Former Redskins and Texans general manager just held court for 15 minutes. Perhaps the most interesting thing he said was that he thought this year's first round would have more talent than any draft since 1983. That's a draft that yielded John Elway, Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson, Darrell Green and many others. Casserly also noted that restrictions in free agency this year means that teams won't be able to improve their rosters like they could in previous years. That is, they are more dependent on the draft than they've been in a long time. "If you have extra picks, this is a great year to have extra picks," he said.
Casserly said he's talked with 16 teams about their draft boards. Here's what he said about the opinions of the various offensive linemen expected to go in the first round.
On Trent Williams, the consensus is he's more of a right tackle than a left tackle. Theoretically, that drops his value below the other players. (Bryan) Bulaga was the guy that got the most varying grades - I had Top 10s to the beginning of the second round by people I trust. I think with him, he's probably going to be the most polished guy because of the Iowa program. They have a great history of having great technicians come out of there. The upsides (with Bulaga) - they're there. So you've got evaluate, "Is this guy good right now because it's probably as good as he's going to be." And that might be great. (Anthony) Davis seems to be the most intriguing guy from Rutgers if you sift through the comments. Run blocking, pass blocking, a real good athlete. He has long arms. I think he seems to be the most intriguing guy to me. A comment on (Russell) Okung: He plays to the level of competition. That's not all bad in the NFL now. But you don't want a guy that's up and down. So Okung and Davis seem to be the two guys. But it's interesting: Everybody at some point or the other told me these guys were top first-round picks. But there are four teams in the top nine that need a tackle. ... (On Bruce Campbell): A very athletic player. Late first to early second but probably raw. So probably more of a pick for a team that can wait on him.
Casserly also was asked about what he thought were the 49ers' top needs: "I think o-line is an area. I think pass rusher on the outside is an area. And I think clearly quarterback is one that I don't think they'll pass a quarterback that they feel is a guy that could be their guy down the road."
-- Matt Barrows
