Hello NFL fans. I had the great chance to interview Patrick Woo. A draft analyst that works with Penn State Football. Turned out to be a great interview. Patrick is extremely nice and always ready to talk about the NFL Draft. Read the interview and give your own opinion in a comment under the article.
Brandon Sweeney: Patrick, thank you for joining Pro Football Hotline.
Patrick Woo: Excited to be here, thanks for having me.
Brandon Sweeney: Okay, let's get started. Who is higher on your Quarterback list? Brandon Weeden or Brock Osweiler?
Patrick Woo: Definitely Brandon Weeden. Osweiler has the bigger upside and the bigger arm but Weeden has shown he is better in the mental part of the game and he's been a winner. Age has to be a considerable factor when drafting Weeden, but I believe he can be a quality NFL quarterback almost immediately whereas Osweiler needs a few years. You're not going to get ten years out of Weeden, but if you need a quarterback now, I'm not sure you can wait for Osweiler to develop. I think you have to take into account the times that Osweiler looked like his confidence was shot and he didn't win many big games in college. Weeden would be higher on my board, but depending on the timetable, Osweiler could be the choice for many teams.
Brandon Sweeney: Trent Richardson is a sure lock for the first round this year at running back. As we know, the value of running back has fallen dramatically in the last several years. Will there be more than one running back taken in the first round?
Patrick Woo: I think so. Richardson is a special talent. I've been saying since his true freshman season at Alabama that he's better than Heisman winner Mark Ingram. Ingram was a first round pick. Richardson put up better numbers than Ingram and is a top ten lock. When you look at the rest of the running back class, there's a lot of mid-round talents that can be situational backs in the NFL. Guys like Bernard Pierce from Temple and Chris Polk from Washington are the only two I'm comfortable with becoming an every down back as a mid-round pick. When we speak in terms of the first round, I think two key guys to keep an eye on are Doug Martin out of Boise State and Virginia Tech's David Wilson. I like both of those guys a lot and you look at the Cincinnati Bengals at their second first round pick. Depending on how the Draft shapes up in front of them, they may go running back with the 21st overall pick. If there's no Mark Barron, Stephon Gilmore or Dre Kirkpatrick available, it's between whether they take a risk on Janoris Jenkins or address the offensive line with Cordy Glenn. Drafting a running back will be a real possibility. Lower in the first round, there's some buzz that the Green Bay Packers could be looking for a younger back. I think David Wilson would really fit the Packers mold.
Brandon Sweeney: Whitney Mercilus is considered to be a gamble seeing how before last season he only had two sacks in two seasons. But in the 2011 season he led the nation with 16 sacks and had 9 forced fumbles. Would you call him a gamble?
Patrick Woo: I do call him a gamble. The talent is there. The work ethic is there. He's a high character guy, but he's raw. He would have really benefited from another season at Illinois. To me, he's not a first rounder, but he intrigues a lot of teams so I'm sure someone, maybe the Bears or the Titans, will make the gamble. I'm not sure Mercilus could be an impact pass rusher right away, but in time, he could be a 10-sack a year type player. To me, I look for instant impact guys in the first round if they're available, and I think there are ahead of Mercilus.
Brandon Sweeney: Seeing that you work with Penn State, please tell us your analysis on Devon Still and who do you think will end up with him on draft day?
Patrick Woo: I had a chance to talk with Devon and to put it lightly, he's not going to be happy unless he's the first defensive tackle drafted. That's high hopes for him as it seems teams have put players with bigger upside ahead of Still on their boards. Still is what you call a safe pick. You know what he can and can't do and I don't think there's much more room for him to grow. Where he's drafted is going to be about whether teams in the first round are going to risk drafting guys like Michael Brockers, who needs more development, or draft someone like Still, who will be solid but not spectacular. He showed he can be a gap penetrator and get after the quarterback but also got pushed out of run plays a lot. He will have to get stronger and I think teams like him more as a 3-4 DE rather than an inside tackle. That's why the New England Patriots in the late first round is intriguing, but Still made a visit with the Titans and the Broncos are looking at him, too. I do think it's likely he falls out of the first round though.
Brandon Sweeney: Tell us about some other prospects coming out of Penn State and what they can do at the next level.
Patrick Woo: Two more defensive guys could come out of Penn State - corner back D'Anton Lynn and defensive end Jack Crawford. A team could take a late-round flier on Lynn, who can contribute on special teams but as a corner, struggled at times getting beat on double moves and closing on the play. He ran a 4.77 at the NFL Combine, which wasn't good. Jack Crawford is a guy to watch because he has so much raw ability. He's young, in terms of his time as a football player. He didn't begin playing until high school. He looks the part at 6-5, 270 pounds but he's not very explosive. He's strong and can get stronger and could be a 5th or 6th round pick for an NFL team looking to develop him into a solid strong-side end.
Brandon Sweeney: Will Ryan Tannehill fall out of the top ten? Does he deserve to be drafted in the top ten?
Patrick Woo: Does Ryan Tannehill deserve to be drafted in the top ten? Absolutely not. Tannehill is not a first rounder in my eyes. He was a better receiver than he was a quarterback at Texas A&M. He had a disappointing senior season and I don't see the intangibles. A lot of those second half collapses A&M had this year were on Tannehill. It all starts with your quarterback. I understand his receivers had a lot of drops this season but 15 interceptions don't all fall on your receivers. He had three games with three interceptions. His footwork needs a lot of work and he needs to mentally develop as a quarterback. Being a former-receiver may have helped him in college, knowing the offensive system, but at the next level, with new guys around him, he has to start fresh. I don't like the hype surrounding Tannehill at all, but I get it that the Dolphins and Chiefs among others could look at him in the top half of the first round. Obviously, it's been mentioned enough that Tannehill's former coach at A&M, Mike Sherman, is now the offensive coordinator in Miami, but if a guy like Justin Blackmon is available for the Dolphins, they should take him over Tannehill.
Brandon Sweeney: If you had to guess right now, who would you guess will be the offensive rookie and defensive rookie of the year if they are placed in the right system?
Patrick Woo: For Offensive Rookie of the Year, my immediate thought is Robert Griffin III. I love Andrew Luck, but I think Griffin III will be in a better situation immediately in Washington with a better supporting cast around him and a defense that will make him look better with more wins. If Luck goes to Indianapolis and wins 8-10 games with what he has to work with, he'll take the honors. But when I look at the potential statistics, I think RGIII will have more consistency in the passing game, fits better into Mike Shanahan's system and will have lofty rushing numbers in his rookie season before teams figure out how to contain him. For Defensive Rookie of the Year, you always want to keep an eye on pass rushers, like Von Miller who won it last year and Aldon Smith, who in my eyes should have won it. I'm not sure I see a pass rusher in this year's class that can have a Miller-type impact right away though. A lot of the guys in this year's class are going to be situational players early on, I think. Melvin Ingram is the one to keep an eye on because of his versatility, but I really like Morris Claiborne, I think he's the best football player in this Draft. I like the corner back class. Brandon Boykin is another guy who I think will start at corner and make an impact right away. So my pick would be one of those two guys - Claiborne or Boykin. When you look in the front seven though, I think James-Michael Johnson from Nevada is a really underrated linebacker and will make some noise. Shea McClellin is a guy to watch too if he ends with up the San Diego Chargers.
Brandon Sweeney: What teams need to have the biggest draft in your opinion?
Patrick Woo: The Browns and the Panthers. The Browns need weapons to place around Colt McCoy before they give up on him completely. The AFC North is tough and Cleveland is on the right track with Mike Holmgren playing a part in the NFL Draft. The Panthers have an opportunity to be on the rise and compete for Division titles. Cam Newton made a big impact last year but it's important the Panthers continue to draft winning pieces.
Brandon Sweeney: Last year was one of the best rookie classes in NFL History. Will this year be worse, even, or better than last year's class?
Patrick Woo: I think it'll be worse, I really do. There are very talented players in the first round projections and they all have a lot of upside, but I don't see as many instant impact players as we've seen in the past. I don't think the pass rushers will have Von Miller-Aldon Smith seasons. I don't think Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd will have AJ Green-Julio Jones seasons. There are deep positions in this class like at receiver, but how many of those guys will be on the field for the majority of snaps? Not many. The tight end classes and offensive tackle prospects have huge drop-offs too. It's a top-heavy year and those at the top aren't as good as last year, with the exception of Luck, Griffin III and Richardson.
Brandon Sweeney: Who is the best defensive tackle in your opinion in this class? How high will he get drafted?
Patrick Woo: I really like Michael Brockers from LSU. Huge potential and very well coached in college. I originally thought he'd be a top ten pick but you could see him slide down to the Eagles at 15 or the Titans at 20 and maybe farther.
Brandon Sweeney: Patrick, Thank you again. Come back again on Pro Football Hotline.
Patrick Woo: Thank you for the opportunity.
I hope you enjoyed the interview everyone. It's always great to get new opinion from several different people. Did you like what Patrick had to say? I hope it informed you on a few players to maybe check out a little more. Please go and check out Patrick's website. It is a great site with excellent breakdowns of prospects, mock drafts, audio clips etc. http://psucommedia.com/special-coverage/topic/nfl-draft Also, please go and follow Patrick on Twitter @P_Woo. Have your own draft talk with him. I am sure he will be more than happy to answer any of your questions. Leave a comment in the comment under the article.
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