Random Thoughts
By Double D
Addicts, check out the new banner. Pretty sweet. Mucho props to Tony Rangel for putting that together for me.
It’s April, which is of course NFL Draft month, and all the hype, excitement, and anticipation that comes with all that. Everybody has their own ideas about who they would love to see the Chiefs select with that first draft pick, whether it be directly using the #11 pick, or by trading up or down a few slots. After the draft, because no team gets exactly every player they want, comes another brief flurry of activity in the free agent market. This activity concentrates mainly on the residue of players who were passed over in the first go round because teams’ interest in such players is typically contingent on whether such teams filled this or that positional need through the draft.
I’ll begin by reiterating that Dontari Poe is still the one player that I would be truly excited to see the Chiefs draft with the #11 pick. It’s not that I don’t recognize Poe’s apparent lack of game tape (while in the same breath noting that Ryan Leaf had wonderful game tape). It’s not that I don’t recognize that Poe may not be as much of a sure bet as players such as, say, David DeCastro or Luke Kuechly. It’s mainly because I believe that if the Chiefs select Poe, I will interpret that to mean that they believe that, in the very capable hands of Romeo Crennel and company, they have identified in Poe a transformative, game changing, impact kind of player capable of being the centerpiece of our defense for the next decade or more.
Another part of me wants Poe simply because I don’t want to say be saying a year or two, much the way I feel about players like BJ Raji and Phil Taylor, to name just two . . . “Damn! We could have that guy!!!” I guess my feeling about this is probably at the opposite end of the spectrum of those who loathe the very thought of the Chiefs using their first pick on any defensive lineman. I like to think of this particular perspective as “Post Traumatic Stress Simsdrome” because every time the suggestion of taking a defensive lineman is brought up, they are usually the first to start drawing references and comparisons to Ryan Sims.
Btw, I don’t put a whole lot of stock in Todd McShay’s roller coaster opinion about Dontari Poe. This is after all the same Todd McShay who last year claimed Blaine Gabbert was “more polished” than Cam Newton.
All that being said, if Pioli et entourage opt to pass on Poe, I feel I will at least have some understanding as to the reasons why and be content with whomever they select. Unless they reach for Ryan Sims. Or worse, Ryan Tannehill.
Depending on who the Chiefs go with in the first round, I will probably be equally as interested to see who they select in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds. I’m sold on Branden Weeden in the 2nd round should the opportunity arise. CB or OL (rotational players) in the 2nd round also appeals to me. If not Weeden in the 2nd then maybe Osweiler in the 3rd? Maybe that NT “bowling ball” Nick Jean-Baptiste or perhaps a dual threat, a la WR/KR Joe Adams or CB/KR Chase Minnifield in the 4th? Our return game is among the weakest in the league and I don’t accept that that is entirely the fault of the either Special Teams coaching or the return unit’s blocking.
I also would like to mention Glenn Dorsey for a second. I have a funny feeling he will really shine this year. First and probably foremost, he should be highly motivated to play well considering he is set to enter free agency 2013. For another, I just believe he has it in him and is due. Anybody besides me feel this way?
Speaking of free agency, and revisiting a thought from my first paragraph, if the Chiefs do not, for whatever reason, select a future franchise quarterback in the early rounds of this draft, I personally would like to see them offer Dennis Dixon a modest contract. I’ve always liked Dixon going back to his Oregon Ducks days. Heismann favorite until the ACL, all this time sitting behind Roethlisberger learning the NFL way; I’d really like to see what he’s got. Also, if we don’t take Poe, I certainly hope we meaningfully address NT through free agency. My personal preferences being Sammie Lee Hill and Aubrayo Franklin, in that order.
That’s my Double Take.
What’s your take Addicts?