Carradine suffered a torn ACL in the Florida/Florida State game last weekend. He will miss the Bowls, likely miss the combines and even the offseason. He is a senior, so he doesn't have another college year. CBS had him ranked as the #7 DE, and he'd been mentioned on this blog before as a player to watch. He rivaled teammate Bjoern Werner for sacks and was the team leader in tackles for most of the season. He has the rare quality of being a versatile pass rusher and a run-defender who can set the edge and make stops.

Because of the injury, Carradine's draft stock will tumble. CBS now has him at #14 DE. He won't make the combine and teams that have an immediate need for a pass rusher won't be keen to take him, especially if he isn't going to be 100% during the offseason.

I consider DE, LB and WR - not necessarily in that order - to be our top needs after QB. A DE allows us to stack the defensive line with pass-rushers in Giants-fashion and give us the depth to keep the line fresh.

Carradine could be an opportunity for us. He's 1st or 2nd round draft value, but we might be able to steal him in the 3rd round or even later, allowing us to focus on other needs in the 2nd round. We don't have an immediate need for him - Mario and Moore have become our best pass rushers. Anderson will be healthy again next year. When he recovers from his injury, we could plug him into the rotation and let him develop alongside the talent and experience we already have on the line.

What say you?