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Apparently this is a thing now, so I will give it a try.
Albany selected 11 players in this draft while no other team even hit the double digit mark. While the quality of the players currently on the roster play heavily into this, the Crows expect 9 of these draftees to be starters this season with the other 2 having a solid chance to get playing time.
1.2 DT Brenden Maloney - LDT will be moving to RDT
No one wants to miss on a player they take in the top 10, Brenden looks like he should be a beast at DT for years to come.
1.9 OLB Blake Barlow - WLB will be moving to MLB
Another top ten pick, Blake elected not to go to the combine which makes this pick a bit more risky that one would hope. He is both smart and football smart and that should really play well as he moves to be QB of the defense at MLB.
2.2 G Irv Mitchell - RG will be moving to LT
This massive 6' 6", 340lb. lineman was only recently moved to the offensive side of the ball at Kansas. He has the frame, athleticism, and smarts to make the move to the very important Left Tackle spot. Albany believes he could be a top 10 in the league type talent there even though he is very raw right now.
2.10 QB Dana Henselman
With the eternally disappointing Rondell Whiting finally run out of town, the Crows were looking very thin at QB. The hope in Albany was that someone would stand out in the draft at the #2 overall spot, but that was not the case. Henselman is a wild west gunslinger type that Albany hopes makes enough plays to overcome his risk taking. The ability to scramble out of the pocket buys him time but he can often run too much missing open third or fourth options in his checkdowns. However, with nothing blocking him at QB, he will be given every chance to learn and succeed at this level.
3.9 C Vincent Rivers
Vincent looks to come in and take control as the core of the offensive line. A bit easy to wear out, he will have to commit to a better training regimen to be able to stay on the field for all the snaps at center. Smart, likeable, and very athletic in bursts, he uses his critics as fuel to prove them wrong. The former two-star recruit to San Jose State has stated he felt wronged by not being offered a scholarship to any Pac-12 schools or even his hometown San Diego State University.
4.10 S Graham Lary
With only one Safety signed, Graham has the SS spot lined up for this season in Albany. While extremely solid in both pass coverage and against the run, Graham is dumb as shit and benches less reps than most punters. Combine that with always being fooled by the play action and you can see how he lasted until the 4th round. Albany thinks he can be a solid asset when used properly and understanding his shortcomings.
5.9 RB Jerry Hutchins - RB will be moving to WR
This guy made the poor choice of leaving Mississippi State early after hearing how everyone was expecting that running back from Mississippi State to go in the first round, someone should have told him they were talking about Brandon B. Brandon. Of course Brandon got the lion's share of the time at RB for the Bulldogs, but Jerry did give him a breather quite often. Dan Mullen found a way to get Hutchins into the offense though by using him as a 3rd receiver where he showed a knack for making the needed catches on third downs. With a very weak WR corps, Albany will be turning Jerry into that position full time. He will also be up for a return man spot depending on if that takes too much time away from him learning to be a full time wide out.
6.4 OLB Jerald Thamilarasan - SLB will be moving to WLB
Albany has high hopes for this overlooked outside linebacker from tiny Eastern Michigan. A safety in high school in Houston, TX, he was not recruited by anyone and walked on to the team at Houston. His defensive backs coach there convinced him he had a better shot at earning a scholarship if he bulked up and moved to outside linebacker as he was great against the run at safety, but just too slow for pass coverage. When that coach got the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan, Jerald transferred and got a scholarship. While he was a solid blitzing threat at EMU, he doesn't have the strength to be able to do the same in the CFL. A run stuffer with above average pass coverage skills, he is expected to be the main backup OLB for the Crows.
6.9 P Alonzo Petrafassi
The Crows traded the only punter on the roster early in the draft to pick up that 6.4 pick, so the job is all Alonzo's.
6.10 FB William Quinn
Age and injuries had taken their toll on veteran FB Tyrell LeCroy who had played at a high level for 8 seasons, but has declined severely over the last 3 and was released by Albany before the draft. William has the job in hand and comes out of the SEC as a fairly solid blocking FB that is quite good at picking up blitzes. He will likely not touch the ball much in Albany's offense and that fits Quinn's skill set just fine.
7.9 RB Winfred Howry - RB will be moving to WR
The shifty, 5' 9" Howry was the featured back at Vanderbilt but was never considered a real threat running the ball. Never being fast enough to be a worry to the SEC defenses, Winfred got by on great vision and being very difficult to tackle. However, he shined as a receiver coming out of the backfield. His knack for breaking one-on-one tackles was exploited as Vandy ran a high volume of screen passes and wheel routes for him. As mentioned, Albany has a very weak WR corps and will be looking at converting Howry to an undersized wide out. RB Mickey Mutzel does a solid job for Albany, but there is a chance Howry stays at RB to become the 3rd down receiving threat out of the backfield.
11 picks, all expected to see the field quite often for Albany in 2038 with only 2 slated to be backup/situational players this season. The Crows will definitely be a young bunch this season.
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