GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft: No. 18 overall
This summer, the Boilermakers are being divided.
Reporters Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters are going head-to-head in GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft, a daily selection in which separate rosters of 25 are being assembled over the next two months. In late July, we'll decide — based on GoldandBlack.com staff and member feedback — which team would win.
Charters has the No. 18 overall selection and he chooses …
First off ...
Stacy sensed correctly. She was very close to losing out on Elijah Sindelar, who I nearly picked at No. 16 on Monday morning. Then, it came down to the backup quarterback or Danny Ezechukwu, and I didn't settle on the latter until late Sunday night after going back-and-forth over the weekend.
I just never really wanted to have to take Sindelar — even though I was getting closer to doing so — because it felt like such a throwaway pick. Not only would I have gotten only a backup but Stacy would have had essentially a free pick. I just didn't like it. So I'm glad she finally picked him up; I was growing tired of waiting around.
Also, Sindelar's selection gives me, in some ways, a bonus pick, and here we are. The problem is that most of Tuesday I had no idea who I was going to draft. So many directions to go, even polling Knuckleheads I got answers from Matt McCann to Cole Herdman to Austin Larkin or Gelen Robinson to David Rose (?).
My first instinct, way back over the weekend, was to go Markus Bailey (assuming Sindelar was off the board) to finish up by linebacker corps and give me a solid trio (with Ja'Whaun Bentley and Ezechukwu). And, frankly, to stick it to Stacy, who I know likes Bailey and probably wants to put the redshirt freshman in the middle of her nickel defense.
While it'd be nice to get a fifth in my front seven, and perhaps Purdue's best five there, it might come at a great cost. I simply can't continue to ignore my secondary, especially now that Stacy's team can throw the ball. And there, Brandon Roberts is next up.
I do feel like this could be a bit of a reach — I have no idea if Roberts is even on Stacy's radar at this point — because while Roberts is an athletic guy who might be the Boilermakers' fastest player, he's been inconsistent and is inexperienced.
But there are likes: He's only a sophomore whose best days are ahead, having shown toward the end of last season, when he replaced Robert Gregory as a starter, that he might be starting to come around. And Roberts has versatility; although I'll pencil him in as a safety, he practiced at cornerback during his redshirt season, and he might end up being Purdue's nickel back in 2016.
Is this a good pick? I think so.
It was certainly the pick I needed to make.
Draft ticker: 1-15 | 16. Danny Ezechukwu | 17. Elijah Sindelar
More: Join the conversation & discuss the selections on our premium message board ($)
More: Purdue 2016 primer
Membership Information: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2016. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.