Just saw on ESPN ticker...that Joe Schad reports that... (1 Viewer)

[REALCHRISM]

Malcolm Jenkins will return to school. That's not good. Whether you like him or not--and I think he's fantastic--his potential return to school leaves us with less options for landing a top defender at #10. I felt that Jenkins was the ONLY CB worthy of a top 10 pick. I certainly don't want the Saints to reach for a player. If James Laurinaitis returns for his senior season, that leaves us in a very bad position. You still have Dorsey and Ellis but they are likely to be gone by the time we select. Kenny Phillips could be the best option for us at #10 assuming he is not off-the-board.

 

[REALCHRISM]

Here's confirmation. This is not good. We are really going to have to do our homework to make sure that we are able to utilize free agency and the draft collectively to upgrade our team.

January 11, 2008



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Football/Contact: Shelly Poe (614.247.7023/poe.45@osu.edu)



Jenkins Staying At Ohio State

Defensive back will return for senior season



COLUMBUS, Ohio – All-America defensive back Malcolm Jenkins has decided to stay at Ohio State for his senior year, head coach Jim Tressel announced today.



A statement from Jenkins:



“After a great deal of deliberation, I have decided to remain at Ohio State for 2008 to complete my degree and my football career.

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1367105

 

[Surviving Saint]

If all that happens we will take Phillips, or trade down, or take the best BPA which could be an offensive player

 

[eballa1]

It's still too early to speculate. After the Senior Bowl and combine, things will become clearer. Players will shoot up and down the board and projections will become more accurate.

 

[Surviving Saint]

I say we pick up Laurinitis , K.Philips, or Ellis, if none of those are there then trade down and get more picks.

 

[JOElittleBIGhorn]

Even worse, this prods Laurinaitis and Gholston to come back for another year, meaning three potential top 10 picks have withdrawn their names. Less talent available at pick 10 for us possibly. This lessens our chance for one of the top impact defensive players slipping to us.

 

[Saint Droopy]

Yep... I think Ellis and JL will be long gone by #10... if Phillips has a great combine then he may get taken too, but he's the only guuy out of those 3 that has a chance to be there at 10.

We can trade down, and still get a good pick, and stock up for more defense.

 

[longtime lurker]

That is bad news for the Saints.....thanks for the heads up.

 

[Skip Bayless]

i didn't want him anyway..

now if rey magunalea (spell check)

says he dosen't declare (which is most likely) i'll be scared

 

[Saint Droopy]

^

Thank you! there maybe better CBs in the draft... everybody is all sad as though they knew the Saints were gonna take him... we'll be fine... there are a ton of good CBs coming out. This just opened the door to a bunch of other possibilities.

 

[Surviving Saint]

We still pick 10th so we have options but as far as getting the best defensive players at that spot, there might not be any. Trading down might be the best thing for us.

 

[REALCHRISM]

Even worse, this prods Laurinaitis and Gholston to come back for another year, meaning three potential top 10 picks have withdrawn their names. Less talent available at pick 10 for us possibly. This lessens our chance for one of the top impact defensive players slipping to us.

Yeah, that's the point I am making. I know that after the senior bowl, combine and personal days, some guys will begin to move up and down. Chances are, however, that the guys moving up talents are not as great as they will become positioned by the number of juniors on defense who might not come out. For instance, with the possibility of James Laurinaitis returning to school and the certainty that Rey Maualuga will not come out, the top MLB prospect becomes a guy like Jonathan Goff. Now, Goff is a second round value but could see his stock rise if a team gets desperate enough for an ILB. Or a guy like Talib might jumped up to being considered a top 10 pick even though his value as of right now suggest that he is a mid to late first round talent.

 

[REALCHRISM]

^

Thank you! there maybe better CBs in the draft... everybody is all sad as though they knew the Saints were gonna take him... we'll be fine... there are a ton of good CBs coming out. This just opened the door to a bunch of other possibilities.

My OP is not about whether or not the Saints were going to take Jenkins. I am not even suggesting that they were. I am saying that with a guy like Jenkins returning to school and the possibility that Laurinaitis will do the same, it makes it much more difficult for a top talent on defense to fall to us at #10. The consensus, as of right now, were that the top five defenders on the board for us were Dorsey, Ellis, Jenkins, Laurinaitis and Phillips. Take two of those guys away, and possibly three if Ellis does not come out, and you are left with us at #10 scrambling for Dorsey and Phillips who both could be gone by the time we are on the clock.

OF COURSE, WE DO NOT KNOW THAT. IT IS FAR TOO IN ADVANCE TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN AND WHO WILL BE THERE. Trust me, I recognize that. Still, it does make it more difficult when you have a lesser number of juniors coming out on the side of the ball where you need the most help. In other words, each "next" defender on the board moves up. That's not to say, again, that a top flight won't be available to us. But what it does say, for instance, is that a guy like Kenny Phillips moves up on the board automatically since a guy like Malcolm Jenkins is not coming out.

 

[REALCHRISM]

Sorry to be the bearer of more bad news (although we should not be too upset because we actually saw this one coming) but Mauluga has confirmed that he is staying at USC.

Cushing, Maualuga to Stay in School
Posted Nov 7th 2007 12:14PM by Scott Olin Schmidt
Filed under: USC Football, Pac 10, NFL Prospects, Los Angeles

Ohio State fans hoping that the USC Trojan defense might be soft over the middle when the Buckeyes visit the Coliseum on September 13, 2008 will not like this news--standout linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga will return for their senior seasons.

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/07/cushing-maualuga-to-stay-in-school/

 

[BoNcHiE]

No surprise there about Maualuga.

As for trading down, it takes two to tango. I don't see us being in position for someone to want to trade up with us.