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First and foremost
1.3 WR Paul Harward 51/80 I was looking for a WR all of last year, and with this pick I found him, just in time too, as WR Feigenbaum retired after 13 years in the league. Harward has all the tools, and will help keep defenses honest playing along side WR Strickland.
1.32 WR Monty Thompson 27/59 He was a player I couldn't pass up at this point in the draft, and I was a little surprised to still see him on the board at this spot. He should be the 3rd best WR on the team, and will help in the passing game.
4.15 G Norman Cassidy 18/62 I needed some youth at the Guard position, and he fits the bill. Since he is only 16% developed, it may take him a year or two before he is ready to play full time, and that should work out well for me, as I've got a couple of good starting Guards and needed a young backup.
4.31 WR Rodney Limbeck 16/58 He was another WR that I think should of already been drafted by this time in the draft, so I couldn't pass him up. If he can manage to end up in the 40ish/40ish range, I'll be happy with the pick. With Strickland/Harward/Thompson above him, he will be hard pressed to see the field much, unless there is an injury or two.
5.14 CB Lonnie Powell 22/60 He has some good bars, but being 53% developed, with 22 for current makes me wonder a little. He could very well be a 40/40 player, and if he can keep his RD, M2M, Zone, PD and Int bars, I'll be happy with that.
5.27 G Leland McKnight 13/47 He looks like a decent pick this late in the draft, and I'm hoping he can be a good backup. I don't expect much more than that out of him.
6.13 T Jonathan Joseph 14/60 He is very much like McKnight above, looks to be a decent pick, and if he can be a good backup I'll be happy with that.
6.15 FB Ryan Summers 24/49 He had 3 blue combine scores, and was still on the board. I felt it would be a very good gamble to take him here. He is very good at 3rd down running, and can run routes very well. If he pans out, he will be the starting FB, and FB Albriksten may find himself out of a job.
I'm very happy getting to revamp my WR corp with the first 2 picks of the draft, and if Limbeck can end up around 40/40, I should have a very good WR group for years to come.
Hopefully getting the WR's I wanted helps out the offense this year. I do think these guys will help keep QB Erickson near the top of the leader board. He lead the league in passing yards the past 2 season, but his completion % dropped 7.5 percentage points from the year before, and I think some of that had to do with the decline of WR Feigenbaum, and some had to do with teams double covering WR Strickland.
With WR Harward coming to the Gaels, I don't think teams are going to be able to double cover Strickland as much. I'm hoping to see an increase in QB Erickson's play, and with RB Kinney in the back field, the Gaels should continue to be an offensive powerhouse.
Defensively the past two years we went from letting up 318.1(ninth best) yards per game to 323.7(13th best) yards per game, so I didn't think I needed to concentrate on the defensive side of the ball during the draft this year, as offensively we went from 434.8 ypg(first in league) down to 376.6 ypg(third in league).
Since the offense really suffered with the double coverage on Strickland, and Feigenbaum losing some skill, you can see the need to improve the offense. With the guys I've drafted, I expect to see a big improvement.
1.3 WR Paul Harward 51/80 I was looking for a WR all of last year, and with this pick I found him, just in time too, as WR Feigenbaum retired after 13 years in the league. Harward has all the tools, and will help keep defenses honest playing along side WR Strickland.
1.32 WR Monty Thompson 27/59 He was a player I couldn't pass up at this point in the draft, and I was a little surprised to still see him on the board at this spot. He should be the 3rd best WR on the team, and will help in the passing game.
4.15 G Norman Cassidy 18/62 I needed some youth at the Guard position, and he fits the bill. Since he is only 16% developed, it may take him a year or two before he is ready to play full time, and that should work out well for me, as I've got a couple of good starting Guards and needed a young backup.
4.31 WR Rodney Limbeck 16/58 He was another WR that I think should of already been drafted by this time in the draft, so I couldn't pass him up. If he can manage to end up in the 40ish/40ish range, I'll be happy with the pick. With Strickland/Harward/Thompson above him, he will be hard pressed to see the field much, unless there is an injury or two.
5.14 CB Lonnie Powell 22/60 He has some good bars, but being 53% developed, with 22 for current makes me wonder a little. He could very well be a 40/40 player, and if he can keep his RD, M2M, Zone, PD and Int bars, I'll be happy with that.
5.27 G Leland McKnight 13/47 He looks like a decent pick this late in the draft, and I'm hoping he can be a good backup. I don't expect much more than that out of him.
6.13 T Jonathan Joseph 14/60 He is very much like McKnight above, looks to be a decent pick, and if he can be a good backup I'll be happy with that.
6.15 FB Ryan Summers 24/49 He had 3 blue combine scores, and was still on the board. I felt it would be a very good gamble to take him here. He is very good at 3rd down running, and can run routes very well. If he pans out, he will be the starting FB, and FB Albriksten may find himself out of a job.
I'm very happy getting to revamp my WR corp with the first 2 picks of the draft, and if Limbeck can end up around 40/40, I should have a very good WR group for years to come.
Hopefully getting the WR's I wanted helps out the offense this year. I do think these guys will help keep QB Erickson near the top of the leader board. He lead the league in passing yards the past 2 season, but his completion % dropped 7.5 percentage points from the year before, and I think some of that had to do with the decline of WR Feigenbaum, and some had to do with teams double covering WR Strickland.
With WR Harward coming to the Gaels, I don't think teams are going to be able to double cover Strickland as much. I'm hoping to see an increase in QB Erickson's play, and with RB Kinney in the back field, the Gaels should continue to be an offensive powerhouse.
Defensively the past two years we went from letting up 318.1(ninth best) yards per game to 323.7(13th best) yards per game, so I didn't think I needed to concentrate on the defensive side of the ball during the draft this year, as offensively we went from 434.8 ypg(first in league) down to 376.6 ypg(third in league).
Since the offense really suffered with the double coverage on Strickland, and Feigenbaum losing some skill, you can see the need to improve the offense. With the guys I've drafted, I expect to see a big improvement.
Maybe I'll stock up on RB's instead.
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