NFL insider gets inside the draft

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Thursday, Apr 24, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Veteran NFL writer Don Banks of SI.com was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule this week to spend some time previewing the draft with Chargers.com.

Prior to joining the SI.com in March 2000, Banks spent a decade as an award-winning newspaper journalist in Florida and Minnesota. He covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times from 1990-96, and the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune (1996-99) and the St. Paul Pioneer Press (1999-2000).

The Chargers have certainly had their string of successful drafts lately. What are your thoughts on A.J. Smith as a talent evaluator?

“I think A.J. has earned his stripes as a personnel evaluator. Certainly the 2004 draft will be kind of his shining moment for his career, but I think he’s certainly viewed in the upper echelon of talent evaluators in this league at this point. He went from being fairly well embattled to I think correctly realizing that he took gambles that worked and paid off. He pretty shrewdly saw things around the corner that other people didn’t see. I think his reputation is well deserved at this point.”

Prior to this week, it was hard to nail down what was going to happen in the top five picks. With Jake Long signing with Miami, is there a little more clarity now?

“I think it’s starting to come together. I think most people now are coming around to the idea that it’s going to be either Chris Long or Glenn Dorsey number two to the Rams. I happen to think St. Louis is going to go with the defensive end and take Long rather than the defensive tackle, although there’s a real split within the organization on that issue. I think most people now think Chris Long is at two.

“The big question becomes is it Dorsey or Matt Ryan at three to Atlanta? I continue to think the Falcons are going to try to build the line first and then get a quarterback like Chad Henne or Brian Brohm by trading back into the first round or in the second. I’m going Dorsey at three.

“The more I look at it I believe the Raiders are going to take Darren McFadden. They don’t need a running back but they’re apparently determined to get help for JaMarcus Russell, realizing he’s probably not going to be able to carry the offensive burden. That looks like your top four from this angle.

“A couple teams now, Kansas City and Atlanta, can really dominate the top of this draft. Kansas City has six of the first 82 picks and Atlanta has five of the first 68. Those two teams are in great position to pick off a lot of needs – and going 4-12 last year, both of them have a lot of needs – or they could really move within the first round. It’s possible Kansas City could use their picks to get back and take a third first-rounder.

“I still think this will be looked at in the long view of history as a draft where there was very little clarity at the top and kind of low on sex appeal.”

There seems to be the feeling that there are six or seven elite players and after that, there’s not much discrepancy in the next 20 or so guys. Do you agree with that?

“I really do. I think the cornerback position is a good example of that because you can get four different versions of the top four cornerbacks depending on who you talk to between Antonio Rogers-Cromartie, Leodis McKelvin, Mike Jenkins and Aqib Talib. A lot of people like Brandon Flowers from Virginia Tech and he’s somebody I think the Chargers are pretty well aware of, although I do think most people have him fifth among those guys.

“There isn’t a lot of difference once you get past about six or seven. As I’m doing my final mock, I’m finding it tough to find a home for Keith Rivers, the linebacker from USC. I think a lot of people have him in their top 10, but the way my board breaks, he could fall to the Texans at 18 if he gets past the Lions at 15. He’s kind of a good example of the kind of player where there’s not much difference grade-wise between him and an awful lot of guys around him, but he might slip all the way down to around 20 because of team needs.”

The mock draft you published on SI.com last Thursday had the Chargers taking Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart in the first round. Do you still believe that’s how the 27^th pick will pan out?

“I’m not going to stick with that. Jonathan Stewart is a guy that has risen pretty dramatically in the last week to 10 days. I think he’s got a shot of cracking the top 10 and I think he’s certainly in the top 20. I don’t think the Chargers are now going to be in position for him. He’s a guy whose stock was really high out of the Combine right there with Rashard Mendenhall because they’re both huge, big backs with great speed and athleticism. Stewart’s toe injury scared people off for a little while, but as the pendulum swings in these pre-draft weeks, it often comes back around. He’s a guy that has proven that he’s healthy. Without going into it, I’ll say that I’ve got him pushed into my top 10.

“I haven’t gotten down to the Chargers in my final mock, but at the moment I’m starting to look again at Brandon Flowers, the Virginia Tech cornerback as a possibility. I know Dallas at 28 really likes him even after acquiring Pacman Jones. We don’t know for sure if Jones is going to play in ’08, but I think Dallas might jump all over Flowers. He’s a guy I think the Chargers might jump all over at 27. I’m going to have to see how it breaks a little more in the next 10 picks. It’s possible a guy like Gosder Cherilus might be there as well.”

“I’m at 20 with my final mock draft and at the moment I still have Mike Jenkins and Aqib Talib on the board, so I think there’s a real good chance that between those two and Flowers, the Chargers will have a pretty good cornerback prospect available when they’re on the clock at 27.”

Do you think the cornerback position is where the value is late in the first round, as opposed to running back or offensive tackle?

“I think some people really like Cherilus and the idea of getting a tackle that might have starting potential pretty soon probably has better value than even a cornerback. In this situation you’re kind of drafting for a third corner. I would think that tackle would probably have more value.”

We’ve heard a lot about the possibility of a handful of teams hoping to trade back into the end of the first round for a quarterback. Who do you believe are some candidates to trade down?

“I think the Chargers are definitely in that group who might want to move back. I think the Seahawks at 25 have made it known that they’re willing to get out of there. I think even Tennessee at 24 might be tempted. Dallas, with the 28^th pick, their second pick in the first round, is more likely. I’ve listed San Diego as one of those teams. Given the talent level on their roster, I think it makes more sense for the Chargers than a lot of teams.”

You mentioned Stewart as a guy that’s rising. Is there anyone else who has gotten hot right now?

“A guy that I have in the top 10, and it’s not terribly widespread, is Jerod Mayo, the inside linebacker from Tennessee. I have him going to New England at 10 because I have the Saints coming up from 10 to 7 on my board to get Sedrick Ellis. Everybody knows the Patriots wouldn’t mind getting out of the seventh spot if certain players are gone. I’ve been told they like Mayo more than Rivers, which is one reason Rivers has fallen a bit on my board.

“My thinking is New England believes Mayo is really experienced at the inside linebacker position. He’s played in the middle and they think he’ll make a good inside linebacker. That will allow them to move Adalius Thomas back outside where his playmaking ability seems to be higher.”

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