Draft Daddy One Round Mock: we take OG Mike Iupati

[hawaiiansteel]

this could be the most exciting draft ever to watch unfold, there will be so many good prospects available when it's our turn to draft.

our new OL coach Kugler has already stated the Steelers have Iupati rated as the #1 OL on their board, but would they pass on Weatherspoon, Thomas, Wilson, Odrick, etc?


ONE ROUND MOCK DRAFT WITH COMMENTS

LAST UPDATED: 03/24/10


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01. St. Louis Rams - DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Suh remains the best prospect in the country, and deserves the #1 selection.

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02. Detroit Lions - OT Russell Okung, Oklahoma State

Lions need someone to protect Matt Stafford's blind side. Okung is extremely solid.

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03.Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma

McCoy has an explosive first step; interior linemen who can pass-rush are valued highly on draft day.

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04.Washington Redskins - QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma

Bradford still has to show his skills to scouts, but should perform well and be drafted highly.

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05. Kansas City Chiefs - OT Bryan Bulaga, Iowa

Chiefs need to rebuild the offensive front, Bulaga is an outstanding technician.

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06. Seattle Seahawks - DE Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech

Seahawks dealt Tapp and should have the first choice of the pass rushers.

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07. Cleveland Browns - DB Eric Berry, Tennessee

Browns need a leader on defense and Berry could be a special defender.

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08. Oakland Raiders - CB Joe Haden, Florida

Al Davis could draft a better football player than track athlete, how's that for unexpected?

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09. Buffalo Bills - QB Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame

Bills franchise can use a little bit of attitude, Clausen's value will depend on pro day.

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10. Jacksonville Jaguars - RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson

Jaguars want more big plays. Spiller is a speed merchant who could go higher.

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11. Denver Broncos - ILB Rolando McClain, Alabama

McClain is a cerebral defender who made tons of plays on college's biggest stage.

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12. Miami Dolphins - WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State

Bryant is having a tough offseason but can salvage his stock in private workouts.

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13. San Francisco 49ers - DB Taylor Mays, Southern Cal

Singletary wants to give his defense teeth and has respect for this big hit player.

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14. Seattle Seahawks (VIA DEN) - OT Trent Williams, Oklahoma

Williams proved he had left tackle skillset at the combine, Seahawks need help up front.

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15. New York Giants - DT Brian Price, UCLA

The entire Giants defense can improve with Price's interior pass rush.

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16. Tennessee Titans - DE Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida

Titans have a solid program for molding defensive line talent, JPP is an obscene athlete but raw.

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17. San Francisco (VIA DEN) - DE/OLB Brandon Graham, Michigan

49ers don't have enough pass rush, Graham is an instant impact defender.

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18. Pittsburgh Steelers - OL Mike Iupati, Idaho

Iupati can step into his natural left guard spot right away and dominate as a run blocker.

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19. Atlanta Falcons - LB Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri

Falcons like the swagger of Spoon and he projects well to 4-3 will backer.

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20. Houston Texans - CB Kyle Wilson, Boise State

Wilson is an aggressive man-to-man corner who can run, jump, and tackle.

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21. Cincinnati Bengals - DB Earl Thomas, Texas

Bengals need to be better in coverage, Thomas is a versatile player who can make plays.

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22. New England Patriots - DT Jared Odrick Penn State

Patriots need to replace linemen, Odrick can rotate in at several spots and pass rush.

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23. Green Bay Packers - DE/OLB Jerry Hughes, Texas Christian

Packers need a pass rusher, Hughes is a sackmaster with rare edge speed.

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24. Philadelphia Eagles - CB Devin McCourty, Rutgers

McCourty can contribute in the return game early, and give the Eagles options for the future.

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25. Baltimore Ravens - DT Dan Williams, Tennessee

Ozzie Newsome always steals a value player; free agent losses demand an instant starter.

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26. Arizona Cardinals - NT Terrence Cody, Alabama

Cards need linemen, Cody can continue strength and conditioning in Arizona.

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27. Dallas Cowboys - WR Golden Tate, Notre Dame

Cowboys want to make a splash after last year's quiet draft, Tate is a weapon.

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28. San Diego Chargers - RB Ryan Mathews, Fresno State

Chargers lose LT and need to restock at running back. Mathews stock is rising.

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29. New York Jets - DE Carlos Dunlap, Florida

Jets have needs along the defensive front. Dunlap is a premium athlete.

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30. Minnesota Vikings - CB Kareem Jackson, Alabama

Vikings can reload at the corner, Jackson is a speedy, man-to-man specialist.

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31. Indianapolis Colts - OL Maurkice Pouncey, Florida

Colts offensive line was exposed in the Super Bowl, Pouncey can help at several spots.

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32. New Orleans Saints - DE/OLB Ricky Sapp, Clemson

Saints can develop Sapp as an outside backer and pass rusher.

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15 next best players:

(listed alphabetically by last name)

S Nate Allen, South Florida

OT Charles Brown, Southern Cal

WR Arrelious Benn, Illinois

OT Bruce Campbell, Maryland

CB Parrish Cox, Oklahoma State

OT Anthony Davis, Rutgers

LB Sergio Kindle, Texas

TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma

DE Everson Griffen, Southern Cal

DE Greg Hardy, Ole Miss

WR Brandon LaFell, Louisiana State

CB Patrick Robinson, Florida State

WR Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech

QB Tim Tebow, Florida

WR Damian Williams, Southern Cal


[url="http://draftdaddy.com/MD/draft2010.htm"]http://draftdaddy.com/MD/draft2010.htm[/url]

[Lebsteel]

Chadman's alias is apparently DraftDaddy!
Left Guard spot? OK, I guess Kemo is moving to RG then?

[Chadman]

No way Iupati would play LG- at least not right away. He'd slot in at RG until he proves to be a better option at LG than Kemo.

[hawaiiansteel]

Chadman's alias is apparently DraftDaddy!
Left Guard spot? OK, I guess Kemo is moving to RG then?

I think Kemo and Colon would make for a good right side of the line...



RIGHT GUARD

Without question the most difficult of the interior line positions, right guards are most likely to be left one-on-one with an elite inside rusher. The predominance of teams to slide their center to the left to protect the quarterback's blind side creates a greater value for the right guard position. Fourteen-year veteran Todd Steussie, currently available on the free agent market, says, "Right guard is definitely harder than left guard." Recently-retired lineman Todd Fordham, a 10-year NFL vet, agreed: "The left guard always has help."

Though the difference in value between the two guard spots is lessened somewhat in an offense that rarely slides the pass protections like the Colts, the strength of the formation often dictates that the right guard has the wider alignment, and thus more difficult assignment, on his side.

LEFT GUARD

Because the left guard position is generally less difficult than the right guard position, I have been consistently perplexed the last couple of seasons by the amount of money teams are investing in the position.

Steve Hutchinson, Kris Dielman, Eric Steinbach, Derrick Dockery and Faneca lead the parade of left guards that have received contracts in excess of $40 million. Though I am not sure either guard position is worth that much of the salary cap, I would be much more willing to pay those dollars to a right guard given the greater difficulty in his assignment. I think the Browns got a relative steal by signing right guard Rex Hadnot to a two-year, $7 million deal this offseason.

The greatest reason why left guards are cashing in these days? There are two: 1) The grading system for offensive linemen; and 2) General lack of understanding among some NFL personnel people concerning the difficulty inherent with the different positions.

All of these players are considered upper echelon and likely grade out among the highest linemen on their respective teams. Part of that is because they are good players, but a lot of it has to do with the fact they are much more likely to receive help from the center and thus less likely to create a negative play. The formula is simple: Less one-on-ones against defensive linemen means less chances to give up a sack or pressure. Their consistently high performance given the lower risk at the position tricks many personnel people to assume they are worthy of that money. I disagree. I believe they are all outstanding players but think they would have a tougher time if they played right guard.

There is a reason why most of the interior guys getting paid the big money are left guards and not right guards and the sooner teams can figure it out, the sooner they can begin to allocate more of their money to a position that creates a greater value proposition.

[url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ross_tucker/04/02/oline.rankings/index.html?eref=T1"]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... ml?eref=T1[/url]

[Shoe]

After all is said and done, I hope we don't get this guy. We DO need O-line; but we don't need dumb, slow-to-react guys on our line--we have plenty of those.

We need quick, alert guys on our line!

[frankthetank1]

After all is said and done, I hope we don't get this guy. We DO need O-line; but we don't need dumb, slow-to-react guys on our line--we have plenty of those.

We need quick, alert guys on our line!

i agree i dont want him at all either. especially if we pass on weatherspoon for him

[Chadman]

Take away the actual Senior Bowl game & everyone talks about Iupati as if he's the second coming of Alan Faneca.

He struggled in the Senior Bowl, and now we can apparently dismiss his whole college career record and say he's over rated?

Sounds like what people did to LaMarr Woodley the year he came out.

How did that work out?

He's the best OG in the draft. And OG is a position that can be upgraded. The Steelers want to improve the running game. The pieces fall together..

[hawaiiansteel]

Take away the actual Senior Bowl game & everyone talks about Iupati as if he's the second coming of Alan Faneca.

He struggled in the Senior Bowl, and now we can apparently dismiss his whole college career record and say he's over rated?

Sounds like what people did to LaMarr Woodley the year he came out.

How did that work out?

He's the best OG in the draft. And OG is a position that can be upgraded. The Steelers want to improve the running game. The pieces fall together..

add in the fact that our new OL coach Sean Kugler has stated that Iupati is the Steelers' #1 rated OL on our draft board and signs do point towards us selecting Iupati at #18 if he's still available.

[Shoe]

Take away the actual Senior Bowl game & everyone talks about Iupati as if he's the second coming of Alan Faneca.

He struggled in the Senior Bowl, and now we can apparently dismiss his whole college career record and say he's over rated?

Sounds like what people did to LaMarr Woodley the year he came out.

How did that work out?

He's the best OG in the draft. And OG is a position that can be upgraded. The Steelers want to improve the running game. The pieces fall together..

Well I'm not basing it off the bad moments he had at the Senior Bowl. I did see that though.
I'm basing it more off seeing him, and just kinda making a judgement about his on-field makeup.

I just think he is a slow-witted guy, which is fine. EXCEPT THAT *I think* we already have a line full of slow-thinking slow-reacting guys... adding another one (who by all accounts, physically fits the bill) doesn't necessarily improve that weak point that I perceive.

I think people underestimate "intelligence" amongst O-linemen. At least--you gotta have a nice mix (of physically superior guys w/smart guys, tough guys, etc.)