Four Downs with Stock & Doc
by Ben Stockwell and Paul Hopkins
12/4/2008
 
After his latest arrest and subsequent release by the Bengals, Chris Henry is finished in the NFL.
 
STOCK – FICTION ! – He's got the talent to be a #1 receiver in the NFL, that is the sort of talent (as people will soon learn with the return of Michael Vick at some point) that someone will always take a chance on in spite of legal or disciplinary troubles. After being banned for 8 games last year it is likely that he will be banned for a full season this year. Assuming he keeps his nose relatively clean as Adam “Pacman” Jones did in his year off it's highly likely he'll be re-instated, at which point someone will throw an incentive laden deal (with all sorts of clauses to protect the team when Henry inevitably gets arrested again) in his direction and someone could get the bargain of the century. As with guys like Jones he is utterly detestable, but his undeniable talent will give ensure he gets more chances than he probably deserves.
 
DOC – FACT ! – You cite Adam Jones and Michael Vick, who between them haven't probably got records as long as he has. But let's compare those two examples to Henry and the difference is that they have elite talent. Henry has decent talent, but not talent that can't be filled by someone with twice the heart and with better behaviour. Even though I say fact he'll be done, I'm not daft. He'll be back. People like him always resurface somewhere. Someone will take a chance and then he'll re-pay them by dragging himself down into the gutter again (assuming he even leaves it).
 
Jake Long is not the best offensive line prospect in the 2008 draft.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – He is the most sure prospect, you can almost guarantee right now that he will be a solid left tackle and a very good right tackle but to me the best prospect is the guy who has the chance to be the best player in the draft and on the line this year that is Ryan Clady or Branden Albert. Albert will be an all-pro guard if he is left inside but if he is moved outside he could be a very good left tackle as well, he has the size, strength and athleticism to dominate inside and be a valuable contributor on the outside, plus with him still being relatively new to the game still he can improve further on his technique. Clady has the physical size of Long with the far greater athletic ability that should see him become the best left tackle from this year's draft. Protecting the blind side is still a must have and Clady should be tops in this regard in this draft.
 
DOC – FICTION ! – Course he is. You just want Clady to the Ravens, as I notice by magical coincidence he's forecast to go there in the latest mock! And you can justify it to yourself all you want, but I'd take Long above Clady any day of the year. Long is big, strong, has tons of starting experience and has coped with everything thrown his way in the Big 10. He's a top tier talent who deserves his top O-line billing. Clady is a talent and deserves to be the next one to go, but he isn't better than Long.
 
Devin Thomas will be a first round pick in the forthcoming draft.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – Workout warriors always slip up into the end of the first round and after a stunning senior season that came some what out of nowhere he has added to that with some tremendous off-season workouts and flashed good timed speed on the stop watch. He ticks all of the boxes for a late first round type of pick, fills the need of plenty of teams down the bottom end (Eagles, Buccaneers, Redskins, Cowboys, Titans), rising stock, he is a prime candidate to jump up into the tail end of the first round.
 
DOC – FICTION ! for me. Simply because with teams having needs for wide receivers, I think someone, in all probability one of those teams will trade out of round 1 to a team in the top half of the 2nd round, and take Thomas there. Which de facto makes him a 1st round pick for some team but doesn't make him an overall 1st round pick. That he has literally come out of nowhere and shot up draft boards to me is a worry. How sure can we be about him? I think there'll be enough top tier talent, which people know about and are confident in, around towards the back end of the draft that teams will take advantage of that, grab a pick or something better in the process and get Thomas in the early-to-mid 2nd round. This is probably where he belongs.
 
It is Dan Connor, not Keith Rivers who is the top linebacker in this year's draft class.
 
STOCK – FICTION ! – Rivers is a bona-fide, nailed on first round talent, Connor is not. Connor is undersized and will struggle to take on blocks in the pros, Rivers has more size but at the same time is also more athletic than Connor, he bests him in almost every aspect of being a linebacker. The only area Connor may have the edge is reading the game and playing with more intensity which some teams will love but at the end of he day Rivers is simply the better prospect, better upside, far less likely to be swamped by the bigger blockers of the NFL and comes from sure stock at USC, Rivers is the clear cut best LB prospect this year. Connor isn't even second, Erin Henderson should be ahead of him at least.
 
DOC – FICTION ! – This year's linebacking crew is pretty moderate at best if you ask me. And gee, you're on about Erin Henderson….. I never saw that one coming!! I'm not quite as down on Connor as you are, but Rivers is evidently a step above at this stage. Connor's an interesting pick for me and could by virtue of being a 1st to 2nd round tweener find himself on a very strong team, where he can develop and probably fit in better. But whilst I'm on, I'll pimp the hell out of Curtis Lofton. Who probably comes somewhere down the list of linebackers out there, but who for me, in two to three years time when we look back at this draft and its line backing corps, will be regarded as the best one of the class of 2008.