Tilting at Windmills

Edited to add:

According to KFFL, C Jon Cooper has agreed to a contract with the Vikings.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Brandon Walker has signed an FA contract with the Texans.

KFFL is reporting that Lendy Holmes has agreed to a contract with the Redskins.

“Missed it by that much”

Okay so my predictions from yesterday didn’t turn out so hot. Iggy wound up going late in the 3rd but that is about as close as I got.

The final tally looks like this:

• 2nd round, 22nd choice – 54th overall – Phil Loadholt to the Vikings
• 3rd round, 35th choice – 99th overall – Juaquin Iglesias to the Bears
• 5th round, 11th choice – 147th overall – Nic Harris to the Bills
• 5th round, 27th choice – 163rd overall – Duke Robinson to the Panthers
• 7th round, 20th choice – 229th overall – Manny Johnson to the Cowboys

Cooper, Lendy Holmes, and Brandon Walker are still out there. I fully expect all of these guys to get invited to camps.

What can we expect from the Sooners who were drafted on day 2?

Juaquin Iglesias – A lock to make the roster, the Bears problems at his position should equal a great shot to get some early playing time.  He will have to complete with two other WR draftees.

Nic Harris – Harris has been projected for a move to OLB after showing that he had a nack for the position and lacked the speed that NFL teams expect from a safety.  He should have a fair chance to make the roster unless he totally flops at OLB.

Duke Robinson – I’m surprised he slid down this far, I am not the only one who thinks the Panthers got a steal this late in the draft.  Duke will make the roster and should be the top reserve on the interior.

Manny Johnson – Manny was playing some great football before he injured his elbow, I think he can make the Cowboys roster (which at first glance appears relatively pedestrian) but it’s not a slam dunk.

When you’re reading these predictions keep my draft predictions in mind and take them with a giant grain of salt.

Around the Big 12 – The Big 12 had 28 players drafted:

• Mizzou: 6 players drafted
• Texas: 4 horribly overrated players drafted
• Texas Tech: 4 players drafted
• Nebraska: 3 players drafted
• A&M: 2 players drafted
• Colorado: 1 player drafted
• O-state: 1 player drafted
• Kansas State: 1 player drafted
• Baylor: 1 player drafted

and by round:

• First round:  7 players taken
• Second round:  3 players taken
• Third round: 4 players taken
• Fourth round: 4 players taken
• Fifth round: 4 players taken
• Sixth round: 2 players taken
• Seventh round: 4 players taken

My favorite stories of the draft:

• Jets make a huge jump up in the draft to steal Sanchez ahead of Daniel Snyder (much to the relief of Redskins fans)
• Crabtree slides to the Niners at the 10 spot
• Michael Oher making it to the NFL
• The horns have a bunch of pampered players who struggle in the NFL in spite of what any longhorn shill tries to tell you
• The Raiders (They always make for interesting draft day talk)

… and no draft writeup could be compelete without including a mock draft for next year.

Welcome to the weekend that truly defines the addiction of a football fan.

This is the weekend a football addict can celebrate the game without anyone taking a snap, delivering a crushing block, or sacking the QB.

This is THE 2009 NFL draft.

This wasn’t going to be a huge weekend for Sooner news with Bradford, Gresham, Williams deciding to return for another season.  Most draft gurus didn’t have any Sooners going in the first round, but did have Iggy and Phil Loadholt going in the second round.  At the beginning of the 2008 season Duke was considered a possible first round pick, somewhat of a rarity for an offensive guard, but some concerns about his conditioning have hurt his stock. And when I say conditioning I mean his tendency to kill drives with mind bending offsides, holding or personal foul penalties.

With Loadholt being the only Sooner picked on day one even these pedestrian expectations were not met.  After being selected in the second round (54th selection overall) Big Phil will wind up blocking for Sooner Legend AD in the land of 10000 lakes.  He’s a lock to make the roster and expected to switch sides and be an opening day starter for the Vikes at RT.  Minnesota should be interesting to watch this year, where they will have a lot of young talent (with AD and the selection of Harvin) but is it enough to overcome Brad Childress and his apparent lack of coaching aptitude?

There should be more to report tomorrow with Duke and Iggy still on the board.  I would be surprised if Duke lasted beyond the 3rd round, but Iggy could slide with Derrick Williams and Louis Murphy still on the board.

My total WAG prediction:

• Loadholt to the Raiders in the 3rd
• Iggy to the Colts in the 3rd

I believe Brandon Walker, Nic Harris and possibly Jon Cooper will get drafted late on day 2.  Tomorrow we will see just how wrong I am.

The story of the NFL draft day 1 really belonged to the 49ers, who had to be doing cartwheels when Crabtree fell into their laps.