GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft: No. 4 overall
This summer, the Boilermakers are being divided.
Reporters Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters continue in GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft, a daily selection in which separate groups of 25 are 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 gets his second choice, going with ...
Purdue's defense — the whole first-team unit that will take the field in the fall — isn't very deep.
It has a few plus-players, in Jake Replogle, Ja'Whaun Bentley, maybe Danny Ezechukwu, perhaps an emerging Da'Wan Hunte and maybe others, but then there's a drop. And, as we talked about extensively in the spring, we have major concerns about this group's ability to stop opponents consistently in 2016.
Well, what happens when Purdue's defensive 1s are divided in half?
Probably not good.
With that said, I'm taking Bentley as my No. 2 — and fourth overall — selection, with sound reasoning: The middle linebacker is the next-best player available, one who can impact the defense particularly at the line of scrimmage and behind it (7.5 tackles for loss in only five games last season). And with Stacy taking Markell Jones at 3, I need a counter and Bentley is my best bet. Also, with Bentley and Replogle, who was my first overall choice on Tuesday, I've got the two best defenders on a Boilermaker team that is short of them. The Replogle- and Bentley-led D is solid up the middle too, where most good defenses are built.
After only four days of picks, Stacy's defense is dropping way behind, perhaps too far to recover. Who will she build around?
Not concerned with Bentley's injury history. He tore his ACL for a second time last fall, before Purdue's Game 6 loss to Minnesota. (And boy, did the Boilermakers miss his presence, particularly against the run, in that game and beyond). But the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder was a participant in the spring, more so than anyone could have expected, getting reps in most individual and team drills, but sitting out — for precautionary reasons as much as anything else — during the jersey scrimmage and spring game. He should be fine in the fall.
Let's not forget how good Bentley is. He averaged a Purdue-best 10 tackles per game last season, including 1.5 per outing behind the line of scrimmage. And his leadership abilities are second-to-none; I've got my captain.
Only four days into the summer draft, I feel great about where my teams stands, despite losing out on the No. 1 overall pick. But I have some complications, due to Stacy's strategic picks. What am I going to do at running back, with D.J. Knox not available? And sooner or later, I'm going to need to address center.
Should be an intriguing next week.
Draft Ticker: 1. Kirk Barron | 2. Jake Replogle | 3. Markell Jones
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