Fun With Mocks - 2/28/07 - Mel Kiper

End of February, and the Scouting Combine is winding down.  There was so much coverage overkill all over the net that I decided to avoid it at all costs.  I find the whole thibg a bit laughable. Think about it, Jerry Rice ran a 4.6-40, Emmitt Smith a 4.7, they turned out to be ok players.  Every college football game is on tape.  If I want to see how good a football player is I'll go watch him play FOOTBALL!!!

Enough of my rant.  Mel Kiper released his latest First Round Mock.  I don't put alot of weight in Mocks, but they sure are fun, and at least Kiper seems to be inline with what teams actually need.  His pick for the Broncos should they stay at 21 is --

DE Adam Carriker -- Nebraska

Perfect timing with Jon Johnston from CornNation.com appearing on MHR Radio tomorrow night.  Carriker looks like he'll be the real deal and be a nice compliment to Elvis Dumervil on the line.

Scouts, Inc has Carriker as the 14th ranked prospect in all the draft, and for him to fall to 21 would be a bit of a coup.  Carriker has great size at 6'5 1/2, 292 pounds and nice speed for his size.  That speed, however, is not high end for a 4-3 D-End, and Carriker has been tabbed as a guy that will be much more effective as a 3-4 end, which requires better run-support, and strength inside which Carriker provides.

What makes him attractive to the Broncos is he fits the mold they had hoped to get from Courtney Brown.  Brown and Carriker are almost identicle in size and Brown's strength was also against the run.

In 2006, Carriker started all 14 games  and finished with 52 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception and one blocked kick earning Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team honors for the second consecutive year.

Photo Courtesy of Scout.com