Less than a week before the NFL Draft. I don’t know what it is about the draft, that I find myself watching a couple hours of it every year. It’s really not that interesting, lots of blather, plenty of downtime between picks, and not much in the way of surprises. Still, I get entranced by the slow kabuki dance of draft. The video phone calls sponsored by some communications group, the interviews with coaches and GMs swearing they got the guy they wanted no matter what the situation, and of course, the hair of Mel Kiper, Jr.
Watching the draft to see where Pitt players would go, at best, would mean tuning in around 4 or 5 pm on the first day to see the second round. Pitt would have one or two guys go in the 2nd-3rd round and maybe one or two others on the second day. This year, Pitt has 10 guys draft eligible, with 9 likely to be drafted. They will be taken throughout the draft this year.
Player, overall rank (out of 379), rank by position.
Larry Fitzgerald #1 WR – #1
Shawntae Spencer #64 CB – #10
Kris Wilson #94 TE – #6
Lousaka Polite #147 FB – #1
Lewis Moore #153 OLB – #10
Claude Harriott #177 DE – #18
Brandon Miree #222 RB – #17
Rod Rutherford #240 QB – #14
Andy Lee #327 P – #4
Mike Morgan NR OT – NR (expected free agent signee)
The player rankings are very, very rough aproximations as to where the player might go in the draft. Some positions get valued higher (cornerback, quaterback) others tend to be undervalued (fullback, tightend).
Some thoughts on what the “expert” takes were.
Spencer — They see a fair amount of upside on Spencer, and the report seems to have been before his workout. Their summary was about right, though, especially this part, “Lacks recovery speed if he makes a mistake. Inconsistent in coverage, suffers occasional mental lapses.”
Wilson — Surprisingly down on Wilson. He’s just a little undersized. They argue that he’s already near his max potential, so his ceiling isn’t that much higher. “Wilson most likely will be selected in the mid-to-late rounds and will probably level off as a backup or reserve H-back.” I’m biased since Wilson was one of my favorites from this Panther team, but he is not that much smaller than your average tight end. I remain convinced that he could end up as a starter in a couple years.
Polite — Fullbacks are late draft picks. Even if you are the best at the position.
Moore — A bit of a project. They see him going on the second day.
Harriott — Lots of potential, but his poor play and injuries this season really hurt his draft rank. At best he’s going near the end of day one, but likely day two. My feeling is that he’ll go near the end of day one. His position is one that is always in demand.
Miree — They see him being drafted, but no real NFL future. Mainly because he doesn’t have a good burst of speed or very good at catching the ball. Some team will take a shot at him on day two, because he is a strong north-south runner. He is willing to go inside without dancing trying to find the hole.
Rutherford — They hate his mechanics. “Rutherford has very good athleticism and arm strength, and he did a fine job of operating within the Panthers’ West Coast offense. He is a developmental quarterback prospect who would best fit in a similar NFL scheme because of his experience and style. Rutherford is rough around the edges and must improve his mechanics, accuracy and ability to read defenses, but he is an intriguing late-round prospect.” I see him on the practice squad playing the role of Mike Vick for teams getting ready to play the Falcons.
Lee — They actually think Lee could get drafted as opposed to simply being a free agent invite. For a punter, that’s pretty good.
