More offense: Gallery, Winslow and sleepers, too
Cris Carter's draft analysis:
• Overview | AFC: East - North - South - West | NFC: East - North - South - West
Craig James' draft analysis:
• Overview - QBs - WRs - More offense - Defense
The "pretty boy" positions we've covered well. But in my mind, if you are looking to build an offense, you start on the offensive line.
Everybody projects tackle Robert Gallery out of Iowa to be an outstanding NFL player. That doesn't mean he's going to be one, but his credentials in college – allowing only one sack last season – certainly proves that he's capable of it.
Gallery is the lineman most folks are talking about, but there a couple of other guys to look at. Shawn Andrews out of Arkansas is a big offensive tackle – and I mean big (6-foot-4, 366 pounds). I announced a Razorbacks game against LSU and was amazed at the size – and ability – of this big man.
Don't forget about his brother, Stacey, who played for Mississippi. He's a little smaller ("just" 342 pounds, although he is 6-foot-6), and he only played five college games because he was a track star for the Rebels. Maybe he falls in the third or fourth round, but because of his upside he could be a sleeper on the offensive line.
The Andrews boys are coming at you.
At tight end, Kellen Winslow Jr. will make somebody a better offense. In today's game you have to have a tight end who can control the middle and give you a viable option in the passing game. Winslow is that type of player.
It's not a great crop of running backs this year. The best running back on the board is Steven Jackson of Oregon State. He is physical and he has speed, and he's not just a tackle-to-tackle runner. Because he is a strong runner already, Jackson shouldn't struggle to adjust to the NFL game.
Whoever gets Jackson should improve a bunch in a hurry.
Kevin Jones is projected to go in the first round, and Chris Perry was great in college, but my sleeper pick at running back is Quincy Wilson from West Virginia. He ran over Miami and Virginia Tech, and while he's not a blazing-saddles speed guy, somehow he runs away from linebackers. The NFL doesn't have a lot of 60-yard runs, anyway. Wilson seems like a guy who will give his team a lot of 4- to 8-yard runs.
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