Daunte's Future Home

Now that the dust has settled in Miami and the Dolphins are poised to part ways with Daunte Culpepper, the obvious question arises of where exactly Daunte will play. At this juncture there aren't any teams where Daunte could step in and start, although isn't it ironic that the Vikings would probably kill to have him back at this point? Seriously, you don't think they would want Daunte over Tavaris Jackson or Brooks Bollinger? I digress. After searching through various news reports and hearing various rumors, four destinations have jumped out as possible destinations for Daunte next season: Jacksonville, Baltimore, Detroit, and...Winnipeg?

Jacksonville: Byron Leftwich is in the final year of his contract, and the Jaguars already seem to have wavering confidence as to whether or not he is their starter for the future. David Garrard stepped in last season after Leftwich was injured, and had moderate success despite the Jaguars experiencing a three game losing streak to end the season while Garrard was under center. All indications would point to the Jags not wanting to make Garrard their long term starter either, so after Leftwich departs next season Culpepper would have the opportunity to compete for the starting job on an offense featuring three talented young wide recievers in Matt Jones, Ernest Wilford, and Reggie Williams, as well as rookies Maurice Jones-Drew and Marcedes Lewis. The Jaguars would seem to be the best situation for Culpepper in terms of prolonging his career, as he would likely step into the starting role after a year of learning the offense, and then have available to him a variety of weapons. It is rather ironic though, that in that scenario the jaguars would essentially be trading a big, strong-armed, immobile QB in Leftwich for a big, strong-armed, (now) immobile QB in Culpepper.

Baltimore: The Ravens have a slightly different problem than the Jaguars, as while Steve McNair was good for them last season there are some indications that the 34 year old QB may be nearing the end of his career. That problem is compounded by the fact that the Ravens have Kyle Boller, the current Darko Milicic of the NFL, as their backup. Culpepper would step in and immediately push Boller down the depth chart, but unlike in Jacksonville his future options to start in Baltimore are much more unclear. There is no certainty that this season or the next would be the last for McNair, and it is unlikely that Culpepper would go into a situation where he would not have a chance to compete for the starting job. The Ravens do have some nice offensive weapons in Todd Heap and Willis McGahee, but it is unlikely Culpepper would get the chance to throw to them any time soon.

Detroit: Jon Kitna was shaky for the Lions this past season, throwing the second most interceptions (22) of any quarterback in the league. Much like in Miami the future at the QB position is on the horizon in Detroit, as the Lions used a 2nd round choice in this year's draft on Drew Stanton. Stanton likely would not be ready to start for at least two seasons, and with management likely to have a short fuse with Kitna now that Calvin Johnson has been added to an already talented WR corps, Culpepper could have a legitmate chance to start this season and throw his patented long bombs to Johnson and Roy Williams.

Winnipeg: No, that isn't a typo. Evidently the Winnipeg Blue Bombers see some potential in Culpepper, as they put him on their protected player list, meaning that they would be the only CFL team that could negotiate with him. As far fetched as that may sound, bear in mind that Winnipeg did sign former Viking Onterrio Smith after the Whizzinator incident, so I guess you never know...

Draft Thoughts

In advance of a more detailed analysis of the NFL Draft later this week, I want to point out a few things that stuck out to me from the draft this weekend.

The best trade is when you get your cake and eat it too: In three cases early in the draft teams were able to take advantage of a team desperate to trade up for a particular prospect, while still being able to draft their original target later on.

*The Jets traded with the Panthers to move from #25 to #14 in order to get CB Darrelle Revis, and the Panthers were able to still get LB Jon Beason at #25 while also getting the best center in the draft, Ryan Kalil, with the second round pick acquired in the deal.

*The Broncos traded with the Jags to move from #21 to #17 to get DE Jarvis Moss, and the Jags were still able to get the safety they had coveted all along in Reggie Nelson. The Jags also received a 2nd and a 5th round pick, and consequently shopped the 2nd round pick to Baltimore for a 5, a 6 and a 7. So in the end they got the guy they always wanted, for a little less money, plus four extra late rounders. Nice work.

*The Bills traded with the Lions to move from #43 to #34 and selected Paul Posluzny. The Lions were still able to get Michigan State QB Drew Stanton as well as an additional 2nd Rounder.

These are the types of trades that can turn an organization around, or keep a good one on top. You can never have enough picks.

I guess anyone can be a GM nowadays: There were a striking number of moments early in the draft where the only response a fan could have to their team's pick was a bat through the televison. There are bad value picks, but then there are bad value picks that are made when there is good value in a position of need still on the board. For example:

*The Dolphins selected Ted Ginn Jr. at #9 with Brady Quinn still on the board. Perhaps the Dolphins have a lot more faith in Culpepper than most, or maybe they see more in 2nd Rounder John Beck than others, but with the dissarray at the QB position it would seem asinine to pick a receiver projected by most to go in the middle of the 1st when a potential franchise QB is sitting in the green room.

*The Packers took DT Justin Harrell at #16 with a host of 1st Round caliber WRs available. Not only did they avoid plugging their biggest hole this side of RB, they also went with the second best DT still left, with Alan Branch still on the board.

*The Colts took Anthony Gonzalez at #32 with Alan Branch still sliding. I mean, did you watch a Colts game last year? They don't think they need a DT more than yet another WR?

When these trades are evaluated five years from now, just keep in mind what could have been. Especially you Miami, especially you.

The Broncos like the way the Redskins think: Mike Shanahan really really wanted Jarvis Moss and Marcus Thomas. To get the pick for Moss the Broncos gave up their 1st, a 2nd , and a 5th. For Thomas in the 4th Round they gave up a 6th, a 7th, and...A 3RD NEXT YEAR? Wow, the Broncos better hope these two guys turn out to be something special, because they had to sacrifice 6 picks to get em. I mean, getting rid of draft picks en masse has really worked out well for Washington...

Phil Savage is no dummy: The Browns had a sensational draft. Say what you will about what they had to pay to trade up for Quinn, but in Quinn, Joe Thomas, and Eric Wright (a top 15 talent with background issues) the Browns were able to draft potential 10 year starters at arguably the three most important positions in the NFL: Starting QB, Blindside Tackle, and Shut Down Corner. If you can think of a team that has filled those three positions all in one draft, let me know. I would love to see it.

The going rate for a WR is a 4th Rounder: A 4th Round choice seemed to be all that was needed for teams to get veteran pass catchers, as the Pats were able to get Randy Moss and the 49ers were able to get Darell Jackson for the same price. In addition, the Raiders were able to get Josh McCown and Mike Williams for just one fourth rounder, perhaps showing just how badly the Lions wanted to get rid of #2 of Matt Millen's draft disasters.

Alright, those are my first round of impressions. Later in the week we will roll out a more detailed draft evaluation for each division.