The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

• "Now it all makes sense why (Bill) Belichick wanted Julius Peppers in the offseason. He was going to a "40" (front). He had (Jerod) Mayo inside and that was it. He knew he got about as much out of Junior (Seau) and (Tedy) Bruschi as he was going to get. He had to adapt his scheme to his personnel. It's why he did not pay (Vince) Wilfork. He can look at Vince and ask: How important are you now? ... Belichick had Bruschi retiring and in the back of his mind at the time, he had to be thinking about getting rid of (Richard) ­Seymour. That takes balls. He's got to know he's two losing seasons away from being the next great unemployed Super Bowl coach. You've got to be shrewd and remove the emotion from decisions. He might be the same coach he was in Cleveland, but he's not the same personnel guy. He learned personnel in Cleveland."

• "There is no such thing as a shutdown left tackle in football. You tell me who they are. Walter Jones and Orlando Pace are on fumes. Jason Peters — he gave up double-digit sacks last year. Tell me who the shutdown tackles are."

• "Eric Mangini does not know how to handle power and authority — that's his problem. He could be a great coordinator. I don't think he'll ever amount to anything as a head coach."

• "Jake Delhomme is the golden boy in Carolina. The owner (Jerry Richardson) loves him. That's not an easy cord to cut."

• "The 49ers are playing with a lot of confidence. (Mike) Singletary has done a great job of getting the players to believe in themselves."

• "The Broncos have not looked bad with Kyle Orton. They are the same group that wanted to trade for Matt Cassel, who sounds like he might get benched. The problem Denver is going to have is that Orton's contract is up at the end of the year and they have to make a decision on whether to pay him."

• "(Lions QB Matthew) Stafford is out there smiling and having fun. It tells you a lot about a young quarterback - what kind of poise they have, knowing they are going to get hammered when they drop back."

• "Rex Ryan is going to be a rock star in that (New York) market. They love him. He's talks so much (smack). It's great for football." 

• "The Packers' receivers are overrated. (Donald) Driver is old. James Jones is just a guy. (Greg) Jennings is damn good — he's the best of the bunch. Jordy ­Nelson is just a possession (guy)."

• "Everyone was banging (Bears GM) Jerry (Angelo) two years ago when (Cedric) Benson did not pan out, but I would have done the same thing. The kid entered a bad situation. He got into camp late and got on the bad side of that team, and with his personality and the sense of entitlement that he had, he was never able to get back on the right side of management or the locker room. It's not easy to be productive in the NFL. Everyone wanted to anoint (Matt Forté) as a great running back and was glad they got rid of Benson, but Benson is the better back, in my opinion. Forté has no juice. He is an average back."

• "JaMarcus Russell will never get it. He is lazy. He does not play smart. He is the absolute (worst). ... They have some damn good players if they ever put it together."

PFW has launched its brand-new NFL Draft Newsletter series, with the first issue now ready for mailing. Produced by PFW's player personnel department under the direction of Nolan Nawrocki, the series consists of four information-packed issues. For more info or to subscribe — click here for PDF e-pub or here for print format.