Draft Preview: Defensive Line

There are a lot of Defensive line prospects to sort through this year. Pretty much every mock draft has Denver taking Jarvis Moss, but I can pretty much guarantee that won't happen. Why?
Because Denver NEVER does what's expected. Never. no one thought Denver would trade up for Cutler, no one thought Denver would pass on Steven Jackson for DJ Williams, et cetera. Here's the thing I've noticed about media mock drafts- all the "experts" say teams should draft the best player, and not try to draft for need. And then they do their mock drafts based on need. With all the chaos of draft day, what are the chances that 75% of mock drafts end up dead on with the 21st pick?

I'm not completely sold on Moss either. He's a productive pass rusher, but part of me wonders if that's due to ability, or simply due to the team he was on. I think Reggie Nelson was the best player on the defense, and after that came Brandon Siler, Earl Everett, Ray McDonald, Derrick Harvey, and Moss. And Marcus Thomas was better than all of them before he got kicked off the team. Further, everyone cites Moss in the Champeenship game, but Harvey was more dominant, and I'd hate to spend a first round pick on a guy who makes me look longingly back to college for his running mate. At any rate, here are some other DE's that might intrigue Denver (by which I mean me):

• Tim Crowder Texas 6'3" 272 lbs 4.69
• Victor Abiamiri Notre Dame 6'4" 267 lbs 4.80
• Charles Johnson Georgia 6'2" 270 lbs 4.87
• Dan Bazuin Central Michigan 6'2" 266 lbs 4.77
• Baraka Atkins Miami 6'4" 271 4.69
• Abraham Wright Colorado 6'2" 242 4.87

By now I'm sure you know the rules regarding Wright. I'm particularly fond of Abiamiri, because I'm Catholic and the Bible says I have to follow Notre Dame. I also like Bazuin way too much, but I feel he might duplicate Dumervil's role. He's not very good against the run, so he'd be solely a situational pass rusher. And Atkins is maddening. Watching him play, he looks like a player who should be a lot better than the numbers he puts up. Part of me wonders if he just needs to refine his technique, but a larger part of me thinks he's just a lazy ass.

And some defensive tackles:

• Alan Branch Michigan 6'5" 324 lbs
• Amobi Okoye Louisville 6'2" 302 lbs
• Justin Harrell Tennessee 6'4" 300 lbs
• DeMarcus Tyler North Carolina St. 6'2" 306 lbs
• Paul Soliai Utah 6'4" 344 lbs
• Marcus Thomas Florida 6'3" 314 lbs

I think most of the "draft risers and fallers" columns are much ado about nothing, personally. It seems to me that writers move players up and down and start trade rumors just so they have something to write about, but there's enough discussion about the top guys that I felt compelled to include them. Jim Bates loves him some big fatsos in the middle, so Branch and Soliai qualify, and Shanahan's never shied away from a character gamble, which might make Marcus Thomas attractive late.

*Does anyone else remember Kenny Walker, Denver's deaf defensive end?