#nfl draft 2011

As time goes by @Reggie_Bush becomes less and less attractive to me as he acts more and more like a bitch .

He tweeted this after @Mark_Ingram22, a former Heisman trophy winning running back, was drafted by @Official_Saints .

Man up Reggie, your panties are showing.

With the 25th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft the Seattle Seahawks selected James Carpenter, a 6-foot-4-inch 321-pound tackle from Alabama. He is expected to take the place at right tackle for Sean Locklear, who is a free agent.

I know this pick feels a little bit like taking Lawrence Jackson a few years back, but I have to wonder about the people who were suddenly so offended that the team didn’t take offensive lineman Gabe Camiri from Wisconsin. Camiri was projected be drafted in the last third of the first round, while most had Carpenter falling to the second round.

We need to remind ourselves that rankings by draft experts mean very little. If all projections panned out, Rick Mirer would be waiting to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while Ben Obomanu fights for a starting job with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL alongside Taco Wallace.

In response to hearing Carpenter’s name announced, many Seahawks fans on Twitter were reacting by simply asking, “Who?” To them I ask, “Would you have recognized any other lineman’s name before today?” I couldn’t name another offensive lineman in the entire draft, and I probably wouldn’t even know the names of the backup lineman on the Seahawks if it weren’t for so many injuries. 

For fans that have been frustrated by injuries over the past couple years, the nice thing about Carpenter is that he has started 27 straight games in his two years starting at left tackle for the Crimson Tide.  Hopefully that continues and Seattle can start to build a line with a consistent set of starters. I see two positives to this pick: he sounds like a guy who will fill in immediately as right tackle and, as a guy who played left tackle, could potentially shift over if Russell Okung’s injuries continue to hamper him. 

I understand Camiri was rated much higher, but I’m not at all disturbed by the fact they took a slightly-lower rated SEC lineman over one from the Big 10.  But, Mississippi State tackle Derek Sherrod was also on the board at the time and projected by some draft experts to go to the Seahawks or in that vicinity. In terms of character and background, I would have much preferred to see them pick Sherrod.  However, after looking into some of the scouting reports, it looks as though Carpenter is considered to be a better run blocker which may have been a deciding factor.

Reports were suggesting that Seattle was desperately trying to trade down out of that position, so it appeared they knew Carpenter could be picked up at some point in the second round. Without a willing trade partner they stuck with the guy they were apparently targeting.

The one team that may have had an interest in Seattle’s 25th pick was New Orleans.  The Saints ultimately traded into the 28th pick by sending their first-round pick in 2012 to the Patriots. New England, already having a pick in the first round as well as a considerably more well-rounded team, could afford to make that move.  If the Saints were looking to trade with Seattle, General Manager John Schneider would have been asking for compensation in this year’s draft.

Offensive linemen are never considered to be sexy draft picks.  It’s tough to get excited about a player on offense that doesn’t score. We all could expect the team wouldn’t achieve the same acclaim as last year when they had two top picks in the first round, and since Carpenter will be considered a reach as a first-round pick, Seattle certainly won’t be graded as high this year.

Yes, I actually took the time to write all of this as I was watching it :)

Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton

Denver Broncos - Von Miller 

Alabama Bills- Marcell Dareus 

Georgia Bengals - AJ Green

Arizona Cardinals - Patrick Peterson

Atlanta Falcons - Julio Jones

San Fransisco 49ers - Aldon Smith 

Tennessee Titans - Jake Locker

Dallas Cowboys - Tyron Smith

Jacksonville Jaguars - Blaine Gabbert

Houston Texans - J.J. Watt

Minnesota Vikings - Christian Ponder

Detroit Lions - Nick Fairley 

St. Louis Rams - Robert Quinn 

Miami Dolphins - Mike Pouncey 

Washington Redskins - Ryan Kerrigan   

New England Patriots - Nate Solder 

San Diego Chargers - Corey Liuget

New York Giants - Prince Amukamara

Tampa bay Buccaneers - Adrian Clayborn 

Cleveland Browns - Phil Taylor 

Indianapolis Colts - Anthony Castonzo

Philadelphia Eagles - Danny Watkins 

New Orleans Saints - Cameron Jordan 

Seattle Seahawks - James Carpenter

Kansas City Chiefs - Jon Baldwin  

Baltimore Ravens - Jimmy Smith 

New Orleans Saints - Mark Ingram  

Chicago Bears - Gabe Carimi

New York Jets - Muhammad Wilkerson

Pittsburgh Steelers - Cameron Heyward