With the 9th overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft....

[Lurker64]

The Titans aren't going to let Haynesworth get away. He anchors that defense. They'll either tag him or re-sign.

They cannot, under the terms of the one-year contract Haynesworth signed in the last year, tag him. There were four conditions in that contract that, if Haynesworth met any of them, the Titans would give up their right to use a tag on Haynesworth. Haynesworth has met all four I believe, so he's not going to be tagged.

So the question comes down to "will the Titans be able to resign him before free agency starts", which I doubt since his agent is almost certainly going to want to see what sort of FA dollars get offered (and to Haynesworth looking around isn't going to mean he can't be a Titan next year). If he actually gets to FA he's gone, the Titans operate much like Ted Thompson. They don't get into bidding wars, and they're not in the habit of "overpaying" for players.

[LL2]

ESPN projects the Packers take Gerald McCoy DT from Oklahoma @9

That will change about 100 more times.

[hurleyfan]

ESPN projects the Packers take Gerald McCoy DT from Oklahoma @9

That will change about 100 more times.

No doubt about that!!

[Fritz]

If Favre retires in this offseason, the jets get our 7th rounder.

But no one will know if Favre is really retried until....next July.

[DonHutson]

If Favre retires in this offseason, the jets get our 7th rounder.

Do we get it back when he unretires?

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think the packers have to look very carefully at a punter with that top pick. Could be gone by second round.

[Lurker64]

I really do not care who we pick, as long as we get a day 1 starter that is a difference maker. ... I will say the player should be on defense, and preferable a DE or DT.

A DT who is ready to start on day 1 and be a difference maker probably doesn't exist. It's one of the hardest positions to transition from the college game to the pro game because the blocking schemes these guys face in college are so much simpler than they'll see in the pros, and so many high end college DTs skate by on pure physical talent where the superlative NFL DTs combine pure physical ability and technique.

Even Ryan Pickett, who is unarguably our best DT and a DT good enough to play for 32 NFL teams, did very little in his rookie season. Kevin Williams did, but he started out playing DE and was moved inside after 12 games.

If you want a 2009 impact player, you probably don't draft a DT. If you want better DT play in 2009, you sign Haynesworth and a couple of rotation guys (maybe draft somebody like Jolly), and you pray that Harrell gets it together.

But in all honesty, Justin Harrell isn't far behind the curve of the majority of first round DTs. A lot of your top 20 DT picks do next to nothing in their first 2 years, and the light only starts coming on in years 3-4.

Rookies do come in and star as DEs though, and Orakpo would be a perfect pick if he falls to #9.

[RashanGary]

If I had to guess right now, I'm guessing either DE Everette Brown or OT Eugene Monroe.

[Brando19]

If Favre retires in this offseason, the jets get our 7th rounder.

Do we get it back when he unretires?

Haha...that pick will be bouncing around until whatever team is on the clock.

[RashanGary]

Rookies do come in and star as DEs though, and Orakpo would be a perfect pick if he falls to #9.

blah. I'm a big non supporter of Orakpo. He's doesn't play big or fast.

[Brando19]

Rookies do come in and star as DEs though, and Orakpo would be a perfect pick if he falls to #9.

blah. I'm a big non supporter of Orakpo. He's doesn't play big or fast.

Really? I've read nothing but good things about him. I've not had a chance to watch him, but everyone seems to be big on this guy. Why do you think Everette Brown would be a better pick?

[RashanGary]

Most of their sacks are on youtube. Orakpo has just barely enough speed to turn the corner against college LT's. Brown has more than enough. Brown may be a couple pounds lighter but he plays just as strong as Orakpo from what I've seen and he's a JR so he'll still grow into his big frame.


I think Orakpo is an overrated player. He's a straight ahead guy with limited speed, size, power and upside that is going to get engulfed on the next level IMO. Brown has a chance to be great because he's more naturally gifted and from what I"ve seen has more pass rush moves and plays more naturally with his hands and with leverage. Some guys just have a knack for getting under their opponent and playing strong. I see that in Brown. I do not see that in Orakpo.

[Bretsky]

I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM ENOUGH BUT HERE IS A CLIP FROM A SITE THAT PREDICTED THE PACKERS WOULD TAKE HIM


After winning 13 games a year ago big things were expected of the Packers in 2008 and even though they failed to take that next step the future still looks bright. Regardless of what you might think of Ted Thompson and the way he handled the Brett Favre situation you can't help but be impressed with his Draft Day track record and he has assembled a nice core of young talent on both sides of the ball. However, one area that is of particular concern is the defensive line and Green Bay really struggled to generate a pass rush, ranking near the bottom of the league in sacks. Aaron Kampman doesn't get nearly enough credit for being one of the best defensive ends in the business but former defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins is more of a run stuffer and after releasing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila they could use a top pass rusher. Brian Orakpo, a.k.a. “O-Sack-Po”, had an amazing senior season for the Longhorns and he won both the Lombardi Award as the nation's best lineman and the Nagurski Trophy, which is given to the nation's top defensive player. In addition to that outstanding on-field performance Orakpo also figures to test extremely well in pre-draft workouts when he is given an opportunity to show off his amazing blend of athleticism, speed and strength. The Packers could also use some help at offensive tackle but the chance to add the best defensive end in the draft is too good to pass up.

[Partial]

If I had to guess right now, I'm guessing either DE Everette Brown or OT Eugene Monroe.

Did you watxh the Wisconsin game? Brown was abused by a tight end for crying out loud! What say you?

[RashanGary]

I saw a game plan that was set up to neutralize him. They did screen plays, roll outs away from Brown and when it was a straight back pass, he was doubled much of the time and if not it was a veyr quick throw. While Wisconsin was in the game, they were able to run a game plan that didn't give Brown very many chances to pin his ears back and rush the passer.


However, as the game went on and Wisconsin had to pass, they were forced away from their "neutralize Brown" game plan. They started to do some base drop back passes and could less afford to keep doubles on Brown every normal drop back pass. They also were not sophisticated enough to adjust their blockign protections on the fly to keep up with Brown moving around a little.


When Brown started seeing real pass rush opportunites where he was not doubled, where they did not roll away and where they did not screen or throw a quick slant, he started to impact the game and allowed FSU to finish off a Wisconsin team that could not handle him while playing from behind. He had one sack that he set up with his speed outside and then spun inside. He had another near sack where he was lined up at RDT. He rushed hard outside, did a spin inside (in the mean time, the OG was setting up to block his initial outside move. BRown regained his balances after the quick spin and used the guards weight and momentum against him, shoving the 320+ LB guy a couple yards aside, nearly on his ass and then he exploded up in the QB's grill. Not too many guys do what Everette Brown does. If you want to lose the game, you can game plan your whole game around him, but if you want to try to score (and eventually Wisconsin did) he's going to get his chances and you are going to feel the pain. He had several other impressive speed rushes and got under the OT's pads several time, driving the OT back into the QB's lap.

Quite frankly, Brown was more impressive in one game than Orakpo's entire careers worth of highlight clips.