MVN - Most Valuable Network

Grading the New Chiefs: The Jamaal Charles Edition

Today, I’m going to talk about Jamaal Charles. Definitely an interesting pick to evaluate, because there are plenty of fans who think this was a lousy pick.

Players Charles reminds me of: Maurice Jones-Drew, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Maurice Jones-Drew

Charles’ role with the Chiefs: We’re going to change the order of this evaluation simply because we can’t discuss Charles’ upside or downside until we understand what role he is expected to play. The argument is that if the Chiefs already have LJ, why do they need a starting RB? And if the Chiefs already have Kolby Smith, why do they need a backup RB? Here’s how I would best answer that question: don’t think of Jamaal Charles as the #1 or #2 RB; think of him more as a #1a or #2a RB. What I mean by that is that LJ is a workhorse back, whereas Charles is a change-of-pace back. If LJ falls to injury, Kolby Smith will take on the workload, while Charles still serves as a change-of-pace back.

Charles’ upside: Charley Casserly, former GM for the Texans, absolutely raved about the Jamaal Charles pick. Granted, he wasn’t necessarily an outstanding personnel guy at Houston, but this is still a pretty big-league endorsement. In one of his mock drafts, Charles was slated to be picked in the first round. He also had Charles as one of his biggest draft-day sleepers. Here’s the deal: when you have a first-round graded player fall to you in the third, there is no reason for you not to pull the trigger on the pick.

Charles’ upside is that he’s a home run hitter. While it’s possible the Chiefs drafted Charles as insurance for LJ or as a replacement for LJ a few years down the road, the more likely reason the Chiefs drafted Charles is that he’s the change-of-pace back the Chiefs have always wanted. For as fast as Michael Bennett was, I never saw that same kind of shiftiness and elusiveness I saw in Charles. And Charles is probably even faster. If LJ is the RB that will batter and ram defenses and wear them down, then Charles is the RB that comes in with fresh legs and zips through a tired defense. He’ll also likely be the 3rd down back who can stretch short dump-offs into long gains, since LJ has proven to be a marginal blocker at best. In other words, for anyone who believes this is a terrible pick because the Chiefs already have LJ, realize that his upside is to play the roles that LJ cannot and his role is to serve as a complement, not a substitute for LJ. Teams these days are carrying 2-3 RBs to keep their star players fresh and that is exactly what the Chiefs are doing here. Quite possible that Charles and Kolby will extend LJ’s career a few more years.

In other words, his upside is that he becomes the next Maurice Jones-Drew, though in a slightly scaled-down role.

Charles’ Downside:

Charles does not have great size and there are concerns as to his durability. However, realize that he’s not likely to be an every-down back and realize that his commitment to track in college likely kept him out of the weight room. I saw an interesting discussion originally posted by Burnt Orange Nation that suggests:

“Charles has dedicated himself to the football team after running track early in his career at Texas. The added time in the weight room and practice field are showing now, as Charles is much stronger and seems to understand the game more. Charles is becoming more of a work-horse back as the 2007 season wears to a close. His 216-yard fourth quarter against Nebraska shows that he has the ability to carry the load for a top football program.”

He also has a problem holding onto the football and there are concerns about his ability to pick up the blitz, which is not a good thing, given that his role will largely depend on that. However, I would suggest that because he is serving more as a role player for now, he can afford to spend a little extra time learning those kinds of fundamentals. I would also argue that weaker RBs tend to have more difficulty holding onto the ball, so the hope is that as he gets stronger, he’ll be better able to hang on to the football.

Grading the New Chiefs: The Brandon Flowers Addition

I recently reviewed the Chiefs’ pick of Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Albert, both of whom were complete steals for the Chiefs. But while Dorsey and Albert slipped down a few spots, I would contend that Flowers was arguably drafted around ten picks later than he should have gone. Flowers could very well become the steal of the draft for the Chiefs.

Brandon Flowers most reminds me of… Troy Vincent. James Hasty. Tough, physical corners who weren’t necessarily blazers, but harassed the living daylights out of receivers they matched up against.

Flowers’ downside: Let’s start with Flowers’ obvious downside–he’s not particularly fast. In fact, his 4.55 time in the 40 is downright atrocious for a starting cornerback. That has to be a concern at the cornerback position, where Flowers will consistently match up against receivers, most of whom run within the 4.3 - 4.45 range on their 40 time.

Flowers’ upside: Like I said, I think Flowers may turn out to be an enormous steal for the Chiefs. I have always had a major issue with scouts who automatically drop corners or receivers from their board if they don’t run a sub 4.50 on their 40. It’s always been interesting to me that scouts are so quick to discount a good, physical corner who doesn’t run fast, but rave over the speedy corner who plays soft. Regardless of how fast Flowers is, he is a player. He knows how to play the position. While he’s not fast, because he’s so fluid, he can play fast and can close fast. He’s an extremely physical corner, which fits into Gunther Cunningham’s mold for an ideal cornerback. The great news is that the Chiefs need Flowers to play right away and he may arguably be the most NFL-ready of the entire draft class, because he’s so fundamentally sound.

Flowers’ Role on the Chiefs: Flowers isn’t a perfect match for every scheme. He does, however, fit perfectly into the Chiefs’ defense. Corners in a Tampa 2 defense don’t have to necessarily cover a lot of ground. Their main role is to do everything in their power to disrupt the timing of receivers’ routes and to be smart enough to operate within their zone. Flowers is perfect for that role. Furthermore, if speed is a concern for Flowers, it shouldn’t be in this defense. The Chiefs’ linebackers largely cover like cornerbacks. Demorrio Williams and Derrick Johnson have ridiculous speed that should allow Flowers to operate more within his zone, not to mention Jarrad Page, who is arguably quick enough to be a nickel back. Bernard Pollard could serve as somewhat of an obstacle, but that assumes that he isn’t going to lose his job to Dejuan Morgan and that very largely assumes that the extra help provided by the linebackers won’t compensate for Pollard’s lack of speed.

I hate acting like a homer. I hate blindly tooting players’ horns just because they’re Chiefs. But it’s very difficult to find any fault in the Dorsey pick, there’s so much upside potential for the Albert pick, and I believe that the Brandon Flowers pick could turn out to be the Chiefs’ greatest steal in this draft.

Grading the New Chiefs: The Brandon Albert Edition

A couple of weeks ago, Phil suggested that Brandon Albert was a logical choice for the Chiefs to take at #5 (we both thought it was a reach, but that he offered the Chiefs the best value). I still think that Albert would have been a decent choice at #5, but at #17, the Albert pick was highway robbery.

Albert’s upside: What makes Albert such an outstanding pick is that he’s got ridiculous upside with a relatively minimal downside. At best, he’ll turn into a solid starting left tackle and could project to be even more effective than any of the other left tackles in this year’s draft (Long, Clady, Williams, Otah, Cherrilus). He’s an awesome blocker when he’s put into open space and he has outstanding footwork. Arguably, he’s the most talented tackle in the draft. If he doesn’t pan out at left tackle, he’ll be shifted to guard, where most scouts believe he is a surefire starter with pro bowl potential.

Albert’s downside: Playing left tackle is difficult enough as it is, but it’s going to be extremely difficult to do on the NFL level. It’s a bit idealistic to believe that Albert can bypass years of inexperience and play at an effective level from the get-go. It’s one thing to have the athleticism to play a position; it’s quite another to actually have the know-how to play the position.

Albert’s role with the Chiefs: Carl Peterson made the comment that Herm Edwards projects Brandon Albert to be a right tackle. You would think the Chiefs would make such an announcement after evaluating him at OTAs. This comment makes me question if Peterson is trying to lowball Albert by projecting him to start at a lesser-paid position. I personally don’t think Albert should start the season at Right Tackle. I think one of the most dangerous things we can do for the kid is to move him around over and over again like a chess piece. That was a mistake I believe they made with Jordan Black, who arguably could have been an effective guard. Right tackle and left tackle are not the same position, contrary to popular belief, so my feeling is that you start him at left tackle from day 1 of practice and give him about a year to prove he can or can’t play the position. That’s a long enough time to get a pretty good evaluation as to whether he’ll ever have the upside to play the position. The last thing we want is for the Chiefs to never learn what Albert’s capable of and what role he best fits until the 3rd or 4th season of his career. The second-to-last thing we want is for the Chiefs to shatter Albert’s confidence by setting him up to fail in not one, but two positions. The Chiefs are in a rebuilding year and should take every opportunity this year to see if Albert has what it takes to be a left tackle, even if it comes at the sacrifice of less-than-optimal play in 2008.

A Raiders Take on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Draft

Recently, I gave my thoughts on the Oakland Raiders’ draft for their site on MVN.  You are not going to believe this, but Raider Nation tore me apart for thinking that Darren McFadden was the wrong pick for their franchise.  I asked “Thoughts From the Dark Side” writer Patrick Patterson to contribute his thoughts to what the Kansas City good guys did last weekend.  Please feel free to comment on his observations.

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I am not a huge draftnik by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the next college football game I watch all the way through will be the first. With that out of the way, there is not a lot for me as a Raider fan to like about the Chief’s draft. The Chiefs bolstered their lines in the first round and went from there. My favorite move was getting Jared Allen out of the AFC West, as I was tired of seeing him harass quarterbacks in Silver and Black uniforms.

1a Glenn Dorsey-DT LSU- After sending one of the league’s best defensive linemen to Minnesota, the Chiefs needed reinforcements. While Dorsey plays inside making him not a replacement for Allen in the technical sense, he can be a disruptive force in the middle that will raise the play of the remaining ends. Grabbing Dorsey is a great move for a team that has to face LaDanainian Tomlinson, The Denver Bronco running back factory and Larry–oops… Oh yeah… He became a Chief… He will have to stop his collegiate nemesis Darren McFadden twice a year. (The AFC West is now truly a hellacious running division.) With the Chiefs facing an elite back, a potential elite back, and an elite system, the Dorsey pick was a no brainer.

1b Brandon Albert-OL Virginia-In one of my previous posts for Ryan, I commented on the Chiefs’ offensive line needs since Will Shields and Willie Roaf retired. Replacing two potential Hall of Fame players is no easy task, and there are no guarantees in the draft, but Albert was a very good pick. He is a big athletic lineman that can play either tackle or guard. Considering the state of the Chiefs’ line last season, maybe Herm is hoping that he can play both at the same time. (Just kidding, please put the torches and pitchforks away.) In all seriousness, this is an outstanding pick at a position of dire need.

2 Brandon Flowers-CB Va Tech- Considering that both of the Chiefs’ starting corners last year are soon to be applying for AARP membership, the Chiefs were in need of a DB. Getting one with questionable speed is something that is a foreign concept. He is known for being tough and physical, which should help him handle the bigger possession receivers.

3a  Jamaal Charles-RB Texas-A running back? LJ may be getting to the downside of his career, but he is still a dangerous back. Not to mention, Kolby Smith stepped up his game in LJ’s absence. He has breakaway speed, maybe he is on tap for return duties.

3b Brad Cottam-TE  Tennessee-Grabbing a young tight end with great measurables is a very good move for the future. Cottam will get a chance to learn from an elite tight end in Tony Gonzalez.

3c DeJuan Morgan- S NCState-This seems like an Al Davis type pick. He has great measurables and is raw, having only been a starter for one year. Maybe Carl Peterson has been learning from your arch-rival.

4 Will Franklin-WR Missouri-I would have thought that the Chiefs would go for a wide out earlier to try and give Brodie Croyle a downfield threat non named Dewayne Bowe. This guy has some size and speed and could eventually emerge as a threat.

5 Brandon Carr-CB Grand Valley State- A defensive back with size and speed who NFL.com says looks more like an athlete than a defensive back. It sounds like Peterson has been watching Al Davis’s moves.

6 Kevin Robinson-WR Utah State- NFL.com says he is one of the top returners. As a Raider fan I am hoping you haven’t found the reincarnation of Tamarick Vannover.

7a Brian Johnson-DE Gardner-Webb- So the Chiefs brought in the lead singer of Ac/Dc, now there is a unique pick. More confusing is waiting until the seventh round to even take a stab at refilling the position where you lost your absolute best player. Oh well.

7b Mike Merritt-TE Central Florida- If a late seventh round pick makes the team, its a surprise. Not expecting anything from this guy.

The Chiefs had a very good opening round attacking severe needs in the trenches. Not saying that these moves will have an immediate impact on the team, but they are solid moves for a rebuilding team. Apparently the brain turst has some faith in Brodie Croyle as they didn’t use one of their top picks on a signal caller. They got him some protection early, but waited until later to give him any kind of targets. It was also odd that there was not a move to replace Jared Allen until the seventh round.

Have fun trying to stop Darren McFadden, and will be by again sometime!

Patrick Patterson covers the Raiders on MVN for Thoughts from the Dark Side.