Diner morning news: The party starts at No. 4

Pretty good stuff here, Mike -

Agreed 100% on Bulaga - He is not a top 10 guy -


But on the Phins, I must say I disagree 100% and would bet the farm that Dan Williams is not their target - You and J-Lo are alone on this one my friend - Parcells two best NT's were Jim Burt and Jason Ferguson - One went undrafted (Burt) and the other went in the 7th round (Ferguson) -

My guy down in Miami is telling me to expect to be surprised with Miami's first round pick this year - Also if they trade down I have heard it will be with Philly, not Dallas -

The Skins not getting a starter for their OL would continue their irresponsible behavior they have shown since Dan Snyder bought the team.

I sure hope item #6 is Ben Roethlisberger. I am comfortable trading the 9th pick, a 3rd rounder in 2011, and Trent Edwards. The deal would be somewhere between two previous QB trade extrema: Jay Cutler and Donovan McNabb

Two Buddy Nix quotes stand out in regards to Big Ben, "With all due respect, I don't care." Nix made this comment during the coaching search, about the lack of a big name. I'd apply it to Ben's off the field antics.

The second: "Don't tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby. And the baby is winning." The Bills will take a lot of abuse from the MSM for making this trade. To me, it's a no-brainer. Trade for a 2-time Super Bowl winner and expert in the 2-minute drill, or hope Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy or a QB in 2011 is the answer.

Michael -
How about next year NFP runs a 1st round draft contest? The winner gets some NFP promo stuff and maybe contributes a guest commentary for the following year's draft. Football season is too short - we need something else to look forward to!

I guess I don't understand why the Packers would move UP to get Bulaga. All we keep hearing is how overrated he is and that teams are dropping him down their boards. Obviously a lot depends on how the draft shakes out, but wouldn't the better move be to trade up higher with maybe KC or Cleveland and go after Okung or Williams if they happen to still be available? But if the move up is only into the low to middle teens, then I think Haden or Wilson is a better choice than Bulaga. I do agree that trading up should be the Packers' strategy this year rather than stockpiling picks on a team that is already VERY young and well-stocked with talent.

As far as Darren's suggestion of Buffalo as a destination for Roethlisberger, at least there is a lot less opportunity for him to get into trouble there than a lot of other NFL cities. I just don't see the fan base being the least bit welcoming of such a trade. But, who knows...

Based on the trade value chart, the highest the Packers could trade up to is the #9 pick, which would require trading all of their draft picks ala Mike Ditka. The last time I checked Ted Thompson is about the furthest thing from Mike Ditka. In fact, I think Ted Thompson would rather saw one of his legs off with a rusty butter knife than trade his entire draft for one player.

Bryan,
The chart isn't exactly gospel anymore and it also doesn't take into account players that may be included as well. And, the value of each pick in this particular year is undercut by the fact that so many teams at the top of the draft as desperate to trade down. It may or may not be realistic to go up that high, but I think it is waste to trade significant assets for a guy like Bulaga. Like I said, I'd much rather have Haden or Wilson in the spot they are likely to get the tackle.

@Bill Bates - most Bills fans are against the trade. If it was anything more than the #9 pick, it was 2-1 agains the trade recently on BuffaloRumblings blog. If it was just straight up for the #9, it was about 55-45 against it.

Personally, I'd be all over it for a #9. But not more.

If the Redskins pass on an OT at #4, they will have a lot of very unhappy fans. They just traded for an older QB who has had injury issues. It would be madness not to get an anchor tackle. Maybe they don't think Okung or Williams is the guy, but either is better than anyone on their roster. I would have thought they might have signed Flozell Adams by now as well.

For Buffalo to trade for Roethlisberger, they have to be comfortable with the fact they will only have him for part of this year and next year may be a lockout. Who knows what kind of trouble he would get into? Plus, he is not going to be exactly thrilled to go from the Steelers to Buffalo. If he isn't known as a hard worker in Pittsburg, what will he be like on a losing team he doesn't want to be on in the first place? I'd have to pass on that trade. I'd rather deal a low pick for Vick and keep my first rounder.

Based on the trade value chart, the highest the Packers could trade up to is the #9 pick, which would require trading all of their draft picks ala Mike Ditka. The last time I checked Ted Thompson is about the furthest thing from Mike Ditka. In fact, I think Ted Thompson would rather saw one of his legs off with a rusty butter knife than trade his entire draft for one player.

I think the trade value chart still serves as a baseline for most teams. Just look at the last several pick for pick trades and you will find they still adhere closely to the trade value chart. I don't buy that because everyone wants to trade down that the trade value chart is out the window. For the last few years that has been the mantra, "everyone wants to trade down," but still, pick for pick trades still adhere to the chart. As for including players, first, who do the Packers have that they could include in a trade that would bring enough value to get them high enough to take either Okung or Williams? Spitz? Colledge? Second, even if you include a player in the trade, the other team is going to evaluate that player by giving him a draft grade, meaning what round pick they would be willing to give up for him. Again, they will look to the trade chart to see where the relative values come out.

As for Bulaga, I have no idea how good he is or could be, so I really have no opinion on the merits of trading up to select him. I do know that Bob McGinn from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cited sources who said the Thompson considers Bulaga an "elite" prospect. Take that for what it is worth.

Bryan,
As with any player, there are going to be those that love him and those on the opposite side of the fence. I also don't know enough about any of this year's tackle prospects to have a good feel for which team's blocking schemes would best suit each of them. That said, Thompson certainly appears to be in the vast minority in considering Bulaga an "elite" talent. And considering that Green Bay would probably have to trade up in the 10-12 range to get him, they're still giving up a ton to get there if you want to assume that the draft chart is still completely relevant. Unlike other years, though, more teams are actually looking to trade down because this is likely the final year without a rookie salary scale AND there is a good chance of the 2011 season not happening. My point in suggesting a trade up for either Okung or Williams was based on the reasonable assumption that, no matter what the cost, it wasn't going to be significantly more than the cost of trading up to get a far more questionable talent in Bulaga. This isn't the draft to reach that far for a LT (other than maybe the top 2) when Saffold or Brown could easily be had by staying put.

Bulaga is the safest pick of the draft, you know what you get with him.

Interesting thought about Flozell, meateater. The only obvious things I can see as negatives to the 'Skins are his age and his penchant for false starts. I think he'd be an effective anchor for that o-line for a couple of years at least, as well as a veteran presence.

Mr. Murder,
Robert Gallery, The Sequel? LOL Just kidding. Maybe this is just another case of the annual "how do we find enough bad things to say about a seemingly good player" drill that occurs before the draft, though usually with QBs. I mean, if he fell in to the 15-20 range I would think he is a good value pick there. But as I said before, trading up from 23 to around 10-12 to get a guy that the majority of teams have serious questions about is a bit too much of a reach in my book.

Big question. Is Dez going to be at the draft? If so, how interesting will it be when Deion introduces him??? I love irony.

I would be vary wary of Bulaga, or any other lineman who has seemingly bizarre medical problems in college.

If the Giants get C.J. Spiller to fall to them at #15, that could be the steal of the draft. He is a stud and a class act., how typical of what the G-Men really are! If the Browns like Kyle Wilson more than Joe Haden, then they should grab him, I know Wilson is a great corner and Cleveland needs all the good players they can get, regardless of position. As always, Lombardi, your labors are appreciated and bring on the draft.

Why isn't anyone talking about Minnesota trading for Roethlisberger? Minnesota still has all of the pieces of the puzzle and how many more years can Farve be relied on? With Big Ben, (and a new coach) they could be a contender for at least a few years. Otherwise, what are their options for the future, is there is a quarterback with real NFL starter potential that could fall that low in this draft or is worth trading up for?

Well the attitude is consistent with him, others point to time Brian missed with injury.

Has he maxed his technical ability out? That and reach draw Gallery comparisons, but Robert has been a solid pro and had a season or two worthy awards, were it not for the fact his team had played poorly overall.

Yeah the pay grade of a high pick is a concern if you move him inside to guard. He can play about anywhere along the front line and has that value as a swing man. Some of the plans to impose a rookie cap may push guys back a half round as teams try to plan out more balanced a pay scale relative to any cap terms on agreement.

Al Davis would trade for Ben.

MrMurder37 McClain Raiders first pick, Groves trade lists him as OLB so McClain would give us another ILB to run the system.
9 hours ago ~ lag seems to have bled over my 3-4 comment on Twitter.

"...another ILB to run the 3-4 system" is what it should have printed.
It was still timely. :) Thanks, Eric. Your inside info on Raider Nation has always helped.

A bit of an oops on the Cleveland analysis... Somebody messing with Lombardi?

Love the Berry quote: thoughtful and balanced.

Also happy that discussion on Packers moving up was made moot, and we got our tackle without losing picks. Thompson's a GM with enough humility that he believes that success of picks is hard to predict... so its better to have more shots at getting it right than to gamble and limit your chances. (Though he did hit it big with Matthews.)

Did Cleveland really like Kyle Wilson more then Haden???

So, did the Bills not get the QB they wanted, or was that a big smokescreen? The draft pundits were all saying the Bills were targeting Tebow, but Nix swears they didn't get their first choice but it wasn't Tebow they wanted.