Expect defense to rule first round
Published: April 7th, 2010 | Tags: Anthony Davis, Bruce Campbell, Bryan Bulaga, C.J. Spiller, Charlie Brown, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Jahvid Best, Jermaine Gresham, Jimmy Clausen, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Iupati, Rob Gronkowski, Russell Okung, Ryan Mathews, Sam Bradford, Trent Williams
With the majority of the pro days in the rear-view mirror, things are starting to shake out a little bit as far as the first round of the draft is concerned.
We’ve said all along that this is a defensive draft, especially early on. So out of the 32 picks in the first round, I think you’re only going to see between 12-14 offensive players taken, which means you’re going to get 18-20 defensive players picked.
The offensive players who I think are first-round locks are Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen at quarterback; C.J. Spiller at running back; Jermaine Gresham at tight end; either Maurkice Pouncey or Mike Iupati as interior offensive linemen; Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Bryan Bulaga, Anthony Davis and either Bruce Campbell or Charlie Brown, perhaps both, at tackle. And I would say Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas at wide receiver.
You add that up and you get 12-13 players, 14 max, with some bubble guys: Jahvid Best and Ryan Mathews at running back, Rob Gronkowski the tight end, depending on how he checks out medically. At the wide receiver position, there’s a whole lot more questions than answers, and quite frankly, I like the second-round receivers better than I do the ones in the first.