#1 LB - 2008 (1 Viewer)

[loimkeith]

I am just wondering who is going to be the next rookie to step up and become the 2008 version of DeMeco Ryans (06) and Patrick Willis (07).

1st round:

Jerod Mayo

Keith Rivers

2nd round:

Jordon Dizon

Curtis Lofton

3rd round:

Cliff Avril

Dan Conner

Shawn Crable

Tavares Gooden

Bryan Smith

Philip Wheeler

4th round:

Beau Bell

Stanford Keglar

Bryan Kehl

5th round:

Kroy Biemann

Alvin Bowen

Jonathan Goff

Marcus Howard

Robert James

Thomas Willaims

6th Round:

Geno Hayes

Mike Humpal

Spencer Larson

Joe Mays

Bo Ruud

Andy Studebaker

7th round:

Larry Grant

Joey LaRocque

Hilee Taylor

David Vobora

 

[T Bell]

You might want to clarify your poll question. Are we to assume that only one standout will come out of this draft, e.g. who has the best chance? Or is this a question about which guy provides the best value given the round he was drafted in?

 

[Anthony Borbely]

None of the above.

 

[Jene Bramel]

I think the more pertinent question ought to be, "Is it worth paying the price these guys are commanding in the hopes that you'll be getting a top 20 player this year?"

 

[loimkeith]

I think the more pertinent question ought to be, "Is it worth paying the price these guys are commanding in the hopes that you'll be getting a top 20 player this year?"

Thank you for helping.I just want to know what people are thinking. Who is going to be the man of the rookie class? What round do they think he is going to come from?I think Dizon is going to be the man this year to put up the best numbers but will he be #1 in tackles?

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I think the more pertinent question ought to be, "Is it worth paying the price these guys are commanding in the hopes that you'll be getting a top 20 player this year?"

Thank you for helping.I just want to know what people are thinking. Who is going to be the man of the rookie class? What round do they think he is going to come from?I think Dizon is going to be the man this year to put up the best numbers but will he be #1 in tackles?

I think Dizon will if he starts from week one. That is still to be determined. It's just a matter of when he starts, not if.

 

[Jene Bramel]

I think the more pertinent question ought to be, "Is it worth paying the price these guys are commanding in the hopes that you'll be getting a top 20 player this year?"

Thank you for helping.I just want to know what people are thinking. Who is going to be the man of the rookie class? What round do they think he is going to come from?I think Dizon is going to be the man this year to put up the best numbers but will he be #1 in tackles?

There'll undoubtedly be some good discussion in this thread, but you should put each of the top 6-7 names from your original post into the search engine and see how the discussion has gone since March. There've been many great posts on these guys and their prospects over the past months. Shortly after the draft, I started a similar topic to see if folks were seeing what I felt (and still do) -- that this season's class has some nice players, but no one in the class of Willis, Ryans, Posluszny, Beason, Harris, etc for IDP purposes.Right now, I think you're looking at the following.Tier 1 Curtis Lofton and Jared MayoI'm waiting to see Lofton win an every-down role and prove he has unlimited range before anointing him a top 10 back. I don't see the Ryans comparison some have made. I think he's a 90-95 solo, below-average big/coverage play projection in the long-term, with some variation depending on how bad the Falcons remain. I think Mayo is the stud all-around talent of this group, but can't discount the rotational effect of the Pats defense and below-average number of tackle opportunities entirely. I think Mayo has top 15 potential, but the depth is so great at LB right now that he's much more likely to land in the 20-30 range.Tier 2 Jordon Dizon and Keith RiversI like Dizon's college production and his likelihood of falling into good opportunity. I'm not at all convinced he's got elite NFL ability or the coverage skill required to put up 100 solos and a handful of passes defensed in a Tampa-2 scheme. He might be London Fletcher, but my gut says he's closer to Paris Lenon. Rivers will have good opportunity, but it takes an elite player with good opportunity to rack up LB1 value from an OLB spot. Rivers may end up taking Kirk Morrison's career path and end up in the middle, but I don't see this tier hitting 95 solos with my current read of their overall situations.Tier 3 Tavares Gooden, Beau Bell and Xavier AdibiI had Gooden in tier 2 earlier this summer, but Pasquino's opinion of the Raven LB free agent situation has me questioning how soon his opportunity comes and where. I'll not be shocked if he ends up as the perennial 100 solo tackle player out of this group, but his tier reflects his opportunity. Bell is an interesting player and another that may be better in the long run than either current tier 2 player. But there are rotational concerns in Cleveland and this knee injury is going to seriously cut back his reps this season. Adibi is rocketing up some charts with the news that the Texans are again looking to move Greenwood from the nickel. But he carries the same risk as Rivers (limited by his OLB role) and he's stuck next to a stud MLB on an ever-improving team. Where are his 90 solos coming from?Tier 4 Dan Connor, Jonathan Goff, Phillip Wheeler, etc.All these guys have to land in a good defensive slot and prove they have NFL caliber talent. One or more probably will, but none are so clearly above the others that they belong in Tier 3 right now to me.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

How about a second year player who missed most of his rookie year - Paul Posluszny? He's going to be behind Stroud and Kyle Williams with mediocre players around him - a seemingly sure recipe for huge tackle numbers.

 

[massraider]

How about a second year player who missed most of his rookie year - Paul Posluszny? He's going to be behind Stroud and Kyle Williams with mediocre players around him - a seemingly sure recipe for huge tackle numbers.

That's my pick.

 

[loimkeith]

Phillip Wheeler just went under the knife, they say he could be back for the August 16th game. But I am sure he will not be up to speed and that will probably keep him on special teams and a situational linebacker.

We have a guy in our league who is a rookie hog. He has made some good choices on offense but this year he decided to go after thee defensive rookies. He snagged Keith Rivers & Curtis Lofton I am sure in attempt to try and do what I have the last two years.

2006: Week 1 - I picked up DeMeco Ryans

2007: Preseason - I picked up Patrick Willis

2008: Just trying to find that next LB to wear the cape on Sundays!

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.

Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

 

[UnderRated]

Out of the big 4 rookie LBs, who do u think will be the best in dynasty?

 

[buck56]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

 

[Biabreakable]

None of the rookies are going to be #1 in tackles in 2008.

I think the #1 IDP in 2008 is going to be Brian Urlacher.

 

[bcr8f]

None of the rookies are going to be #1 in tackles in 2008.

I agree with this but believe it will be Willis.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

Fwiw, when they drafted him I thought it was a reach. As LBs go, I saw him at the RB equivalent of the college scatback not quite cut out for the power of the NFL. Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc. Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

 

[T Bell]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

Fwiw, when they drafted him I thought it was a reach. As LBs go, I saw him at the RB equivalent of the college scatback not quite cut out for the power of the NFL. Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc. Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

I wouldn't necessarily be shocked if a rookie's not starting game 1 at MLB, given how central (literally) that position is to the defense and it's operation. I'd get worried bout Lenon holding him off if it's week 8 and there's no sign of Dizon taking over.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.

Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

Fwiw, when they drafted him I thought it was a reach. As LBs go, I saw him at the RB equivalent of the college scatback not quite cut out for the power of the NFL. Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc.

Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

I did?I remember thinking he was a better option than Dan Connor (who I know we went back and forth on quite a bit) in that scheme, but not necessarily that he was anything more than a better Paris Lenon. I don't think there's a huge amount of upside with him either. I've got him at LB3, but there's an ever-widening gap between LB2 and LB3 in this class for me and this weekend's DET-CIN preseason game will decide whether he stays at LB3. I have yet to see Dizon, but Rivers looks like the player most thought he was. Still not necessarily 90 solo material, but I've never been convinced that Dizon was either.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

Fwiw, when they drafted him I thought it was a reach. As LBs go, I saw him at the RB equivalent of the college scatback not quite cut out for the power of the NFL. Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc. Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

I wouldn't necessarily be shocked if a rookie's not starting game 1 at MLB, given how central (literally) that position is to the defense and it's operation. I'd get worried bout Lenon holding him off if it's week 8 and there's no sign of Dizon taking over.

Eh, maybe. MLB is a lot like RB if there's a vet around to make the play calls. Plenty of rookies step in and put up big numbers, and this thread is about finding this year's version. There was a point where many thought it was Dizon. If he isn't starting day one then it likely isn't him. It looks to me like Bloom may have had this right all along with Lofton. Mayo and Rivers should probably be looked at ahead of Dizon at this point. I think. I have no confidence projecting this group.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

I'm just more opinionated than the rest of you. I have no reasoning behind that statement. Other than gut feeling.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc.

Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

I did?

That's how I remember it. It was before you chewed my head off about Connor.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Curtis Lofton. Given how terrible the Falcon's d-line is, he's going to get opportunities galore.Jordan Dizon is going to be a bust.

That's a pretty bold prediction on Dizon, you must know more than the rest of us? Would love to here your reasoning behind that statement.

I'm just more opinionated than the rest of you. I have no reasoning behind that statement. Other than gut feeling.

Could it be the natural repugnance you have for Lions?

 

[Jene Bramel]

Jene scolded me in the draft thread, iirc.

Now I'm on the fence. A little more research made me appreciate the production more, but now I read somewhere Lenon is holding him off at MLB.

I did?

That's how I remember it. It was before you chewed my head off about Connor.

That's what I like about you and DonFue (and my four year old). You all regularly call me an idiot in some form or fashion. And Norton. Although he usually just lets me discover I'm an idiot on my own.

 

[LBH]

ive been reading some good things about how well Mayo is transitioning from college to the pros so far through training camp. Does anybody think he can have a D.Harris type impact as far as tackles? I know the NE front 3 is a lot tougher than the Jets last year, but wont that free up Mayo to make more plays?