Amidst all of the mock draft talk, I got an idea for something mock draft related but yet something different...something I have never seen on here before.

Let's play a name association game with our favorite 2012 draft prospects, aka our "man crushes" for this year's draft. Rather than do a detailed seven round mock draft with player notes on each guy and how they fit into our needs, I'm curious to see which prospects other APers REALLY like.

The rules are simple:
1. List the name of the 2012 prospect(s) you absolutely love, his school, and his position.
2. List said prospect's current or historic NFL comparison (in your opinion).
3. Give brief, detailed notes on why you like said prospect and chose his NFL comparison (optional).
4. It makes no difference if said prospect plays a position of great need for the Chiefs or not.

For example, some of my recent "man crushes" in past years included:
1) Rodney Hudson, Florida State, Guard, Randall McDaniel
2) Alex Mack, California, Center, Bruce Matthews
3) Eugene Monroe, Virginia, Tackle, Tony Boselli (I might have missed the boat on that one)

Now apparently I have been wanting offensive line help in the worst ways in recent years and I clearly am placing high expectations on my examples, but hopefully they help clarify the instructions for anyone who wants to play along. Since many of us live in various parts of the country, I thought it would be fun to see which prospects fellow APers have taken an interest in and if others share that interest or can provide informative insight on specific prospects.

While sitting in night class tonight, my highly not-so-productive self began to lose focus and my mind began to wander.  Like many of you, that takes me to a place in my mind devoted entirely to the Chiefs, the Chiefs, the Chiefs again and anything and everything else pertaining to the Chiefs.  The subject of tonight's magic school bus-like adventure inside of my mind led to this simple question: How have the Chiefs progressed from last year to now?  I don't mean progression as in win-loss record and a playoff berth.  I mean progression as in what were our needs a year ago, how did we address those needs and what are our needs as we continue to move forward.

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I apologize right now for having a third consecutive post pertaining to the offensive line, but I think this one is much different.  I also want to apologize in advance to Bewsaf for posting something fairly similar to what he did recently.  I’ve been kicking this thought around for a few days now and thought that it actually would go well with his recent post of “Critics Say You Don’t Move Offensive Linemen In The NFL.“  Instead of researching numbers like I usually do, this post actually has video evidence to support my comments for each of the top offensive tackle prospects.  All I’m saying is that IF Kansas City feels they MUST draft an offensive tackle 5th overall, here are the obvious candidates and I hope they see the same things I do and am trying to show all of you.

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As we all impatiently wait for the end of April for the NFL Draft to arrive, there have been several debates lately over which positions are worthy of a 5th overall selection. My curiosity has led me to do some more of my usual number crunching. Tonight, my research involved looking at the Chiefs and the six playoff teams from the AFC in 2009 and seeing where their offensive linemen were selected in the draft. Some players were drafted by teams other than who they played for last season but I went with their original draft position. For example, Damien Woody is a Jet but was drafted by the Patriots in round one. I assigned a point value (based on the round) for where each player was picked and calculated each playoff team’s average for where their player was picked and the average draft value for each offensive line position. The lower the number means the earlier the players were drafted. The following details the numerical value assigned for draft rounds…

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The term fanatic is defined by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.  And honestly, I’m not ashamed to be considered that.  In my mind, the term “fan” has become tarnished by casual sports enthusiasts and bandwagoners.  I’m quite proud to show my loyalty to the teams that I love and I’m devoted to helping them win.  Now this is the point in which I’m probably losing some of you.  Yes, I feel like I possess powers to make my teams win from the seat of my chair.  Hopefully I’m not the only “crazy” one.  I’ve gone through my fair share of “Chiefs game rituals” (as I like to call them- sounds less psychotic than superstitions) and at the risk of embarrassment, I’ll begin with a few of mine:

1)     The Chiefs have never won a 12:00 game during my lifetime in which I missed the opening kickoff on tv.  Granted the sample size is very small, but it’s still true.  Needless to say I have extra motivation to wake up and make the early services on Sunday mornings.

2)     During the 1995 season, when I was a kid, I laid out my Chiefs blanket perfectly on the floor with all of my Chiefs memorabilia carefully placed in perfect and strategic order on the blanket.  The Chiefs went 13-3 that season.  What happened in those three losses?  My mother made me move the blanket so she could vacuum the floor.  Worse yet…in the playoff game with a certain kicker who will remain nameless, my parents both forbid me to lay my blanket out on the floor because it was all just a “silly coincidence”.  I’m now 23 years old and I still give them shit for that day.

Now it brings me to this question: What are some of your Chiefs game superstitions?

A combination of being a stat nerd, growing increasingly tired of all the fuss over not acquiring Anquan Boldin and claims that Bowe will never be more than a good #2 receiver has driven me to finally research something I have been curious of for most of this off-season.  I see an unlimited amount of potential in Bowe that can make him nearly every bit as good as Andre Johnson.  I wanted to compare Bowe’s stats from his first three seasons to those of other (good) first round picks from their first three years to see if my hope in him is justified or overly optimistic.  Here is my data…

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About a month ago, I posted my prospect rankings for the skill positions on offense.  I received a lot of positive feedback so here I am again with my own personal evaluations for the top offensive linemen in the 2010 draft.  I have 30 players in all, with 16 being offensive tackles, 10 guards and 4 centers.

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It's no secret that the six most talked about names recently on this site are Julius Peppers, Karlos Dansby, Vince Wilfork, Anquan Boldin, Glenn Dorsey and Derrick Johnson.  Two of those are free agents, two of those are currently on other teams, and two of those are members of the Chiefs.  If I were GM for a day, the following details how I would handle these six names (while trying to be as realistic as possible).

Free Agency:

Julius Peppers- 6’7’’, 283 lbs, just turned 30 in January
What I’d offer: $80 million over 6 years ($13.33 M/ year average)
Signing bonus: $20 million ($3.33 M/year)
Base pay: $60 M total
Base pay broken down:
Year 1 = $10 M
Year 2 = $5 M
Year 3 = $ 8 M
Year 4 = $12 M
Year 5 = $12 M
Year 6 = $13 M

Reasoning for this: You can almost assume that Peppers will want a contract that exceeds Jared Allen’s $72M but I think it’s unrealistic to expect any team to offer something close to the $100M Haynesworth received. With a large base pay up front, Peppers will receive a dollar amount that equals the average overall value of his contract ($10 M base pay + $3.33 M bonus = $13.33 M in year one). Years two and three dip a bit in base pay in the event of a stricter salary cap in 2011 and 2012. The contract is backloaded so that the salary jumps to high levels in years 4 - 6 so that if Peppers doesn’t meet expectations, he can be released and still save the team money. He would still be owed the remaining bonus money from the contract and it would count against the salary cap for its respective year, but it would save the Chiefs tons of money. Rather than pay Peppers $15.33 M, $15.33 M and $16.33 M in the final three years of his deal, it would only cost KC $3.33 M in each of the final three years if they were to cut him, thus a savings of $12-13 M against the salary cap each year. Peppers will be 33 years old when year 4 of his contract hits, so it’s reasonable to believe that he may be slowing down and not worth $15+ M anymore. So in retrospect, if Peppers were to only play 3 years of this contract, it would essentially be a 3 year deal for $43 M. Peppers would actually make more money that way while the Chiefs would save in the long run, yet the 6 years for $80 M would look much more attractive to lure him to Kansas City.

Karlos Dansby- 6’4’’, 250 lbs, turns 29 in November
What I’d offer: $37.5 million over 5 years ($7.5 M/ year average)
Signing bonus: $15 million ($3 M/year)
Base pay: $22.5 M total
Base pay broken down:
Year 1 = $2.5 M
Year 2 = $3 M
Year 3 = $4.5 M
Year 4 = $5.5 M
Year 5 = $7 M

Reasoning for this: Even though he’s a year younger than Peppers, he plays a position with a shorter lifespan. Lance Briggs received $36 M over 6 years from the Bears in 2008. That was 2 years ago and for a player less versatile than Dansby so I think he gets closer to the $7+ M average/year range. Considering he’s just 28 at the moment, it’s not out of the question that he plays out the life of the contract before his skills begin to decline. However, he will be 32 years old entering year 5, so he could be cut prior to that year for a savings of $4 M.

Incoming Trades:

Vince Wilfork- 6’2’’, 325 lbs, turns 29 in November
The most I’d offer: 2010 2nd round pick (2A)

Reasoning for this: It’s no secret that KC needs a NT but giving up the 5th overall is not smart at all and I don’t feel that a future 1st round pick for a player is the way to go either. History has proven that the team receiving a future 1st round pick always fairs much better than the team who gave it up. I think the Chiefs 2010 2B pick (#49) will be too low for the Patriots potential asking price, but a pick at the top of round 2 may entice them to move Wilfork. If they don’t accept, then the Chiefs keep pick 2A and can use it on one of their other needs.

Anquan Boldin- 6’1’’, 217 lbs, turns 30 in October
The most I’d offer: 2010 4th round pick or 2011 4th round pick with any low round pick in 2010 thrown in

Reasoning for this: Kansas City has far too many needs than to lose a 3rd round pick for a player with no more than 3 years left. Boldin is certainly a great player, but he has a history of injuries and turns 30 soon. I don’t imagine the Cardinals moving him for a 4th and I’d expect another team to make a better offer, but I cant see the Chiefs benefiting by offering anything higher than a 4th for Boldin.

Outgoing Trades:

Glenn Dorsey- 6’1’’, 297 lbs, turns 25 in August
The worst I’d accept: 2010 2nd round pick (top 40 overall) or 2011 1st round pick plus a 2010 3rd round pick

Reasoning for this: Dorsey is a very good player, but he wont be an elite player while playing out of position (for those who don’t already know, I feel VERY STRONGLY that he is not strong enough to play a two-gap defense…he was blessed with a quick burst, which best fits a one-gap defense). If KC can land an early 2nd round pick in 2010, it gives the team an opportunity to target more positions of need if they believe that Alex McGee can step in. After using a 3rd round pick on McGee last year, the Chiefs must expect more out of him than just providing depth. If KC can receive an offer for a future 1st and a 3rd in 2010, I think they also must bite on that…but nothing less. If they move Dorsey, they need at least one pick in this upcoming draft in return.

Derrick Johnson- 6’3’’, 242 lbs, turns 28 in November
The worst I’d accept: 2010 4th round pick or 2011 4th round pick

Reasoning: I’d hate to see D.J. leave for just a 4th because I think he’s the best player on the defense. In fact, I’d love to see him take over for Vrabel’s spot. Let him use his speed to anchor the outside and to rush the passer like he did at Texas. Now back to reality, a 4th round pick sure seems low for a player of his talents, but it’s actually very good compensation for a 28 year old linebacker who is in and out of the starting lineup. I just fear that he would go on and excel with another team and we’d be stuck wishing we never dropped him for a 4th. But unfortunately, I cant envision any other team offering more than a 4th for him at this point in time. If KC does get that offer, I think it has be tempting.

Now I dare to ask the question...what do you guys think?  Agree or disagree?  Seem realistic and logical?  What would your asking prices and best offers be?

Hey everyone, this is kc_radrh8r here.  This is my first ever fan post and there's no better topic to discuss than scouting.  Hopefully this turns out alright.  I have a list of my top prospects (approximately 15) at each position.  My notes are too long for one post so they'll be divided into three.  This is part one- offensive skill positions.  Enjoy, give feedback, and hopefully more of you value my input than resent it.

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