4.01 DE Brian Orakpo, WAS

[PencilGeeks]

With a clean-sweep of defensive awards (he won the Lombardi, Hendricks and Nagurski awards) Orakpo was arguably the elite senior defensive lineman in the 2009 draft.. and like the Redskins, who literally ran to the podium to make their selection, I am also very happy to select him at this stage of the draft! Plus he has the coolest name

Without a doubt, this high-motor wrecking-ball provides an immediate boost to the Redskins 4-3 defense. He is an effective all-around defender capable of making plays against the run.. not to mention his most recognized skill, chasing quarterbacks.. With Haynesworth doing what he does in the middle of the line of scrimmage, Orakpo should have some excellent opportunities to make game-changing plays off the edge.

[bigmash33]

The only concern is what position he is going to play. A lot of sites have him in as SLB on the depth chart. I have heard he is going to be mostly a LB and DE on passing downs...basically he is made for a 3-4 defense. It will be interesting to see where MFL lists him in the position database. He has good value as a DE but not really as much as a LB.

[Mutts]

I was considering Orakpo at 3.7 until reading this. He isn't very valuable fantasy-wise on the strong side. I can't imagine the Redskins would work so hard on the transition to a brand new position if they thought there was a chance of him being one of their top DEs.

Though Orakpo earned the Lombardi Award (nation's best lineman), Nagurski Trophy (nation's best defender) and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors as a defensive end, the Redskins began their minicamp with the former Longhorn manning the strong-side linebacker position.
"The idea is to keep me on the field as much as possible," Orakpo said. "Washington had a great defensive line even before signing Albert Haynesworth, so why mess with their success when I can help in other areas too? I mean they finished fourth in the entire NFL in total defense. All I can do is bring my versatility to the field and try to help out in every way I can."
Acclimating to linebacker might not be as difficult for Orakpo as it has been for other former collegiate defensive ends. Orakpo did play some linebacker in Will Muschamp's defense at Texas last year, alternating between rushing the passer and covering receivers so as to confuse the opponent.
Still, it isn't a transition the Redskins are taking lightly, which is why Orakpo spent the vast majority of his time practicing at linebacker during the minicamp and glued to veteran London Fletcher.
"I haven't spent a lot of time with the defensive line yet. I've spent most of my time with the LBs, because there is obviously going to be more of a transition there and Fletch has been really helpful already. He was there all weekend to help me out, as I'll not only be making the transition from college to the pros like every rookie, but will be playing more linebacker than I'm used to too."
Orakpo was pleased, though never satisfied, with his play.
"There was one particular play [while at linebacker] when I was up against [Pro Bowl tight end Chris] Cooley man-on-man," Orakpo explained. "He [Cooley] tried to fake block me and then go out for a delayed route. I read it and stuck with him so that when the quarterback tried to dump it off to him, he saw that I was right there and he had to throw it away or take a sack. I was happy with myself, because he's a good player and I stayed disciplined and showed that I can be effective in coverage."
The impressive early play out of Orakpo might have justified head coach Jim Zorn's draft-day assertion that the former Longhorn would be making the transition to linebacker once he arrived in Washington.

[PencilGeeks]

Ahh.. little grass-hopper you have apparently been reading the Redskins press clippings.. Perhaps you are reading too much? Or maybe you have failed to read between the lines? The key part of that quote is "The idea is to keep me on the field as much as possible".

The Redskins may have finished 4th in total defense last year, but they were downright anemic when it came to defensive game changing plays, finishing 28th and 30th in Sacks and Fumbles. Enter Haynesworth and Orakpo. Haynesworth’s resume speaks for itself, but when you look at the rest of the Redskins D-Line, it is painfully clear that they are weakest and oldest at DE .. Andre Carter, Renaldo Wynn and Phillip Daniels are all on the wrong side of 30. Obviously there is a glaring need for youth and speed at the DE position: ahh-so! Orakpo’s ‘natural’ college position

Right now Orakpo is getting practice time and tutoring in at the position most unfamiliar to him, linebacker, but the Redskins didn’t draft him to languish in ‘left field’ .. I agree that SLB is not typically a good fantasy IDP position, but I don’t expect that Orakpo will spend most of his time there. The Redskins have adequate talent to man that position.. I expect that he will quickly become an every-down player, playing on the line or dropping into coverage depending on the situational need.

The bottom-line for me is Orakpo has the tools, talent, pedigree, attitude AND it looks like he will also have opportunity, so what more can I ask for? Obviously time will tell, but I am not un-happy with this pick at all!

[PencilGeeks]

PS - Mutts.. it is this kind of pro and con banter that make this league worthwhile!

[Burt the Butcher]

ah, he finds some of us worthy afterall.....

On another note, does anyone have the posting handy where we discuss which site we will use to determine a rookies listed position for salary? I was thinking either the team website or MFL.com, but the Search feature is all messed up for me here