| Pick |
Team |
Player |
Position |
College |
|---|
| 33. | St Louis Rams | Rodger Saffold | OT | Indiana |
| Ben: Saffold's a solid pick for the Rams. Obviously they have a lot of needs and I'm not sure Saffold is who I'd call best player available but he'll make Steven Jackson a bit happier. |
| 34. | Minnesota Vikings (from Lions) | Chris Cook | CB | Virginia |
| Ben: I think I called this in my Vikings Worst to First article. Cook might look like Antoine Winfield but he's going to have to get touger and learn lots from Winfield in terms of run support. Ultimately he could end up a Free Safety |
| 35. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Brian Price | DT | UCLA |
| Ben: That's a pretty surprising pick I'm a big fan of Roy Miller and with Gerald McCoy already on board, they're going to have a heck of an upgrade at DL but unless they plan on using McCoy as a TE in heavy sets there's still no-one for Freeman to pass to. Not down on Price, just the pick. |
| 36. | Kansas City Chiefs | Dexter McCluster | RB | Mississippi |
| Ben: I'm not convinced by this one for the Chiefs. He's going to give the return game a major boost and I imagine they'll find ways to get him into the action outside. He's not the back I would have picked to team with Jamaal Charles. But we saw what impact a guy like Devin Hester can bring to a team. McCluster could do that too. |
| 37. | Philadelphia Eagles (From Redskins) | Nate Allen | S | South Florida |
| Ben: Starting to look like USF has arrived in a big way! I'm not sure Nate Allen's going to make you forget Brian Dawkins but he's definitely going to be an upgrade. |
| 38. | Cleveland Browns | T.J. Ward | S | Oregon |
| Ben: This one's got reach written all over it but Ward looks like a big hitter. Having missed on Eric Berry in round 1 the Browns clearly needed a Safety in a bad way but I'm not sure Ward is the answer and he'd probably have been around later. |
| 39. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (From Raiders) | Arrelious Benn | WR | Illinois |
| Ben: Definitely fills a big need for them. Not sure what they've given up to get him yet but this makes the Price pick look better if they haven't overpaid for the pick. Definitely improving their team today. |
| 40. | Miami Dolphins (From Seahawks thru Chargers) | Koa Misi | DE | Utah |
| Ben: Should be a perfect fit for the OLB slot in Miami's 3-4 defense. Your typical hard working productive guy. Interesting they've gone for that type of guy rather than a maybe more athletic project like Sergio Kindle. Misi might not have a lot of upside but he should be a very solid pro. |
| 41. | Buffalo Bills | Torrell Troup | DT | Central Florida |
| Ben: I'm not sure what to make of this one. Troup should have been around later in the draft, and we have a few DTs rated higher than him but again, like Misi he's shown up for a lot of workouts and visits with NFL teams and he's obviously impressed at least 1 of them! Buffalo needed a NT and Troup figures to be it in their 3-4. Surprised he went above Terrence Cody, also surprised they didn't go for a QB here. |
| 42. | New England Patriots (From Bears thru Buccaneers, Raiders) | Rob Gronkowski | TE | Arizona |
| Ben: We like Gronkowski a lot. This is a great pick for the Patriots who seem slim on Tight Ends for the first time in living memory. In other years Gronkowski could've gone in the first round but Gresham's special. Patriots fans should grow to love this guy. |
| 43. | Baltimore Ravens (From Dolphins thru Broncos) | Sergio Kindle | OLB | Texas |
| Ben: About time Kindle went. So many things about him fit well with the Ravens and has that versatility they would like too. Must be some injury concerns to drop him this far but Baltimore takes advantage, nice pick. |
| 44. | Oakland Raiders (From Jaguars thru Patriots) | Lamarr Houston | DT | Texas |
| Ben: This guy's been climbing up Curt's boards all offseason, had a great all around combine and that fits with Al Davis' philosophy of drafting athlete's but Houston is a productive player too. |
| 45. | Denver Broncos | Zane Beadles | OT | Utah |
| Ben: This is a little bit of an odd pick, Denver's moving to a power blocking scheme on the OL and Beadles looks a little more like the sort of guy they'd grab for zone blocking. I'm also not sure what position he'll play. To me they could've used a Center more but Beadles is an OT who's often taked about as moving to Guard. |
| 46. | New York Giants | Linval Joseph | DT | East Carolina |
| Ben: Giants really beefing up their Defensive Line. And it needed doing. Joseph is a huge guy and will help make it tougher to run in 2010. It might signal that Barry Cofield might be in his last year in New York as he heads to 2011 Free Agency. Joseph should be in the rotation this year replacing Fred Robbins. |
| 47. | Arizona Cardinals (From Titans thru Patriots) | Daryl Washington | OLB | Texas Christian |
| Ben: Love this pick for the Cardinals. Having lost Karlos Dansby they needed this in a bad way. Cardinals Defense gets much better with these 2 picks so far. |
| 48. | Carolina Panthers | Jimmy Clausen | QB | Notre Dame |
| Ben: The Panthers didn't have a first round pick but this is a great situation for Clausen to land in. Steve Smith's going to remind him of playing with Golden Tate and they have a terriffic running game. Panthers ironically gave up their first rounder this year for a second rounder last year. Clausen is a first round talent. Great pick. |
| 49. | San Francisco 49ers | Taylor Mays | S | USC |
| Ben: I expected Mays to go higher based purely on his measureables so this is pretty good value for the 49ers who really needed to improve their secondary. Mays could project to Linebacker but I doubt he does that in San Francisco. With Dashon Goldson at Free Safety and Michael Lewis the 49ers have the luxury of not having to throw Mays in right away. He needs some development work. Good pick but don't expect Ronnie Lott II. At least not right away. |
| 50. | Kansas City Chiefs (From Falcons) | Javier Arenas | CB | Alabama |
| Ben: Well the Chiefs are going to have a pretty awesome Return game this year... Not sure how well he will do in the secondary, he's not very big, but he is instinctive and the Chiefs could have themselves a good nickel CB here. |
| 51. | Minnesota Vikings (From Texans) | Toby Gerhart | RB | Stanford |
| Ben: Well they did lose Chester Taylor but I'm not sure if Gerhart is that guy. Taylor made a lot of catches out of the backfield and I'm not sure Gerhart is ready to do that. As a rusher he's landed in about the best situation in the league. |
| 52. | Pittsburgh Steelers | Jason Worilds | DE | Virginia Tech |
| Ben: I said in my Worst to First for the Steelers, don't be surprised if they draft a 3-4OLB in round 2. Well it wasn't one who I thought would be going this early but they don't need to rush in Worilds and they do lack depth under superstars LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison. Worilds is another guy like Misi and Troup who's been visiting a lot of teams too so again, he's probably a guy teams value more than draftniks. But will he be Zo Jackson III? Bit of a reach really. |
| 53. | New England Patriots | Jermaine Cunningham | DE | Florida |
| Ben: A typical Patriots pick, solid, consistent hard working player, etc. I'm not 100% sure where his position is for the Patriots, probably OLB opposite Banta-Cain? Should be that replacement for Adalius Thomas. |
| 54. | Cincinnati Bengals | Carlos Dunlap | DE | Florida |
Ben: Back to back picks on college team mates and these two illustrate perfectly the Pats and Bengals drafting philosophies. Dunlap is incredibly talented athletically but has those questions Bengals prospects usually do, work ethic, consistency etc. The Bengals are the ultimate Boom or Bust team and Dunlap's the perfect player for them.
|
| 55. | Dallas Cowboys (From Eagles) | Sean Lee | ILB | Penn State |
| Ben: WIll play inside in Dallas defense and figures to be Keith Brooking's eventual replacement. Nice spot to land, the Cowboys will take their time with him and surround him with quality Defenders. |
| 56. | Green Bay Packers | Mike Neal | DT | Purdue |
| Ben: Neal's a Defensive Tackle out of college but he'll be a Defensive End in Green Bay's 3-4. He'll need some time to change positions but Green Bay has quite a few options at DE already. To me they have bigger needs but there is a legal axe hovering over Johnny Jolly. |
| 57. | Baltimore Ravens | Terrence Cody | DT | Alabama |
| Ben: Wow. As a Steelers fan I'm just terrified by this Ravens Defense. Ngata AND Cody? Yeah just forget rushing inside. I think I have GM envy... Terriffic value pick and means they don't have to break the bank to keep Ngata next year. |
| 58. | Houston Texans (From Cardinals thru Patriots) | Ben Tate | RB | Auburn |
| Ben: Auburn turns out quality RBs and Tate figured to be a good pickup. Slaton can't carry the load (or hold onto the ball) but Ben Tate gives them a big guy who can take the pounding up the middle but how quickly he transitions from his college scheme is open to question. |
| 59. | Cleveland Browns (From Cowboys thru Eagles) | Montario Hardesty | RB | Tennessee |
| Ben: Jerome Harrison almost certainly is not a workhorse back so the Browns needed to find a compliment to him and Hardesty looks a good bet to do just that. Obviously this is someone Holmgren really liked but I don't think it's good value for them. They have James Davis returning and they got Peyton Hillis as a makeweight in the Quinn trade. They have bigger needs. |
| 60. | Seattle Seahawks (From Chargers) | Golden Tate | WR | Notre Dame |
| Ben: A really great value pick. Golden Tate could end up the best WR in this draft and Seattle really is killing it in this draft but he's going to need to get a LOT better at route running because he's not going to beat too many NFL corners until after the catch (where he's lethal) |
| 61. | New York Jets | Vladimir Ducasse | OG | UMass |
| Ben: This is a really smart pick. Faneca made the pro bowl again. Undeservedly again. Ducasse should ultimately replace him and it may even be immediately. Should be a Guard off the bat but might move to RT later on. Good solid pick and a perfect guy for the Jets Offense. |
| 62. | New England Patriots (From Vikings thru Texans) | Brandon Spikes | ILB | Florida |
| Ben: What did I say about Patriots picks? Well I'm repeating myself here. Productive, tough, hard worker blah blah, could even start straight away but Spikes will be strictly the 2 down ILB next to Jerod Mayo in New England. Second round may be a bit early for that type of guy but the Pats don't get to be the team of the Noughties by accident. Far too many media types give the Pats a pass for reaches and bad picks because of their on field success but they probably just drafted a guy who'll start for them for years. |
| 63. | Indianapolis Colts | Pat Angerer | ILB | Iowa |
| Ben: Probably a touch early for Angerer but not a big reach. I'm just not entirely sure of the need there. |
| 64. | New Orleans Saints | Charles Brown | OT | USC |
| Ben: Terrific value pick for the Saints. They're pretty well blessed with Offensive Tackles but expect them to try to trade Jammal Brown. Brown is probably someone who needs some work so it's great for him to land somewhere they won't feel they have to rush him in. |
