Could Stephen Paea Fall to the 26th Pick?

I know. I know. I know that just a week ago I said that the Ravens would not take a defensive tackle in the first round, but it has come to my attention that after looking through countless Round 1 Mock Drafts, Stephen Paea is nowhere to be found, yet in every scouting report he’s projected as a definite Round 1 prospect.

Paea, who injured his knee during a Senior Bowl practice, was only able to bench press at the Combine, hurting his draft status. Wait, did I say only? Oops. Paea showed his athletic dominance by cranking-out 49 reps of 225 pounds. He also had 10 tackles for loss in his senior season at Oregon State and was 1st team All-American, 1st team All-Pac-10, and receiving the Pac-10 defensive player of the year honors. Nevertheless, Paea not being able to preform during the Combine made his draft status *ker-thunk* down the the bottom of many Big-Boards across America. While I understand we have Sergio Kindle waiting in the wing to start, image Big Ben running from his life due to this selection. He can’t go left or right due to Ngata or Paea and he’s getting heat from the middle by T-Sizzle. Easy sack, which is hard to say with Ben at QB.

Speaking of Haloti Ngata, guess who most scouts are comparing Paea to? You can bet your “Ocho-sinko” poster board sign that the dynamic pass rusher already in the purple and black would love to get his “Batman and Robin” on with his newly acquired apprentice. I would love to see it, just like I’m sure you would. While many analyst keep overlooking Paea and keep making a mountain out of Jacquizz Rodgers (Yes, that was a ironic short joke. With Jacquizz listed at 5’6″, while Stephen is listed at 6’1″), Paea might slip to the 26th pick and I know Ozzie will be chomping-at-the-bit to get such an explosive talent in the latter part of the first round.