Take it with a grain of salt but Jake Long

[Admin]

is apparently close to signing a contract with the Dolphins, so says PFT.

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After days of silence regarding the possibility of the Miami Dolphins doing a deal with offensive tackle Jake Long that would make him the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and put him under contract before his name is called out on Saturday, there are now indications that an agreement could be coming.

Tom Curran of NBCSports.com, citing an unnamed source, reports that a deal between the Dolphins and Long is “nearly in place.”

Citing the same source, Curran says that the other Long — Virginia defensive end Chris Long — would then be the prime target of the Rams, with the No. 2 selection.

If/when the Dolphins have a contract in place with the No. 1 pick, the Rams would then be permitted to negotiated with one or more players at the second overall spot.

At this point in the process, however, it’s impossible to know what’s true and what isn’t. Perhaps the Fins are actually pursuing defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston, who now must face the reality that he’ll slide to No. 3, at the earliest, if he doesn’t do a deal with the Fins.

The other odd dynamic here is that Jake Long and Gholston are represented by the same firm, CAA.

If it’s true that the Fins intend to pay less money to the No. 1 pick than the No. 1 pick from a year ago received, we’d be shocked if Jake Long is the guy, absent a change in agents. If Tom Condon wouldn’t allow his name to appear on a six-year deal for late first-rounder Benjamin Watson of the Patriots several years ago, there’s no way that Condon would attach his Hancock to a contract that represents a reduction in the value of being the first overall selection in the NFL draft.

So we tend to think that this is a ploy from the Dolphins to get Gholston to tell CAA’s Ben Dogra that whatever the Fins are offering had better be accepted. Now.

[AHF]

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Citing the same source, Curran says that the other Long — Virginia defensive end Chris Long — would then be the prime target of the Rams, with the No. 2 selection.

That is promising as a Falcons fan.

[Admin]

I guess that would mean the Falcons would draft Dorsey?

[AHF]

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I guess that would mean the Falcons would draft Dorsey?

In my mind, that is the right move with Jake Long off the board.

[DJ_Money]

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I guess that would mean the Falcons would draft Dorsey?

In my mind, that is the right move with Jake Long off the board.

Absolutely.

[Admin]

I have a feeling that everyone will regret not taking Vernon Gholston, the same way that many teams regret passing on Shawne Merriman. I think he, Chris Long and Dorsey will be the best players from this draft. I am not at all happy with the Dolphins drafting a RT, paying him LT money, and then forcing him to play the LT spot.

[joannes3000]

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I am not at all happy with the Dolphins drafting a RT, paying him LT money, and then forcing him to play the LT spot.

This is the stance I'm starting to take. I've been a huge Jake Long backer since last season, but it's become evident in my mind that he's better suited for the RT slot in the NFL. I think this would actually work out pretty well for the Falcons, with one big contingency - that Todd Weiner is able to come back healthy and play effectively at LT. Remember, he was brought in as the blindside protector for Vick, which put him at the RT spot. In a perfect world we'd have Weiner at LT and Long at RT.

That said, I think we draft Dorsey if he's available. Otherwise, it's time to work the phones and trade down with either KC or BAL.

[AHF]

During my lunch today, I saw articles from ESPN and CNNSI saying that they are hearing the Falcons are going to take Ryan. This definitely concerns me.

[Admin]

It wouldn't shock me as some of the latest stuff I have read suggests that to get the "2nd tier" QB of your choice teams will probably have to move up into the bottom of the 1st to get that QB which would probably mean giving up the high 2nd and a 3rd. Might as well draft Ryan, hope for the best, and then fill the other positions in the 2nd and 3rd round. That being said, I still wouldn't take Ryan.

[Eddielives]

I wouldn't believe anything I hear this week as far as who a team is going to pick. It's all a big smokescreen now until Saturday.

[AHF]

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I wouldn't believe anything I hear this week as far as who a team is going to pick. It's all a big smokescreen now until Saturday.

Agreed - but after seeing the Shelden/Solomon "rumors" leaked before the draft I now have a fear of seeing the wrong pick being made when it comes out in the press.

[DrReality]

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I wouldn't believe anything I hear this week as far as who a team is going to pick. It's all a big smokescreen now until Saturday.

Agreed - but after seeing the Shelden/Solomon "rumors" leaked before the draft I now have a fear of seeing the wrong pick being made when it comes out in the press.

Completely different organization and leadership. They may be targeting Ryan at three but more than likely that's contingent on what offers may come their way. And I think there will be come the closer we get. TD has done his homework and evaluated everyone leaving all options open, and I love it.

[TheTruth]

Nice, we got a topic about this. Here are my two cents:

I figured J. Long would end up going #1 overall. He's apparently the real deal, and the Dolphins thought as much. The only question is whether he will be a true LT as opposed to a dominating RT.

Now that he is gone, I firmly believe the Falcons' draft board look like:

#1 Dorsey

#2 Trade Down

#3 Ryan

I dont think we should take Gholston at all. I like his versatility, but he appears to be more of a "workout warrior." If you look at his stats closely, he was good, but nothing warranting the Falcon's pick at #3 right now. Someone else will take him closer to #10.

Anyway, Dorsey is what we need. Our secondary is in bad shape, and a good D Line will always make a secondary look better. He dominated competition while in college--and did so while hurt. He will be special.

However, if he is gone, I woulkd try to trade down out of that pick. We could pick up an extra pick or two and, depending on how far down we go, could still pick up either Ellis, Brohm, Clady, or someone of that ilk. If we cant trade down, which I dont see happening, we will just take Ryan at #3 and then grab the best O Lineman, D Lineman, and probably Defensive Back with those 3 second round picks.

[Admin]

Gholston is the only defensive player in college that Jake Long went up against and got beaten by. Long could not handle him at all and if Long is the best T in the draft that should tell you a lot about Gholston. I truly think he will be the best player in this draft in a couple of years but since he won't be a Dolphin I hope I'm wrong LOL.

[TheTruth]

That "Gholston was the only one to beat Long in college" is what you hear 9 times out of 10 when Gholston's name is brought up in the same breath as J Long. I think Gholston will be a good player, but we as Falcons have way too many holes to fill (and more important ones at that) to pick Gholston at #3.

[KB21]

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I have a feeling that everyone will regret not taking Vernon Gholston, the same way that many teams regret passing on Shawne Merriman. I think he, Chris Long and Dorsey will be the best players from this draft. I am not at all happy with the Dolphins drafting a RT, paying him LT money, and then forcing him to play the LT spot.

You aren't the only one. I'm currently catching a lot of flak because I'm not bowing down to the all mighty Bill Parcells and worshiping this pick.