Vikings Update publisher Bob Lurtsema, a 12-year NFL veteran, shared his
insight on the team's first-round selection of running back Adrian Peterson and
what he brings to Minnesota's rushing game, especially if the team puts him in a
split backfield with Chester Taylor. "As a defensive lineman, this is my
perspective: When they come out in a split backfield and they have two runners
that can go 90 yards at any time, that really puts you in a less aggressive
approach from the line play," he says. "You can’t get out of your
hole too quick to assist your teammates with the tackle." Scout.com
subscribers can read Viking Update's Q&A with Lurtsema at our Minnesota
site.
Former Miami Hurricanes LB Jon Beason was at a draft day party with family,
friends and coaches, but things didn't get off to a great start for him. "When
it was my time for my teams to come up, with Carolina and Jacksonville, both of
them traded down," he said. Scout.com
subscribers can listen in as Beason talks about his draft day experience at
our NFL site.
At our Seahawks site, Ryan Rigmaiden breaks down the team's draft and adds a
unique twist by pointing out who he would have rather seen the Seahawks select
at each pick based on who was still on the board at the time. Be
sure to check out his analysis at our Seattle site.
Former fullback and assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers, Harry Sydney,
wasn't exactly impressed by the team's overall draft results last weekend,
including how they used their first-round pick. "No matter how many
times I keep hearing ‘with their first pick of the 2007 draft, the Green Bay
Packers pick defensive tackle Justin Harrell’ it doesn't change," he
said. "This isn't one of those Groundhog Day movie moments and Bill Murray
isn't waking up morning after morning hoping things were a mistake and they are
going to change at any moment because they aren't." Scout.com
subscribers can read his entertaining and insightful column at our Packers
site.
At our Cardinals site, Brad Keller takes a closer look at the team's
selection of former Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch, a projected
first-rounder who tumbled down to the 33rd pick overall in the second round.
"As it stands now, Branch is already in the tackle rotation when Arizona
lines up in a 4-3 defense," he says. "He could move his way into the
starting line-up by the beginning of the season if he gets to work and stops
slacking off." Scout.com
subscribers can read his analysis at our Arizona site.
Okay, so some of you who don't follow college football closely might not even
know that there's a college named Troy State and they actually have a football
team. Well, Jerry Langton at our Colts site provides his analysis today of one
of their players, safety Brannon Condren, "the unquestioned leader of
Troy's punishing defense." The Colts' fourth-round pick benefited
from a huge Pro Day workout according to Langton. "Somehow, Condren
suspended the laws of physics long enough to move 208 pounds 43 inches straight
up and then 11'3 across. That's some pretty impressive leg drive. That's
offensive tackle leg drive," he says. Scout.com
subscribers can check out his full analysis at our Indianapolis site.
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| Chris Leak with the MVP trophy at the BCS Championship game (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin) |
Former Florida Gators quarterback Chris Leak was signed by the Bears as an
undrafted free agent this week. So at our Chicago site, John Crist weighs in on
Leak's future with the NFC champs. "It's been suggested that Leak is a
pretty good athlete and may be able to make the switch to wide receiver or
running back like Michael Robinson of Penn State did for the 49ers last
year," he says. "But upon closer inspection, the numbers tell a
different story." Get the details at
our Bears site.
Charlie Bernstein at our Jaguars site reports that the team brought in a
veteran receiver this week who's played for three other NFL teams over his first
nine years in the league. Scout.com
subscribers can find out who it is and how he could fit into the team's plans
at our Jacksonville site.
Is the possibility of Trent Green heading to Miami a dead issue? At our Dolphins
site, Alain Poupart indicates that it's more of a deadlock at this point than a
dead issue. But he thinks the Chiefs have the weaker hand in this game of
quarterback poker. "Carl Peterson can say Green is the Chiefs' starting
quarterback all he wants, but that's just not the reality of the
situation," he says. "The Chiefs also have the cap space to
accommodate Green's $7.2 million base salary for 2007, but there probably isn't
a single person in the NFL -- player, coach or executive -- who buys for a
second that the Chiefs will pay it." Scout.com
subscribers can read his full assessment of the situation at our Miami site.
Fourth-round pick Zak DeOssie will have the opportunity to play for one of
the four teams that his father, Steve, played for during his 12 year career when
he suits up for the New York Giants. A linebacker and long-snapper out of Brown
University, DeOssie posted eight tackles in the East-West Shrine game and had a
strong Combine workout in February. Scout.com
subscribers can read more about the Giants' fourth father-son legacy in team
history in this feature by Ken Palmer.
At our Raiders site, Michael McCammon takes a look at running back Michael Bush out of Louisville and the second surgery he had on his leg to place a new
rod in it to speed up his recovery. "While any surgery is sure raise
concerns, Bush’s surgery was something that trainers at the NFL Combine
recommended and it’s viewed as a positive in his full recovery," he says.
Scout.com subscribers can get
more details and some insight from Bush at our Oakland site.
C.E. Wendler at our Kansas City site thinks the Chiefs did a good job of
sticking to their draft board and didn't reach just to fill a need. And he
liked the selection of LSU's Dwayne Bowe even though Tennessee's Robert Meachem
was still available. "Watching Bowe on film, he’s
every bit of Terrell Owens on the field. Big, strong, with dazzling run-after-the-catch
skills. Owens has opened up every offense he’s ever played in. Newsflash –
he was a third-round pick, and ran a slower 40 time coming out of college than
Bowe." Check out his
analysis at our Kansas City site.
Craig Massei at our 49ers site takes a look at how the team's second pick in
the first round, OT Joe Staley fits in the team's plans. "Some say Staley
has more upside than any OT in the draft, and the 49ers don't use picks in Round
1 just to have them ride the bench," he says. "So where does
that have Staley fitting in with a team that already has three established OTs?"
Scout.com subscribers can get the
answer to that question at our 49ers site.
If you want a quick-read summary of all the new faces in the NFC
South and the NFC East
as a result of draft weekend, Scout.com subscribers can click those two links.
You'll find brief summaries of all the rookies drafted by the teams in those
divisions like this one on Tampa Bay's Sabby Piscitelli, a safety out of Oregon State: "Big hitter who tries to pattern himself after John Lynch and could
compete for a starting job as a rookie." It's a fun way to get a snapshot
of how each team from those divisions fared with their picks.