{"id":1606,"date":"2010-04-23T08:49:53","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T13:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gridironstuds.com\/blog\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2010-04-23T08:49:53","modified_gmt":"2010-04-23T13:49:53","slug":"ten-bold-predictions-about-the-1st-round-of-2010-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/ten-bold-predictions-about-the-1st-round-of-2010-nfl-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Bold Predictions About the 1st Round of 2010 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"10.\u00a0\u00a0 Jermaine Gresham Will a Major Impact for the Bengals<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one ever gets excited about fullbacks or tight ends but few do more work behind the scenes than those two positions.\u00a0 Want to have an explosive passing attack, get a tight end that can dominate in the middle of the field.\u00a0 Having one changes a lot of what the secondary has to do.\u00a0 It can dictate what coverages are called in certain situations and can really open up things for wide outs.\u00a0 Suddenly,\u00a0 the safeties are coming off the hash a little later because the tight end is not the guy they want to deal with the ball in their hands.\u00a0 Gresham is dominant and has a great opportunity to fill that role for Carson Palmer and the Bengals.\u00a0 The Bengals got 410 receiving yards from the tight end spot in 2009.\u00a0 Watch that number double this year. At this point in his career,\u00a0 this is just what Chad Johnson needed to keep his gums flapping and balls coming his way.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 Mike Iupati May End Up Being the Most Underrated Pick in the First Round<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guards are also another position that people pay very little attention to.\u00a0 Everyone knows that Mike Singletary wants to punch the defense in the mouth with a strong running game.\u00a0 That’s not possible without good guard play and the 49ers filled a big need.\u00a0\u00a0 Idaho’s Mike Iupati was part of a Vandals offensive line that blocked it’s way to 2,137 yards of rushing at an average of 4.7 yards in 2009.\u00a0 In a 49ers uniform,\u00a0 Iupati will be blocking for backs like Frank Gore and Glen Coffee.\u00a0 San Francisco was 4-1 last season when they had a 100 yard rusher but they only had a 100 yard rusher in five of their 16 games.\u00a0 With Alex Smith coming around and Michael Crabtree getting a NFL training camp under his belt,\u00a0 finding running room behind Mike Iupati could be the thing the 49ers need to get back into NFL consciousness.<\/p>\n

8. Buffalo’s Resurgence Can Begin with the Addition of C.J. Spiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has been a while since the Bills have had a player this multi-faceted and explosive.\u00a0 Sure they have had running backs like Travis Henry,\u00a0 Willis McGahee and Marshawn Lynch but not since Thurman Thomas have they had this type player that can line up in the backfield and do many other things.\u00a0 Spiller can improve Buffalo’s special teams\u00a0 right now.\u00a0 He can also improve the running game and he can also come out of the back field and turn simple third down conversions into huge real estate gains.\u00a0\u00a0 With one player,\u00a0 the Bills have improved their offense, special teams and as a result their defense because of the field position Spiller can turn around.\u00a0 Spiller contributed 1, 212 yards rushing for Clemson last year.\u00a0 He also added 503 yards receiving and 969 yards in returns.\u00a0 Think about it.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 The Seattle Seahawks Had the Best Draft in the 1st Round<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1st round of the NFL draft is one part getting impact players and one part filling needs.\u00a0 Seattle accomplished both with their pair of 1st round selections.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seattle was near the top last year in having their quarterbacks hit the deck with 41.\u00a0 That’s close to three sacks per game.\u00a0 With that in mind,\u00a0 the Seahawks pick up Oklahoma St. left tackle Russell Okung.\u00a0 Okung will aid the Seahawks in reversing the ugly sack number by providing better protection but also allowing the Seahawks to run the ball better and not allow teams to pin their ears back and crush Hawks QBs.\u00a0\u00a0 At number 14,\u00a0 Seattle addressed another ugly stat for them in 2009 and that’s pass defense.\u00a0 Seattle was 30th against the pass and only eight teams had less interceptions than Seattle’s 13 last year.\u00a0 Only five of those 13 picks came from the safety position and three of those belong to departed secondary member Deon Grant.\u00a0 The drafting of ball hawking safety Earl Thomas of Texas means Seattle can get better in that area right now.\u00a0 Seattle picked up impact players in two areas of great need.\u00a0 That’s executing a plan.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Jahvid Best Will Be the Missing Piece to Take the Lions Offense to the Top of the NFL Rankings<\/strong><\/p>\n

I could make the argument that Detroit had a better draft than the Seahawk team that I just said had the best 1st round.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 Detroit has more holes to fill than Seattle.\u00a0 They filled one of them in a big way with Jahvid Best.\u00a0 Over the last three years,\u00a0 the Lions have added an impact wide receiver,\u00a0 quarterback and now running back through the draft.\u00a0 This means Detroit is not only talented at these three key positions but young.\u00a0 The Cowboys had the triplets in the early 90’s and Detroit is on their way to constructing something like that.\u00a0 If they are wise enough to add quality talent in the supporting cast areas (OL, FB, TE) then Detroit can end their run at being the laughing stock of the NFL.\u00a0 Best gives Detroit an explosive player at the running back position that they have not had since you know who.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Demaryius Thomas Will Prove the Critics Wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n

Too much is being made out of the fact that Thomas,\u00a0 drafted by the Broncos at #22,\u00a0 came from a triple option attack at Georgia Tech.\u00a0 He’s not playing quarterback,\u00a0 he’s a wide receiver.\u00a0 When they tried to cover him in college they couldn’t.\u00a0 When they threw him the ball he caught it.\u00a0 When they try to tackle him,\u00a0 he broke it and when they tried to catch him,\u00a0 they couldn’t.\u00a0 Let’s not complicate their the receiver position now.\u00a0 They will teach him the route tree,\u00a0 send him deep and make teams get their safeties back.\u00a0 He’s a physical specimen that would have dominated at Florida or Oklahoma had he gone there.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Picking Another Cornerback Will Prove Genius for the Jets<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone looking forward to throwing against the Jets this season?\u00a0 How bad will the offensive coordinator feel if he fails to gain a yard on the Jets on first down?\u00a0 Rex Ryans knows that to cook up his recipe of blitzes,\u00a0 he can’t have a receiver beating coverage off the line of scrimmage and streak down the field alone.\u00a0 With the bevy of thieves he has accumulated through free agency and the draft,\u00a0 he can be an even madder scientist when it comes to blitz schemes.\u00a0\u00a0 Picking Boise St.’s cornerback Kyle Wilson at #29 means that your three wide receiver set on offense has what amounts to a house arrest braclet on their ankle.\u00a0 The NFL has turned into a pass happy league and this is Rex Ryan’s roach spray for this pesky problem.\u00a0 Look for turnovers and a short field to make the offense look like big time overacheivers.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Ndamukong Suh Will Spark the Rise of the Detroit Lions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boy it really looks like I am getting excited by these Lions but it’s for good reason.\u00a0 They have the bodies in place.\u00a0 The only thing standing between them and the playoffs now is their ingrained mentality of losing.\u00a0 Overcoming that allows a guy like Ndamkong Suh to turn around the defense\u00a0 and defensive wins championships.\u00a0 Suh can control a game as he showed in the Big-XII Championship last season.\u00a0 There will be a learning curve as a rookie but his talent will shine through.\u00a0 Suh gives the Lions a force against the run as well as a person who can pressure the passer from the inside.\u00a0 Detroit was 25th in the NFL last year versus the run.\u00a0 I bet you they finish better in the category this year and Suh will be a big reason why.\u00a0 Improving in that area will translate into more wins and with their offense putting the chess pieces in place,\u00a0 Detroit will move out of the category of “what a joke”.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Ryan Matthews Will Make San Diego Fans Forget LaDanian Tomlinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well Tomlinson’s contributions won’t ever be forgotten but Matthews will keep San Diego fans from sitting in the stands this year with their hands propped under their chins saying “I wish LT was here.”\u00a0 I have been touting this Matthews kid for quite some time now and while picking him 12th doesn’t quite allow me to call him underrated,\u00a0 it’s clear that the Chargers saw in him what I saw.\u00a0 You don’t see Fresno St. Bulldogs going this high in the draft on a regular basis and not from the running back position.\u00a0 The last time I saw a player like this that not too many were talking about was Vincent Jackson who also wears a Chargers uniform.\u00a0 Matthews will do for San Diego what Jackson has done.\u00a0 He will be a force to reckon with and will allow the Chargers to conduct business as usual on offense.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Tim Tebow Will Enjoy More Success in the NFL than Sam Bradford<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not sold on Sam Bradford as a franchise quarterback.\u00a0 Worse than that,\u00a0 Bradford is going to purgatory.\u00a0\u00a0 St. Louis is a mess and they don’t have the necessary amount of paper towels to clean it up.\u00a0 Bradford needs a lot more around him to get the job done there and it can be a while before he gets it.\u00a0 Bradford was the first pick of the draft,\u00a0 you don’t get long these days to get it together when you get picked this high and make this kind of money.\u00a0 The Rams have not had a history of opening their wallets wide and by the time Bradford gets what he needs,\u00a0 his ego and confidence can be as injured as his shoulder was against BYU this year.\u00a0 Tim Tebow on the other hand gets to ease his way into Denver’s system and work on his imperfections without such a hot lamp on him.\u00a0 I believe the Broncos drafted Tebow at this spot to use him in a certain way that the public does not have insight on.\u00a0 As Tebow said,\u00a0 he was asked to execute a certain kind of offense at Florida and he executed it better than anyone else ever has.\u00a0 Denver will ask him to do some other things and Tebow has the intelligence, athleticism, determination and faith to execute.\u00a0 No one will show a young quarterback video of Bernie Kosar, Phillip Rivers or Jake Delhomme if they are trying to show them how to throw a ball but all three QBs have enjoyed some serious success in the NFL.\u00a0\u00a0 Who throws a ball prettier than Carson Palmer,\u00a0 David Carr or Kyle Boeller? \u00a0\u00a0 Enough said.\u00a0\u00a0 Too much is made about a quaterback’s delivery.\u00a0 It’s the most over analyzed and scrutinized aspect in the game.\u00a0 The most poignant thing said last night was by Steve Young for ESPN.\u00a0 “Will Tim Tebow’s brain be connected to his arm.\u00a0 Will he be able to anticipate the moves of the defense and put the ball in the spots that it needs to go. ”\u00a0 That’s all anyone needs to concern themselves with and I say that Tebow will be able to accomplish that on a greater scale than Sam Bradford.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10.\u00a0\u00a0 Jermaine Gresham Will a Major Impact for the Bengals No one ever gets excited about fullbacks or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}