Thursday, April 30, 2009

Reader Question: No NT in Draft?

I'll be breaking down the Draft in smaller chunks over the next week or so, but here's a question I received to start things off:

That was a strange draft, especially at the end. I thought they would have picked up a RB with their last pick. What are your thoughts on the draft in general. With regards to the third and fourth rounds, I am surprised that they did not take a NT. Do you think that is a concern? It looks like they have solved the problems with the secondary.

I share your thoughts that this was a very strange draft. It started off perfectly, in my opinion, with the selection of Vontae Davis, but then it just got downright puzzling after that.

I also thought they would have taken a running back in the seventh round, but apparently they had exhausted their draft board and just traded the pick away to the Chiefs, for what may only be a seventh-rounder next year. That's not a good trade-off in my opinion.

Once Ron Brace was gone, I could understand why they held off on taking a NT in the second or third round. At that point they probably would have been reaching. But not taking anyone at all? That could mean that the front office has faith in Paul Soliai, which, to his credit, is not wholly undeserved judging by his play late last season. But do we really want to put all our bets on him and Joe Cohen? Even if Soliai turns out to be an answer, it's still wise to get someone in the system and begin training him, considering Soliai has proven to be unreliable at times. There has been some whispers about possibly moving Phillip Merling to nose, but I don't see that happening, especially since no defensive ends were drafted either.

As for the secondary, anything that makes it harder for Eric Green to get on the field is a good thing, and I feel much better about the corners now than I did before the draft. If there's a decision about who to keep on the team between Jason Allen and Eric Green, I hope the coaching staff gives Allen another year, even if it's just to be the fourth or fifth guy.

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