#12 on Mel's big board

[Beerball]

Would make several here very happy indeed.

 

12. Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville (6-1½, 298) | previous: 5

A four-year veteran, and he is only 19 years old. Okoye is quick and explosive and goes all-out on every play. He is not only good at eating up space but also gets good penetration into the backfield. He's second on the Cardinals in both sacks and tackles for loss.

 

For those without access here are his top 15:

*1. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech (6-4, 225)

2. Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin (6-6½, 313)

3. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame (6-3½, 225)

*4. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU (6-6, 260)

*5. Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas (6-5, 270)

*6. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma (6-1½, 218)

*7. Alan Branch, DT, Michigan (6-5½, 328)

*8. Marshawn Lynch, RB, California (5-11, 224)

9. Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson (6-4½, 260)

10. Leon Hall, CB, Michigan (5-11, 193)

11. LaRon Landry, DB, LSU (6-1½, 205)

12. Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville (6-1½, 298)

13. Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame (6-4½, 215)

*14. Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC (6-4, 210)

*15. Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee (6-2½, 210)

[Adam]

Would make several here very happy indeed.

For those without access here are his top 15:

*1. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech (6-4, 225)

2. Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin (6-6½, 313)

3. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame (6-3½, 225)

*4. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU (6-6, 260)

*5. Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas (6-5, 270)

*6. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma (6-1½, 218)

*7. Alan Branch, DT, Michigan (6-5½, 328)

*8. Marshawn Lynch, RB, California (5-11, 224)

9. Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson (6-4½, 260)

10. Leon Hall, CB, Michigan (5-11, 193)

11. LaRon Landry, DB, LSU (6-1½, 205)

12. Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville (6-1½, 298)

13. Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame (6-4½, 215)

*14. Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC (6-4, 210)

*15. Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee (6-2½, 210)

Kiper has never impressed me. a WR will not go 1st, anyone who would do that is crazy. I'd be happy w/Okoye, Branch, Bush, Irons, or a really good guard or tight end...lots of guys can help.....crack out the shopping cart!

[OnTheRocks]

Mel's big board is not a Mock Draft. It is list of top talent.

[Adam]

Mel's big board is not a Mock Draft. It is list of top talent.

He lists Samardzija ahead of Jarrett.....which is incorrect!

[tennesseeboy]

Okoye would be a great first round pick. Aaron Sears, a tackle out of Tennessee who could play guard is my favorite for the second round. 300 pounds and above for the first three or four picks. We're going to the playoffs next year and need shoring up in the trenches more than anything else.

[JPTheRealDeal07]

Kiper has never impressed me. a WR will not go 1st, anyone who would do that is crazy. I'd be happy w/Okoye, Branch, Bush, Irons, or a really good guard or tight end...lots of guys can help.....crack out the shopping cart!

 

 

 

Keyshawn Johnson anyone? And I don't think his big board is who he projects to go in those spots, I think it's nothing more than him rating the best players in the draft top to bottom.

[Tortured Soul]

Maybe this is the wrong thread to ask, but why do people think Willis is worthy of the 12 pick? Kiper has him bottom first/top second, and no one has him as high as 12. I know Kiper's word isn't gospel, but it's a s good as anyone's.

[OnTheRocks]

He lists Samardzija ahead of Jarrett.....which is incorrect!

says who?

[Beerball]

Okoye would be a great first round pick. Aaron Sears, a tackle out of Tennessee who could play guard is my favorite for the second round. 300 pounds and above for the first three or four picks. We're going to the playoffs next year and need shoring up in the trenches more than anything else.

FWIW...Mel has him as his #4 guard...

 

1. Ben Grubbs, Auburn

2. Josh Beekman, Boston College

3. Justin Blalock, Texas

4. Arron Sears, Tennessee

5. Andy Alleman, Akron

5a. Tim Duckworth, Auburn 5b. Dan Santucci, Notre Dame

 

More FWIW, Scouts Inc does not have a guard going in their round 1 mock, but they do have 3 tackles coming off the board.

[Adam]

says who?

he's a very good WR< and I wouldn't mind getting him, but I consider Jarrett the top talent in the draft- still taking a WR with the first overall is not a wise move- I still Laugh at the Jests for taking Meshawn

[Kelly the Dog]

FWIW...Mel has him as his #4 guard...

 

1. Ben Grubbs, Auburn

2. Josh Beekman, Boston College

3. Justin Blalock, Texas

4. Arron Sears, Tennessee

5. Andy Alleman, Akron

5a. Tim Duckworth, Auburn 5b. Dan Santucci, Notre Dame

 

More FWIW, Scouts Inc does not have a guard going in their round 1 mock, but they do have 3 tackles coming off the board.

I have no problem taking a tackle in round one or two and having him play guard for a couple years, if that particular player is capable of doing it.

[tennesseeboy]

I think if Sears had played guard through his Tennessee career, he'd be first or second. I like those mentioned ahead of him, but for who is going to be there at our pick in the second round my best guess is that Sears is the best value.

[Steven in MD]

If we can draft Sears we can move Peters back to RT and let Pennington fight for the guard position. Why move a natural LT to guard?

[jester43]

Would make several here very happy indeed.

For those without access here are his top 15:

*1. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech (6-4, 225)

2. Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin (6-6½, 313)

3. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame (6-3½, 225)

*4. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU (6-6, 260)

*5. Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas (6-5, 270)

*6. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma (6-1½, 218)

*7. Alan Branch, DT, Michigan (6-5½, 328)

*8. Marshawn Lynch, RB, California (5-11, 224)

9. Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson (6-4½, 260)

10. Leon Hall, CB, Michigan (5-11, 193)

11. LaRon Landry, DB, LSU (6-1½, 205)

12. Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville (6-1½, 298)

13. Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame (6-4½, 215)

*14. Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC (6-4, 210)

*15. Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee (6-2½, 210)

yes it would make me happy...but then, drafting mike williams made me happy. i love you guys who go to the trouble of dredging up all this draft stuff, but i just have to shrug my shoulders at it all till the guys get here and start playing.

 

however, i have to say a NINETEEN YEAR OLD who is a dominating d-1 player is very tanatalizing indeed. i coach 19-22 year olds, and about 100% of them are twice the athlete at 22 than they were at age 19. how much better COULD he be in the 3 years? it seems like a no-brainer, but then again, mike williams.

 

marv, please figure it out, would you?

[bluenews]

Okoye would be a great first round pick. Aaron Sears, a tackle out of Tennessee who could play guard is my favorite for the second round. 300 pounds and above for the first three or four picks. We're going to the playoffs next year and need shoring up in the trenches more than anything else.

 

 

homer in orange singing rocky top song....but I must agree!!!

[MrLocke]

I really think the Bills are better off not adressing the o-line early and trying to rebuild it through free-agency. Marv said himslef last year most o-linmen aren't going to get it done as rookies. I know there are exception, ie. Tony Boselli, but I say get someone who can make an imediate impact at #12.

[BuffaloBilliever]

I want Jeff Samardzija

 

The guy is a phenomenal possession reciever.

 

But that would be the end of Sam Aiken/Andre Davis :-/

[DrDawkinstein]

I want Jeff Samardzija

 

The guy is a phenomenal possession reciever.

 

But that would be the end of Sam Aiken/Andre Davis :-/

 

but no one kows if hes even playing football

 

dude got drafted and signed with the Chicago Cubs last year.

 

IF he makes a sure commitment to football than im all for him, but until then im pretending hes not even there.

[billybob]

If we can draft Sears we can move Peters back to RT and let Pennington fight for the guard position. Why move a natural LT to guard?

Ummm........because Peters has played well as a LT in the nfl and Pennington is 6,7 which is really tall for a guard - where Sears is 6,4 which is short for OT and good for guard.

[Steven in MD]

Ummm........because Peters has played well as a LT in the nfl and Pennington is 6,7 which is really tall for a guard - where Sears is 6,4 which is short for OT and good for guard.

Sears is a natural LT...where Peters is a converted TE...I would take Sears here.

[marauderswr80]

If we can draft Sears we can move Peters back to RT and let Pennington fight for the guard position. Why move a natural LT to guard?

 

Why move Peters back to RT? Hes proven he can protect Losmans blind side. Plus I think we need to stop moving Peters around and leave him at LT for good.....

[Adam]

Why move Peters back to RT? Hes proven he can protect Losmans blind side. Plus I think we need to stop moving Peters around and leave him at LT for good.....

The interior OL is where we need help anyways

[billybob]

Sears is a natural LT...where Peters is a converted TE...I would take Sears here.

Analysis

 

 

Arron Sears has a good deal of experience against top competition, having started the past three years on the offensive line for Tennessee in the SEC. He is a very versatile player routinely switches positions and has started at every position along the offensive line except center. He has a good combination of size and strength for an offensive lineman. He has good athleticism for a player his size. He has proven to be a great run blocker who can be dominating at times. He does have the ability to get to the second level in the running game. He displays good technique on running downs. He lacks great agility and will have problems against speed rushers coming off the edge. He needs to improve his technique in pass protection to become a more complete offensive lineman. He has had some minor ankle injuries in college which have caused him to miss a few games, but nothing serious. Arron Sears is a versatile player who could project as a guard or right tackle at the next level. He has been bounced around the offensive line quite a bit and hasn't had a chance to settle in and master any one position. Though he could play right tackle, I believe Sears would make a better guard in the NFL. He has a chance to be a first day pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

[marauderswr80]

The interior OL is where we need help anyways

 

yeah I can agree with that! I cant argue that fact.......

 

But I do think Peters is our LT for a long time! I dont think he needs to be moved again. But you are right interior line does need to be fixed. Although, I thought Gandy played pretty well....I think RG is the spot that needs the upgrade the most. Id also like to see Pennington get some competition behind him to see how he reacts to that and to see if he can win the job. Cause what ive seen from Pennington has been decent. Still needs work, but there is a VERY good chance we found our RT aswell, I just want to see him earn the job like Losman did at the QB spot......if that makes any sense...

[Steven in MD]

Analysis

Arron Sears has a good deal of experience against top competition, having started the past three years on the offensive line for Tennessee in the SEC. He is a very versatile player routinely switches positions and has started at every position along the offensive line except center. He has a good combination of size and strength for an offensive lineman. He has good athleticism for a player his size. He has proven to be a great run blocker who can be dominating at times. He does have the ability to get to the second level in the running game. He displays good technique on running downs. He lacks great agility and will have problems against speed rushers coming off the edge. He needs to improve his technique in pass protection to become a more complete offensive lineman. He has had some minor ankle injuries in college which have caused him to miss a few games, but nothing serious. Arron Sears is a versatile player who could project as a guard or right tackle at the next level. He has been bounced around the offensive line quite a bit and hasn't had a chance to settle in and master any one position. Though he could play right tackle, I believe Sears would make a better guard in the NFL. He has a chance to be a first day pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

I stand corrected...he is a guard too.

[Beerball]

I am surprised that there are two (edit...make that three) who publically admit that they would take a WR with our first pick. He does appear to have a high motor though.

Edited January 15, 2007 by Beerball

[Adam]

I am surprised that there are two who publically admit that they would take a WR with our first pick. He does appear to have a high motor though.

With OUR first pick, I could take a WR, not the 1st overall though. We really need a big target for JP

[Sen. John Blutarsky]

There have now been approximately 35,407 players at the #12 spot on kiper's board. That way he can produce a printed work in April saying that a player fell exactly where he slotted them months earlier, despite the fact that he's also rated roughly every other player on this side of Uzbekistan somewhere nearby on his borard at some point.

[Beerball]

There have now been approximately 35,407 players at the #12 spot on kiper's board. That way he can produce a printed work in April saying that a player fell exactly where he slotted them months earlier, despite the fact that he's also rated roughly every other player on this side of Uzbekistan somewhere nearby on his borard at some point.

He does have that Uzbekistani place kicker at #5. You'll need to move your line.

 

 

The only list that matters (if any do) is the final one. That's the one he uses on draft days to show is best available etc. I know the guys not a genious, but who is?

[Sen. John Blutarsky]

Right, but he's the guy who proclaims himself as all knowing. He's the guy who ridicules the picks of others and uses his "big board" as evidence of their apparent stupidity. Listen to him in April. He'll say something about "a guy I've had rated highly on my board" about 400 times. His definition of rated is written down. If he's mentioned his name in the past 9 months then he was rated and it doesn't matter if his first opinion put him at #5, if Mel's last report of brilliance rated at #30 you were a fool for selecting him at #5. I'd love ESPN to put together a montage of selections that Mel loved who bombed and vice versa. I know he loved Marcellus Wiley and Jamie Nails. How'd that work out?

[ganesh]

If we can draft Sears we can move Peters back to RT and let Pennington fight for the guard position. Why move a natural LT to guard?

 

I don't think Peters will ever move from the LT position again, especially when he will request a new contract in a year or two...

[youngunz]

Defense ... Defense ... Defense... We need to concentrate our entire draft on Defense. The line proved somewhat legitimate after the bye week showing improvement week in and week out. We already have big holes to fill on the Defensive line not to mention the probability of losing Fletcher at LB and Clements at DB. Any thought of drafting a RB or WR at 12 just means another 7-9 season. I would love a stud LT but would much rather have a big sloppy stud on the DL clogging the middle and pushing the pocket or a freak DE bringing pressure from the outside. If we can address the DL to where they could be a force it would hide voids left my Fletcher and Clements and would also allow the young safties to improve.

 

#12 Branch from Michigan / Akoye form Louisville / Moss from Florida

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

I am surprised that there are two (edit...make that three) who publically admit that they would take a WR with our first pick.

Uh...why? Losman has ONE solid option to get the ball to. Good offenses have more than one weapon. Having Peerless Price starting at reciever is an embarrassment. It's okay to start scrubs in that spot when you've got Tom Brady or when you have Tomlinson and Gates on your offense. It is not okay when you're the Bills with their non-existant running game and total lack of production from TE/FB in the passing game. We have to give Losman another solid target this offseason one way or another. If there's no DTs Marv likes and Jarrett falls to 12, I can't fault Marv for pulling the trigger. The matchup problems a guy like him could present would allow JP to stop locking onto Evans, which would be huge for this offense. Sure, we have other needs, but the draft is more than one round.

 

Just because WR is the sexy pick, it isn't necessarily a bad pick.

[Saint Doug]

I don't think Peters will ever move from the LT position again, especially when he will request a new contract in a year or two...

 

Agreed. Peters is not moving anywhere...we tried the RT experiment earlier in the season and it failed miserably. Peters is arguably the best LT in the league. Period. Any thought of moving him back to RT is laughable.

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

I want Jeff Samardzija

 

The guy is a phenomenal possession reciever.

 

But that would be the end of Sam Aiken/Andre Davis :-/

And the down side to that is .... ?

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

however, i have to say a NINETEEN YEAR OLD who is a dominating d-1 player is very tanatalizing indeed. i coach 19-22 year olds, and about 100% of them are twice the athlete at 22 than they were at age 19. how much better COULD he be in the 3 years? it seems like a no-brainer, but then again, mike williams.

 

marv, please figure it out, would you?

The downside being that by the time he is 23-24 and possibly playing at his best he will be a free agent and will be signed by a big $$pockets team

[Spun]

This list will most likely be revised as some underclassman decide to enter the draft. Throw Ted Ginn Jr. into the mix. In fact, it would be nice having Ginn lined up on the other side of the field as Evans. But an earth mover is needed for the running game.

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

This list will most likely be revised as some underclassman decide to enter the draft. Throw Ted Ginn Jr. into the mix. In fact, it would be nice having Ginn lined up on the other side of the field as Evans. But an earth mover is needed for the running game.

Isn't R. Parrish a poor man's T. Ginn Jr.. I think Parrish/Reed and whomever makes the team will have an easier time getting open and making plays if the running game was respected. Now it's run McGahee to the left on first down and hope we get a yard or two. Our drives consist mainly of 83 yard pass plays to #83. My point is Ginn would look good but the other guys could look better if the run was respected. Create holes , bring the safeties up and let the receivers beat their guys one-on-one. (Very much of an oversimplification, I know). Later

[Spun]

Isn't R. Parrish a poor man's T. Ginn Jr.. I think Parrish/Reed and whomever makes the team will have an easier time getting open and making plays if the running game was respected. Now it's run McGahee to the left on first down and hope we get a yard or two. Our drives consist mainly of 83 yard pass plays to #83. My point is Ginn would look good but the other guys could look better if the run was respected. Create holes , bring the safeties up and let the receivers beat their guys one-on-one. (Very much of an oversimplification, I know). Later

 

You are making a lot of sense. The Bills have been needing a dominant offensive for way too long. Some monster holes for the run would help the pass. The comparison of Ginn to Parrish is interesting. They both have speed, great hands and can cut. It is just if say Ginn doesn't workout in the combines because of his injury and he slips maybe the Bills could get both! I know I'm dreaming and more importantly receiver isn't a need. I am also tired of those two yard runs into the line.

[SACTOBILLSFAN]

He lists Samardzija ahead of Jarrett.....which is incorrect!

 

The only thing that Jarrett has on Samardzija is speed. JS is bigger has better hands and is oh yeah not friends with Snoop Dogg.

 

he's a very good WR< and I wouldn't mind getting him, but I consider Jarrett the top talent in the draft- still taking a WR with the first overall is not a wise move- I still Laugh at the Jests for taking Meshawn

 

Jarrett the top talent? Now you're talking stupid. Johnson is head and shoulders abouve Jarrett in EVERY single aspect of being a WR. He's bigger, faster, has better hands, is a better route runner, and has had reggie freaking ball throwing to him for 3 years, no Reggie Bush, Lendale White or Matt Leinert to take the pressure off him. Jarrett the top talent in the draft? I like USC too, but thats just ridiculous.