Ben Natan’s NFL Draft Twitter Mailbag
By Ben Natan
From Mark Chisholm (@MarkSharkTampa):Many fans fear taking an OT high in 1st round. Is there a Trent Williams, Staley, Joe Thomas, Jason Peters, Brandon Albert at top worth taking?
Jake Matthews (Texas A&M) is by far and away the best tackle prospect in this class and an even better prospect than former teammate and second overall pick, Luke Joekel. Matthews is an elite technician and also moves very well in space. In my eyes he is a blue chip player and I expect him to go Top Five in the draft.
From Blake Murphy (@blakemurphy7): Cardinals have QB interest–who should they look into to prepare for Palmers departure and where do they go @ 20?
Bruce Arians’ vertical offense seems best suited for Zach Mettenberger (LSU), whose arm talent could do wonders in that offense. His injury could push him into the second round and the team should let him learn behind Palmer for at least a year. As for their first pick, Cardinals could use some youth at the outside linebacker position. John Abraham has been a revelation this year as a pass rusher, but he is not getting any younger. Edge rushers such as Jeremiah Attoachu (Georgia Tech), Demarcus Lawrence (Boise State) and Kony Ealy (Mizzou) should all be in play.
From Randy Jobst (@Randyjobst) Best man coverage LBs and Ss?
The best coverage linebacker, period, is CJ Mosley (Alabama). He has great feet, instincts and range while working in man or into zones. At safety, look no further than Lemarcus Joyner (FSU). He has played at safety and corner so has experience in man and zone and he is pretty damn good at both. There are size concerns with Joyner but he can have a Tyrann Mathieu type role in the NFL and be quite good with it.
From James Cobern (@Jmcobern1): Where does Brett Smith eventually go and you can’t say Eagles?
Brett Smith (QB, Wyoming) has it all from a tools perspective: Size, speed, and a pretty good arm. He is, in a term, a more NFL ready, Johnny Manziel (QB, Texas A&M). Obviously saying he would go to a team like the Eagles makes a lot of sense due to the nature of the offense, but I love his fit in a place like Chicago. Marc Trestman has a history of doing absolute wonders with helping and honing quarterbacks and Smith could use that kind of assistance. Not only that, but he is walking into a team full of playmakers all over which will smooth the transition.