Senior Bowl Week Thoughts

Here are some collected thoughts watching the coverage myself and reading through the various outlets covering Senior Bowl Week:

• Draft Breakdown is reporting that the Chiefs, on the second day, have met with WR/KR Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati), OLB George Selvie (South Florida), and QB Jarrett Brown (West Virginia). Arrowhead Pride also picked up scents from Scout.com and Draft Countdown that the Chiefs also spoke with  ILB Donald Butler (Connecticut), CB Brandon Ghee (Wake Forest), FS Tyrell Skinner (Maryland), and interestingly, DT Tyson Alualu (California), who I’ll be mentioning later in this post.
• NT Dan Williams (Tennessee) weighed in at a massive 330 lbs. He also apparently had the best body of any nose tackles. He won’t last past the first, but if he does, he is a no-brainer with our first pick in the second round (our “2a” pick). Hell, if we’re certain the guy could be a stud nose in the NFL, he could be a sleeper to slip into the Top 10, maybe even all the way up to #5 with Pioli’s track record. I’ve simply seen and heard nothing but the best things about him.
• Absolutely nothing but stellar things heard about WR/RB Dexter McCluster (Mississippi) today, and he showed it on the field. He has a smaller Percy Harvin-like quality to him (only 170 lbs). He looks comfortable running the ball, he looks comfortable catching the ball, he looks comfortable returning the ball. A team looking for a Dante Hall shouldn’t have to look much farther. My guess is that he’s a midround goldmine of talent. There’s actually quite a few of these tiny, insanely fast playmakers (McCluster, LSU’s Trindon Holliday, Kansas State’s Brandon Banks) this year. The Chiefs could be wise to capitalize on that in the 5th.

Much, much more after the jump.

• I think TE Michael Hoomanawanui (Illionois) proves that WR Arrelious Benn (Illinois) could be far less of a risk than many assumed. Benn is a physically astounding WR with great speed and okay-to-good hands, but has had such an underwhelming season, some wondered if it was because he’s a classic underachiever or because the QB play in Illinois was simply that pathetic. Hoomanawanui had the same type of senior season, but with new QBs throwing him the ball so far, he’s looked really good. If it really was that simple of a problem, Benn could threaten to do deep into the 2nd.
• You should always keep your eyes open for backup QBs when Pioli’s drafting. Right now our depth is okay-to-good with Cassel, Croyle, and Gutierrez, but consistent buzz is that  QB Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State) has outplayed everybody. Robinson is a low-round QB that many thought benefitted too much from Dez Bryant. Robinson has outplayed his teammates so far, and could slip into the midrounds with a good week. QB Tim Tebow (Florida), of course, is a disappointment.
• NT Terrance Cody (Alabama) weighed in at 370, heavier than his Alabama playing weight. Our DC Romeo Crennel, who has shown an affinity for elite big-butts before, is the only chance we pick up Cody. But I’m betting Haley and Pioli want nothing to do with him. He play was very shaky today, as I have the feeling it always will be.
• According to Sports Illustrated, OG Mike Johnson (Alabama) is destroying everybody everywhere at every opportunity. Can he play center? No? Sigh…
• You might have read from Patrick today that RB LaGarrette Blount (Oregon) earned praise from Pioli specifically today. Blount is a low-round prospect, with a chance to become a UDFA.
• My beloved S Taylor Mays (USC) looks like a phenomal athlete, and could be a really special football player, but so far all he’s done at the Senior Bowl is expose himself in coverage.
• OT Ciron Black (LSU) is slipping, hard. It has been a while since I’ve seen Ciron play, and I thought I might have been reaching by picking him in the 4th in my Mock Monday! column a week ago. Turns out I may be too generous.
• Paddy’s started a great feature on AA documenting who the Chiefs have been rumored to be interested in. Check it out at the top of the page. One of the folks the Chiefs actually worked out, OL Vladimir Ducasse (Massachussetts), is having a very bad start to Senior Bowl week, getting manhandled by the big school folks.
• I really like QB Tony Pike (Cincinnati). But he’s Matt Cassel, pt. deux. Love everybody about him except his noodle arm.
• OLB O’Brien Schofield (Wisconsin) tore his ACL. Ouch. He was a low-round prospect that I really liked, however. The Chiefs could do themselves a favor by grabbing him as an UDFA and seeing what they’ve got next year.
• If the Chiefs cannot land Eric Berry with the 5th overall, I’d love to grab S Myron Rolle (Florida State) in this Draft. He’s been away from football for a year and is looking really good this week. But of course, Pioli and Haley hate him. These two believe that players should be obsessed day and night about football. Rolle, a player who skipped football last year to pursue academics, is not their kind of player.
• OG Mike Iupati (Idaho) is a first-round pick, and will start on the first day for whomever drafts him. I’m in agreeance with a majority of folks who say it will be the Cowboys.
• I know we’ve been burned by Missouri receivers before (whatever happened to Will Franklin, anyway?), but WR Danario Alexander (Missouri) is either wearing too much Stickum or his hands are pure gold. He’s a possession receiver type, and I wouldn’t say no if we were considering him with our 4th.
• It’s been a good week for Missouri so far, anyway. I’m not a fan of OLB Sean Weath­er­spoon (Missouri), but he has been mentioned everywhere today for his play.
• Because of Weis, I have put a high radar on any offensive player coming out of Notre Dame. The only player I saw today was C Eric Olson (Notre Dame), and he didn’t look very good at all. Matter of fact he looked incredibly average. I still would not put him out of the question for this team.
• Every year, I seem to fall in unholy love with a couple of players. One player I love this year is RB Ben Tate (Auburn) out of Auburn. The reports out of the past couple days have been sick about this kid. Great size, good explosion, plenty of speed. I think too many Chiefs fans focus on “thunder” to compliment Charles. What they should focus on is talent, and Tate has plenty of that — though he does run great between the tackles. 4th rounder, maybe better?
• WR Andre Roberts (The Citadel) is still getting really good reviews. I think he is a project player, but what a great set of skills he has to start with. How often do you get a project player who can run routes?
• DT/DE Geno Atkins (Georgia) is a DE prospect for 3-4 teams, and specializes in creating pressure. The good news is, he’s done just that all week so far. Midround prospect, though I doubt the Chiefs are shopping at DE right now.
• Nothing but great things being said about ILB Daryl Washington, TCU. This guy is a player, I’m telling you. He’s already getting a ton of buzz from the Chiefs blogosphere and he may be just what the doctor orders if he falls a bit to the 3rd. He fights off blockers very, very well and is a leader on the field.
• New Era Scouting is calling DL Tyson Alu­alu (Cal­i­for­nia) the “terror of the week.” I have not seen him play yet, nor have I heard any other buzz.
• Not a lot of buzz surrounding any passrushers, but that’s alright. That’s expected during the week when QBs can’t be touched. Nevertheless, I have high hopes for OLB Eric Norwood (South Carolina). Stay tuned.