What do you think Wright is worth?

[Kazkal]

[membengal]

4th, no more than that. I don't care how much potential he has, giving up even as much as a third in next years draft would be painful.

[walshfan]

I too voted 4th round... supplemental players are risks imo... He doesnt have allot of on field experience... He may pan out but I wouldnt risk a 3rd rounder or lower on him...

[HairOnFire]

It's my belief that supplemental drafts are notorius for failing to play out in ways that would have been predictable based upon pre-draft rankings of player value. Based soley upon a gut feeling...and absolutely NO research....I'd say that most supplemental drafts result in players being drafted LATER than their pre-draft rankings suggested.

That said, I have a very hard time believing that any team will bite on Wright as early as the 2nd round due to the difficulty of judging a player with so little experience. In addition, even if a 2nd round pick was considered worthy I can't see the Bengals being the team willing to jump early. But after that, yeah. from the 3rd round on I'm pretty interested in this guy.

As for the poll vote, I'd offer a 4th round pick for Wright with very few reservations of any kind so that's my choice.

[KiLBurn]

I voted 4th also. I like my first day picks too much to take a flyer on a backup. I gather that the guy is academically challenged as well, from what I've read.

[brian5562]

Yes his experience is limited but have any of you guys seen this kid play? He has huge potential. He defenitely outplayed Cody in the Cal game. Would he take a few years to develop of course but he has too much size, speed, and potential to not really consider with a 3rd round pick.

[Spain]

4th here too, IMHO

[jditty47]

i said 3rd but thats cuz it'll be a very late 3rd :player:

[HairOnFire]

I gather that the guy is academically challenged as well, from what I've read.

Pete Carroll once said that he was a kid that could play in the NFL and have a bright future, but was the type that should never be expected to perform well in a college classroom. Obviously he also thought he could prop up Wright academically long enough to pap dividends to his program, but I've read where Wright skipped almost all of his classes after testing poorly early.

When asked about the above, and why he hadn't been able to keep Wright motivated to attend class, Carroll said Wright had been eyeing the coming supplemental draft for more than a year, implying that Wright had already gotten out of USC what he and his advisors has hoped for, and had shut down academically as a result. Wright got the chance to flash his skills against major college competition for a year and then declare for the supplemental draft as a player from the national championship team instead of an academically struggling player from a smaller JUCO.

[DesperateDerelict]

I'll say it again: If Wright can't help us immediately, do we really want to have him take up a roster spot the entire year? No way he survives the practice squad. If he will contribute, then a 5th . . .

I truly hope we can garner some additional 2006 picks for those WRs, DBs, and LBs we'll have to cut down in September. Next year's supposed to be LOADED!

Draft Math: Additional picks + Trade-up = Impact Players

[Kazkal]

I say 3rd round :player: Give him a year or 2 turn in to something great then he can replace one of our older DT's

[derekshank]

I'll say it again: If Wright can't help us immediately, do we really want to have him take up a roster spot the entire year? No way he survives the practice squad. If he will contribute, then a 5th . . .

I truly hope we can garner some additional 2006 picks for those WRs, DBs, and LBs we'll have to cut down in September. Next year's supposed to be LOADED!

Draft Math: Additional picks + Trade-up = Impact Players

You're right, he's not going to help us this year, he's going to be a project... but Stacy Andrews probably won't help much either, and that was a pick of 2 years ago. (even if he does, he didn't help us at all in his first year).

I'd say Wright is worth a 4th rounder, and that is because you can usually still get a guy that can play pretty well in the 3rd round, but when you get to the 4th round, I'd rather have a guy that we can say has a year under his belt with the team in the NFL.

This is of course assuming that Lewis thinks this project can pan out. If Marvin decides against him, then I think we can agree he isn't worth any round draft pick.

[schweinhart]

It sounds like it may take a 2nd rd pick to get Wright.

I don't see Bengals going for that. They proly will bid for him with their 4th.

[HoosierCat]

Well, in the bengals.com piece, Wright says he's "hearing late first, early second," which says to me that he needs his hearing checked badly...or that he should listen to more people than just his agent!

I would be very, very surprised if he ends up costing more than a third.

OTOH, pft agrees with you, schweinart...

FINS HAVE FOUND THEIR MR. WRIGHT

A league source tells us that the Miami Dolphins fully intend to select USC defensive tackle Manuel Wright in the July 14 supplemental draft.

Wright, who played sparingly during his time in SoCal, has drawn interest from Miami, Philly, and Cincinnati. 

Wright is six-foot-five and weighs 320 pounds.  He has scored a 17 on the Wonderlic test, and he works out for scouts on July 8. 

The Dolphins arguably have the greatest need at Wright's position, especially for the future.  Tim Bowens is done, Larry Chester is a half-step behind him, and Keith Traylor are Jeff Zgonina are 35.  Other defensive tackles on the roster are Dario Romero, rookie seventh-rounder Kevin Vickerson, Josh Shaw, and rookie free agent Orrin Thompson.

Free-agent acquisition Kevin Carter arguably could move inside, since he played the position in Tennessee.  But the plan for now is for Carter to stay at defensive end.

The real question here is how high the Fins are willing to go in order to ensure that Manuel will labor in South Florida.  Most view him as a third-round or fourth-round prospect.  The supplemental draft, however, uses a goofy lottery-based procedure, which has certain elements of a smoke-filled poker game in the back room at Fat Tony's.

Like Georgia Tech running back Tony Hollings a year ago, for whom the Texans burned a No. 2 in order to beat out the Cowboys, our guess is that the Fins might have to use a second-round pick in order to trump interested teams.  Still, we'd be shocked to see Miami -- or anyone -- take Wright in round one, since the use of a supplemental pick forfeits that pick, from that same round, in next April's draft. 

[HairOnFire]

17 on the Wonderlic? That's a very respectable score. Yet Wright was said to have struggled in class at all levels.

Sorry, just thinkin' out loud.

[Kazkal]

He should get to pick the team he goes to

/cough

[TJJackson]

a 6th if and only if they are ready to jettison Askew

otherwise, not worth a pick at all

[UofLnMU]

People. Given what I've been reading, there is no shot in Cleveland of nabbing this guy at a 4th round supplemental pick. That does not mean he is "worth" a third round slot, or whatever it would take to get him. The Dolphins have fallen victim to good ol' fashioned Adam Smith economics and the fallacies therein.

Adam Smith: The value of a thing is the price it draws at market, not any sort of inherent value. (Explains why a 1993 Boba Fett action figure with half a circle on its palm is worth more than a 1980 Boba Fett action figure. Or a months rent, for that matter.)

[Kazkal]

3rd round would be fine with me sense it will be like a early 4th but then again we could miss out on another chris henry 3rd round type of pick

[LABengalsFan09]

remember, the Chargers drafted an outstanding DT in Jamal Williams in the supplemental, so the talent can be there. This guy's name would be better known if he wasn't behind 2 all-americans... having said that I would go no earlier than the 3rd round on him.