Saturday, April 11, 2009
AQ SHIPLEY - I expect AQ Shipley to have a solid NFL career. He is a hard worker and a leader, and can be a solid NFL center for the next 12 years. He is inhibited by a lack of height and short arms, which will scare of some teams. However, I expect Shipley to be taken somewhere around the 4th, 5th or 6th rounds.
GERALD CADOGAN – Cadogan has the ideal size for an NFL tackle. I think he may be a little too soft for the NFL, but I thought he would be too soft for the Big Ten, and he proved me wrong. He will be drafted in the late rounds, but I would be surprised to see him become an NFL starter.
LYDELL SARGEANT – Sargeant has gotten more attention for this draft than I had expected. I don’t see him being successful in the NFL. I’ve always thought that Tony Davis was a much better corner. Sargeant is not physical enough to play corner in the NFL. Beyond that, he is not even close to being good enough in coverage to make up for his lack of physicality by being a cover-corner. If Sargeant gets drafted, it will be a late round pick.
MAURICE EVANS – I have no clue what to project for Evans. His sophomore season he looked like a guaranteed top 15 pick. Somehow he managed to play so poorly his senior year, that he has fallen out of the first three rounds altogether. He may not be taken until the fifth or sixth round. I can’t recall seeing anyone’s stock plummet as much as his, and deservedly so. Not only did his play on the field fall off, but his actions off the field hurt his draft stock even more. He was suspended for having marijuana in his apartment prior to the Illinois game, and never won his starting job back after that point.
However, as disappointing as Evans was this past season, he was equally as dominant the year before. Just look at his numbers from his first two years, keeping in mind he did not play much as a freshman:
2006-'07: Evans starts 12 of the 25 games he appears in recording 66 tackles including 25 tackles-for-loss and 14 sacks. He force five fumbles and recovers a fumble.
If he can somehow regain that form, he could be a steal. His decision to come out after such a terrible junior year was quite perplexing. My guess he just didn’t like being at Penn State and wanted to move on. He could have made himself millions of dollars by sticking around one more year and playing like he did as a sophomore though. I am very intrigued to see how he pans out. Lots of potential, but also a lot of risks involved with this pick.
RICH OHRNBERGER – A great career at Penn State, he apparently does not project well to the NFL. He was an All-Big Ten guard in his last two seasons at Penn State, and will be sorely missed next year. He was well liked by the teammates. I’m hoping he can make an NFL roster and help an NFL team out on the scout team. It seems he lacks the size and speed required to play guard in the NFL though.
