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Barkley is announcing at 4pm today.

I hope he comes out.

If he stays at USC, I'm all for giving up whatever necessary to move up for Luck.

If he does stay, then Kalil did him no favors by leaving

I actually hope he stays because USC would be a monster team next year and fun to root for (and I'm less convinced he'll be a no-doubt NFL QB)

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from the other thread: I agree on Hillis. I think he could stay still. I hope that he does. If he doesn't, and Michael Bush is too expensive, then Lamar Miller is the guy I want even if it means using our 1B pick.

Re: Flap

No doubt just like there was much moaning when Leinart said he was going back, then when Locker said he was going back, and last year when Luck said he was going back.

I don't view Luck as a better prospect than Barkley, honestly.

If I were an NFL GM and picking #1, I'd take Luck because passing on Luck for Barkley and it not working out is a move that gets you fired, but as a fan, I can say I like Barkley every bit as much as Luck.

Draft notebook: Don't sleep on 'other' quarterbacks in deep '12 draft class

By Rob Rang | The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com


Juniors Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Robert Griffin III dominated the college football headlines in 2011, and many scouts feel this year's senior class of quarterbacks isn't getting the attention it deserves.

Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill has all of the physical traits scouts are looking for and has maintained his standing as the top-rated senior quarterback in the 2012 draft. Tannehill struggled late in games this season, but the fact that 2011 was just his second year as the starting quarterback makes scouts optimistic that his poise will develop with time. In today's pass-happy NFL, quarterbacks with the 6-4, 225-pound Tannehill's tools rarely slip out of the top 32 based on upside and projections of what he can become with time to develop.

Michigan State's Kirk Cousins, Arizona's Nick Foles and San Diego State's Ryan Lindley aren't currently viewed as likely first-round candidates. However, scouts believe it is only a matter of time before each generates second-round buzz, if not fringe first-round chatter as TCU's Andy Dalton did as winter turned to spring in 2011.

Of the three seniors in the 2012 second-tier, Cousins is the most polished. The 49-7 whipping Michigan State took a year ago at the hands of Alabama in the Capital One Bowl won't soon be forgotten by scouts. Cousins has improved his accuracy and poise in the pocket this season and has the leadership skills coaches crave at the position. One highly ranked scout characterized Cousins as "this year's Dalton" and a player who will steadily climb boards as teams go through the interview process.

The 6-5, 240-pound Foles clearly has the build and production in Arizona's spread offense to pique the interest of scouts. Foles lacks the foot speed preferred in most West Coast Offense-based schemes, but teams in search of a classic drop-back passer see a lot of similarities in Foles to Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans.
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Perhaps the most intriguing of the group, Lindley, unlike most quarterbacks coming from a spread offense, has legitimate NFL arm strength. Lindley has been able to rely on his big arm throughout his collegiate career, but remains quite the project from a technical standpoint. One scout characterized Lindley as having "some Brett Favre to him" in that Lindley's answer to covered receivers has at times been to simply throw passes harder. Given a year or two to polish his footwork, a team could have something with the San Diego State star.

Six quarterbacks among the first 64 picks sound unrealistic? Remember, just last April six passers -- Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick -- went in the top 36.

Scouts Wishing Upon a Falling Star?

Though few outside of the state of Utah know his name, no prospect in the country has generated more buzz from NFL scouts than Utes junior defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.

Listed at 6-4, 330 pounds, Lotulelei (pronounced lo-too-leh-lay) played every position along the Utah defensive line in 2011, drawing double-teams at every stop. Nevertheless, he registered 38 tackles, including tying for the team lead with nine tackles for loss. His opponents in the Pac-12 certainly recognized his value, voting the junior the winner among defensive linemen for the Morris Trophy -- the only major college football award voted strictly by opposing players.

Powerful, instinctive and shockingly agile for his size, some scouts have compared Lotulelei to another former Polynesian player who played his collegiate football in the west -- former Oregon Ducks' and current Baltimore Ravens' standout Haloti Ngata. Like Ngata, Lotulelei's value lies not only in his awesome physical talents, but in his versatility. Scouts don't have to project him as a nose guard, defensive tackle or strong-side defensive end. They've seen him dominate in each of these roles -- which is why Lotulelei's announcement this week that he is returning to Utah for his senior season is so perplexing.

It is certainly admirable to see Lotulelei make his own education and loyalty to his Utah coaching staff and teammates a higher priority than an NFL payday, but some are questioning the wisdom behind such a decision.

Lotulelei, married and with two children, didn't even request a grade from the NFL Advisory Committee before making his decision. That must have been great news for Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who with just a few phone calls likely would have heard the same rumblings I have -- that Lotulelei is the elite defensive talent in the west and may unknowingly be turning down a top 20 selection.

'Most Complete Senior Linebacker' Plays for Utah State?

North Carolina outside linebacker Zach Brown is generally considered the best senior at his position. Alabama and South Carolina have senior defensive ends in Courtney Upshaw and Melvin Ingram who many project as outside linebackers in the NFL and likely first round choices. At 6-4, 240 pounds North Carolina State's Audie Cole.

They aren't the players, however, that scouts are increasingly hailing as the best all-around senior linebacker in the country.

That would be Utah State's Bobby Wagner.

Though he's earned first-team All-WAC honors after each of the past three seasons, Wagner isn't well known nationally. Had his Aggies been able to pull off their opening week upset over defending BCS champion Auburn, that might have changed.

Scouts didn't miss Wagner's effort against the Tigers, noting that the 6-0, 232 pounder was "the best player on the field" in racking up 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack.

"[Wagner] is the most complete senior linebacker in the country," one scout said.

Wagner had 147 tackles in 2011 for the Aggies, ranking eighth nationally with an average of 11.31 per contest. It is the fourth consecutive year that his tackle total has improved and gave him 445 stops for his career.

While shorter and lighter than scouts would prefer at inside linebacker, Wagner has long arms, which he uses well to disengage from blocks. He also possesses excellent vision, patience and impressive closing speed. Though he primarily played inside linebacker for Utah State, he also lined up outside and even on the defensive line this season.

"Look smart later by putting him in the second round now," another scout said. "He's got a lot of buzz around him right now. Watch him fly up the board if he gets into a Senior Bowl and people see that those stats aren't just from playing weaker competition. He's just a good player."

Extra Points

Each year the NFL Advisory Committee is slammed with requests from underclassmen seeking to gauge their grade from pro scouts. Most of the elite underclassmen request a grade. Whether they come out or go back, no one was surprised to learn that Barkley, Griffin, Alabama running back Trent Richardson and LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne asked for feedback. There are some surprising names also requesting grades, sources tell me, including San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman and Oregon safety John Boyett.
Another junior rumored to be exploring the jump to the NFL is Syracuse safety Phillip Thomas, who was suspended November 18 for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Despite playing two games less than his teammates, Thomas led the Orange in tackles (83) and the entire Big East conference in interceptions (six).
Notably absent in the quarterback conversation for many scouts any more is Oklahoma junior Landry Jones. That's because scouts expect Jones to return for his senior season. "He's an awfully talented guy," one scout said, "but he's had a disappointing year. He could return and with a big senior season jump right back up into that top 10 mix."
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I only count four other teams that are likely to take a QB in eaither the first or second rounds: Indy (and that isn't a lock), Washington, Miami and Seattle. Plus the Browns, most likely. Also, if Indy cuts Manning to get Luck, somebody is going to sign him, provided he's healthy. So the Browns could get Tannehill or any of the others with the early No. 3. If teams don't need a QB, they just don't pick one early. After a certain number go, the rest freefall.

If the Colts cut Manning, he's going to San Francisco, IMO.

San Fran is a QB away from being a legit Super Bowl contender.

that's the best spot for him.

All the local guys here in L.A. seem to think Barkley is staying in school.

The best thing for the Browns would be for Barkley to stay in school so as to not even tempt us with that pick. We need so much other talent on O, that a high pick QB would be set up for failure (see Bradford, Sam). Get Blackmon/Richardson/Martin at #4/5, and then go WR/OL and D with the late first and early second picks. Much safer and needed no matter who the QB is.

wait... there's a big announcement at 4??

Drafttek's Mock . . . (because you asked for it . . . )

1A - Richardson
1B - Mercilus
2 - Adcock
3 - Reuben Randle, LSU WR

Dislike.

I'd take the CB or Floyd over the RB any day.... but I'd prefer a trade down if Blackmon is gone.

Yes, and the rumor is that he's staying at USC.

LINK A
LINK B

That would hurt us, even if we weren't taking him. He would have probably gone ahead of us and that takes one better player away from us. And it would also make trading up for Luck even that more expensive too.

Even with all this talk, I'd be shocked if he stayed. All that money, all the risk and and the challenge of being atop the BCS standings at the end of the year. BIG gamble.

That could help us because there's several teams that want QBs. If RG3 is the only viable top 10 QB after Luck, our #4 position becomes awfully valuable to Miami at #7ish.

I go back and forth on Richardson. Everyone talks about how easy it is to find a running back. But this year, Hillis goes down and we have nothing. Obie, Herdesty? No thanks. If Richardson is really an elite guy, it seems like he could help a lot.
On the other hand, Mark Ingrahm didn't do much at all this year and he was the first RB taken last year. And how would any of those other RBs (Boise, Kentucky, etc.) have done playing for Bammy? They'd probably look like beasts, too. We're a top RT away from having one of the best OLs in the league, so maybe you just bring back Hillis and pound it while you develop a passing game.

I like Richardson but I don't think we should take a RB in the draft with our two 1's.

I also don't think he's as good as Peterson was coming out of Oklahoma.

I really want to see a QB if we can, or a stud LB which I don't know if there is one. Obviously help on the OL, WR. I just think there are so many areas of need that we shouldn't go at RB, which should be OK if we can get Hillis signed, get Jackson back, and hope Hardesty can give us more.

If Barkley stays, our pick (assuming no one trades out ahead of us) will likely have huge value for RGIII. We could trade back to Miami or Wash and probably still get Martin or Reiff for RT and then still get a WR (Floyd or Jeffrey) with the ATL pick (or possibly that Stanford Guard to replace lavaman. In terms of dollar cost, it is now very affordable to build an elite line like that (4 1st rounders) with the new CBA.

Barkley's family is pretty wealthy, so the money is not a factor. Also, for all the talk of an injury derailing someone's NFL hopes there are tons of examples of guys not getting hurt. And then there's Sam Bradford who still went #1 overall after tearing his shoulder up and Willis McGahee still went in the 1st round.

Great idea, let's trade back and draft a RT and RG with the 1st rounders...then when we need playmakers we just take the 10th best WRs and QBs left on the board and pray we can block our way to a TD while those project playmakers develop

You pretty much summed up how NOT to draft

Hey, we need a QB more than MIA and as much as WAS....why should we trade with them? That be Mack-draft and Ngata trade ALL OVER again

True, good points about the money and career injuries.

I'd still be leary of passing on guaranteed millions for a shot at a BCS title. USC could win all of their games and still be out of the title game.

I wouldn't take TWO offensive linemen in the first round, but I'd grab one. We're also a badass DE away from having a monster defensive line. It'd be fun to actually be able to run the ball on offense and rush the passer on D.

Here's what I have a feeling I'll be doing at about 4:02pm

I didn't say we should do that, only it is an option now IF no WR is available and with the current CBA. It isn't like we don't need a new right side anyways, dominant lines can have just as much an impact on an offense as a skill position player. My preference is WR (Blackmon)/RT (Martin or Reiff)/or (if Hillis leaves) potentially Richardson with our top pick (even if we trade back a couple spots) and then either RT or WR with our second pick (the one we didn't get first), unless someone on the D side we value highly fell to us, but then grab that other O need early second round. I do not want to draft a QB this year (with the exception of Luck, who I would not trade up for).

That was my thought. If it is just RGIII after Luck you might have a small bidding war for the number four spot. If the Vikings and the Rams go WR and LT.

If we're at #4 and Barkley stays at USC, trade whatever necessary for the #1 pick.

I've been doing the same thing every time I see someone clamoring for RT at our (now) top five pick. I think every year you should take a guy in either of the trenches at some point in the first three rounds, but when the writing's been on the wall for two years that we need play-makers badly, I literally would smash my head through a brick wall if we went RT in round one. I swear it's like some guys are just sitting on the couch- working on the fourth bag of pork rinds- and like broken records spinning, "Yeah, we can't evaluate our QB until we have a $70 million line and a couple Megatron clones to throw to." The value of a RT at that point is just asinine. Picking top five, if that guy can't wing it, catch it, rush the passer, or cover, (for a team like ours with a stud LT) the answer is hell no.

I'm starting to get the vibe this is going to turn into last year's draft as far as a big three going right before we pick. Last year the safe guys I was all over were (in this order) Dareus, AJ Green, and Patrick Petersen. This year it looks like it's been taken away. Luck probably won't be an option, Blackmon either, and now Barkley's probably staying. Kalil would absolutely be one of my safe, solid picks but we have Joe freakin' Thomas. The other sure-fire picks just aren't at positions of need (T-Rich) or realistic value to justify (Martin/Reiff).

Leaving out talk about Griffin III. I like him, see a lot of upside, but have only seen about three games worth of film and can't say I lean one way or the other. I haven't ruled him out yet, though.

There's no way you grab RT in the Top 10. Bottom of the 1st is understandable, but not Top 10.

Anyway, if we grabbed a RT in the 3rd, it'd be more than we've invested in that position in a long time.
Of course, everybodies mocks will get blown out of the water when free agency starts... which is what I'm really interested in at this point.

I'm sick of poor QB play. Luck and Barkley are the only two quality QB's in this class.

RG3 sucks, so does Landry Jones. Tannehill is garbage (Sorry Morug), and Weeden is 75 years old.

With Barkley not in the draft, find a way to land Luck.

If Barkley stays, it of course skyrockets RGIII's value. You will likely have to trade into the top 2 or 3 to get him. I don't think we're a player in any trade-down market for a team looking for Griffin.

Or, if all of that is true... then perhaps accept that this probably isn't the year to grab a QB.

With the new slotting, it isn't a bad deal anymore. Cam Newton only got $22 million over 4 as the top pick last year. You show me where we could even attempt to sign a good RT that cheap. The values have totally changed and I would argue that now you can take almost any position anywhere in the draft if you think that player has pro bowl potential.

edit double post

Agree 100% and would add Claiborn to the "good/safe but not really big need" list

I also haven't seen enough of RG3 too to make an accurate call...

Since Barkley is doing this thing at USC's trophy hall or whatever, and not the Boy's and Girls Club of Greenwich Connecticut, I'm thinkin he's staying.

if he leaves will they cut to Pete Carroll in Seattle lambasting his decision?