Official "Ask Jeff Risdon a question" thread

[Icness]

Guesses on where Sergio kindle, Jerry Hughes goes? A lot of mocks have Packers taking Hughes, Anthony Davis or Charles Brown.

Could you see the Packers taking Dez if he's there at 23?

I put Hughes in the teens and I'll stick with that. He's getting a lot of "Brian Orakpo 2.0" type love.
I put Taylor Mays to GB, bypassing Brown, but that was more me speculating on a trade down. I know TT likes both Brown and Mays, but there a lot more people than I thought who are real down on Brown. That generally means the Pack could trade back a few spots and still get him. IDK if Mays would still be around if they dropped, which is why I put him to GB at #23.

Kindle should (should!) be long gone, but IMO if he's there he's the pick over Brown or Mays. Not Hughes though.

[Icness]

I know all the talks of Bradford to the Rams. But if it is so certain why have they not started negotiating salaries?
Well we shall know in a few hours!

I think that is a function of the CBA uncertainty.

I'll have a post-draft piece on how there are likely to be a whole lot of holdouts up next week, already outlined. The agents know this is their last piece-of-cake rookie millions commissions and they'll scrap for every last crumb harder than usual.

[Icness]

Draft contingencies:
Consider this an addendum to my mock and the 25 fearless prediction pieces...

--Cleveland will take, in order: Eric Berry, Derrick Morgan, Earl Thomas, Kyle Wilson.
--Miami will take, in order: Eric Berry, C.J. Spiller, Rolando McClain, Dan Williams.
--If ATL stays at 19 (and I doubt they do), Pouncey is their preference. If he’s gone, Iupati is in play, but people I trust tell me to look WR or one of the DE/LB hybrids to bring more versatility to the defense, i.e. JPP or Kindle or Hughes. They LOVE Derrick Morgan but I don’t see them trading up to get him.
--Seattle really wants to get rid of #14 and fall back. Don’t rule out Toby Gerhart with their 2nd round pick, and they are apparently not scared of Mike Williams (the ill-tempered quitter from Syracuse, not the fat lazy bastard from USC) in the 2nd either.
--Washington is allegedly considering Berry at #4 but IMO they’re fishing for a deal. Last week someone in their front office told me they rate Thomas higher than Berry...but it wasn’t Shanahan and this person has “used” me before.
--Golden Tate will not fall beyond KC’s 2nd round pick.
--Linval Joseph could crash the top 40.
--Sean Weatherspoon really needs to STFU. If he wasn’t such a mouthy, annoying human he probably would be a top 12 pick. This is a late thought on my part but he strikes me as a Bill Parcells kind of guy. Parcells loves the cocky alpha male talkers going back to LT and Keyshawn, and Spoon can take the verbal sparring. I’m not saying he’ll go at #12, but if they trade back a few...
--Dallas has been too quiet for too long. Methinks they just might make a splash tonight. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it might be though. Maybe moving Marion Barber and going up to New England’s pick and taking Iupati? Heard that one running mocks at team HQ but those are just guys throwing spaghetti at walls.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Ic, thanks again for your thorough and informative insights into the draft process, as always.

Nothing more to add except if Cincy takes Jermaine Gresham at 21 I will give them an F.

[vincecarter4pres]

I would love the Eagles to take a shot on McFadden.
I'm honestly not sure why, I mean he has been an injured, underperforming, unmotivated bust, but I guess it's just the allure of his potential and the fact he was such a high pick so recently.

[Icness]

Ic, thanks again for your thorough and informative insights into the draft process, as always.

Nothing more to add except if Cincy takes Jermaine Gresham at 21 I will give them an F.

Gresham has hit the point with me where I've ripped the poor guy so much for being slow and a crappy blocker that he's bound to become a Pro Bowler just out of cosmic karmic spite to me.

I really don't see Cincy taking Gresham. They'll consider him but he's not the lock he is apparently being made out to be. They could make a very surprising pick tonight, a guy most mocks have in the middle of the 2nd if they even go that deep.

[Icness]

Late last-second thoughts:

I believe the talk of Bulaga falling, but not below SF at #13.

I'll still believe it when I see it, but Ryan Mathews and perhaps even Best could pass Spiller if a run on RBs comes early. Just another of about 180 scenarios.

Charles Brown is getting a lot of love from a team in the late teens. Not saying, just sayin'...

Still not buying the (deservedly) well-respected mocks that have Clausen falling to #30. I know too many talent evaluators that prefer him to Bradford, let alone Tebow.

Chicago is poised to make a big jump to get Linval Joseph tomorrow night

Taylor Mays will probably not want to watch the draft tonight...or the first hour tomorrow either. He's going to be sitting a long time and pundits everywhere are going to be ripping him, and I will guarantee you he would have been a top 7 pick last year if he had declared.

[Devilzsidewalk]

lots of good material in there, thanks for that. I don't even care if none of it comes true, you burned some serious calories today, big props 2 u

[el loco]

Since Pouncey fell to the Steelers at 18. I wonder if they still have Rodger Saffold targeted as one of their second round picks? Another question, would the Steelers have taken Iupati instead of Pouncey if he was still on the board? He was taken 17th.

Just a comment: I like what the Jets did, they took another potential lockdown CB to put on the opposite side of Revis. That could/should be a tough team to throw against once KWil adjusts to the NFL game.

[Icness]

Since Pouncey fell to the Steelers at 18. I wonder if they still have Rodger Saffold targeted as one of their second round picks? Another question, would the Steelers have taken Iupati instead of Pouncey if he was still on the board? He was taken 17th.

Just a comment: I like what the Jets did, they took another potential lockdown CB to put on the opposite side of Revis. That could/should be a tough team to throw against once KWil adjusts to the NFL game.

They would have taken Kyle Wilson if Pouncey was gone. You can put that in the bank. Note I nailed PIT's 2nd rounder as well...

[magicfan4life05]

Hey Icness, thoughts on Taylor Price from Ohio ?

also who do project to be the better WR: Price or Easley from UCONN ?

thanks !

[FakeScreenName123]

Here's a real question for you, Mr. Risdon,


Whats the scouting report on Zoltan Mesko the punter the pats drafted at 150? Reach!???

His name is Zoltan and he's a lefty i beleive. That's may be good enough for me. he cant be worse then the punters in NE the past 5 years.

[sunshinekids99]

Everything I've read about him says he's great at punting the ball inside the 20.

[NoSkyy]

Everything I've read about him says he's great at punting the ball inside the 20.

[insert joke about how the Pats need that after failing to go for it on fourth down against the Colts.]

[blueNorange]

iceness, it appears the giants are most likely gonna convert wilkinson to the MLB to compete with goff and lillard. do you think he can win the job and be successful in it??

me personally am a sucker for wilkinson because he has good speed and as the MLB he can be good in coverage but don't think he's strong enough to handle it.

[Goon_Slapper]

Icness, will you grade the draft at some point? I'd like to hear your winners/losers of the draft.

I'm hoping Ed Wang does well in Buffalo (I've got a rooting interest in Asians, since I'm a hafu). Mainly so I can buy a Wang jersey.

[Icness]

Hey Icness, thoughts on Taylor Price from Ohio ?

also who do project to be the better WR: Price or Easley from UCONN ?

thanks !

Price reminds me of Donte Stallworth. Not quite as fast or dynamic but that's his style. Easley is more of a project but probably has higher upside because his feet are quicker and he's got more wiggle to his hips.

One thing to consider about Price--he was saddled with a scatter-armed QB in college, but also a QB that loves to scramble and extend plays and Price shined in those situations.

[Icness]

Here's a real question for you, Mr. Risdon,


Whats the scouting report on Zoltan Mesko the punter the pats drafted at 150? Reach!???

His name is Zoltan and he's a lefty i beleive. That's may be good enough for me. he cant be worse then the punters in NE the past 5 years.

Rugby-style kicker in college, that will have to change because that formation is illegal in the NFL. I found him inconsistent in college, and he was downright pathetic during Senior Bowl practices. They were trying to run a return drill and Mesko could not kick the ball to the return man more than 2 out of 10 tries. It was windy but still...

[Icness]

iceness, it appears the giants are most likely gonna convert wilkinson to the MLB to compete with goff and lillard. do you think he can win the job and be successful in it??

me personally am a sucker for wilkinson because he has good speed and as the MLB he can be good in coverage but don't think he's strong enough to handle it.

I don't know if Wilkinson is even on the team anymore and he kind of blew his opportunity. Dillard will probably play middle, at least on run downs. He's bigger than anyone else they've got. Their LBs are still a quandary--they're small and they're not real fast. Goff isn't bad, Dillard shouldn't be bad, Kehl is okay. I think Clint Sintim will help but it's not an inspiring group.

[Icness]

Icness, will you grade the draft at some point? I'd like to hear your winners/losers of the draft.

I'm hoping Ed Wang does well in Buffalo (I've got a rooting interest in Asians, since I'm a hafu). Mainly so I can buy a Wang jersey.

Give Wang a little time and he should be a functional starter.

I wrote something up today that should be on the main page later. I'm not big on grading before anyone plays but there are some teams I think did better than others. I'll elaborate more later