Branden Albert

[DGreene28]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

Well, lets pretend for a second that the opinion stated in the report is as true as an opinion can be. The thing that worries me about Albert is he doesn't have lots of raw power like a Chilo Rachel. However the part that gives me hope is the guy reportedly has a mean streak, which makes me believe that Bugel is more then capable of teaching the guy technique when it comes to run blocking.

True he doesn't have the raw power of Chilo. But he is very agile and quick ... he was out in front of Simpson on run pull plays setting up multiple blocks. Some knockdown pancakes vs ACC competition. Not your typical engage and push down cakes but frieght train coming through players bouncing off him ala Sellers vs Kennedy... Then he keeps going looking for the next guy. Rachal is a great prospect too but I think ALbert is a next level type prospect. If we had Albert on one side and THomas on the other thats two really good pulling G's we could add whole new dynamic to our offense. Kendall is a nice G, but he can't stay in front of CP... don't even mention Fabini or Wade. Albert can stay out front of CP better then Thomas and Sellers next season. Did I mention Albert's reception and juke in the open field? It's a thing of beauty. I don't want to give away our hand or anything but if DRC, Albert and Hardy are all on the board when we pick... it will be a tough one.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by DGreene28

True he doesn't have the raw power of Chilo. But he is very agile and quick ... he was out in front of Simpson on run pull plays setting up multiple blocks. Some knockdown pancakes vs ACC competition. Not your typical engage and push down cakes but frieght train coming through players bouncing off him ala Sellers vs Kennedy... Then he keeps going looking for the next guy. Rachal is a great prospect too but I think ALbert is a next level type prospect. If we had Albert on one side and THomas on the other thats two really good pulling G's we could add whole new dynamic to our offense. Kendall is a nice G, but he can't stay in front of CP... don't even mention Fabini or Wade. Albert can stay out front of CP better then Thomas and Sellers next season. Did I mention Albert's reception and juke in the open field? It's a thing of beauty. I don't want to give away our hand or anything but if DRC, Albert and Hardy are all on the board when we pick... it will be a tough one.

i wouldn't worry too much about that, though that'd be ideal. if you include guys like merling, harvey, and thomas, then there's a real good shot that at least 1 or 2 fall to us. I really don't like the 2nd round DEs nearly as much as the 1st round guys though :/. late picks (DE hardie in the 6th, zuttah at OT possibly in the 5th, etc) at least give some hope of a late find.

that said, guards just dont go before ~28 in the draft unless they're really good. i mean, the best guard in the game sat on the draft board till 17, and he was constantly making blocks 20 yards downfield in college. If you're going conservative, OL/S in the first 2 rounds are clearly the safest bets.

[DGreene28]

Originally Posted by That Guy

i wouldn't worry too much about that, though that'd be ideal. if you include guys like merling, harvey, and thomas, then there's a real good shot that at least 1 or 2 fall to us. I really don't like the 2nd round DEs nearly as much as the 1st round guys though :/. late picks (DE hardie in the 6th, zuttah at OT possibly in the 5th, etc) at least give some hope of a late find.

that said, guards just dont go before ~28 in the draft unless they're really good. i mean, the best guard in the game sat on the draft board till 17, and he was constantly making blocks 20 yards downfield in college. If you're going conservative, OL/S in the first 2 rounds are clearly the safest bets.

I like Zuttah too but he is no where near the impact Albert would have. Merling and Harvey are nice they just didn't excite me like Albert or DRC in the first. I was impressed with Ellis from VT and Thompson from Wake at DE , maybe in the 4th round.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by DGreene28

I like Zuttah too but he is no where near the impact Albert would have. Merling and Harvey are nice they just didn't excite me like Albert or DRC in the first. I was impressed with Ellis from VT and Thompson from Wake at DE , maybe in the 4th round.

DGreene, I'd love to watch some Rachal and Scheuning highlights (I like them both for rounds 2-4). I'll email you and see if we can find sometime next week to get together.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by DGreene28

I like Zuttah too but he is no where near the impact Albert would have. Merling and Harvey are nice they just didn't excite me like Albert or DRC in the first. I was impressed with Ellis from VT and Thompson from Wake at DE , maybe in the 4th round.

Ellis was on Kiper's big board early in the offseason, now I don't know what he's projected as, but I'd bet 3rd round at the latest. He had a good combine. I don't know if Ellis is built to play 4-3 end, he might be more appealing as an olb to 3-4 teams.