2011 NFL Draft, The Second Round: Picks 17-32
The real story, to me, of the second round was Da’Quan Bowers. The Clemson defensive end was touted as the most likely first overall pick as early as two months before the draft. How far could he fall?
Previous Reviews:
Let’s look at what happened.
Round 2 continued:
17. Indy Colts–Ben Ijalana, OT, Villanova (pictured):
The Colts add yet another left tackle. Ijalana has been projected by many to switch to right tackle in the NFL, others see him as an inside guy. I confess, I wasn’t able to study enough prospects this year to get to Ijalana. As far as a positional match-up, the Colts have been wasting RB Joseph Addai for years. They’ve also been tempting fate by putting the product in front of QB Peyton Manning that they have. I guess they see this as security. Maybe it works. As a Jaguars fan, I’m just imagining easy sacks vs rookie tackles.
18. San Diego Chargers–Marcus Gilchrist, DB, Clemson:
Yet another guy I haven’t research yet and I do apologize for that. However, after a quick review, I was able to come up with a few things. Gilchrist is only 5’9″ and that reminds me of a former Bronco’s second rounder, Alphonso Smith, that was traded for later round pick at the very early stages of his career. While I’m aware Gilchrist is his own player, I just felt like bringing up the height thing, however ignorantly. Gilchrist is also listed as having FS as his backup position. This tells me that the Chargers at the very least have some doubt about incumbant starter Eric Weddle returning as he is to hit free agency as soon as the CBA issues are handled.
19. Tampa Bay Bucs–Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson(pictured at the top):
My mouth dropped and then smiled when I saw this happen. The Bucs got my favorite DE in the draft, Adrian Clayborn of Iowa, and now the have what was originally the consensus best. WOW! Now, all the smiles are contingent upon Bowers being healthy. He reportedly has a bone-on-bone issue in his knee and some front office personnel are “reportedly” saying that his career is over. The draft having the amount of risk that it has, your taking chances on every pick. Why not take a chance on that much talent this late in the draft? The Bucs could have a top-5 defensive line in 2-3 years with their young DT duo from last season, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price.
20. New York Giants–Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina
Very smooth. A guy that was a top-15 talent that had the infamous “character flag”. Austin talked with an agent and may or may not have gone to a party out of state on the agents dime. So he sat out a year of college and now he goes to a team that could have a crushing defensive line over the next few years. Umenyiora, Tuck, Pierre-Paul (contingent on development)….
21. Chicago Bears–Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State (pictured):
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: this was 100% no question a “needs” pick. Supposedly he had value in this area or a little after, but most reports were that the Bears were crushed that Austin went the pick ahead of them. Read into it what you want. I see a reach. I never was high on Paea, but I could be wrong and they needed to replace DT Tommy Harris. Can Paea do that? I heavily doubt it.
22. Philly Eagles–Jaiquawn Jarret, DB, Temple:
His name is pronounced J-kwon…seriously. According to Draft Countdown, he is the kind of guy that was much too slow for corner (4.62 40), yet a 4-year starter. He plays free safety and is very physical at it. He does lack burst. I guess we’ll see.
23. Kansas City Chiefs–Rodney Hudson, OG/C, Florida State:
Hudson was a guard for Christian Ponder and the Florida State Seminoles and he was drafted to play center. Hudson is not going to wow you with the physique of Vernon Gohlston, but he will be a steady, consistent lineman for a long time. The Chiefs have made a great pick and finally added youth to the interior. KC really has done good in the draft since the adding of Scott Pioli to their front office. I haven’t been wowed by the Patriots since he left. All they do is collect picks. They haven’t drafted anyone that wows me. I might to watch them more.
24. New England Patriots–Shane Vereen, RB, California:
I was surprised. Let’s talk positional affectiveness. The Patriots have Danny Woodhead, who is the RB version of WR Wes Welker. The Patriots can get Fred Taylor or Sammy Morris cheap for a year or two. The Patriots have Benjarvis Green-Ellis (The Law Firm, its kind of funny. Good name ESPN gave him). All of these together give the Pats a very good run game, and off the top of my head, I’m thinking they pass more than run. It’s a head scratcher as I don’t even know when he can get the ball. The worst part is they got another RB later on.