[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: How about those rookies?
Yeah, point taken.

My previous writing was kind of short. What makes this draft actually look so good? Well, first of all, it's just the day after the draft, it's obviously way too early to judge the se kids. But, our first and second round picks, I think they really count.

First, a punter, in the second round?
Yes. The 2.27 pick. I was willing to use the 2.2 pick on it. Is Doug James that good? I felt that his scouting report (without further interviewing) and combine numbers were very promising. Upon arrival, my staff is claiming this kid is the real deal, potentially the best punter in the league, already to be considered amongst the top five at his position. There really is only one downer: he's no excellent kick holder, he's only very good, we may need to keep a roster spot for that available.

What about that center?
Again, the staff is optimistic. Robbie Zinn didn't jump out as the next coming of Tom Anaya and Butch Pearson, but overall it was clear that he was the best prospect at his position and after extensive interviewing, the staff told me he's underrated. That sealed the deal, he was going to be our target for the 1.27 pick. Well, we moved up from that spot and had that 2.2 pick as a backup plan and Zinn fell just far enough to land in that spot. Upon arrival, the staff upheld it: Zinn in the bottom half of the top 10 centers. I'm not sure he's going to be the next coming of Anaya, but really, hall of famers don't come around every draft.

Enough about those support cast guys. Schulz, the new WR1?
Let's go back to the revelation of the draft class. After plugging all the assessments of all the rookies into a spreadsheet, a foursome of wide receivers jumped out. With one of them looking like the clear cut #1 overall pick, I sent my staff to interview the next three players. Ed Schulz ranked 133th by the league scout grades, but in our rating system he scored a 69 out of 100, second best behind that kid that indeed went #1 overall. The staff returned with positive news: Schulz is very underrated, reason enough to think this kid was by no means the 11th best wide receiver of this class, but truly top three. Then, as we had reached the middle of the first round, it wasn't me who made an offer to trade up, the Moontown Darksiders rang me, having shown interest in our surplus in second round picks and it was the call we were waiting for. We gave up the 2.15 pick and we'll never know what would have happened between picks #16 and #27 overall, but there's no point in second guessing this: we got him!

Some might say: Schulz, that kid resembles Stuckey. Well, if he does, it won't hurt us at all, would it? Stuckey is worthy being called a WR2. Stuckey has the route running skills to not just make the catch, but also draw the double coverage away from a kid like Schulz. And come to think Theodore Bondy will be on the team for another season to mentor Schulz. If the kid doesn't do anything crazy between the first two pre-season games, this kid could be the successor to the quartet of hall of famers and Theo.

Now, if only Moe Sheldon comes to his senses, realizing that he's been blessed with good receivers and cohesion in the past two seasons, maybe we'll allow him to tote it to Schulz. If not: well, Moe, there's always Plan F.


Wait, wait, what about the other rookies?
* QB Lorenzo Emerson can sense the rush, scored the mystery Solecismic Score of 28 (we now know his intelligence is slightly below average for a quarterback), has a strong arm and a good pair of legs.
* RB Benjamin Kapp has the hole recognition and breakaway speed combo we like and lacks elusiveness (which some claim to be positive), but albeit those being his strong points, it looks unlikely he'll break into the rotation, beating Trey Beyer for the third slot on the team looks unlikely. But maybe he's better than he looks now (he scored a 46% in our spreadsheet).
* TE Pat Kipps was the best at his position left on board based on our spreadsheet, scoring a 56%. Let's hope he's actually even better, because right now he's a kid that can't play special teams (d'oh, this is crucial for a TE3 on our team), but he's okay.
* LT Byron Irvin might be an okay pass blocker, some day. Maybe.
* DT Celeb Domis has a lot of potential (says the staff), but he's extremely green right now (also says the staff). Making the team only makes sense if we also re-sign A.J. Ritt to mentor him and which in effect would mean there's no roster spot available, unless we keep 9 defensive linemen, or have that 53rd roster spot available.
* CB Bob Reese was the best CB left and we'll likely need somebody to fill the vacancy of Ted Frias or Jessie McNeil.
* S Gabriel Cromer was on my radar already in the late second round as the 7th best safety in this class, but somehow he dropped all the way to the late seventh round. Do we need a new safety? Not really, but if this kid can bulk up, he'll have the potential to step in at some point, he's similar to Chuck Murray, with much better endurance. Well worth picking there.