The official 2009 DRAFT thread

[Fosco33]

Raji's buddy goes for the Matthews pick... now it'll be fun to debate that for about 3 years.

edit - didn't know they had 40 and 41. Oh bill - you crazy dude.

Got a prospect CB (another need for Pack).

[retailguy]

I'm outta here. I liked the Raji pick. I think we might have given up too much to trade up, but I like the bios on Matthews now. I hadn't really studied him before because I didn't think there was a chance we'd get him. We'll probably get two starters out of this draft. I think we need at least one more (DE), and maybe two (RT), so I'm with those that say get Vonnie Holliday or Kevin Carter (is he still out there?) on the phone. Otherwise, I'm okay with the projected starters.

Later Harv, have a nice evening.

Actually I might say we'll get three starters out of the draft

I think TT is going to draft the top rated puner in the draft as well

what's a puner?

[gbpackfan]

NE just took Brace. Thank God we took Raji. Brace was the only other impact DT.

[Rastak]

Pats take Ron Brace....DT



Overall Football Traits

Production 3 2004: Boston College red shirts Brace. 2005-'07: Brace starts 18 of the 33 game he appears in recording 59 total tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. 2008: Brace starts in all 14 games recording 27 total tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble. He earns second-team All-ACC honors.
Height-Weight-Speed 3 Marginal top-end speed but above-average bulk and height.

Durability 3 2008: Leaves the Maryland game with a toe injury but returns for the ACC Championship against Virginia Tech the following week. Back injury slows him.

Character 2 Willing to line up at nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme or defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme and has a team-first mentality. Impressed with way he handled interviews at Boston College's Pro Day.

Defensive Tackle specific Traits

Agility/Quickness 3 Adequate initial quickness for size. Loses balance at times but shows adequate lateral mobility for size and does an adequate job of getting down the line when guards try to hook him. Shows body control in space and has some experience dropping into coverage on zone blitzes.

Strength/Toughness 2 Above-average upper body strength and good hand fighter. Lower body strength appears more than adequate on film. Can wear down if kept on the field too long and needs to work on endurance.

Instincts 3 Good instincts but takes a second too long to locate the ball at times. Keeps head on a swivel and shows better than expected awareness when asked to drop into coverage on zone blitzes. Not a great leaper but does an adequate of getting hands up when sees quarterback start throwing motion.

Pass Rusher 4 Drives les on contact and flashes the ability to collapse the pocket. Relentless and occasionally wins with second effort but takes too long to redirect and doesn't show a variety of pass rush moves. Lacks ideal closing speed and can be a step late getting to the quarterback.

Run Stopper 2 Generally does a good job of getting under offensive linemen's pads, rarely gets driven back by one blocker and can hold ground when teams commit two blockers to him. Flashes the ability to drive offensive guards into the backfield. Uses hands well and can shed blocks quickly. Lacks range and isn't going to make many plays in pursuit.

[Bretsky]

good pick by NE with the CB

[Gunakor]

Not a bad couple of picks for New England

[Gunakor]

dp

[Rastak]

Nice pick!

Pats take Darius Butler.....



Overall Football Traits

Production 1 2004: Connecticut red-shirts Butler. 2005-'06: Butler starts 21 of the 22 games he appears in accumulating 86 tackles and eight interceptions. He returns 10 kickoffs for a total of 338 yards and one touchdown in 2005. 2007: Butler starts all 13 games accumulating 54 total tackles and two interceptions. 2008: Butler starts eight of the 10 games he appears in accumulating 40 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and four passes broken up. He also returns 20 kickoffs for a total of 471 yards and catches nine passes for a total of 123 yards and one touchdown.

Height-Weight-Speed 2 Good top-end speed and average height but below-average bulk.

Durability 3 2006: Misses Syracuse game with a sore hamstring. 2008: Misses the final three regular season games with a knee injury.

Character 2 Two-year team captain. Cousins with Baltimore Ravens RB Willis McGahee. Uncle, Gene Atkins, played in the NFL from 1987-96 with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins.

Defensive Corner specific Traits

Recognition Skills/Toughness 2 An instinctive player. Shows good awareness in zone coverage and does a nice job of mid-pointing high-low routes. Bigger receivers can shield him from the ball.

Closing Burst 2 Elite short-area burst and closes in a flash when footwork is sound but has a tendency to false step coming out of backpedal. Shows a second gear and can recover when receivers get behind him.

Fluidity 2 Can turn and run with receivers. Fluid and can stick with receivers when asked to line up in press coverage but needs to improve off man skills. Gives receivers too much of a cushion and allows too much separation.

Ball Skills 1 Admittedly needs to be more aggressive in coverage but lack of production is misleading. Relatively big hands and though lets the occasional pass get to pads flashes the ability to snatch the ball out of the air. Played some receiver in 2008 and a dangerous open field runner. Has rare leaping ability, can compete with much taller receivers for jump balls and flashes the ability to high point the ball. Does a nice job of getting hands between the ball and receiver without drawing pass-interference flag.

Run Support 3 Plays with an edge and flashes the ability to get off blocks but can get engulfed by bigger receivers. Effective going down low and knocking ball carriers off their feet but needs to do a better job of wrapping and going to have some problems getting NFL power backs to the ground.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Ted does love the late round lineman

I consider 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks late round picks. I consider 2nd (Colledge), 3rd (Spitz), and 4th (Sitton, Barbre) as high to mid round picks.

[Guiness]

Nice pick!

Pats take Darius Butler.....

One of the more interesting prospects in the draft. What has he really got???

[Fosco33]

Ted does love the late round lineman

I consider 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks late round picks. I consider 2nd (Colledge), 3rd (Spitz), and 4th (Sitton, Barbre) as high to mid round picks.

Coston, Whitticker
Moll
Giacomini

Forgot Barbre was a 4.

So - still 4 mid and 4 late.

[Rastak]

Bills take Byrd........


Overall Football Traits

Production 1 2005: Oregon red shirts Byrd. 2006-2007: Byrd starts 24 of the 26 games he appears in recording a total of 119 tackles including 4.5 tackles-for-loss. He intercepts a total of 12 passes and breaks up a total of 22 passes. Byrd returns seven punts for a total of 63 yards. 2008: Byrd appears in all 13 games recording a total of 83 tackles including 1.5 tackles-for-loss. He intercepts five passes and breaks up 14 passes. Byrd returns 26 punts for a total of 320 yards (12.3 yard avg.) including one he returned 87 yards for a touchdown against Purdue.
Height-Weight-Speed 3 Prototypical height and bulk but top-end speed is adequate at best.

Durability 1 Didn't miss any time with an injury while at Oregon.

Character 2 A driven and competitive person. Knows what it takes to succeed in the NFL. Father, Gill, was a Pro Bowl DE for the Chargers and is currently a DB coach for the Bears.

Defensive Corner specific Traits

Recognition Skills/Toughness 2 Smart, instinctive and tough football player. Diagnoses plays quickly and frequently a step ahead of receivers. Physical and can jam receivers when asked to line up in press coverage.

Closing Burst 4 Marginal closing burst. Doesn't show a second gear when running with receivers downfield. Does a decent job of masking this weakness with awareness and positioning, but ultimately needs to be protected by scheme in the NFL.

Fluidity 2 Fluid hips and can change directions quickly. Does a nice job of rotating hips coming out of backpedal and can recover from rare false step when keeps receiver in front of him.

Ball Skills 1 Elite ball skills, just as his college production (17 INT's, 36 PBU's) indicates. Displays natural hands and snatches the ball out of the air.
Run Support 2 Fills hard when recognizes run and flashes the ability to deliver the big hit. Takes sound pursuit angles and sure open field tackler that does a nice job of breaking down in space.

[TheCheese]

When you are creating the foundation, multiple picks is the way to go.
When you believe you are solid, it's time to get the players you feel are special fits for your team.
It's funny how some folks who have whined the 'turtle' nonsense for so long, and lambasted Thompson for not moving up, now have reversed field and complain about him making a move upwards.
Personally, I love both picks, and applaud the Packers for shrewd planning and the courage to go after players they want.

such a simpleton view while ignoring what he gave up to move up

I'm fully on board to give up fair value to move up; I'm fine with Matthews and think he can move in a start right away.

If Matthews is a Pro Bowler this still turns out fine

But on paper Bellichek fleeced your hero

Just like Ted fleeed Belichek in 2006 trading down for Jennings while Bill selected Chad Jackson.

Completely unrelated; was there a trade betwene BB and TT in 06 or are you really talking about TT being right on a draft pick and comparing with an actual trade >

Are you serious right now? How is it unrelated?

Patriots get: 4th pick of 2nd round (selected WR Chad Jackson).
Packers get: 20nd pick in 2nd round (52nd overall, WR Greg Jennings), 11th in 3rd round (75th overall)

Ted fucking owned Bill in that trade strait up and down. This was a total stud move with how many people on here wanted Jackson and were furious to see we traded down for some unknown WR. As you can see, it worked out very well for Ted and hopefully this Clay Mathews one works out just as well.

[Bretsky]

interesting to look at the players available with our #2

Conner Barwin/Everette Browne/William Beatty/Lockhardt

[Rastak]

Nice pick!

Pats take Darius Butler.....

One of the more interesting prospects in the draft. What has he really got???

NFL Radio sure was talking him up.....not bad for a second round pick if he works out as they think he will.