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2014 NFL Draft
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Just put my mock draft together for the 1st round:
This is not what I would necessarily do or how I rank the players personally, more just a prediction on what each team might if certain players are available. I think the Texans/Rams/Falcons are all strong candidates to trade and will blow the whole thing open after about 5 minutes on draft night, but anyway.
Some short reasoning:
1) Texans - Clowney's the best player in the draft. He's a freak. Pairing him alongside JJ Watt is just unfair. If they stay #1 then they take the #1 player in the draft despite their need at QB.
2) Rams - Jake Long has injury concerns, is getting older, and the Rams need to do everything they can to protect Sam Bradford who is coming back from a serious injury. Robinson has everything you want in a franchise tackle from a physical point of view. Inexperienced at pass blocking, but OL coaches will love him and the chance to shape him.
3) Jaguars - Reports from those close to the Jaguars seem to indicate that they won't be taking a QB this early in such a deep draft (SI.com). If that's true, then they take the best pass rusher in the draft after Clowney who seems to be a great fit for Gus Bradley.
4) Browns - The Browns have needed a franchise QB for a long time. He's either going to work out really well or be a complete disaster, I can't see there being any in between. The Browns new set up go boom or bust.
5) Raiders - The Raiders don't have anything close to resembling a #1 receiver. Watkins has the possibility to have an AJ Green/Julio Jones type impact in the NFL.
6) Falcons - Matthews is arguably the most pro-ready of any player in this entire draft. Very good at everything he needs to be good at and will likely be an excellent LT tackle for a long time in the league. He can do an excellent job at RT either as he proved in college when playing on the opposite side of Luke Joeckel if the Falcons decide to go down that route. They can mix and match with Baker until their happy which is another benefit of Matthews' versatility.
7) Buccaneers - Mike Evans just seems like a great fit here. The Buccaneers really need a receiver after trading Williams, and Evans is special. Trying to deal with Jackson and Evans will be a match-up nightmare for defenders.
8) Vikings - If Bridgewater makes it past this spot, in my draft he's almost certainly falling out of the first round. That said, the Vikings need a QB and Bridgewater had a 3 day visit with Minnesota according to numerous sources. My thoughts on Bridgewater are known, and this is my perfect landing spot for him. If it it happens, the Vikings will be a force in the NFC soon.
9) Bills - The Bills have a massive need at TE, their GM says they're focused on giving EJ Manuel all the help they can to progress. The best pass protectors and wide receivers are gone, the best TE it is. Not a bad consolation prize, is it?
10) Lions - A couple of Lions fans have told me they are going to give their secondary crew another year and go WR, but with the addition of Golden Tate the need for help for Megatron is negated somewhat. I can't help but feel that they'll add Gilbert. Great press-man coverage CB's are all the rage in today's NFL and I think Gilbert has the potential to be one.
11) Titans - With the change to a 3-4 in defense due to Ray Horton, they need to find some sort of aggression and pass rush. Barr is raw, but can be taught and shaped and can learn a lot from Shaun Phillips.
12) Giants - I considered Mosley and Lewan here, but reports suggest Lewan's red flags mean the Giants won't even consider him. Eli spent most of last year running for his life and it's imperative that he's given protection. Martin is perfect in that he can play LT or guard. Gives the Giants a bit of flexibility depending on Beatty's play.
13) Rams - After sorting the O-line need with Robinson, the Rams have two big needs. Secondary and WR. It's a far deeper WR class than secondary class, so the Rams take the Ha'Ha Clinton-Dix. An extremely aggressive safety with pace, power, and ball skills. He'll be a major upgrade for them at the position.
14) Bears - The Bears are planning to keep their 4-3 defense and Donald fits that scheme perfectly. He's a bit too undersized to play the NT position in a 3-4. Donald is a capable run defender but an explosive and speedy pass rusher. He'd be a nice addition for the Bears.
15) Steelers - Pittsburgh are desperate for a playmaker at the CB position. Taylor got schooled nearly every week last season, I seen a stat which said that every receiver he faced apart from AJ Green posted season highs on him (think it might have been Walter Football actually?). Anyway, Dennard fills that need.
16) Cowboys - In my draft I'd imagine that the Cowboys main three or four players are off the board here. Dallas have a need at the safety position and Pryor would start from day one. He's going to end up spending most of his rookie paycheck on fines for his hits but he has a lot of potential. The Seahawks have paved the way for showing what you can do with good safeties and the cowboys defense instantly improves with this pick.
17) Ravens - Lewan is a very agile and quick OT who would be a great fit for the Ravens zone blocking scheme. He's only played the position for 4 or 5 years so can get even better. Red flags will put a lot of teams off but I think Harbaugh would be confident of whipping him into shape.
18) Jets - Beckham Jr is my favourite WR in the draft after the big two. A really, really speedy and explosive WR with great hands. He can return kicks too. Pairing Decker with Beckham Jr gives Vick/Smith weapons. A nice addition to an offense that badly needs improvement at the WR position.
19) Dolphins - All the Dolphins main targets are off the board at this point. Instead of reaching for an OT, they go for the best linebacker in the draft. Daniel Jeremiah says he'd feel comfortably with Mosley in either a 3-4 or 4-3 D and this move would also allow the Dolphins to switch Ellerbe to WLB.
20) Cardinals - The Cardinals D is really good but they seem to need pass rush every single year and it never really gets addressed to a high enough standard. Abraham and Dockett are getting on now. Kony is really versatile and I'm sure the Cards would enjoy coming up with lots of creative uses for him. He's also one of the quickest college players in the country in getting to the QB.
21) Packers - After Clinton-Dix, he's my favourite safety. He's exceptional against the pass and will be a great asset against slot receivers. Really good play recognition and he's capable against the run too. Only real knock on him would be his size, but he has the smarts to make up for it IMO.
22) Eagles - Eagles pass defense was the second worst in the NFL last year and adding secondary help would make a lot of sense. Fuller is flying up the draft boards and Mayock lists him as one of his favourite players and some Eagles beat writers have been saying that their D coordinator is a big fan of him too.
23) Chiefs - Kansas City need someone at the WR position to free up Bowe a bit and also to vary their offense from being either Charles or Bowe. He's very fast and an excellent route runner who will torch defenses after the catch. He's also a good run blocker and gets involved in that aspect of offense which will help Charles too.
24) Bengals - Bengals badly need an addition at the cornerback position. Verrett is a superb coverage skills, is good under the ball and on his tape has done a good job on receivers such as Beckham Jr who went to the Jets above. He's shorter than one would like, but his size is his only real knock.
25) Chargers - Another one that might drop because of red flag issues. Blazing speed, ability to contribute equally in man or zone, and good under the ball. His speed and athleticism would help against the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders (especially if the Chiefs have added Lee and the Raiders Watkins) and the Chargers would fill a big need with this pick.
26) Browns - The Browns go the expected WR/QB route, just in the opposite direction to what some are predicting. They have their QB, now they need to add a weapon alongside Gordon. Give them Brandin Cooks, a WR who has the ability to consistently get separation and contribute in both the slot and vertically. He'd be a nice piece for Manziel as his speed and seperation capabilities should see him able to stay open while Manziel scrambles.
27) Saints - With the vast majority of WR's and CB's off the board, the Saints target a future replacement for their ageing linebacker corps. Shazier is someone who can cover a lot of ground quickly from the linebacker position and he's very good in pass coverage. Rob Ryan I'm sure would love to get his hands on this guy.
28) Panthers - The Panthers have a lot of work to do in the draft. They need improvements at WR and OT especially. Benjamin was a big consideration here, but the Panthers decide to take a necessary risk to sort out their O-line which has been decimated. Very high-risk, high-reward pick here, but if Koundjo is a success then the Panthers have hit on one piece of their O-line rebuild.
29) Patriots - Not much to say here, I think Nix is a ready made replacement for Vince Wilfork/Tommy Kelly, who are 32 and 33 respectively and picking up injuries. Nix can slot in and be a 10 year starter at the position. He'll also get the invaluable experience of learning from those guys for a while too.
30) 49ers - In real life I think the 49ers have traded up for a receiver or corner, but here they take a chance on Kelvin Benjamin, a huge, physical specimen who they will hoping can take advantage of his size to become a matchup nightmare and big red zone threat.
31) Broncos - With the loss of Beadles the Broncos could do with a boost on their offensive line. It's not clear whether Franklin's position switch is going to work and in any case the Seahawks penetrated them quite easily in the Super Bowl. He seems an extremely safe pick and would boost any offensive line in the league.
32) Seahawks - Seahawks lost a lot of pieces on their D line this offseason and could do with an addition. The Seahawks are able to afford him time to bed in.
Let me know what you think, feel free to tear it apart
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nfl draft drinking game whos up for it
http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/lost-lettermens-2014-nfl-draft-drinking-game
its only with espn unfortunately0 -
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nfl draft drinking game whos up for it
http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/lost-lettermens-2014-nfl-draft-drinking-game
its only with espn unfortunately
There's a NFL Network version of that also
Down a shot everytime Mayock says "heavy legged waist bender" was one0
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