With less than a month left until the NFL draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper is surely locked in. Kiper had another chat wrap yesterday afternoon, and for the third straight week, I pulled some questions and answers I believe will be informative for San Diego Chargers fans to read. In bold, I will type my thoughts underneath Kiper's answers.
Odell (Atlanta)
Mel who do you have going as next best OT after Martin and Adams
Mel Kiper
After those two guys, the guy I have right in there is Bobby Massie from Ole Miss, a RT or OG in the NFL.
Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobby Massie is a player I'm real high on. My hope is he'll be there for the Chargers at pick #49 in the second round, but as of right now it looks highly unlikely that will occur. Although Kiper said Massie could play guard in the NFL, I think the big man from Ole Miss would be the ideal replacement for Chargers right tackle Jeromey Clary, whom I've said repeatedly is one of the worst at his position in the NFL.
Matthew (Columbia, NJ)
Mel: Would it be a reach for the Eagles to grab Devon Still from Penn State at #15?
Mel Kiper
I think it would be. If you're looking at a DT at that point, you're probably looking at Brockers, Cox. That would be more in line. If Dontari Poe is there, he would be a nice pick.
Still is borderline first round pick. He could go late first or early second.
It won't shock me if San Diego general manager A.J. Smith selects a defensive lineman in the first round. With Luis Castillo just released, and Tommie Harris still unsigned, the Chargers are a little thin at the defensive end spot. It's unlikely that Smith will select a player such as Penn State's Devon Still or Mississippi State's Fletcher Cox in the first round, though. If Castillo and Harris don't come back, Smith will probably look to address the defensive end spot in the mid-rounds.
Randy (Boston)
Nick Perry has the size Bellicheck likes in his 3-4 OLB. Do you think he can stand up or is he better playing with his hand in the dirt?
Mel Kiper
I think he would be better as a 4-3 DE. He's not as fluid as you'd like a 3-4 OLB to be, but he can do it. 6-3, 270, tremendous upperbody strength. He can run and he's fast. He's a little stiff, but he has measurables off the chart. He could go between the mid and late first round. He's been a good pass rusher at USC. He's definitely a first rounder. His numbers are too good not to.
I'm a little surprised to see Kiper say USC defensive end Nick Perry wouldn't be a better fit as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme such as the Chargers'. I disagree with Mel's assessment vehemently, as I believe Perry is the best pass-rusher to make the switch from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker. I would love to see A.J. Smith select Perry in the first round.
Dave (Green Bay)
With the 28th overall pick the the 2012 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers will select....?
Mel Kiper
They could go a couple of ways: pass rusher, safety. Nick Perry could be a choice for them. Whitney Mercilous. Harrison Smith at safety.
Perry, Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus, and Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith are all believed to be very high on the Chargers' draft board. It's good to know Mel thinks it's possible Mercilus or Perry could be there at the end of the first round. If that's the case, it's likely that both Mercilus and Perry will be available when the Chargers are up at selection #18. On the other hand, the Chargers seem to be very high on Harrison Smith. If the Packers pick the Notre Dame safety in the first round, San Diego will obviously have no chance of getting him. Then again, let's hope A.J. Smith doesn't like Harrison Smith too much. A.J. has been known to reach, and selecting Harrison Smith at pick #18 would certainly be foolish move in this draft.
Tom (Chicago)
In which round do you see Jonathan Massaquoi going?
Mel Kiper
He's interesting. I like him. The thing with him is he has tremendously long arms. He's 6-2, very athletic. His impact numbers dropped this year. He didn't produce as many big plays on the run or the pass this year. He dropped from 20.5 TFL to 10 this year. 13.5 sacks down to 6. But they dropped him into coverage some. The system may have caused that drop a little bit. As a 3-4 OLB, I think he can get it done. You can probably pick him up in the early Day 3 area.
Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi is a player I'm very high on, so it's good news to see Kiper stating he'll likely fall to the fourth round. Now, my hope is A.J. Smith will draft Nick Perry in Round 1, Bobby Massie in the second, Casey Hayward in the third, and Massaquoi in the fourth. Two pass-rushers in one draft, you ask? You betcha. If Perry and Massaquoi are drafted by the Chargers, my feeling is they'll take away the roster spots that currently belong to Larry English and Travis LaBoy, both of whom don't offer much to the team.
John (Wisconsin)
Is there any James Starks type of players in the draft.. Players that got injured during their senior year whose stock will drop but will be a steal later in the draft?
Mel Kiper
Some guys who could be nice picks late who had injury issues: Ryan Broyles; Travis Lewis; Coryell Judie, CB, Texas A-M, had a hamstring injury all season; Chandler Jones, DE/OLB, Syracuse, the knee injury forced him to miss 5 games and would have been a first round pick if healthy.
Syracuse defensive end/outside linebacker Chandler Jones is a player Chargers fans should keep their eyes on--especially if he falls to the second round. Jones missed five games last season but still finished with 4.5 sacks. It's not a stretch to state he may have recorded double-digit sacks if he had played a full season in 2011.
Greg (DC)
Who's been the hardest guy to evaluate in this draft?
Mel Kiper
Ryan Tannheill. Jared Crick. Crick is a guy that missed a lot of time with injury this year. He could go in the category of the last quesetion with his injury hurting his last year. Alshon Jeffery, because of his weight. It fluctuates. Whitney Mercilous. He's a one-year wonder. He was completely off the radar going into this year and he ended up as one of the nation's leaders in sacks and fumbles.
Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick just may turn out to be the biggest steal in this draft. He missed most of the 2011 season with a torn pectoral muscle, but he was considered a first-round talent before that. Now, however, there are some mock drafts projecting him to go as late as the fifth round. That's odd to me, as a torn pectoral muscle shouldn't be considered a career-threatening injury. If the Chargers could get Crick in one of the mid-rounds, I'll be very happy.
Joe (Sacramento)
From what you can tell, who is the guy that is going to get drafted way too high in the first round (other than a QB)?
Mel Kiper
You could see Mike Adams going too high. Jonathan Martin. Stephen Hill. David Wilson. Orson Charles. Jayron Hosley.
Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams and Stanford offensive tackle Jonathan Martin are interesting names to see in that answer. I like Adams as a right-tackle prospect, but there have been many negative reports written about him, so I don't think A.J. Smith should take him in the first round. Martin falls in the same category. The more I read about him, the less I like. While I would love it if Adams fell to the Chargers in the second round, I'm at the point where I'm not interested in Martin at all.
Zach (Texas)
Do you see another reaching for QBs landslide again? Could Foles Weeden, etc all follow Tannehill (if he goes 8th).
Mel Kiper
There is a lot of mixed opinion on these QBs. I think Weeden goes in the second. Osweiller probably goes in the second. Foles, third round. Cousins, third round. Day 2, I think you see those guys go.
At this point last year most people didn't think Jake Locker or Christian Ponder would be picked in the first round, but they both went in the top 15. Here's hoping something similar occurs next month, as every time a quarterback is picked before selection #18, it gives the Chargers a better chance at grabbing a highly-rated prospect of greater need. After the Indianapolis Colts take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck #1 overall and the Washington Redskins select Baylor's Robert Griffin III at #2, the dream scenario would be for the Cleveland Browns to select Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill #4 and the Miami Dolphins to reach for either Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden or Arizona's Nick Foles eighth overall. Is that likely to happen? Probably not, but who thought the Tennessee Titans were going to take Locker eighth overall and the Minnesota Vikings were going to select Ponder at pick #12 last year? Probably no one.
Alex (OH)
What do you see the Bengals doing with their two picks in the first round?
Mel Kiper
They could look at Dre Kirkpatrick from Alabama. Gilmore. David DeCastro. Cordy Glenn. CB/OG are two areas they could look at.
The Cincinnati Bengals' first pick is the 17th overall selection, one ahead of the Chargers. Here's hoping the Bengals avoid taking Stanford offensive guard David DeCastro, who's probably going to be an elite talent at his position for about 10 years in the NFL. After Kris Dielman's retirement, the Chargers could use a left guard, as it's not exactly comforting to think of veteran Tyronne Green as the replacement. It would be nice if Cincinnati goes with Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick instead of DeCastro at pick #17.
Kiper said his next chat is scheduled for next Thursday, April 4, at 1 ET. I will once again pull out some questions and answers for me to analyze on this blog next week.
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