a reach at 19.

[kiwifalcon]

Weatherspoon yep I like that pick.

Golden Tate I also like him as well he had a really good combine has good speed runs nice routes and has good hands.He would be a good addition.

For me the DE position if I'm to go for one and I'm not sold on any I'd take the best athelte and see what our coaches could do with him and for me its JPP.I no this is a risk but if we get it right and the coaches coach him up so to speak we have a stud.Outside of that I see Graham as just a solid nfl prospect.Griffen is also another guy to consider.

[bossFALCON™]

JPP scares me. athletically the guys a freak, but he's also shot up draft boards real fast and he didn't have a great senior year sack wise (6.5). i'd rather go with a more proven player at DE.

it would be interesting to see what ray hamilton could do with jpp though.

[Flashinator23]

I like Arrelious Benn, Sean Weatherspoon, C.J Spiller, and a trade back as my options, how awesome would it be to take Spiller and then be able to trade Norwood for a 2nd, and probably still get the guy we want and an upgrade at the RB position

[bossFALCON™]

i highly doubt anyone would trade a 2 for norwood. his ypc has fallen the last 3 years, he's struggled with injuries and he had a pretty awful year last year.

[Jaymadd]

Griffen

Graham

Weatherspoon

[coachx]

Iupati - G, could be added to the list.

If Weatherspoon is gone, a guy who should be 10 time All Pro at G is a safe pick at #19.

Edited March 9, 2010 by coachx

[Zanka]

Graham

Weatherspoon

Dunlap

[hudson]

graham

spoon

spiller

[bossFALCON™]

here are highlights/lowlights of the 3 of them

-spoon

-graham

-tate

[coachx]

Spoon

Graham

Iupati

[1989Fan]

I like:

1 - Derrick Morgan, DE

2 - Trent Williams, OT

3 - Jared Odrick, DT

also like: Iupati, Tate, Price, Graham, Weatherspoon, Washington.

[g6773a]

Griffen

Graham

Trade down

[HH_55]

1. Spoon

2. Graham

3. Bryant

[Falcon Fanatic]

Derrick Morgan

Trent Williams

C.J. Spiller

Trade down if all three are gone

[The Talon]

1 Spoon

2 Derrick Morgan

3 Trent Williams

[Snelling44]

I have the same list as you, however my #1 is Golden Tate. I'd rather take Golden Tate than Graham and Weatherspoon. That's just me.

[bossFALCON™]

I have the same list as you, however my #1 is Golden Tate. I'd rather take Golden Tate than Graham and Weatherspoon. That's just me.

why?

[Snelling44]

why?

Because I'm very high on Golden Tate. I watched a few of his games throughout the year and I've watched him on tape. I think the comparisons to Steve Smith are legit. He has every thing you look for in a WR and some stuff that even the best WR's in the league don't have. His only weakness is that he is a bit short and he still needs a bit of work on running routes. However, he played in a West Coast offense at Notre Dame so he already has experience running a full route tree so that shouldn't be a problem. Other than that he is quick, explosive, has strong hands, great ability to high point passes, adjusts well, tracks the ball well, strong runner and will get a lot of YAC, he's tough.. I've seen him go over the middle and make a catch in traffic and he bounced right back up. I think he really is that good and to be honest if the Dez Bryant maturity issues are true, i would draft Tate over him.

[bossFALCON™]

Because I'm very high on Golden Tate. I watched a few of his games throughout the year and I've watched him on tape. I think the comparisons to Steve Smith are legit. He has every thing you look for in a WR and some stuff that even the best WR's in the league don't have. His only weakness is that he is a bit short and he still needs a bit of work on running routes. However, he played in a West Coast offense at Notre Dame so he already has experience running a full route tree so that shouldn't be a problem. Other than that he is quick, explosive, has strong hands, great ability to high point passes, adjusts well, tracks the ball well, strong runner and will get a lot of YAC, he's tough.. I've seen him go over the middle and make a catch in traffic and he bounced right back up. I think he really is that good and to be honest if the Dez Bryant maturity issues are true, i would draft Tate over him.

tbh, if our pass rush wasn't so horrid last year tate would be on the top of my list as well. he reminds me of steve smith or miles austin (his build, his ability to break tackles and run in space). i saw almost all of his games the last 2 years. he's going to be good.