The Mel Kiper Jr. 2007 Draft Report has arrived

[ND72]

The main reason a D1A prospect would go to a D1AA (or lower) school would be to avoid sitting out a year, wouldn't it?

Right. I had heard that Patrick transfered to Delaware, so he didn't have to sit out a year. It had nothing to do with "getting noticed"...he wasn't happy at Duke.

[Bossman641]

I've watched a few NIU games as well. Wolfe is extremely shifty, one of those guys who rarely takes a solid hit. While I don't think he can ever handle the load as the main back, I would love to get him in one of the later rounds.

[BallHawk]

Gureski, thanks so much for doing these draft reports. We all really appreciate them.

[gureski]

The main reason a D1A prospect would go to a D1AA (or lower) school would be to avoid sitting out a year, wouldn't it?

That's true but in the case of Patrick, he was already at a Division IA school and was getting playing time so what was his reason for transferring? He suddenly figured out, after 4 years at Duke (redshirted 2002), that he wasn't happy there? Give me a break. He just wasn't doing a damn thing with the playing time he was getting, it's not that he wasn't getting an opportunity to show his stuff.

Craig Nall went down to Division IAA to get playing time. It's clear why he did that. He wasn't going to play if he didn't go down. To me, it's clear that Patrick went down to Division IAA just to put up stats to improve his draft standing. That's cheap. Why only transfer his senior year? It all seems so manufactured.

[LL2]

Being that I live about thirty minutes from NIU, I caught plenty of their football games on Comcast. Wolfe rarely takes a direct hit. He's extremely quick, shifty, and wiry--I hardly ever saw someone lock-on Wolfe. He's fast as well. He can scoot by DBs on breakaways. A few games I saw, they would just dump the ball off to him in the flats and he would avoid a few tackles and break it for a long gain. I'm not sure about the stats, but I would expect you would find a high yards per catch average. If a DLinemen gets a hold of him, Wolfe will probably go down easily. And I would hate to see Urlacher running in his direction.

If I remember right, he had scholarships to some division one schools, but his grades were way too low, so they stripped the scholarships away. He drove over to DeKalb and got on the team. He was behind Michael Turner, then. The last two years he was tearing it up. Many big games came against some really tough opponents. I saw the game against Ohio State. I think he had +200 yards against the Buckeyes. Then he kept getting 300 yard games over and over until teams basically stacked the line and only paid attention to the run. NIU had an okay passing game, but teams realized the passing game couldn't beat them without Wolfe's help.

I really really liked Wolfe--I'm a homer, I guess. I would be ecstatic to have him on the Packers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_N4jeoGz2M

At least watch until he cuts through three Buckeyes for the endzone. It's crazy.

Edit: Haha. A Hawk on D and a Wolfe on O. Hahaha.

I'm sold. I'm a believer after reading about him. If Dunn was big enough to excel in the zone blocking system then why couldn't Wolfe? They're almost exactly the same size.

He could be a steal and probably available in the 4th, maybe 5th rd. He can be used as a KR also, so good option over Ginn.

[gureski]

Though Kiper only forecasts four rounds in his guide, it's clear to see that based on the way he has the RB's ranked, he thinks Wolfe will be a 5-7th round pick.

[gureski]

Gureski, thanks so much for doing these draft reports. We all really appreciate them.

Just glad I can help the team. cough...cough...

That and there's not much info to piss me off about Nall lately.

[gureski]

A guy I don't think we have a chance at, but Joe Staley...I like him a lot, just curious as to what he has to say about him...(by the way, I have a Mel Kiper Draft report, but it's a "pre-combine" report) so things have changed.

Kiper's take on OT Joe Staley

6'-5 & 1/2" tall, 305 lbs, 4.83 (40)

Kiper says, "A very intriguing prospect who is definitely on the rise..."

Staley went to high school in Rockford, MI and was a TE. He caught 24 balls for 559 yds & 7 TD's his senior year. He also lettered in Track and set school records in the 200 meter run as well as the 4x100 meter relay, and the 4x200 meter relay.

Staley signed on with Central Michigan (2003) as a 215lb freshman TE. He played in 11 games catching 11 balls for 130 yds and 1 TD.

Staley was moved to Right Tackle entering his Sophomore year (2004) and started all 11 games.

In his junior year (2005) Staley was moved to Left Tackle where he registered 53 pancake blocks and helped pave the way for a 1,000 yard rusher.

This past year (2006), Staley was an All-MAC first team selection, starting 14 games and only allowing 1 sack.

More from Mel, "Over the course of his four seasons at Central Michigan, Staley added 80lbs to his frame. Remember as a former TE, he had real good foot speed and agility, and despite adding the weight to his frame, those attributes haven't sufferred. He can get downfield to the second and third level of the defense springing ball carriers and receivers for extra yards."

Mel says that Staley isn't as explosive as other top offensive tackles and that he needs to get into the weight room and get stronger. He said that a month ago he felt Staley would be a late first round pick but now that the Offensive line coaches have been brought into the draft conversations, Staley's stock is soaring. He wont make it to the late first round.

Combine notes:

Didn't run, 27 reps bench press, didn't jump

My thoughts:

Good player. Athletic and agile. Seemed to progress throughout his career. Took a step every year and got better.

Kiper has Staley going to the NY Giants with the 20th pick in the first round.

[Fritz]

Thanks Gureski. From what you've said, it sounds like Wolfe and Hill and maybe Weddle are real gamers - football players. Henry sounds like he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane. Patrick is also unimpressive-sounding.

[gureski]

Thanks Gureski. From what you've said, it sounds like Wolfe and Hill and maybe Weddle are real gamers - football players. Henry sounds like he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane. Patrick is also unimpressive-sounding.

The thing about Patrick that bothers me is that he has been hyped by Mel Kiper in chats as a sleeper type player from non-Division IA schools but I don't see the justification based on Mel's written comments in his draft guide. Now, i don't know if Mel was saying Patrick is a sleeper because Patrick is amongst the only real Division IA talent he saw hanging around Division IAA and thus is a player to mention by default but the numbers aren't there, in my eyes, to support expecting big things out of Patrick. I'd be disappointed right now if the Packers took him in the second round.

Looking closely at Patrick's track record, you'll see he played for some crappy Duke teams and led those teams in receiving but leading your team in receptions and yards doesn't necessarily mean much if your team stinks to high heaven. Michael Haddux led the Packers in rushing one year with like 350'ish yards. That didn't mean he was good.

Patrick only had 2 or 3 games over his entire college football career that really stood out. If he was really a player, wouldn't he have had more given that he was on the field for 4 years as the starter and main target in each offense?

I'm suspect. I'm not saying he wont be a servicable player, I'm saying that I don't hold hope right now that he'll turn into something special. Projecting a player based on potential is the magic of draft time. Looking at a player and thinking about what they could do and what signals they've shown in their past or with their ability that could make them into a real contributing player is what fans of the draft look at. For this fan, I no longer have a vibe for Patrick. He's with Lynch now as players I don't want but that the Packers may get.

[BallHawk]

[quote="Fritz"]Henry sounds like he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.quote]

Somebody's been on nfldraftcountdown.com.

[BallHawk]

The main reason a D1A prospect would go to a D1AA (or lower) school would be to avoid sitting out a year, wouldn't it?

I believe taht Ingle Martin did it for that reason. Martin was thrown out of the plans in exchange for Chris Leak. Because of that he went to Furman.

[gureski]

Some comments on RB's...

There are several real intriguing mid to late round options at RB that are worth discussing. Let me put a disclaimer on this by saying that I have no idea if you guys have already hashed these names over. I'm merely sharing information that I read from Mel's guide regarding players who look impressive.

Random thoughts:

Antonio Pittman Ohio State

He's got a 4.40 (40) and the thing that caught my eye about him was that he played through a pulled hamstring in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame!!! The kid played with a pulled hamstring and put up 136 yds and iced the game with a 60 yard run in the final two minutes!!!! That's toughness! Mel says he's a North-South runner too, despite looking the role of a East-West type back.

Other RB's I'll write about later that are impressive are A.Bradshaw of Marshall, A.Coleman of Hampton, T.Clayton of Kansas State, R.Taylor of Texas, C.Dawson of Harvard, and G.Russell formerly of Minnesota. Not time right now but those guys should be talked about. Especially Coleman and Dawson.

[gureski]

Here is a guy that I think we should all start looking closely at:

Alonzo Coleman Hampton University
5'-10" tall, 205lbs, 4.45 (40)

Here's what Mel said about Coleman, "As a pure runner with great speed and natural athleticism, Coleman is a very intriguing I-AA prospect. He is the all-time leading rusher at Halifax Co. HS with more then 3,500 yards in his prep career, also holding the team's single game and single season rushing records. Coleman came to Hampton in 2003 and became the first freshman to rush for more then 1,000 yds." (1,137 yds & 18TD's)

Coleman had 4 games of over 140 yds in a single game (3 over 150 yds).

As a sophomore (2004) Coleman repeated as All MEAC, finishing with 1,133 yds, 13 TD's (5+ yds per carry avg) in 12 games. He also grabbed 11 balls out of the backfield for 98 yds and 2 scores. Coleman had seven 100 yard rushing games in 2004.

In 2005, Coleman "elevated" his game adding MEAC Offensive Player of the Year honors to his resume. He had 204 rushes, 1,326 yds, (6.5 yds per carry avg), and 19TD's. He had eight 100 yard rushing games, including 6 in a row at one point.

This past year, 2006, Coleman increased his yards per carry to 6.7 ypc. In 11 games, Coleman pushed out 1,052 yds and 12 TD's. He had four 100 yd games that year.

Per Mel, "...has good functional strength and a low center of gravity, which he uses effectively to make defenders miss in the hole. ...good quick burst, and once in the clear, he can hit the home run. ...good feet and excellent balance which helps him get into the second and third level of the defense, and when he doesn, he's off to the reaces with his great straight line speed. ...developed into a better receiver as his career progressed... ...blocking is going to have to improve... ...As a runner, however, Coleman has a lot of skills and with his terrific speed, he's turning heads as an interesting prospect coming out of the I-AA ranks."

Combine:
4.49 (40), 27 reps bench press, didn't jump

My thoughts as I read this:

The kid has home run potential when he touches the ball. Several long runs are mentioned to go along with a healthy per carry average. Good speed.

Solid overall history going back to high school. The kid is a gamer.

Unreal on the bench press!!! Highest number from a back I've seen yet! There are offensive linemen that didn't get 27 reps on the bench! Our own Joe Thomas of Wisconsin only nailed 28!!! This kid pumped the bar 27 times and he's a HB!!! He's obviously got the potential to be a good blocker with that kind of strength which was one of the issues mel said was a weak point in his game.

He's going to be a late round pick. I'd guess sometime in or after the 5th round based on the projections.

I'm sold. I'd love to see this kid in the Green and Gold.

[Fritz]

I'd love to see them draft the Harvard kid so he could hobnob with...with...hey, the Packers don't seem to have any dumb guys on the team for me to make a joke about!

Hey, you ever wonder if KGB and Poppinga argue about religion?