Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Draft Stuff (QB Version) ...


QB Draft notes from ESPN's John Clayton:

On the Dolphins current QB situation: Not convinced Daunte Culpepper will return to form, the Dolphins are studying every quarterback move possible. They might even consider trading up for Brady Quinn if the Notre Dame quarterback starts to fall. The Dolphins are flying all over the country to visit Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, Trent Edwards and most top quarterbacks. They continue to wait for the Chiefs to lower their demands for veteran quarterback Trent Green. The longer the Chiefs hold up the Green deal, the more the Dolphins will explore the rookie quarterback scene.

On the Raiders, Lions and Browns and their respective picks affecting ours: Calvin Johnson is moving to the top of the Raiders' draft board, but there's one caveat. Al Davis, who loves LSU QB JaMarcus Russell's arm, wants an alternative to Russell in order to justify taking Johnson, one of the most talented receivers to come along in years. The Raiders are looking at Lions backup QB Josh McCown in a trade. They would consider Daunte Culpepper if the Dolphins let him go. The problem is putting something together before the draft. Trent Edwards of Stanford and some of the second-round quarterbacks could be options as well. If Davis isn't satisfied with the options, he'll take Russell.

Should JaMarcus Russell fall out of the No. 1 spot, he will cause considerable thinking with the Lions. Although the Lions don't want to draft a quarterback, Russell has the type of strong arm that will make them pause for a second. Not having Calvin Johnson available at No. 2 could kill some of the Lions' trade options. That leaves the Lions with the options of taking halfback Adrian Peterson, tackle Joe Thomas and Russell. For the Lions, Russell will be a thought.

Browns general manager Phil Savage would like to avoid taking a quarterback with the No. 3 pick unless it's JaMarcus Russell, whom he's known since Russell was in his teens'. That's why the Browns have explored the Trent Green trade possibilities. Because the Browns need to win now, Savage wants to draft a player who won't need a lot of time to develop. That's why he would prefer Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson over Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn if both are available.

So if Brady Quinn should fall to, say 7th, the Dolphins might have to trade up to keep him from going to the Vikings: The Vikings aren't tipping their hand about whether or not they like Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, but it's pretty clear they would take him if he falls to No. 7. Vikings coach Brad Childress believes Travaris Jackson will be a star as a starting quarterback, so he probably won't trade up to land Quinn. However, if Quinn drops like Matt Leinart did a year ago, the Vikings probably would take him.

Then there's this tidbit from Pro Football Weekly: The rumored trade and swap of picks for Bears OLB Lance Briggs is believed to be dead. The Redskins, according to a source in Washington, are hoping Brady Quinn will fall to No. 6 so that they can find a potential suitor — with Miami being the most likely — that would be willing to trade up and acquire the pick.


Meanwhile ... MVN.com is holding their 2nd annual NFL Writers' Mock Draft. We at The Phish Tank will be picking 9th for the Dolphins on Friday morning. Sean, Gabriel and myself have written numerous e-mails debating back and forth on who we want to take with the No. 9 pick. Quinn and Russell are off the board early, which pissed me off to no end. But, I'm recovered now. Anyway, we'd love to hear some thoughts on who you'd like us to select on Friday. You came really strong for me with my first PT column a couple of weeks back (and the Dude is humbled and grateful. You guys are the best!) So come on over and give us some names to draft and reasons why. In the end, the three of us are probably going to draw straws and flip a coin to decide.
You know, exactly how the real front office does things!


Update: ESPN.com is running their daily NFL Draft version of the SportsNation poll. Today's question: Who should the Miami Dolphins take with the No. 9 overall pick? While I think these polls are dumb, futile and meaningless, it does give us a picture of things.

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