tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48078747041991467812024-03-13T22:05:19.659-07:00THE STABLE with Business HorseWelcome to THE STABLE, where Business Horse looks up from his trough of oats to dish all of his latest opinions and insider info on business, news, sports, current events, and anything else that tickles his fancy. Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17966064536952690391noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-54841535089627031632022-04-25T05:40:00.015-07:002022-04-28T11:04:12.522-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2022 NFL MOCK DRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA<p> Whoa is it draft szn already? Time flies when your economy
is crashing and the world is on the brink of WW3. On the bright side, I will be
making this mock available as an NFT.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now the usual disclaimers:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->My rankings are hastily assembled and only
feature players I’ve had “time” to watch. So if you are wondering, “hey where
the f is Rawjerr Cranberries on your WR list”, well, I didn’t get a chance to
watch anything on Rawjerr Cranberries so he’s not on the list. I may look at
him later and think he’s awesome. But that leads me to number 2.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->When I say I spent some time watching a guy, I
mean that I most likely spent no more than like 5 minutes. There are hundreds
of these guys and this is not my job, as in real life I am the guy who watches
the urinals through that little glass hole and flushes them after each use. I
just simply don’t have enough time or patience to spend what it would require
of both to actually make a good mock draft.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->On top of that, I don’t really know what I’m
doing. Like when I watch a left guard it basically boils down to “hmm do I think
this guy is good or not good, he sure blocked that other guy really nice there
yeah he’s good”. This ranks me a distant 32<sup>nd</sup> among NFL GMs in
competence, ahead of only Trent Baalke.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->I don’t have the inside information that NFL
teams have. For example, most people had Teven Jenkins in the first round in
2020. However, medical checks showed something with his back that scared teams
off a bit and dropped him to the 2<sup>nd</sup>. I also don’t know how these
players interview or what their college coaches say about them.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->NOBODY knows how these guys are actually going
to turn out. NFL teams spend milllllllions of dollars on this process and even
the best teams miss a lot more than they don’t miss. Every jump, be it from high
school to college or college to the NFL, has a lot of variables that are tough
to determine. Here were the top college recruits in the 2015 class according to
SI:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Byron Cowart<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Josh Rosen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Iman Marshall<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Martez Ivey<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Derwin James<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Kahlil McKenzie<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Trenton Thompson<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Damien Harris<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Calvin Ridley<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Terry Godwin<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">I have heard of four of those guys.
It’s like each level is a different planet with a different atmosphere and you
can do all the testing you want, it’s still going to be difficult to determine
how something will react to it until you actually place them in that
environment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->An apparently still little-known secret – even
in the first round, most of these guys won’t be all that good. On average, only
about 38% of first rounders make even a single Pro Bowl in their careers. But
yet every year you read “the Saints have a glaring hole at ILB, but with the
selection of Chernobilus Poppyseed will turn the position from a weakness to a
strength”. Uhhh, no it probably won’t. He’s probably not going to be all that great
and even if he is it won’t be for a few years. There are very few Micah Parsonses
in this world.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>In that vein, if you like or don’t like a guy, keep
liking or don’t liking them even if I or someone else disagrees. Like I said, no
one knows anything. I thought Justin Herbert
and Josh Allen would suck and that Corey Coleman would be a star.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->This is a hybrid of what I would do and what I
think will happen. It’s not exclusively one or the other. That is because this
is for entertainment and not an entry into a mock draft competition, which
would be a dumb thing to spend time on.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Trades happen in every single first round. If
you don’t have any trades in a mock draft then it is occurring in a different
reality. Which is fine, I’m just saying.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Everything in this mock is guaranteed to happen
100% as I predict it will.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, about this draft. Everyone says this draft is weak, and
they are probably right. To me it’s the weakest draft since 2013. It is not as
bad as 2013, because nothing is and nothing ever will be, but it’s closer than
you’d like. That means that it may not cost as much to move up but also means that
everyone on Twitter screaming “trade down!” is an idiot who likes to say “all
these QBs suck” and then suggest trading the pick to a team that ones a shitty
QB in their next breath. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, I also thought 2011 would suck and that became arguably
the greatest first round in the history of the draft. Similarly in 2017 everyone
said “all these QBs suck there’s no first round QB wait until next year”. Well,
that draft included Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson and the next year featured
Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold in the top 3. You just don’t know so don’t get
all up in arms before your teams player actually plays a real game.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Let’s get started. Here are my positional rankings in a vacuum,
as schemes do matter and I don’t know everyone’s scheme because come on man.
Oh, also there’s no gifs this year as that just takes way too much time. RAS
refers to “Relative Athletic Score” (https://ras.football/), which was created
by a guy named Kent Lee Platte and combines all athletic testing metrics and height/weight
(ie running 4.38 at 300 lbs is more impressive than doing it at 190 lbs) into
one single number from 0 to 10. It’s basically a percentile for each position.
Finally “Best Case/Worst Case” is dumb and for everyone best case is Hall of
Famer and worst case is out of football immediately, but it’s generally a top
end for a similar-ish player and a bottom end or more “if a guy fails, here’s
why I think it will happen”. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>NOTE: "cast" should be "case", ie "best case", and I don't really want to go through and change all these.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0Wf1YeOVIvoRZAvam2k3izti8dCcab8QBO8a7fRZrsdnW3qZeAKVKpbxQlPFDeXQD-XT0H5ovXDlufSx25t2B5sdRSaZ7EQP28358IyvLiCqWH9efp_qEfLiYOhvuGcVEPUssERwxYm5rlg0Umm90mZ0FylaoMEGJ_Yp96eJLnGrXg-D88AYGdogGA/s1515/IOL.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1515" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0Wf1YeOVIvoRZAvam2k3izti8dCcab8QBO8a7fRZrsdnW3qZeAKVKpbxQlPFDeXQD-XT0H5ovXDlufSx25t2B5sdRSaZ7EQP28358IyvLiCqWH9efp_qEfLiYOhvuGcVEPUssERwxYm5rlg0Umm90mZ0FylaoMEGJ_Yp96eJLnGrXg-D88AYGdogGA/w748-h526/IOL.png" width="748" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8HpGv1_2a_uFsfb4Bj5AcGkVzNcKlkO_8ZzdbYbKfDwEH5a4KBsB7AxS0XqC2cTaVRddEgKndsjT295e9V0PXxC1ZQ_SReCmbKHWf0Az0SLqMfPgxs_Bx5SLhRXsqE_LlXGojE_U_W8EmvAARsvKoW4kHvwdLhbGXJgs6jD2TMwJZIak5psImnNFyw/s2822/OTs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2822" data-original-width="1514" height="1388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8HpGv1_2a_uFsfb4Bj5AcGkVzNcKlkO_8ZzdbYbKfDwEH5a4KBsB7AxS0XqC2cTaVRddEgKndsjT295e9V0PXxC1ZQ_SReCmbKHWf0Az0SLqMfPgxs_Bx5SLhRXsqE_LlXGojE_U_W8EmvAARsvKoW4kHvwdLhbGXJgs6jD2TMwJZIak5psImnNFyw/w746-h1388/OTs.png" width="746" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6D2aRna-Iz1D09_TSxN5VTapKaeGbJnIU0bga4m1BqNrXrQjbJCQF-M0gaJnReiZ6Xek_h-8AcNB9mRsqgDZp46ScbZljTRB4QxJrq6OLVCCgPceLEfQbwt2hPCM85M6eKCyDwhE3SSWzgSwKBBiC9tTkNZvBBlyyiOx2kPPJllSQeaQAUrhEqzSEQ/s3019/QBs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3019" data-original-width="1514" height="1516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6D2aRna-Iz1D09_TSxN5VTapKaeGbJnIU0bga4m1BqNrXrQjbJCQF-M0gaJnReiZ6Xek_h-8AcNB9mRsqgDZp46ScbZljTRB4QxJrq6OLVCCgPceLEfQbwt2hPCM85M6eKCyDwhE3SSWzgSwKBBiC9tTkNZvBBlyyiOx2kPPJllSQeaQAUrhEqzSEQ/w758-h1516/QBs.png" width="758" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IzFCHVsqrVd7-nL53rdW1OvGFpgm7FtQCoFZUeIfWK77tuf4E9Y8HfNgOEux0weHczKflYvJlzpgrYaffRYT8O91rPrpN3XVEV4H7H1pX5h2Zpgzgu-W4Hgf5HAZwqMMHFnoNow0UKjqHF3tE5Cb3MfNb4XpeIMd8X2ik-0OF9__066TwVgzc2CwVQ/s1515/RBs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="1515" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IzFCHVsqrVd7-nL53rdW1OvGFpgm7FtQCoFZUeIfWK77tuf4E9Y8HfNgOEux0weHczKflYvJlzpgrYaffRYT8O91rPrpN3XVEV4H7H1pX5h2Zpgzgu-W4Hgf5HAZwqMMHFnoNow0UKjqHF3tE5Cb3MfNb4XpeIMd8X2ik-0OF9__066TwVgzc2CwVQ/w768-h562/RBs.png" width="768" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLGzlxI8_9VCkC5y_9-es6Np9RsC1lC1I1vnwyM_6sBuxuZ2r3Pi1fUmSwHMItQDej9282d-WzdJfD_vfyaRsq4gVQHJD47UbOlXrHj2LUsK8Z2ZcwCY5dDOj6YK2n8WnH2YGN0SOcC5GLicHNV8BOSZbr_OjPS6fZwsLlrD-ZW4EbTOsouMEh0gJsw/s1515/TEs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1457" data-original-width="1515" height="769" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLGzlxI8_9VCkC5y_9-es6Np9RsC1lC1I1vnwyM_6sBuxuZ2r3Pi1fUmSwHMItQDej9282d-WzdJfD_vfyaRsq4gVQHJD47UbOlXrHj2LUsK8Z2ZcwCY5dDOj6YK2n8WnH2YGN0SOcC5GLicHNV8BOSZbr_OjPS6fZwsLlrD-ZW4EbTOsouMEh0gJsw/w799-h769/TEs.png" width="799" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIi1oFjlokiQo6b6GFCEM3tpinCTAyY1hqysLWMl_CdMK4BV49vLc2aClgzyIEZ0MPdoGsODTD80OPJ_sWPE1IhzeTz0QCHbdfI0bGSkofMBZViCZPg1cdxirfdBF4gA76e1upBLh9QTZ9gD0cZ4inSPUENqTUTl78L8TfKZSOou5Lm8gm0ol31nXIg/s5001/WRs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5001" data-original-width="1515" height="2913" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIi1oFjlokiQo6b6GFCEM3tpinCTAyY1hqysLWMl_CdMK4BV49vLc2aClgzyIEZ0MPdoGsODTD80OPJ_sWPE1IhzeTz0QCHbdfI0bGSkofMBZViCZPg1cdxirfdBF4gA76e1upBLh9QTZ9gD0cZ4inSPUENqTUTl78L8TfKZSOou5Lm8gm0ol31nXIg/w883-h2913/WRs.png" width="883" /></a></div><br /><u><br /></u></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>DEFENSE:</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVM7XfOB_zO-bDW8j76XhTemBMCm5fMJIUymW3ppR1Bv_Da-XM8U3vtWkBA-3JWL7l_vKIe7MAfe2UzPe3gAtb0AUWDJ--PY5_lHzQ4g633aCXqREix47rQtzBDjLBE2DfZAyF7Is2-HYjFgcE2-bIseZ_JdW2JiIVa3zbDdH6Z0XAsE_fwn0_adIPQ/s3777/CBs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3777" data-original-width="1307" height="2673" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVM7XfOB_zO-bDW8j76XhTemBMCm5fMJIUymW3ppR1Bv_Da-XM8U3vtWkBA-3JWL7l_vKIe7MAfe2UzPe3gAtb0AUWDJ--PY5_lHzQ4g633aCXqREix47rQtzBDjLBE2DfZAyF7Is2-HYjFgcE2-bIseZ_JdW2JiIVa3zbDdH6Z0XAsE_fwn0_adIPQ/w927-h2673/CBs.png" width="927" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQldbz3jJoIithT55KmYtp1Q5T4G7GlGlN-OkEfSjuH1JZhIM4lizTK7c8-mZAOlvm8P5egYJYUp3rMjRW0dbYRDgKVo1AS0kviWWotO9TInHcA2iDYTHZSa54Io2oVlNqPCkfixhf4NKw1lubknTvwclggkBMaSZ4QATYag7xquvFKjQ-gb9oVbx3w/s3368/Edge.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3368" data-original-width="1307" height="2074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQldbz3jJoIithT55KmYtp1Q5T4G7GlGlN-OkEfSjuH1JZhIM4lizTK7c8-mZAOlvm8P5egYJYUp3rMjRW0dbYRDgKVo1AS0kviWWotO9TInHcA2iDYTHZSa54Io2oVlNqPCkfixhf4NKw1lubknTvwclggkBMaSZ4QATYag7xquvFKjQ-gb9oVbx3w/w804-h2074/Edge.png" width="804" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJSK42cS_P4G7nfSG-nRFUPxmiQDnBKxG1P3xnldkgSKpmUB3-NuT8smUGTB7-XG-tkf_p3D3zcm2roB9dD4V5wXK3jLGKxMjIIYWrEXnTa8_FOrZfMako_DSYrMiuyoePHEAcJjAayNi8u-jDmb-EXP_JHknNBbsKhbDadZsr7E6Dq7MZaVEWqKC3g/s2003/IDL.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2003" data-original-width="1306" height="1208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJSK42cS_P4G7nfSG-nRFUPxmiQDnBKxG1P3xnldkgSKpmUB3-NuT8smUGTB7-XG-tkf_p3D3zcm2roB9dD4V5wXK3jLGKxMjIIYWrEXnTa8_FOrZfMako_DSYrMiuyoePHEAcJjAayNi8u-jDmb-EXP_JHknNBbsKhbDadZsr7E6Dq7MZaVEWqKC3g/w789-h1208/IDL.png" width="789" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lvlePbLQgEppO2XpMxU2IPe-4fmVFU-OoZx6if03YK53B2pWymCBgVaTDjQqnVtxciboTE_3e8bhNMrbtuuS1MNjra2bLeYZ4z4J1ku3i_OJjhxxzJNs3kzuhimM5vozWWS09xiEyMBSfWmyL1k5vx5BuXK1mQuALRCwQljSW0qN3RLWfAiyjIG5ow/s4757/ILBs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4757" data-original-width="1307" height="3097" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lvlePbLQgEppO2XpMxU2IPe-4fmVFU-OoZx6if03YK53B2pWymCBgVaTDjQqnVtxciboTE_3e8bhNMrbtuuS1MNjra2bLeYZ4z4J1ku3i_OJjhxxzJNs3kzuhimM5vozWWS09xiEyMBSfWmyL1k5vx5BuXK1mQuALRCwQljSW0qN3RLWfAiyjIG5ow/w852-h3097/ILBs.png" width="852" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5Z2RzcAIvR6iP_EBcHreMRXRNZoohwHznZ6wyRU89bKVykfSWyGoGOKi1U4rWRhQhfflnI-hVr-3195Ux8KwdeNa1svLuYXR6VeX_PY1K6DZfBME1YCDcZLOLaemITz8v635fv9u4o9F_eUIw4Moc3YK8v3m7lr7VAfOD8_mdPdpBBnxwKC94hdNJg/s1772/Safeties.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1772" data-original-width="1308" height="857" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5Z2RzcAIvR6iP_EBcHreMRXRNZoohwHznZ6wyRU89bKVykfSWyGoGOKi1U4rWRhQhfflnI-hVr-3195Ux8KwdeNa1svLuYXR6VeX_PY1K6DZfBME1YCDcZLOLaemITz8v635fv9u4o9F_eUIw4Moc3YK8v3m7lr7VAfOD8_mdPdpBBnxwKC94hdNJg/w632-h857/Safeties.png" width="632" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><br /></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>1. Jacksonville Jaguars – AIDAN HUTCHINSON, EDGE, MICHIGAN</u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is such a shit year to have the top pick. And while you
can’t feel too bad for the Jags as they have the top pick every year and will for
the next few decades, this is rather unfortunate for them. It’s not quite Eric
Fisher bad but it’s bad. I think you could argue for 10 guys from last year as
the potential number 1 pick in this draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Hutchinson has the athletic pedigree you want from the top pick at least. He’s strong
as balls, he’s got size, he’s explosive and he put up big numbers at Michigan. He’s
got a motor that runs hot and all kinds of similar idioms. But for me,
something is just missing. From an edge rusher taken at the very top of a draft
I would prefer if he beat some blockers cleanly for some quick pressures but I
don’t see a ton of that. He’s not great in space (ie 4-3 only), he doesn’t
appear to be particularly flexible, and he’s being blocked by one guy all of
the damn time. Now he did have David Ojabo on the other side, but still. You
can’t give any extra attention to the number one overall pick? I’ve read that
he has short arms which may explain my perception of Hutchinson as a “block
magnet”, and I don’t know how much that’s going to matter. On the plus side,
this is almost exactly the same player I saw in Joey Bosa, and I didn’t like
Joey Bosa. But Joey Bosa is awesome and absolutely worth a number one overall
pick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the end I think the Jags take the guy with the freakish strength/speed
measurables to have a JJ Watt type of ceiling and the production to match, but
then again this is Trent Baalke so don’t rule out a backup safety from UNLV.
I would trust Balki Bartokomous to make this pick more than I trust Trent Baalke. There is a lot of noise about Travon Walker for this pick and he may remind
Baalks of Aldon Smith so I don’t dismiss it, but that’s quite the leap of
faith. If that were indeed the case you could potentially see them trade this
pick to a team that wants Hutchinson but in the end I think they just take the Michigan
Man to instill some Michigan Values in the locker room. We’re the victors and
the best. Man I can’t stand that school. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>TRADE ALERT HOLY SHIT TRADE TIME PICKS HAVE EXCHANGED HANDS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b> </b></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>NEW YORK GIANTS acquire the 2<sup>nd</sup> overall pick from
DETROIT in exchange for the 6<sup>th</sup> pick and uhhh I don’t know, maybe
their 2<sup>nd</sup> rounder and a 3<sup>rd</sup> next year or something</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>2. New York Giants – KAYVON THIBODEAUX, EDGE, OREGON</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After mocking Hutchinson to the Jags, I’m already lost at
pick 2 trying to figure out what Detroit would do. There’s no standout
selection here, and Detroit has a pressing need at *checks notes* every single
position. Thibodeaux is considered the 1b edge guy by many but, well, I for one
have a lot of questions about him and secondly there are rumors that he’s not
the most dedicated. Does that sound like a kneecap biter? For the record Oregon
has refuted these rumors and I don’t know if they are true or not but I do know
who Dan Campbell is and I think this will matter. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, you’ve got a guy here who looks like Robocop and who
may not be quite as committed off the field as he is on it. I have a weird
hunch that the Giants see shades of LT and become enamored with the thought of
adding somebody like Thibs. Similar to the 2013 trade that netted the Dolphins
professional molly taster Dion Jordan, you can probably move into the top 3 for
pennies on the dollar this year. And with the glut of good but not elite edges
and OL available, wouldn’t it make sense for Detroit to wait a few more spots
before deciding which 22-year-old’s life they want to ruin? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But enough about the Loins, what about Thibs? This guy looks
the part; it’s like someone put Megatron at OLB. He has the athletic testing
and the pedigree to justify this spot. He does get a ton of blocking attention
from offenses. But it’s like he just doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing.
There’s no plan. Sometimes whatever he does works and it looks really good, but
most of the time it’s like he just runs into the OT and hopes for the best. And
while he did spend a lot of time playing outside contain which explains some of
the good but not great production, he was often just butchering that responsibility.
People said that he single-handedly beat UCLA, so I watched it and no, he did
not single-handedly beat UCLA. He had 3 sacks which, yeah, great, but only one was
truly impressive and another was against a solo block by a…tight end? But what
was truly concerning to me in this game was his absolute nonchalance about hit
outside responsibilities. This dude bit on like 7 fakes in this game and just
gave up huge runs in his wake. Oregon had him playing a Randy Gregory type role
but Thibodeaux is NOT Randy Gregory. If he improves with NFL coaching he could
certainly be a star in the NFL but teams always say that and it so rarely actually
works out, and I don’t like spending #2 overall picks on guys like that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>3. Houston Texans – EVAN NEAL, OT, ALABAMA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is another tough one. The Texans also need every single
position. And I mean every single position. Their depth chart is like a list of
Len’s greatest hits, just a bunch of random stuff you’ve absolutely never heard
of. There isn’t even any sunshine on this roster to steal. Unfortunately there’s
not a lot available in this draft either.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Texans, much like Alex Smith’s leg, can really go in any
direction here. Is it too early for Kyle Hamilton or one of the top corners? Do
they take a high upside edge like Travon Walker? Do they shock the world and overdraft
a receiver? Nah. I think they stay true
to their NSFW offensive tackle fetish and take Evan Neal. Neal looks like a guy
who could one day be a Hall of Famer. He also looks like he could be on another
team’s roster in three years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The good: He is an enormous human, yet he’s still quick
enough to push speed rushers up the arc. He’s strong and has great hand
placement – him and Charles Cross are light years ahead of everyone else IMO. You
probably won’t hear a bunch of morons yelling HOLDING every time he blocks
someone. If Neal lands his punch then the play is over for that particular rusher.
So Hall of Famer, right?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, there are pros and cons for everyone. I love watching
OL flatten cornerbacks in space; Neal looks like a drunk moose in space. For
all of his success against outside rushes, I saw him out of position quite a
bit on interior rushes. I assume Houston uses zone blocking concepts like most
teams and Neal needs work at that. He didn’t participate in the Combine, and OT
is a position where that is very important in determining who is elite and who
is not elite. Finally and this may have just been me seeing things but he surprisingly
doesn’t appear to be all that explosive when run blocking, which is odd given
that he is in pass protection. And it also seemed like he would lean forwards
at times as if he were compensating for that slow get-off (Pornhub category alert)
and it isn’t exactly ideal for your OT to be have a near-false start habit. He’s
a rare bird. This is a draft full of rare birds. Where are my binoculars?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I had to guess, I think Neal has a good career and makes
multiple Pro Bowls, so he’s my pick here. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><u> </u></b></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>4. New York Jets – CHARLES CROSS, OT, MISSISSIPPI STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another team that needs everything, but all the peeps are saying
they are going to take a tackle and I’m going to take their word for it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Charles Cross does everything right, he’s very technically
sound and has great hands just like Neal. He’s quick into his pass sets and he
really understands the “one arm is longer than two” principle better than most,
which allows him to keep pass rushers from getting into his body and moving
him. But…he’s not dominant. I know what you’re thinking, “you don’t get any
points for dominating, this is the NFL not a Hollywood audition”, and yeah, you’re
right. We already know from Tyreek Hill that the players don’t have safe words.
However I would argue that Charles Cross has not shown “that he can block”. He’s
shown that he can block….college players. And if I’m going to project a guy
against bigger and stronger competition I’d preferably see a little bit more
domination against smaller, weaker ones. Yeah it’s nice that you blocked the guy,
but just dominate him a little bit. Put him on the ground, I don’t know, whip him
and handcuff him to the pylon. My safe word is “Omaha”. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I like Cross and his sound technique reminds me a bit
of a Rashawn Slater type, he’s not in Rashawn Slater’s league athletically and
he doesn’t play as strong as Slater. I fear that he’s going to be like an Eric
Fisher type. If I’m wrong he might end up with one of those ho-hum borderline
HoF careers like D’Brickashaw Ferguson had. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>5. Detroit Lions – TRAVON WALKER, EDGE, GEORGIA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If Detroit sticks with their pick and takes a guy at #2, it
will probably be Walker. I am not buying the Malik Willis type – there are a few
teams who can afford to wait until next year, and the Lions are one of them –
and outside of QB their offensive roster isn’t like, disgraceful or anything.
This isn’t Atlanta. They’ve got pieces on the OL, a theoretically good young
tight end, and…well they could use a WR but this draft is very deep at that
position so it would be ludicrous to take a WR here. Danny C ain’t gonna do
that shit. Give him somebody for the trenches. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Travon Walker is that guy. His athletic testing numbers* are
insane, he was the single most athletic edge rusher to enter the draft (since
1987) by RAS numbers and has since dropped all the way down to second. He’d be
number 1 if he weighed in one pound heavier. He’s a rare, rare athlete at a
position full of them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The issue with Walker is….is he an edge rusher? Yeah he’s
270 lbs and moves like a corner, but this guy has no rush moves whatsoever. He
also doesn’t appear to be all that flexible which can lead to your Jadaveon
Clowneys, the guys who are incredible athletes and disruptive players but they
just can’t finish and turn pressures into sacks because they can’t turn and get
to the QB in time. Sure Clowney was DPOY once but that’s your ceiling if you
can’t bend. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of Clowney, that’s who Walker reminds me of. He has
the same burst that Clowney used to decapitate that Michigan RB back in the day
and he’s strong as f but at least Clowney looked like he knew what he was doing.
On the bright side he pretty much has to play in a 4-3 and while I don’t know
what Campbell has done with the scheme, the Lions have generally been one of
the 4-3-iest teams in the NFL as long as I’ve paid attention. MORE LIKE BORE-3
HAHA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>*These numbers seem to keep getting better and better and
a few quick checks of the database suggest that in the past few years, the amount
of players in the 95% percentile and better have doubled. One reason is more
players in the database (before recently it was really just Combine numbers,
now there are readily accessible pro day info for all kinds of guys who have
next to no shot at making the NFL), a second potential reason is that the track
in Indianapolis (and obvs the pro day stopwatches) have gotten faster. So take
these with a slight grain of salt; that being said these dudes are still
freakshows.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>6. Carolina Panthers – KENNY PICKETT, QB, PITTSBURGH</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m going to believe the rumors on this one and slot Kenneth
Pickett to the Panthers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you’ve heard one thing about this year’s draft, you’ve probably
heard that there’s no way Charleston Rambo is worth a 6<sup>th</sup> round
pick. If you’ve heard a second thing, I’m sure it’s the opinion that all of the
QBs in this draft class suck and teams should wait until next year to draft
one. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, it’s true, they mostly do all suck, at least against
what you’d expect from a good NFL starter. But to me the one guy who doesn’t
suck is Pickett. As for the second part, yeah, that’s great, wait until next
year. But uhhh you know, all the other teams drafting in the top 10 with
shit-ass rosters who need QBs? Yeah they are also going to go 4-13 next year
and I’m sure they will also realize that these really good prospects are indeed
really good. I’ve already mentioned that 2017/2018 thing above but again teams passed
on Patrick Mahomes to get a shot at Baker and Darnold so who the hell knows. And
let’s not act like the 49ers didn’t just trade away like 8 first round picks to
take Trey fuckin’ Lance 3<sup>rd</sup> overall.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Now, Pickett. Groupthink is powerful. It labeled Trevor Lawrence a generational
talent last year as he Ryan Leaf-ed his way through the SEC. Groupthink had
Robert Gallery as the safest prospect basically ever. It made Jeff Okudah a
surefire superstar. And in this case I think it’s being used against Pickett.
Pickett has major red flags for sure, but they aren’t mentioned as much as
scoutspeak shit like “oh I don’t understand his progressions” and “can he hit
this in a tighter NFL window” and all that stuff that yeah it’s important but
it’s often in my opinion used by people to justify preconceived opinions. Kenny
Pickett throws balls into incredibly small windows to mostly shitty wideouts
and he did it just about every single week. And half the time, the receivers
would drop it. His number 1 WR is good but the rest look like complete scrubs.
The blocking was mostly bad but he still operated the shit out of that offense.
Would people be more impressed if he put up better numbers with Ja’Marr Chase
and Justin Jefferson, or if he played at Alabama in Mac Jones’s offense with
everyone wide the f open all the time?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what’s the bad? Well, he was a 5<sup>th</sup> year senior
that sucked ass for the first four years and then just randomly exploded in
year 5. I cannot find a single comparable outside of, ehhh kinda Joe Burrow and
maybe Gardner Minshew but both of those are stretches. Burrow is closer in that
he was like 8<sup>th</sup> string QB at Ohio State, had a meh year at LSU and
then as a 23 year old 5<sup>th</sup> year senior just exploded onto the scene.
That’s basically what Kenny Pickett did, but he was a starter basically the
whole time. It’s unheard of. And he
oddly plays just like Burrow. They are quite similar to me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what changed? I found an article from 2018 that mentioned
Pickett as a potential breakout candidate so the talent seems to have been
there. Watching some games from 2020, to me the difference is that Pickett used
to regularly make absolutely insane decisions and then he suddenly stopped. How
did you lower the frequency, Kenneth? Was it because you he was a 5<sup>th</sup>
year senior and he’ll have to do it over again in the NFL or did something just
click? Yeah he has other flags, he bails from clean pockets regularly like Sam
Darnold did and there are some concerns about his arm strength and his tiny baby
hands, and I guess his name is “pick it”, but the decision making thing for me
is the make or break here. Will he become a poor man’s Joe Burrow or a weird
man’s Josh Rosen? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>7. New York Giants – KYLE HAMILTON, SAFETY, NOTRE DAME</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, everyone has the Giants taking a tackle with one of
their two picks. But I don’t. I just don’t love the idea of taking Ekwonu this
high and it’s not like the Giants are some great roster that just needs a
tackle and they’re set. They have like, 7 NFL players on this team. Plus they
fired Joe Judge, so that huge line of players begging him to come to NJ have
probably changed their minds. So just take BPA. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are a lot of people who think Hamilton is the best
player in this draft. I’m not one of them, but I think he’s one of the top players
in this draft. And I have always balked at the conventional wisdom that safety
and center are just not high value positions. I watched Troy Polamalu and Ed
Reed do too much cool shit to think safeties don’t matter. I also watched Sean
Davis and Terrell Edmunds. The Giants themselves watched Landon Collins nearly win
DPOY (I still can’t believe that almost happened). So in reality NYG will
probably go OT, but in my fake non-reality they are taking an eraser to catch
all of the errant throws by Wentz and Hurts. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hamilton was both a true centerfield safety and a box hammer
(another Pornhub tag!) when he was at Notre Dame. He’s big (6’4” 220), covers
the whole field and just always seems to put himself in the right spot. He
clearly has a great awareness and feel for the game and he’s often blowing up
runs at the snap or running into a passing lane as if he knew what the play
was. Because he probably did know what the play was. You can man him up on TEs,
put him into deep halves or thirds, let him lurk underneath, whatever. Gregggg
Williams would have him 100 yards deep. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As for the bad, well, he ran a lot slower than people
expected at the Combine. 4.59 isn’t like Darian Thompson bad, but it’s mildly
concerning for a guy whose primary calling card is “running across the entire
field to break up a pass”. It suggests that his ability was based heavily on recognition,
which yeah that’s great and you’d like your safeties to do smart stuff and not
do dumb stuff but you don’t necessarily know how that’s going to project to an
NFL where players are faster and things are disguised better. No more Bobby
Valentine!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to that he sometimes assumes wrong and gets beat
the other way, but Troy Polamalu basically trademarked this and it’s just going
to happen with players like Hamilton. He also takes bad angles a lot, as if he’s
not as fast as he thinks he is. There’s a lot of Polamalu-esque stuff here –
Polamalu famously was called Bustamalu for a year and he sucked so badly in practices
that the Steelers thought they made a tremendous mistake. So yeah, I think he’ll
be ok. The slow 40 did sink Darian Thompson, a guy I liked and also a Giants
draft pick, and I did like Thompson a lot that year and see Hamilton as a
similar college player. However Thompson’s 40 along with his entire combine was
atrocious. Hamilton is an elite athlete who just ran a littttle bit slower than
people thought. He’ll be fine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="OLE_LINK1"><b><u>8. Atlanta Falcons – DRAKE LONDON, WR, USC</u></b><o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had the Falcons picking Malik Willis here, because like,
they need a QB desperately, and Willis is from Atlanta, but…the Trash Birds
could conceivably have the number one overall pick next year. They will be just
fine if they wait and get a better prospect that isn’t from Atlanta. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now if they don’t go QB, they can go…just about anywhere
holy heck is the bottom of the league bad right now. These teams have just
absolute garbage rosters without much hope for things getting better in the
near future. I don’t remember there being this many hopeless trash teams
before. Is this normal? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While the biggest need for the Falcons is listed in most sites
as Edge, they are also desperate for receivers, particularly after Calvin
Ridley bet on games without going through Dan Snyder’s accountants and ended up
with a yearlong suspension. And he was already away from the team for personal
reasons at the time sooooo yeah he’s probably not coming back. Enter Drake
London. (Don’t actually enter him without his consent)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Drake London fits the mold that the Falcons seem to like as
a big playmaking receiver and I think they might see him as their Julio Jones
replacement over a burner-type in Jameson Williams coming off a major injury.
London is tall but he moves like a much smaller receiver and he’s constantly Mossing
the shit out of people. When not doing that he’s often taking screens to the
house or making DeAndre Hopkins catches on the sidelines. He’s fuckin’ good.
Well I mean obviously, I’m mocking him 8<sup>th</sup> overall, but still.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Don’t be fooled though, this isn’t Julio Jones. While I
think he has significantly more WR-skill than Julio (but then again so do most
NFL WRs), he’s nowhere near the athlete. Julio Jones was an absolute top-tier
interplanetary specimen. Drake London is more like Mike Evans. Yeah that’s
still awesome but it’s a different type of player. Man, Marcus Mariota is gonna
throw so many screens this year YOU BETTER GET READY NFC SOUTH HERE COMES THE
MARIOTA TRAIN <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seattle Seahawks trade down for no real reason<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>9. Houston Texans – JERMAINE JOHNSON, EDGE, FLORIDA STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Until the Seahawks stay in their dumb spot one year and
actually make a pick, I will continue to move them down every in single mock. It’s
like Pete Carroll thinks that drafting in their original spot is what caused
9/11. And they’re gonna do it again, because Pete KNOWS that jet fuel don’t melt
steel beams. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So who’s taking this bait? I considered having the Commanders
(LOL) move up to snatch away Derek Stingley from the Jets, but then I’d have to
come up with a new strategy for the Jets and honestly I just don’t really want
to do that. I absolutely am not going to will into existence the Steelers
trading up for Willis. Since I had the Texans take an OT at #3, they still desperately
need an edge rusher and there’s only one guy left from the consensus “top”
group, and that’s Jermaine Johnson. I think he’s using a fake name but I’ll
allow it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Johnson checks the athleticism box, he’s an excellent run
defender (which gives him a higher floor and makes him much more playable), he’s
got power and he puts up a bunch of very good pass rush reps that make you
think, oh hey, this is an NFL edge rusher. He has some Brian Burns in him, just
a bendy athlete whipping a tackle and earning a sack.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However I don’t love him as much as a lot of draftniks do,
and that’s of course because he does a lot of “getting blocked” and while edge
guys do that a lot and that makes them super hard to project, I don’t love pass
rushers that are always busy getting blocked. I probably would just wait and
take Karlaftis if I were the Texans but I have to stick to this Seahawks bit
even if it throws everything else out of whack. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>10. New York Jets – DEREK STINGLEY JR., CB, LSU</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I just have to give the Steel Birds their Revis. I know they
have no WRs and they have a 2<sup>nd</sup> year QB and you’d love to, like, get him some receivers, but this draft is insaaaaanely
deep at receiver. We haven’t seen this much young talent since the Vikings
decided to take that boat trip. While Stingley probably isn’t Revis, he’s that
kind of corner. The true shutdown guy. Stingley Jr. Island. As long as it’s not
Greenland. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stingley is a tough
evaluation but that’s not what confuses me about his projections. People
thought he was the number one overall pick after his freshman year. What
changed? Yeah he got hurt but is it just because he didn’t get any interceptions
in 2020 and 2021? Are all these talking heads really just looking at box score
stats? He’s the same guy. Let’s talk corners. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I asked you, who
is the best WR in the NFL, who are you going to say? Some people would take
Hopkins, others Adams and maybe Tyreek Hill, and you have the young guys in
Jefferson and Chase. Before those two however it was probably the same guys in
2019 and 2020. Before that people said Julio or AB for like 8 years. And before
that everybody said Megatron. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, who is the best
corner in the NFL? Is it Trevon Diggs? The year before that it was Xavien Howard.
Before that it was Stephon Gilmore, then Jalen Ramsey, then Xavier Rhodes, then
it was like Marcus Peters/Aqib Talib szn, and that’s right after Richard
Sherman who took the spot from Darrelle Revis and so on and so on. Top corners
are only perceived as “top corners” for like a year or two, and my best guesses
for that are a) interceptions can be kinda fluky year to year and b) they don’t
control anything. It's probably the single furthest-removed position from the
ball. WRs depend on QBs and scheme and stuff but CBs in turn depend on the WR
and so they are like, second level dependent. I’m not saying this well but
maybe 2 or 3 people can understand what I’m verbally slogging through. The
perception of a corner’s performance is so heavily based on the outcome of
like, 6 plays each season. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So you’ll end up
with random statement years, but the talent is always there. Sherman had a
random late career renaissance. So did Talib, and for that matter Revis and
Gilmore when they got to New England. So if you liked Stingley in 2019 when he
had a bunch of INTs, you should still like him now. He’s the same guy. Tall and
fluid, matches WRs stride for stride, great lateral agility and change-of-direction
ability, and a guy who has shown that he can go up and take the ball away if
you’re not careful. He didn’t forget how to make interceptions since 2019. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’d argue that he
just wasn’t as dominant in the last two seasons because of things that were
also true in 2019. He is very dicey in zone; you pretty much have to just isolate
him on the X-Receiver and tell him to take him out of the game. His feet aren’t
like elite corner great and so he’s chasing guys and that doesn’t always work.
It did work in 2019 when 5 of his interceptions were poorly thrown deep balls
and “chasing receivers” put him right in position to take them away. And to his
credit, he did. Not every corner has those ball skills. But the underlying
skills to become that Revis/Jalen Ramsey lockdown type are there and I think
that’s too much for the planes to pass up. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>11. Washington
motherfucking Commanders jeez – JAMESON WILLIAMS, WR, ALABAMA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I considered trading
down here with the Commanderz but after coming up with the trade, I had second thoughts.
The Commanders’ roster is actually pretty solid. But…it’s bland. They just don’t
have many guys that move the needle. The playmaker types. And there really aren’t
too many of those guys in this draft. But there is one, and that’s Jameson
Williams. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Williams is a true
burner. Like this dude is fast as all hell. I know he’s coming off an ACL
injury, but tearing your ACL in 2022 is like spraining your thumb in 1982.
Plus, it’s probably not a bad idea to pre-tear your knee ligaments before
playing on FedEx Field. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>12. New man on the
Minnesota Vikings – JORDAN DAVIS, DT, GEORGIA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember when the
Vikings had a good defense? Pepperidge Farm remembers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As they often say,
the best defense is a good offense. However, I disagree. It is my contention
that the best defense is a good defense. So let’s draft some defense. And what
do you know, there’s a generational athlete available at a spot of need for the
Vikes. Jordan Davis is just, he is not created in the typical mold of a human
being. This is a 340 pound DT who ran a 4.78 forty. That’s nutrageous. He’s like,
as fast as TJ Hockenson. He’s the second best size adjusted athlete in the entire
RAS database behind Calvin Johnson. And it’s not just timed speed, this guy
makes some Aaron Donald plays chasing down outside runs. You have to double-team
this guy if you want to run on him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now for a player
like this to go 12<sup>th</sup> in a bad draft, something has to be up, right?
Well, yeah, there are concerns. One, he was not on the field a lot and this has
given rise to concerns that he may be a two-down player in the NFL. Well – I think
a lot of that was due to Georgia just being stacked out of his mind, and even
if so, if he’s amazing on those two downs and you’re putting teams in third and
10, is that worse than a guy who is on the field on all three downs but the
last one is 3<sup>rd</sup> and 2? I don’t think so.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two is that you have
a guy here who weighs 500 lbs but plays like he’s John Randle. He’s not John
Randle. Yes it’s impressive when he swims right by a blocker and crushes a running
back but you’d probably like to see more strength and physical dominance from somebody
like Davis. But still, a guy this rare in a draft this weak just cannot go deep
into the first round and I wouldn’t be surprised he went much earlier. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>13. Seattle Seahawks
– IKEM EKWONU, OT, NC STATE<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wanted to make the
Fake Birds take Malik Willis but I just don’t think they will and plus if they
were going to do that, they probably wouldn’t trade down from #9. I have to let
them keep their Seahawk-iness, even though Willis does play a lot like Russell
Wilson. Also it’s not like me making it so the Steelers can’t take Willis in my
mock is going to manifest that in real life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This choice came
down to Ekwonu or George Karlaftis and initially I had Karlaftis here, as he
reminds me of the big DEs that Seattle had back a decade ago in the glory days.
But then I thought, there’s a few of those guys left. There are no tackles left
after Ekwonu. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In reality Ekwonu is
supposedly in the discussion for the first overall pick and a top 5 lock. I personally
do not see it and I disagree with everyone on this guy – I don’t think he sucks
but he’s not what I think when I think “top ten OT”. He looks small compared to
the rest of the NC State OL and he’s primarily a run-blocker, which in 2022 is
like being proficient on a typewriter. But if there’s one guy who’s still typin’,
who just loves slappin’ that carriage return, well it’s Head Ballcoach Peter
Gabriel Carroll. You can put Pete at the helm of the 1989 49ers and you’ll end
up with a 300-carry season from Tom Rathman. And of course, the Seahawks have
had a weakness on the offensive line for the past, ohhhh about 15 years or so.
Did Walter Jones place a curse on this team or something? Anyway if Ekwonu
somehow gets this far I have to think he’d be the pick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>14. Baltimore Ravens
– AHMAD GARDNER, CB, CINCINNATI<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s another top 10
lock that I have dropping in Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, a player who got his name due
to a weird sexual fetish involving marinara sauce. Actually I’m not sure how he
got his name but it is a cool name and I’m all about adding cool names. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sauce the Hoss is this
year’s model of the tall, rangy corner and he seems to me like he’d make a good
replacement for Jimmy Smith and whatever other Ravens corners tear their ACLs
during the first week of walkthroughs. Soss plays a bit like William Jackson
III did, tall and fast and aggressive but not all that refined in the art of
pure cornerbacking and really dependent on great recovery abilities. It worked
for Jackson for a few years but it’s not a typical model of NFL success. However
if you put him in more of a zone-heavy scheme he could be a souped-up Richard
Sherman and honestly I wouldn’t be completely shocked if he makes it to wherever
Seattle designs to grace us with their selection and ends up being their
selection.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For all of his
faults at “knowing how to play press man coverage”, there is a lot to like
here. This is a guy who is always around the ball and that’s an inherent skill
that is hard to teach. He’s always running around and making plays and it
reminded me a little bit of Ed Reed and perhaps the Goth Birds will see the
same thing. Tailor his role to something like that and you might have an All-Pro.
Hell, put him at free safety. Just let him be Ed Reed man!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>15. Philadelphia
Eagles – ANDREW BOOTH JR., CB, CLEMSON<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I considered using the
Eagles as my Seahawk trade partner to move up and take Sauce Gardner, but as a
consolation prize in this fake exercise that means absolutely nothing they get
my personal favorite corner in this draft in Andrew Wilkes Booth. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Booth may not be the
pure lockdown corner that Stingley is or quite the ball magnet that Gardner is,
but he does everything well and I think there’s value in that. Going back to my
previous tangent on cornerin’, everyone loves to say “oh Bill Belichick puts
his guys in great position to play to their strengths” but really, how much of
the corner’s responsibility can you truly control? And maybe that’s why they
rise and fall so quickly? If you have a guy like Stingley who plays best isolated
on the X-receiver, then I’m going to run him to death covering crossers and force
the defense to adjust. If you’ve got Gardner and he’s always off the ball
because he can’t press then I’m going to throw screens over there and hope that
I can draw him up. My thoughts are that Belichick drafts defensive players who
are scheme-versatile, as he loves to come with brand new schemes on both sides of
the ball every week depending on opponent. And thus, by using a playstyle that
matches up well with the other team, he’s putting every player in a good
position every week. People seem to think it’s as simple as saying “oh we’ve
got a speed-rusher at DE, Bill’s gonna have him speed rush all game” as if the
other team isn’t going to notice that. You can’t disguise anything if the other
team knows that some of your guys can only do one thing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a danger in
overvaluing a jack of all trades type, as it really doesn’t matter how many
things he’s good at if he’s not good enough for the NFL at them. But I don’t
think Booth is that guy. He’s even more aggressive a tackler than Gardner, he appears
to be a very high awareness corner who recognizes plays pre-snap, and he does
make some wild highlight plays to pick or at least break up passes. I do think
he was miscast a bit in a zone-heavy scheme at Clemson and in reality is a
better man corner, and I wasn’t impressed with his closing speed which when
combined with no, uhhh, Combine, is concerning. Man, it’s like every player is “concerning”
this year. Great year to have multiple first rounders!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>16. New Orleans Saints –
KENYON GREEN, OT/OG, TEXAS A&M</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
New Orleans needs a wide receiver or a tackle pretty badly, and there’s nobody
available who I think they would take outside of those two positions. Now, one
of those positions is insanely deep, and that’s wide receiver. The other falls
off an absolute cliff very soon, and that’s offensive tackle. The Saints have been
kinda under the radar with how great their recent drafts have been, so I think
they do the smart thing here and address the position with a scarcity issue.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I like Kenyon Green
more than most people seem to, and while he’s often listed as a guard I think
he can play tackle and would be comfortable drafting him for that with moving
over to guard as a fallback. He’s got that Greg Lloyd disposition, he’s a big
mf-er and he has like an edge rusher caliber burst at the snap. He’s got some
Kevin Spacey in him in that he just explodes into college dudes. And he plays
like he checks the athletic boxes generally required by elite OTs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Butttttttt he doesn’t.
His timed athleticism is middle of the road at best by NFL standards, so you
have to hope that he either tested poorly or that he’s a bit of an outlier. The
good 10-yard split time is encouraging, as acceleration is clearly more
important for an offensive lineman than sprinting 40 yards. And let’s be honest,
this is about the point where all drafts start to become complete shots in the
dark. And you, dear reader, are to blame. Wait that’s shots to the heart.
Nevermind. Still your fault though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>17. Los Angeles
Chargers – TREVOR PENNING, OT, NORTHERN IOWA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Chargers, a team
with an absolutely stacked roster that still finds a way to perennially go like
6-10 (yeah I know it’s 11 now), need an offensive tackle and there is one top
guy left. And I don’t just mean “oh here’s the top 5 guys and here’s the next 5
guys and here’s so and so” – I mean there’s an absolute chasm coming and I don’t
even like Penning. I do like Abraham Lucas more than Penning but Abraham Lucas
is not a first rounder and at least Penning has some first round qualities.
Like, he’s an incredible athlete, just below the best OT of all time who was
somehow another Northern Iowa player last year in Spencer Brown. What the hell
is going on in Directional Iowa?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now Penning…this
motherfucker is just incredibly unique. I have never seen an offensive lineman
play like a WWE wrestler until this. Diamond Dallas Penning is just out there
trying to hip toss guys. When I say things like “oh I’d like to see Superstar
McLowtier dominate the D-2 scrubs he played against”, this is what I mean. He’s
throwing people out of the stadium, like Shawn Kemp going against a defense
made entirely of salads. And when he faced much better talent at the Senior
Bowl, he was rag-dolling a lot of them as well. So yeah that’s great, right?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, in my opinion,
no, not really. It’s absolutely comical how much this dude has to be the tough
guy. He’s chippy with everyone. He’s obsessed with throwing people onto the
ground. He will throw linebackers into his running back and make the tackle for
them. He’ll try to put someone in the Diamond Cutter only to have them spin out
and blow right by him into his QB’s face. In one of his Senior Bowl 1v1’s,
he threw the rusher into the back of (what would be) his QB’s legs. I’ve never
seen anything like this. He’s going to end up getting weekly personal fouls
called against him if he doesn’t dial this back a bit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, let’s say he gets over that and reels it back in. You
still have a big problem – this dude has no technique. He’s raw as all hell. He
basically is that Robert Gallery “giant plucked out of the stands” hypothetical.
So you’ve got a guy pissing off everybody he goes against, and then once they get
pissed, he doesn’t have the technique to actually block these heated DEs. They got
pissed, started bull rushing him and just walked this dude all the way back to
Iowa. He has no base, he just kind of backs up into a pass blocking set and
that isn’t going to cut it when you piss off Von Miller or TJ Watt and they
just put you on skates. I don’t know enough about offensive line play to know
how reasonable it is to “coach him up”. One thing I DO know however is that NFL
coaches are often wildly overconfident in their abilities to do just that. If
Penning can be turned into an actual offensive lineman and not just a physical
specimen trying to defend his heavyweight title belt, he can be a star. I just
wouldn’t want to take that chance this early in the draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>18. Philadelphia Eagles
– ARNOLD EBIKETIE, EDGE, PENN STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Time to start
getting weird. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I like a lot of edge
guys more than Ebiketie, but the Karlaftis types don’t really fit the Eagles’
scheme. More than perhaps any other team the Battery Birds know what they like at
this position and for better or worse that’s where they go with their picks. Ebiketie
seems like he’s that guy that they like. He’s quick and explosive, a true speed
rusher on the outside. You’re drafting the upside, because he needs a ton of
technique development, but that’s pretty much what teams do with edge rushers.
I’d say they “overdraft” athletes more here than at any other position.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’ve also got the
issue of Ebiketie doing his best Kenny Pickett impression, in that he didn’t do
much of anything in 4 years at Temple before transferring to Penn State and
breaking out. And when you are a 5<sup>th</sup> year senior breakout that does
so with athleticism, that is extremely concerning. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>19. New Orleans
Saints – GEORGE PICKENS, WR, GEORGIA<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another surprise
pick. I don’t want to go receiver but there’s really not anything else
reasonable here other than QB and if I were gonna have the Saints take Willis
or Corral they would I done so at 17. I’m not going back to re-write it now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pickens is not in a
lot of top 3s, but to me if you’re going to take a receiver in the first this
is what you are looking for. He looks eerily like AJ Green, and not just because
he went to Georgia. He is an incredibly smooth athlete with great body control
and he pairs that with top-flite athleticism and I’d actually be a bit surprised
if he doesn’t sneak into the first round. The concerns are the slight stature
and his recent injury history and lack of top production, but for me he’s shown
enough to deserve a high draft pick over the Ohio State guys who are almost
like, elite JAGs. Pickens just seems like a guy who is going to be able to get behind
NFL defenses and eat his fair share of W’s. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>20. Pittsburgh Steelers
– MALIK WILLIS, QB, LIBERTY</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It seems unavoidable
that the Steelers will take Malik Willis is he is there at 20. I just hope they
don’t trade up for him. Ideally I’d prefer this pick to be Devin Lloyd or maybe
Tyler Linderbaum but I can’t in good faith make the Steelers pass on Willis.
There is wayyyy too much smoke to this fire. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, while I have
the Lions and Falcons passing on QBs, that line of thinking doesn’t really apply
to teams like the Seahawks, Saints and Steelers. I strongly considered sending
Willis to the Seahawks and perhaps the Saints will use their odd bounty of
first rounders to move up for someone (though I don’t think they will), in any
case these are teams that are probably going to win 9+ games this season and
they aren’t going to be picking in the top 5 next year like Detroit and Atlanta
likely will be. So what are they waiting for? Excluding the year they moved up to
10<sup>th</sup> to grab a middle linebacker with all the awareness of a deer drunk
on fermented grapes, the Steelers haven’t drafted higher than 14<sup>th</sup>
in like 15 years. How exactly are they going to move up high enough to get a
Bryce Young type? They have to strongly consider guys with questions who drop
later into the first round. I remember there was a debate as to whether they
should take Lamar Jackson when he started dropping. Spoiler: yeah, they should
have.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So here’s a guy in
Malik Willis who gets compared to Lamar Jackson a lot. He shouldn’t, though.
Willis appears to be a good but not great athlete; dudes like Lamar and Vick
are on a different planet athletically. Willis is not nearly as fast as Lamar
Jackson. He’s quick and shifty but he’s not often out there breaking off 20+
yard runs. The problem here is that Willis seems to think he’s Lamar Jackson
and he starts playing like it. Way too often you’ll see him running out of a
clean pocket on 3<sup>rd</sup> and 11 for like 7 yards or trying to just spin
away from 3 defensive linemen and just not getting away. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead, I see a bad
version of Russell Wilson. He runs like Wilson, he’s jittery like Wilson, and
he’s got an absolute cannon like Russell Wilson. This guy throws absolute darts.
He’s got Jalen Hurts-esque vision when he runs and like Hurts I believe it
makes people think he’s much more elite athletically than he really is. However
Willis is just consistently making bewildering decisions with the ball, just
downright Bettman-ian. Throwing up the seam into 3 defenders, he’s usually staring his WR down, he’s floating
some balls dangerously and not great at ball placement, and he apparently under
the impression that he will be kicked out of school if he takes a check down. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, at least regarding
the pocket presence and progressions stuff, he was much better in 2020, back when
I tuned into my annual college football game to just have my mind blown by a
ranked matchup between Liberty and Coastal Carolina. And yeah, playing at
Liberty in a scheme best described as “having Malik Willis” didn’t help. The
WRs don’t separate much at all, the line allows a lot of quick pressures, yada
yada. But he ain’t the only guy with that problem. Kenny Pickett has many the
same issues and he’s not out there wildin’. Well, at least not last year, he
kind was before 2021 but we’ve already gone over this. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Can he be a star?
Yeah, he’s got the arm for it, he’s got mobility, according to everything you
read he’s got all the intangibles that you like at the position. But to me
there’s just too many red flags in very important QB areas to have a ton of confidence
that he’s going to hit that ceiling. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>New England trades
the 21<sup>st</sup> pick to the Colts for the 42<sup>nd</sup> and some other
shit</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>21. Indianapolis Colts
– YOROS “GEORGE” KARLAFTIS, EDGE, PURDUE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, there’s a
glut of guys here that I would send to New England and I can’t decide which guy
to give them (I was leaning Devin Lloyd but there were too many good white guys
also available). In that situation they’d probably trade down, and while this
draft is weak at the top it’s quite deep in the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup>
tiers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To do that however, they need a trade partner. Everyone’s always
saying “ (my team) should TRADE DOWN!”, completely ignoring that, you know, you
need a trade partner to trade. And if you want your team to trade down because
you don’t think there’s anyone available who’s really all that great, you’re
asking for another team to move up and take a guy who is not that great. And
that’s an issue here. I stretched to make this one happen and it’s probably
like a 0.0005% chance that it does. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My tortured reasoning here is that Indy is kind of in that
no man’s land where they aren’t going to be picking in the top 20 in the near
future yet they aren’t quite contenders in their current state either. This is
like rich man’s Jeff Fisher territory. They don’t have a first round pick and
there is only one guy left from the top of the edge pool. And to add uhhhh
complement to non-injury?, uhhh, yeah, anyone the guy left is FROM INDIANA! JIMINY
GOSH DARN CRICKET!!! The Colts gotta go up to get fuckin’ Yoros here! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In reality there’s nothing that suggests that Ballard and
the Baby Horses would do this but the draft is full of surprises and so boom
motherfathers here’s a surprise.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yoros is not actually from Indiana, he’s from Greece, and he
moved to Indiana in 2014. Once there he was like whoa none of these children
are named Yoros I need to start being George and that’s just what he did. He
also set a state record in the shot put because he’s Athenian and that’s what
they do. So yeah he’s quite the athlete. He’s also my third ranked edge guy and
the 2<sup>nd</sup> ranked dude just tore his achilles during his Pro Day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">George the Greek is a bit of a tweener himself in that he’s
built like a 3-4 edge and as such he wasn’t just let loose at Purdue to go
after QBs. When he was, however, he looked hella explosive and also looks the
part of the shot put champ when he’s walking dudes back into the QB’s lap. He
was the kid that was just good at every sport, and one them when he was in
Athens was judo, so it’s no surprise that he has great hands. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The downsides are that while he is decently flexible for such
a big DE he’s still doesn’t appear to be super bendy which given his size is not
surprising and I also question why he’s out of position a lot. A guy with this
size and these athletic gifts should be able to hold the edge better but he’s
often going where the offense is baiting him to go. And it’s not like he just
came over from Greece last year so it’s not like this is something that’s just
going to naturally develop over the next few years. While he does have good
hands, he doesn’t really have any pass rush moves (which is by no means rare
for college kids) so he’s just reacting to blocks so he’ll need to respond well
to NFL coaching but given everything I’ve read about him he probably will. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I do however see a top 15 talent so trading up to 21 to get
him would be something I would understand, even though I won’t have to
understand it because this isn’t going to happen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>22. Green Bay Packers – JAHAN DOTSON, WR, PENN STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I now regret doing the whole trade thing at 21 because
Karlaftis would be the perfect fit for Green Bay. And they have a glaring need
for a 3-4 DE who can bump outside in nickel and dime sets. Oh well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m trying to find a way to piss off Rahjahs and in reality
they can justify going somewhere other than WR here as this is the pick they
got from Vegas and they have another pick at 28, plus WR is so deep, but
looking at the board as I have it there’s really just nowhere else to
realistically go. So they can add the latest guy from the Penn State track club
in Jahan Dotson. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dotson has legit jets and he knows how to use them, as he’s always
getting behind the defense and finding open space. Which makes sense, as you
need as much space as possible given the atrocious QB play we saw at Hackenburg
State. And you don’t have to throw it over the top to Dotson if you don’t want
to, you can also throw short and let him stack up RACs on RACs on RACs. I think
this is the kind of receiver that the Rodge would want to have rather than
another Marquez Valdes-Scantling type who just runs fast in a straight line. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dotson’s risks are that he’s smaller and that while his 40
time was good his other metrics were not. But that matters less for receivers
than you might think. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>23. Arizona Cardinals – TRENT MCDUFFIE, CB, WASHINGTON</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is the team I wanted to use to swap with New England
but it didn’t make sense to switch with a team that didn’t need a corner in
order to jump over a team that didn’t need a corner. Maybe they do it for
Karlaftis which would at least make sense however I don’t see that happening so
suck my ass if you’re a draft trades truther.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McDuff kind of looks like Tyrann Mathieu, so it makes since
that he goes to Arizona to play in the desert for the Warm Birds. He may be a
bit smaller but he’s aggressive as all hell and he’s ridiculously quick and
twitchy. My trepidation with this pick would be that I am assuming things that
he can do rather than confirming them because at least from what I watched,
Washington had him playing that Steeler Style where you line up 10 yards off
the ball and just like, let the other team catch it and tackle them. There’s a
chance that he’s secretly the best corner in this draft and we just never got
to see it at U Dub. There’s also a chance that he’s got footwork issues that
they were hiding but given his clear elite agility I doubt that’s the case. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>24. Dallas Cowboys – JAQUAN BRISKER, SAFETY, PENN STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seems like the Cowboys have been looking for a safety for about
a decade and so every year I mock on to them and then Jerrah stumbles out from
his bathroom rub and tug and takes a linebacker. Might as well stick with what’s
working.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lo and behold, as usual, there’s a really good safety who
happens to be available for the Cowboys. Will they instead take a punt
returner? Probably. Oh well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brisker is my 2<sup>nd</sup> favorite safety this year and I
think that’s where he ends up getting drafted. He’s a Derwin James type who can
play deep zones or aggressively up at the line of scrimmage. Like Kyle
Hamilton, he does things that make you think he does his homework and has an
instinctive defensive awareness and that’s why I think he’s 2<sup>nd</sup> off
the board, as I don’t think the next two guys in line have that like Hamilton
and Brisker. He’s also a big hitter and will bring that Todd Hodne energy down
to Dallas. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The downsides? A bit light and he’s always trying to knock
people into next week rather than going after the ball, you know that thing
that you take to a certain area on the field to get points. So this is more of
a projection as I’ve seen enough to THINK that he can play in more of a
ballhawk/centerfield role but like McDuffie, he just wasn’t used that way as
much as I thought he should have been. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also he’s not refined at all in man coverage so if a team wants
a safety but has designs of matching him up on tight ends a lot they’d probably
look at Lewis Cine or Daxton Hill.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>25. Buffalo Bills – KENNETH WALKER III, RB, MICHIGAN STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ok so everyone says “oh the Bills need a running back but nothing
Brandon Beane has done suggests they’d take one in the first”, and I think, how
do you know that? Are there other teams out there who are just taking first
round running backs every other couple of seasons?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every year I go into a similar spiel about RBs – yeah I get
that you shouldn’t take them early in the first round. But in the 20s? Why not?
At the value positions you’re often getting like the 4<sup>th</sup> or 5<sup>th</sup>
best player by this point. The Bills need a corner. Well, right now they can
get Matt Elam’s cousin or a guy named Roger McCreary who I assume is an Irish
rugby player? They could go with the 7<sup>th</sup> best offensive lineman in a
weak offensive line year? It would actually make sense to take a receiver here
but I still think you can wait.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OR, the team about whom every year the TV analysts are all
like “but Terry they just can’t run the ball!” can take the best running back
available, a guy who looks a lot like Jonathan Taylor did last year running all
over their Bill asses? They can get a young RB with his best years ahead of him
on a cost-controlled contract with a 5<sup>th</sup> year option? A guy at a
position where rookies typically come in and are ready to play right away, on a
team with a glaring need that is just entering a multi-year championship window?
Yeah I don’t think that’s dumb. I’d get if they went somewhere else with this
pick but I don’t think it’s dumb for the Bills to take a running back. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Plus they could do us all a favor and get Devin Singletary
and Zach Moss out of our fantasy football lives. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>26. Tennessee Titans – CHRIS OLAVE, WR, OHIO STATE<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I just looked at the Titans depth chart and holy shit is
their receiver corps weak after AJ Brown and Robert Woods. I also just learned
that Robert Woods was on the Titans. Cool. He’s also 30 and coming off an ACL
tear so they’ve got that going for them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This just happens to be a good WR year and they just happen
to be picking in a spot where there’s no glaring value available outside of WR
so here, here’s a WR. Olave is fast and has a good feel for the position and you
typically like fast guys who know what they are doing. He plays kind of like
OBJ but without the pinky catches and mumble-rapper hair. That should work. I for
some reason don’t love Olave (there’s this underlying feeling that he may be just
a guy and I don’t want to get JAGgy with it) but objectively there’s no good
reason for it and he should be a pretty good NFL receiver, particularly as a
clear #2. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – ZION JOHNSON, OG, BOSTON COLLEGE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Bucs could go anywhere with this. They have Russell Gage
as their third receiver and Cameron Brate is still the tight end so it may
behoove them to add some weapons for Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask or…wait,
what? For real? Are you serious? Damn. Ok. Well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I read that their most pressing need is at guard, even
though I think it’s probably at DE but they run a 3-4 so who am I going after,
DeMarvin Leal? I don’t really like DeMarvin Leal so I’m going to assume Todd
the Bod Bowles doesn’t either. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But at guard, the last top tier guy is still available in
Zion Johnson. Arguably if Kenyon Green is a tackle and Tyler Linderbaum is considered
to be really a center only, then Zion Johnson is the only top-tier guard. So
good on you, Bucs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zion Johnson has the elite athleticism that matters more at
guard than at most positions believe it or not. He’s strong and he’s agile. If
you were at the guard store you’d probably want to shop first in the strong and
agile aisle and that’s where you’d find Zion Johnson. However he would not be
located in the dominant aisle, which seems to be a theme this year. A lot of
technicians who move well laterally. But I mean it worked for the Broncos 30
years ago so why wouldn’t it work now?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of Linderbaum I considered having the Bengals swap
with the Bills to jump Tampa and get Linderbaum but the more I think about it
the more I think that if this scenario were to play out, Cincinnati would just
stay put and hope Tampa doesn’t take Linderbaum themselves or I guess even if
they did the Bengals could just gobble up some Johnson. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>28. Green Bay Packers – TREY MCBRIDE, TE, COLORADO STATE</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This one is weird, yes, but Green Bay has been drafting
weird for quite some time now so why not? Nobody is considering Trey McBride as
a first round prospect but to me he sure looked like one and I pre-determined
that I was going to force him in here somewhere. So why not here? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can’t replace Davante Adams with one rookie, so let’s try
to replace him with two. McBride has all the receiving ability you look for in
tight ends these days but unlike most of the other guys, he can actually play
like real tight end. So they have Bob Tonyan – I don’t think that means that
you’re set at tight end. Marcedes Lewis is like 50 years old and he’s still on
the damn roster. They could use a real tight end, and there’s only one real tight
end available this year….Trey McMotherfuckinBride. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>29. Kansas City Chiefs – CHRISTIAN WATSON, WR, NORTH DAKOTA</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fitting that the team that signed Marquez Valdez-Scantling
drafts Marquez Valdez-Watson. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christian Watson is an absolute specimen. He’s one of the most
athletic WRs to even enter the draft according to RAS. He’s big and fast and
explosive and everything, sure. He’s Chase Claypool, basically. DK Metcalf. Orrrr
Breshad Perriman? James Jett? Darrius Heyward-Bey? Fastward McStraightline? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess I just expected more from a guy running 4.3s in a
dome past Upper-Midwest scrubs. He did appear to have pretty good feet for a
big WR in his senior bowl 1v1s, but D-1 corners stuck to him better than I
thought they would. This is an athletic projection, you’re drafting a really
fast guy that may have the building blocks to make an actual WR from because
you lost Tyreek Hill. Sure, pregnant women in Kansas City are going to be much
safer now, but so are opposing corners. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That all being said while I am skeptical about Watson living
up to a first round draft spot he’s probably going to get picked there and with
his measurables he could certainly become a star player. I just don’t love this
archetype and for every Chris Claypool (for whom the jury is still out, btw)
there are nine Miles Boykins.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>30. Kansas City Chiefs – DAVID OJABO, EDGE, MICHIGAN</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have Ojabo as my #2 edge rusher but that of course was
before he tore his achilles (I’ve been working on this for like 2 months man,
jeez I gotta spend my time better). The Chiefs are beginning to have salary cap
strains and they are going to need to replace Frank Clark soon. In reality
Frank Clark stopped being good a year or two ago so they can start replacing
him now. I don’t know when Ojabo will be coming back but even if it’s not until
next year it’s not all that likely that whoever they take in this spot will be
making a significant contribution this year anyway, so they can afford to take
a guy with top 15 talent and stash him for a year. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Assuming Ojabo recovers fully, he’s easily the best speed rusher
in this group. He reminds me of Kwity Paye, and not just because they were both
victors and the best. He can bend the edge well enough to get to the QB and he
finishes plays. He’s got the measurables to back that up as well, even though
he strangely has the build of like a train engineer or something. All of the
other guys have elite athletic traits but they don’t necessarily look like it for
whatever reason. That isn’t the case with Ojabs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Plus he’s been playing football for three years (for real)
so there’s probably some significant development still untapped. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>31. Cincinnati Bengals – TYLER LINDENBAUM, C, IOWA<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Bengals gotta get some more guys who don’t suck onto their
O-Line, particularly since last year they took a guy who sucks massive ass in
Jackson Carman. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For whatever reason, teams don’t value centers and never
really have. I however do, and so every year I mock a top center into the first
round and he ends up going like 30 picks later. Last year it was Creed Humphrey,
the best center prospect I’ve ever seen and another guy I think got groupthinked
into a bad draft spot. This year however the class is weaker than the
groupthink is strong and if the Bengals want to get their next Billy Price they
may have to move up to do it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I do not think Linderbaum is Billy Price though, don’t get
it twisted. He’s really good. He’s a little small but he’s quick and feisty and
stronger than you’d expect a smaller lineman to be. He can also snap the hell
out of the ball, man can this guy snap. The QB says “hut” and hoo boy Linderbaum
just snaps it back. I’m bored if you can’t tell. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>32. Detroit Lions – DEVIN LLOYD, ILB, UTAH</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Devin Lloyd is my favorite player in this draft. Every year
I’m like, “here is a middle linebacker who runs a 4.4 and benches 800 pounds
but he has no idea what he’s doing and he’s going to get drafted 50 spots too
high”. Devin Lloyd is not that. He’s the best ILB prospect I’ve seen since Luke
Keuchly. Everything you want a linebacker to do, he does. I did like Zaven
Collins a lot last year but thought it was weird that he was like 260 lbs yet
was such a light hitter for the position. Not Lloyd, he brings the processed
trees. He’s almost always going to the right hole and rarely gets caught out of
position. He doesn’t wait to make the tackle 6 yards downfield like Kenneth
Murray and Jamin Davis. He’s an elite athlete and he’s perfectly comfortable in
coverage. He can shed blocks and find his way though the trash. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you watch Utah’s game against Stanford last year you would
be watching an absolute clinic put on by Professor Lloyd. He did everything I
mentioned above on like, every play. He also throws a couple of blockers to the
moon for good measure, where they quickly died in the inhospitable conditions.
This guy committed MURDERS. So how are the Ravens and some other teams passing
on him during such a weak year? Did he not obstruct enough justice? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For whatever reason, my board just doesn’t line up for him. “Value”
positions are getting pushed back to teams that don’t usually get a shot at
them, ie the Steelers taking Malik Willis when in reality I want them to take
Lloyd. Or the Patriots trading down because Bill Belichick can’t get off unless
he turns a pick in the 20s into two 2<sup>nd</sup> rounders, even though I
would have to think they love Lloyd and in reality would probably stay put and finally
get a linebacker who runs better than Rich Eisen. But if they don’t, another
team who needs (insert pretty much any defensive position) is Detroit and they
are the beneficiaries of this hot warm trickle down. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, so that’s that. Now some guys I watched but didn’t
put in my draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>QBs:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matt Corral – I think he might actually be good but this is
the stupidest offense ever and he just runs into people like he’s Jerome Bettis
or something. I do not know what Ole Miss was doing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sam Howell – It’s eerie how similar he looks to Baker Mayfield
physically and that is so not in right now. There are some really good
stretches but too many bad stretches to think he’s going to go in the first
round. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Carson Strong – I want this guy to work but unfortunately it’s
not 1993 anymore. He can’t move and he looks like a guy who couldn’t move
before he developed a knee issue that not really keeps him from moving. He is
probably the best pure QB in this draft, which makes sense because he can’t
move and had to develop all the other skills like throwing into tight windows
and not running around aimlessly like a 5 year old. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bailey Zappe – Threw for 100,000 yards in 2021. He’s
probably the latest version of Timmy Chang, though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Desmond Ridder – Cincinnati was really good last year. Yeah
I know they played for the championship so yeah obviously but they have like 10+
NFL players on this roster. Desmond Ridder actively hurt this team. He’s so
bad. Why do people think he’s not bad, let alone actually good? If he goes in
the first I think he’s the worst first round QB since Christian Ponder. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>OTs:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Abraham Lucas – I like Abraham Lucas and he’s got the athleticism
you look for in a first rounder but there’s just too many moments where he gets
absolutely dominated. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bernhard Raiman – This guy sucks every play. Why is he being
talked about like a 2<sup>nd</sup> rounder. He’s my 2022 Jackson Carman.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daniel Faalele – He’s like 6’8” 400 pounds but on the bright
side he moves like he weighs 500 pounds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>TEs:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Greg Dulcich – Dulcich is a really athletic receiving tight
end and I would have considered putting him as my number one tight end IF he
ever actually did like tight end stuff. Still could be a Travis Kelce-esque draft
steal a few years down the road.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jelani Woods – The single greatest TE athletically to ever
enter the NFL draft (in the RAS era). But you probably wouldn’t have guessed
just by watching him. He’s not bad but he’s not like some jump off the screen
athlete. Still may go a lot higher than people think just based off the
measurables. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Armani Rogers – This guy has played tight end for like 2 weeks
but he’s like, kinda good at it in that limited sample size. If some team
drafted him in the 3<sup>rd</sup> round I’d get it and wouldn’t have much of an
issue with that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>WRs:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Treylon Burks – Combine killed him. He plays like he’s Josh Gordon
but the testing proved that he’s not. Still could sneak into the first and if
you are one of those “I don’t care how he runs in shorts, PUT ON THE TAPE!”
types you probably like Burks. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Garrett Wilson – A lot of people have him as the top WR in
this draft and I see some OBJ resemblance with how he plays but at the end of
the day I think he’s just a (moderately above average) guy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Calvin Austin III – I like this guy a lot but he’s probably
too much of a likely gimmick player to go in the top 32. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John Metchie III – He’s ok, I think? Too many WRs in these
drafts. Also too many guys with sticks after their names. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Bell – He’s like the new Treylon Burks if you made the
actual Traylon Burks the best athlete in the NFL. Yeah he was a stud at Purdue
but there are so very few of these types that pan out in the NFL.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Skyy Moore – People love Skyy Moore. I’m not one of them, he
doesn’t look all that great to me. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alec Pierce – Sabotaged by Desmond Ridder. I didn’t watch
enough of Pierce to rank him but he’s a tall burner who can shimmy enough that
you could probably teach him to run pretty good routes. He’s really just a step
behind Christian Watson and may be picked in the top 40. He also makes a lot of
ridiculous highlight grabs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>RBs:</u></b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Breece Hall – Fantasy darling and he’s a tremendous athlete
in a big body but he just goes down so easily. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah Spiller – The best at running 10 yards, and the worst
at running 11 yards. He could be a Pro Bowl caliber NFL runner for sure but I
don’t see him pushing for a first round draft spot. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>ILBS:<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So many ILBs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Christian Harris – I really like Christian Harris and wouldn’t be surprised if
he sneaks into the first. He’s got the Alabama thing working against him and I
don’t love that he seems to be guessing out there but he’s still flying around everywhere
doin’ things. Legit sub-4.5 40 guy too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nakobe Dean – Butkus Award winner from 2022. I think he’s
good but I like him less than most people, I think. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Leo Chenal – This motherfucker is rare af. He’s this year’s
Shazier in that his highlight tapes are just ridiculous. However he’s really
only dominating when Wisconsin puts him right up on the center and sends him to
destroy. I don’t know if he can play like, actual inside linebacker. However he’s
the 2<sup>nd</sup> most athletic ILB of the RAS era and he screams it when you
watch him play. Number 1 most athletic is also in this draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Quay Walker – I like him but I don’t think he’s all that
special and not worth a top 50 pick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Troy Andersen – This is the guy who beat out Leo Chenal for
top athlete in the history of inside linebackering. His college career was like
a Myles Jack fever dream, started at Montana State as a running back, then he
was the fuckin’ quarterback one year (!), then he’s the middle linebacker? He
was the Montana state 100 and 200 meter champ in high school and it’s hilarious
watching this giant alien just dusting all these little kids. Reminds me of
Ryan Mundy in high school. It was a sight to behold. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Anyway Andersen is raw as all fuck but that’s to be expected. He’s been getting
some fringy first rounder talk and while I’d bet against it and I don’t think
he’s anywhere near good enough right now for that I’d get it with the measurables.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chad Muma – A great athlete who doesn’t really play like it
and so people say “oh he’s a gritty tackler” but he’s always making tackles after
5 yard gains. I am not a huge fan. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brian Asamoah II – This is the year of name sticks. I do
like his game but he’s super undersized and it’s obvious that he’s super
undersized the way he can be pushed around. To be that small you’ve got to
really stand out and I don’t think he does enough. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brandon Smith – There’s a lot to like here but it’s going to
take some serious development to get there. However for a Day 3 lottery ticket
I think this is a really good bet.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Darrian Beavers – The Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati’s
defense. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>CBs:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Roger McCreary – A detective from Belfast. Actually a corner
from Auburn. I love his game and think he’s the best corner in this draft from
a skills perspective but he’s just nowhere near the athlete that top corners
usually are. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kaiir Elam – A big fast guy but I think he plays like a big
fast guy and those guys don’t often turn very well. I’m not a huge fan but I
don’t hate him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kyler Gordon – Trent McDuffie’s running mate (McDuffie/Gordon
2036!), I like him less than others do though. He looks kinda like a not all
that good Trent McDuffie.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zyon McCollum – The single most athletic CB in RAS history,
which is saying something. However I watched the few snippets of Sam Houston
games that were available on YouTube and they were not saying something. He didn’t
look great in Senior Bowl 1v1s either. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tariq Woolen – Like McCollum but add super raw to the mix.
He’s an athlete that does not know how to play cornerback and yet he’s getting
some rd 1 talk because he ran fast and jumped high come on people WHAT ARE YOU
DOING<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Safeties:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daxton Hill – A lot of people have him as their #2 safety
and he may go in the first. I like him less than those people but still like
him. He’s a Budda Baker type and yeah I liked Budda Baker a lot but I thought
Budda Baker was better than Hill and those types have to really impress as they
are not creating a lot of turnovers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lewis Cine – A very weird player who plays like Sean Taylor
but often times he runs up with homicide on the brain and just collides with
some poor ball carrier and…nothing really happens? I don’t know why because he’s
big, super fast and homicidal but ehhhh who knows. He does have some serious
jets though and if you can get him to do some more safety-ing and less
murdering you may have something here. He’s a sub 4.4 guy with serious range. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>IDL:<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perrion Winfrey – I like Perrion Winfrey more than most, but
he is more of a high impact player than a consistent disruptor. But when he makes
an impact he makes the shit out of it. It is concerning that he was off of the
field so much for Oklahoma though, this guy weighs under 300 pounds yet he
makes Jordan Davis look like Roger Bannister. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Devonte Wyatt – I don’t see enough to take him in the first
round. Tough to rank the Georgia guys though as that defense was just outrageously
stacked.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">DeMarvin Leal – To me he’s just too much of a tweener and
not really high NFL-caliber inside or outside on the DL but the skill is there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Edges:</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Someone should upload a video of 2022 edge rush prospects highlights and call it "30 Minutes of Hot Edging".</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cameron Thomas - I am much higher on this dude than most people seem to be. I think he's a round 1 talent in a year like this one. Sometimes his aggressiveness gets him a bit out of control but if he can reel that in a bit I think you have a valuable player, particularly if you need a 3-4 DE type. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Boye Mafe - A complete Combine creation, I am rarely impressed by Mafe but he's incredibly athletic at a spot where that gets you drafted really high. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Kickers and Punters:</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hahaha lol jk<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-31936754227428052872021-04-28T06:26:00.006-07:002021-04-30T04:52:34.599-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2021 NFL MOCK DRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ooooook so it's that time again, yay. Jk, this year was the
first year where I was like ehhhh not sure I wanna do all these so we'll see
what Todd McNeigh does next year but for this year all systems is go sonz</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So gonna do it a little differently this year. First, some
player rankings of the dudes I watched. Some maybe two, even three games! Most
like one or less cuz I gots things to do yall.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also note: a player comp doesn't necessarily mean I think
that the draft player will end up like the comp player. It's often just
stylistic or perhaps there are certain similarities that stand out.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--AaDZVY8g44/YIlgLPW1hvI/AAAAAAAAIhg/bIiGteSvDuM7Hmr5UfbtJ9PfzMq1VrA4QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1709/4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1709" data-original-width="1502" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--AaDZVY8g44/YIlgLPW1hvI/AAAAAAAAIhg/bIiGteSvDuM7Hmr5UfbtJ9PfzMq1VrA4QCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/4.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_h8yvvxKG34/YIlgLcHE0jI/AAAAAAAAIhk/jcCCu2_qsyo53HbzUXKbKqGVWbe8kiWowCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1377" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_h8yvvxKG34/YIlgLcHE0jI/AAAAAAAAIhk/jcCCu2_qsyo53HbzUXKbKqGVWbe8kiWowCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/5.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OaAZnCcrXa4/YIlgL9-ymzI/AAAAAAAAIho/ba9P7QPuPPUo_trissz4GZB8IDVvSwg1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s2026/6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2026" data-original-width="1502" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OaAZnCcrXa4/YIlgL9-ymzI/AAAAAAAAIho/ba9P7QPuPPUo_trissz4GZB8IDVvSwg1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/6.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnTO-qd4fjM/YIlgMa7CJlI/AAAAAAAAIhs/_9YxAS6oJ9U5Ke8R1AnoYj6Y5XdmV-0wwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1569/7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="1513" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnTO-qd4fjM/YIlgMa7CJlI/AAAAAAAAIhs/_9YxAS6oJ9U5Ke8R1AnoYj6Y5XdmV-0wwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/7.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FCVkGb4kPMU/YIlgNQEFgwI/AAAAAAAAIh8/I4umNPViC_MsjnsrB0fKyJf2JxtCLuaigCNcBGAsYHQ/s1513/8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1513" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FCVkGb4kPMU/YIlgNQEFgwI/AAAAAAAAIh8/I4umNPViC_MsjnsrB0fKyJf2JxtCLuaigCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/8.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-olvy_HDbT9U/YIlgNLbF0pI/AAAAAAAAIh0/BHBzUYkZwYso7mNg3TFZlWST2kGuU5zYACNcBGAsYHQ/s1513/11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1513" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-olvy_HDbT9U/YIlgNLbF0pI/AAAAAAAAIh0/BHBzUYkZwYso7mNg3TFZlWST2kGuU5zYACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/11.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGEd_2vdLJQ/YIlgNLk95ZI/AAAAAAAAIh4/BPSMHqK_lQ800_IfKYeFzHdiqfIAXNXKwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1822/12.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="1513" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGEd_2vdLJQ/YIlgNLk95ZI/AAAAAAAAIh4/BPSMHqK_lQ800_IfKYeFzHdiqfIAXNXKwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/12.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhaeDhAWz9k/YIlgK9VGk0I/AAAAAAAAIhc/y9VivS3NbwgmsWxde_MEngKihWsYBlY9ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1491" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhaeDhAWz9k/YIlgK9VGk0I/AAAAAAAAIhc/y9VivS3NbwgmsWxde_MEngKihWsYBlY9ACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/2.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ufvk4CxSwsw/YIlgK5UcyWI/AAAAAAAAIhY/ZLpcjhR8GsU6wEuF4co2tNw_nauL4GB5wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1698/3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="1502" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ufvk4CxSwsw/YIlgK5UcyWI/AAAAAAAAIhY/ZLpcjhR8GsU6wEuF4co2tNw_nauL4GB5wCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/3.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0LNw8Qlh0l4/YIlgNJjaT4I/AAAAAAAAIhw/-XN2wVAcynQGchlTwdunjCgkuqDjxjYjQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1513/10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="1513" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0LNw8Qlh0l4/YIlgNJjaT4I/AAAAAAAAIhw/-XN2wVAcynQGchlTwdunjCgkuqDjxjYjQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/10.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq45eyixmwk/YIlgKx2J0MI/AAAAAAAAIhU/1WlNi_fmu8k0_-eqLmoRkpXUDv6ZOIkEgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1974/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1974" data-original-width="1438" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq45eyixmwk/YIlgKx2J0MI/AAAAAAAAIhU/1WlNi_fmu8k0_-eqLmoRkpXUDv6ZOIkEgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/1.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3t5Sv3vmSCo/YIlgNzaiLGI/AAAAAAAAIiA/G86N9z6il1EW4PlQOFpXNY1flpcYTCoJgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1916/9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1916" data-original-width="1513" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3t5Sv3vmSCo/YIlgNzaiLGI/AAAAAAAAIiA/G86N9z6il1EW4PlQOFpXNY1flpcYTCoJgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/9.png" /></a></div><br /><p>Doesn't look like those are going to display all that well. Whatevs.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, time flies, dogs. It’s already draft time again, and that
means it’s time for the 2021 version of the Business Horse NFL Mock Draft
Extravaganza. As always, everything here is 100% guaranteed to happy exactly as
mocked. Jk, it’s a combination of what I think will happen and what I think
should happen, though mostly what I think will happen. This year I’ve done it a
bit differently – I will post some tables below ranking the players that I
watched to make this and where I’d “grade” them if I were one of [i]those[/i]
weirdos. Everyone on this list was watched on Youtube between 1 and maybe like
8 minutes, so there’s not a whole lot backing this up. However, I have a lot of
theories on the draft, and one of them is that it’s mostly driven by groupthink
and maybe teams would be better….I don’t know, not watching only 8 minutes but
perhaps not having rooms of 10 scouts watch some guard’s reach blocking for 3
hours. Hell, even mine is driven by groupthink, as I have to find a list of
players to even watch somewhere, but I do try to watch as independently as
possible from existing rankings and write-ups.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also, this year I’ve cut back significantly on the gifs. Not
sure if they add enough for all of the hassle they are to capture and post. I
pretty much stopped collecting them a third of the way through my “scouting”. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">1. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS – TREVOR LAWRENCE, QB, CLEMSON<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<a href="https://i.imgur.com/u2epolK.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/u2epolK.gif" /></a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/0pT7Z8H.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/0pT7Z8H.gif" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Guh. Another one of these fuckers? I could have pulled
another 10+ examples of Lawrence creating massive dipshittery but we don’t have
the bandwidth for that. He makes Winstonian decisions every single game, and
they mostly get dropped. All of the “Justin Fields can’t process” shit? I don’t
think it’s made up – and I’ll get to that – but Lawrence is worse. He decides
where he’s going to throw, takes the snap, stares that guy down, and throws it
hell or high water to that receiver. He did improve at this as he went on but
he was still seriously limited, almost to a Jacob Eason-esque level. I read all
of these “great processor”/”goes through progressions quickly”/”super smart
decision maker” etc etc type shit and wonder, what the hell are these people
watching that I’m not seeing? What was so smart about immediately deciding
where he’s going with that ball against Miami in the gif above and throwing it
blindly? To be fair, it was 4<sup>th</sup> down, and maybe he was told to go
there. But if he’s just being told where to go with the ball, how is that all
that much better? Jared Goff looked good when he was told where to go with the
ball, too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On top of that, half of Clemson’s plays are just catch-and-throws
at the line of scrimmage (LOS). YAC-ity YAC. Check the graphic below from his
win over Alabama in the 2018 championship game:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/4nvP0Tk.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="800" src="https://i.imgur.com/4nvP0Tk.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those yards deep down the right were mostly YAC, too. He
threw a (nice) 20 yard dart to a hook route, the WR shook the defender (who
wasn’t all that close) and went 60 more yards for the TD. I’ve never seen
another offense with as many of what I will refer to as “bullshit yards”. Here’s
where I note that I (we) don’t know everything that NFL teams know. After Josh
Allen and Justin Herbert, I simply have to think differently. Josh Allen
apparently didn’t even have a QB coach at Wyoming and literally had never been
taught anything other than the basics of like how to take a snap and stuff in
his life before he was drafted. We didn’t know it was [i]thaaaat[/] bad (though
I still wouldn’t have ranked him highly – this is not an excuse). We know
Justin Herbert’s situation at Oregon was far from ideal – and I noted that last
year – but perhaps it was significantly worse than we thought. But Lawrence
holds ball possession in the same regard as Greyworm. What’s his excuse?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clemson is absolutely stacked. They probably
have an assistant-to-the-QB-coach position. The skill positions are loaded with
NFL talent. Yet over the last two years, it’s been a winter tradition for
another top QB to come in and just, uhhh, throw circles around Lawrence. Last
year before I got really deep into it, I liked Lawrence more than Burrow going
into that championship game. Watching that game however (I don’t watch much
college football) made it abundantly clear that Burrow was amazing and Lawrence
left something to be desired for such a “generational” QB prospect. Then Justin
Fields came in and did it again. I don’t think it’s all that surprising that
Clemson ran so many “trick”-ish plays in the red zone to try and create space
for throws through movement and misdirection. This was an interesting play from
the game against OSU where they ran a normal play, Lawrence threw it to a
covered WR, and the other WR got quite animated after the play:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/yHTmqrn.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/yHTmqrn.gif" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Maybe the ref was in the way and maybe he was yelling at
something else, but I found it interesting given everything I’ve seen so far)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But – after Allen and Herbert (and even Daniel Jones to a degree),
I have to change my perception of college QBs. Lawrence is a really, really
good athlete and can fuckin’ wing it. He throws lasers to every level. His deep
throws are majestic. He’s generally accurate. Should, say, having like 5
turnover worthy plays against Pitt of all teams concern people? Yeah, I think
it should. Should carrying the ball like a briefcase while blindly running into
two blitzing LBs be a concern? Yeah (he’s probably gonna fumble a LOT). But
would I still take Lawrence first overall? Even as much as I dislike his QB
abilities outside of pure running and throwing – I probably would. The tools
are that good, and that seems to be what works now. How will that play with
Urban Meyer, who has been coasting on reputation since like 2004 and running
the same dumb offense for 20 years? Well, that’s another story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody plz watch dumb Jags games for me and
let me know how it works out, k thx.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2. NEW YORK JETS – ZACH WILSON, QB, BYU<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ok, I have another galaxy brain theory. Perhaps the Jets
realized late last year that they actually liked Wilson more than Lawrence, but
they knew that there would be hella pressure on them to take Lawrence and as
they are indeed the Jets, they were absolutely swayed by this? And they
thought, hell fellow jetplanes - we don’t want to become a Jordan/Bowie
punchline, so let’s just win a game here and try to get the number 2 spot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That probably didn’t happen, but if it did, I would understand.
The more I watched Zach Wilson, the more I liked him. He has some Joe Burrow in
him in that he’s just throwing deadeye accurate passes from all angles, doesn’t
matter if he’s running straight to the sideline falling sideways or what. Yet
he does it at a much faster pace – he looks more like Kyler Murray than Burrow
when he’s on the move. He’s got plenty of arm, generally makes good decisions,
and he appeared to have the clutchiness too – the final drive against Coastal
Carolina should have been a game winner if not for I believe either some drops
or a penalty or something (it’s been awhile, alright?). I think this guy is
awesome. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/0IFQWur.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/0IFQWur.gif" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bad? Beyond having a ‘Zach’ as your QB, which just seems
weird? Well, sometimes if he has the ball too long he gets jittery and just
goes feral (see gif above). While Sam Darnold had more a tic where he just ran
to his right, Random Zach will go just about anywhere (which I would prefer
handily to the Darnold thing). He does seem to get rattled sometimes if things
are going against him and every now and again he’ll just bounce a pass or
something like that. He played a lower level of competition than the most top
QB prospects, though of course that also means he has complete randos on his
offense around him. And he did struggle a bit against the best team he faced
(Coastal Carolina), though it’s not like he was bad in that game and he did
come up with a last minute drive down to the goal line with a chance to win it.
All in all, I think he’s gonna be awesome.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="OLE_LINK1">3. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS – JUSTIN FIELDS,
QB, AN OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY<o:p></o:p></a></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ok here’s where the draft starts! I think I’m the 8,483,475<sup>th</sup>
person to say that. The Niners in all likely did not trade up to this spot to
take Vontae Mack, so I have to give them a QB here. Initially I had Trey Lance,
because I bought into that whole “they made the trade after Trey Lance’s Pro
Day!” jazz. But I want to avoid groupthink – which would suggest either Lance
or Mac Jernz – and I’m going to give them the best QB of the group IMO, which is
Justin Fields. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, I have Justin Fields as “Top 15”, which would suggest I
don’t really like him. That’s not the case. With Justin Fields, similar to
Dwayne Haskins and his (lack of) deep accuracy, I just have one major concern.
In Fields’ case it is the “slow processer” stuff you keep hearing. Now, the
stuff about him not throwing to his 2<sup>nd</sup> read? That’s complete
nonsense. I just he’s too slow to react. So it may not really even be that he’s
slow to process, just slow to pull the trigger. It’s similar to Mitch Trubisky
– Mitch Trubisky had all the tools, and he would make some ridiculous throws
that would truly wow you. But if you look closer, you’d note that these wow
throws could have been really easy routine throws if he had made them a
half-second earlier. And in the NFL, that has killed him. Of course, that
doesn’t mean it will end up Killing Fields, but it is something to be concerned
about and is something that can sink him by itself. There are also plays where
Fields ends up taking sacks because despite all of his athleticism, he doesn’t
try to avoid them until it’s too late. There was a play against Clemson where
he blindly spun right into a huge hit in the middle of the field on a run. Yeah
it drew a targeting call, but it was a bad call and Fields should have never
put himself in that position. There is something there, IMO. Here’s a
particular example from that game that I noticed:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/kVjSADx.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/kVjSADx.gif" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If he notices the entire right side of the defense blitzing
at the snap, he should know that he’s got to hit that tight end on the corner
route downfield and he’s got to throw it quick. Instead, by the time he looks
like he’s about to make that throw, it’s too late. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While he does indeed make progressions, he does stare down
his first read and throw to him a lot. Not as much as Lawrence, and he got a
lot better at this in 2020, but it is a thing in a lot of these college
offenses. It’s just that we’re only talking about it with Fields for some
reason – even though there’s a play in that playoff game where Lawrence stares
a hole through his first read, the rush gets home and he panics and skies a
ball 5 yards over a wide open tight ends head. We’re only talking about
“there’s no good OSU QBs! Look at Dwayne Haskins!” with Fields for some reason,
even though Herbert was drafted in spite of Akili Smith, Joey Harrington,
Marcus Mariota and Dennis Dixon, and the last good Alabama QB in the NFL just
died of old age. Last point I’d make is that Fields has occasional lapses in
decisions and accuracy, and when he does they come in bunches. He’s very Ben
Roethlisberger in that regard. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He does also have a weird throwing motion, which is kind of
long, and he seems to have an inconsistent spiral – some plays the ball just
kind of flutters and I don’t know if it has anything to do with that windup, ie
if he can’t wind the ball up and throw it then it just doesn’t come out right.
But the throwing motion stuff is a really minimal concern, IMO. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, the good? This is a guy with first overall pick
abilities. His arm is really good, he’s typically very accurate to all levels,
he’s a great athlete who runs like a running back, and he’s not rattled by
pressure. I think he’s close to Lawrence when you look at pure “tools”. He will
wing it 65 yards downfield and hit his WR in stride. Anyone who directly
compares his game to Dwayne Haskins is making that comparison for a very
particular reason (and really, what’s one thing that most “OSU QBs!” have had
in common recently?). When you give up so much to trade up to the 3<sup>rd</sup>
spot for a QB, you probably aren’t doing it for a Mac Jones. People say “Kyle
Shanahan likes this type, he can do it with anyone!” – well, why trade up for
Mac Jones then? The more I think about Trey Lance – why trade up for a complete
project? IMO, you trade up because there’s a guy with elite elite QB tools
available who can start playing right away and you’d like to have that guy
running your system. Maybe you believe you system can mitigate some of the
flaws and showcase the tools, and you look at Justin Herbert and Josh Allen as
evidence of that. (For the record, I think Fields’ flaw is worse but given that
he has shown improvement in this regard, I don’t think it’s something that
can’t be improved to the point that it doesn’t ruin him). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, the Dan Orlovsky stuff (work ethic comments, not
the throwing motion stuff which IMO is a valid concern). This is not something
that we determine either way, and it DID bury Dwayne Haskins right away. But
let’s remember that Justin Fields basically forced the Big Ten to play this
season by himself, and that would be a weird thing to do for a guy who doesn’t really
want to be a QB or whatever the knock is. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, and one more thing – the Ohio Offense is infinitely more
“Pro Style” than Alabama’s or (particularly) Clemson’s. If you don’t believe
me, just go to Youtube and type in “Trevor Lawrence vs.” and see what you get.
Screen, screen, screen, deep shot. All kinds of fakes after the snap to freeze
defenses. And you know who doesn’t run “Pro Style” offenses? Pro teams! Justin
Herbert was basically running Joe Burrow’s LSU offense last year. Pat Mahomes
isn’t typically coming out of the gate and airing it out – they are throwing a
bunch of short stuff and setting up the deep stuff. So ignore that nonsense. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4. ATLANTA FALCONS – JA’MARR CHASE, WR, LSU<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Atlanta is in a real tough spot here. The logical team to
come up into this spot is Carolina, but does Atlanta really want to help
Carolina get a QB? The only reason they would I guess would be if they think
Trey Lance ain’t all that, which I wouldn’t fault them for. But…if that’s
indeed the case, why not facilitate that? I guess you can argue that the risk
that Lance is a great QB outweighs the benefits here, but then what? Take
Ja’Marr Chase or Kyle Pitts? Just take Lance themselves? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">NOTE: I started writing this a few weeks ago and wrote the
above before Carolina traded for Jameis Darnold. Carolina is almost certainly
out and perhaps they are out because Atlanta told them no. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every single QB class people are mocking them into the top 4
or 5 picks (myself included), and yet it never happens. So I’m going to assume
it doesn’t happen here, even though Atlanta has taken Jacksonville’s crown as
the NFL’s most boring team and hired a coach with the league’s most boring
name. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Julio Jones is getting up there in age, and I think Atlanta
may want to take a new Julio Jones. Justin Jefferson was arguably the best
rookie receiver in NFL history last year, and he was the 2<sup>nd</sup> best WR
on his college team behind Chase. Like Jefferson, people had concerns about
Chase’s actual athleticism before he went out and just destroyed his Pro Day.
So it turns out that both of these LSU WRs were so good that it looked like
they weren’t, or something? Anyway, I’m not a huge proponent of drafting WRs
high anymore, unless of course they are as rare as Chase is. And this dude is
rare. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, Atlanta could take a project like Lance and sit him
behind Matt Ryan for a year, but I’m not the biggest Trey Lance fan and I’m
betting that NFL teams also do not want to gamble top 5 picks on a guy who has
played like 10 college games against D2 kids. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5. CINCINNATI BENGALS – PENISES SEWELL, OT, OREGON<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sewell is this year’s Jeff Okudah. Everyone loves him, says
he’s gonna be great, and it’s basically just accepted as fact, yet I just don’t
see it. Like, yeah, he’s good, he has some amazing flashes, he’s still only
going to be 20 years old during his first NFL game – but so often he’s just
kind of stumbling around looking for someone to flail at. And Bengals Twitter
has taken a stand that Sewell is the only option for the continued existence of
the Bengals franchise, as if there is no other offensive lineman that can
possibly block an NFL defender available in this draft. In reality, this is
arguably the strongest OL draft in decades.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, I have taken Chase off of the board here, so that
is not an option for the striped afterthoughts. Would they take a tight end
this high? Probably not, as *double checks* they are not the Lions. Would they
trade out of this spot? Honestly, they might if say NE or Washington wants to
come up and take a QB, but I’m just going to assume they don’t. And I think
they’ll end up taking Sewell. Because I have a theory – why would the Bengals,
who are notoriously miserly on every single aspect of being an NFL team, why
would they have like a fully built-out and resource-rich scouting staff? I
think the reason that the Bengals always make picks that the NFL draft machine
loves are because they probably put a lot of stock into high-level mock drafts.
Like, I’m not saying they are going to Walterfootball, but I think they look
very hard at pay-to-access drafts and stuff like that and actually give them
weight. And really, it may not be a terrible idea – these people do draft shit
all year, and they are basically doing it for you at a small cost, so why
wouldn’t you take advantage of that? Just a random wild hot take. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6. MIAMI DOLPHINS – KYLE
PITTS, TE, FLORIDA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I assume the Dolphins traded up to 6 to hopefully get
Ja’Marr Chase, but he works for Home Depot now. I also have to assume that they
didn’t trade up with Chase being the only target, and the only other guy here
who fits that bill is Kyle Pitts. They probably should have just stayed at 12
but whatever, Fins Up and all that. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to Mike Gesicki
retiring to pursue a pro volleyball career.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kyle Pitts is the best tight end prospect in like 100 years.
He’s not the best blocker, but he’s competent at it and gives it effort. But as
a receiver, he looks like an actual wide receiver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This guy runs actual routes, with head fakes
and everything. He runs a 4.4-something and will burn DBs downfield. He catches
everything. Let’s see what he can catch in Miami. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">7. DETROIT LIONS – TREY LANCE, QB, NORTH DAKOTA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whaaaaaaaaat<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well….do you think the Lions want to go long-term with Jared
Goff? I don’t. Last year, I implored the Lions to draft a QB. Unfortunately, in
my example it would have been Tua, but in real life they may have preferred
Herbert. Instead they drafted a corner in the top 3 and what do you know, that
guy sucks so far and corner is still kind of a need. If coach Tonya Harding has
his way with opponent kneecaps and Goff goffs his way to 8-8, who are you going
to draft next year? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of setting into motion yet another half-decade of
mediocrity, why not take a QB with top-flite tools who has is a project anyway
and let him sit and learn some bad habits behind Goff? Hopefully by 2022 he’ll
be jackin’ Goff’s spot and leading the Lions into a new era of Detroit losing
v. Everybody. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As for Lance himself, I’d be leery of this pick. For
starters, while there isn’t much available on him, I think Carson Wentz looked
better at NDSU and Lance has some moments of weirdness. Second, he’s a
tremendous athlete with a live arm who is not really standing out while throwing
against guys who can not even realistically dream about the NFL. And third,
he’s only thrown like 280 passes against said scrubs for a team that hasn’t
lost in like 80 years. There are games where he goes 5 for 13 for 50 yards and
his team wins by 30. You probably can’t option keeper your way to blowout wins
against the Vikings. This is one of those guys where we are regular people just
don’t have that much information on and so I’m kind of trusting the rumors and
the athleticism and the Pro Day reports and all that. By all accounts this is a
fast mf-er with a great arm who will go high so why not Detroit?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8. WHO WANTS MAC JONES??<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anybody? If so you’ll probably have to move into this spot. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">NEW ENGLAND TRADES WITH CAROLINA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS – QB MAC JONES, ALABAMA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, I’m choosing to believe the Mac Jones hype to a
degree here. I’m not buying him at #3 until it actually happens, but this one I
believe. I think Belichick might prefer someone like Lance, but I also think
the only person in New England who winces harder than Cam Newton during each
throw is Belichick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The extreme of Mac Jones hating is kind of obscuring the
fact that Mac Jones does a lot of good things. He DOES run the shit out of that
offense in Alabama, and he does probably look better than Tua doing it. But
honestly – Tua probably hurts him more than he helps him. Looking back at these
previous drafts, we’ve got the guys for whom it was just super easy – guys like
Baker Mayfield, Tua, Mariota, even Joe Burrow at this point – and the guys who
have mostly been the best are the guys who did not play for a stacked offense
throwing screens all game. Your Herberts, Josh Allens, Lamar Jacksons, etc. I
bet the Dolphins look back and say, “you know, maybe instead of drafting the
average athlete with the broken hip who threw to four (!!!) first round WRs, we
should have taken the hyper-toolsy trainwreck from Oregon who was throwing to a
roster full of slot WRs”. And while Mac Jones is generally accurate, goes
through progressions well, and makes good decisions, I have NEVER seen an
easier offense for a QB to operate in. Firstly, Devonta Smith catches literally
every single ball thrown near him, and if you throw him a screen he’ll take it
50 yards for a touchdown every other time. Secondly, his entire offensive line
is made up of top prospects. Thirdly, his RB is another Bama freakshow alien. I
think this year, that works against him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And while he isn’t a bad athlete, he’s not a good one
either, and he reminds me of Eli Manning. He also falls backwards on every
pressured throw like late stage Eli. Yeah, Eli won two Super Bowls so he’s a
hall of famer, but if he didn’t (and there’s randomness involved in every
career), would you take him in the top 10? I guess so, but I don’t like him as
my high-end comp. But at the same time, Mac Jones is far from bad, so ignore
that noise too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">9. DENVER BRONCOS – JEREMIAH OWUSU-KOROMOAH<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So Denver gets screwed and once again does not have a QB,
barring a miracle 3<sup>rd</sup> year jump from Drew Lock. They have about 10
recent draft picks at receiver, so I’m pretty sure that’s out. They aren’t
gonna take Najee Harris. Maybe they’d take an OL here, but Denver loves their
defense and I’m going to give them my favorite player in this year’s draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/HpOhnJR.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" src="https://i.imgur.com/HpOhnJR.gif" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/lYw68Op.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" src="https://i.imgur.com/lYw68Op.gif" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, this is almost certainly not going to happen, because
while JOK does bring more wood than Deshaun Watson, he only weighed 221 lbs and
that’s quite small. Well, for an NFL middle linebacker at least – I mean that
would be huge for like a CVS cashier or something. This is the direction the
NFL has gone in and this guy has a lot of Ryan Shazier in him and he can change
games defensively if he pans out. You don’t see too many guys like that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In college I remember discussing a hypothetical situation in
which you make an entire team out of one guy. So say our running back’s name
was Ricky Chainmover and our left tackle was Todd Blocktopus. Who would win in
a game between a team made up of 50 Ricky Chainmovers and another with 50 Todd
Blocktopuses? Like, would the difficulty for the Chainmovers to block the
Blocktopuses outweigh the speed advantage? Anyway, I think the team of 50
Owusu-Koramoahs would wreck shop in this draft. He’s that guy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">10. DALLAS COWBOYS – PATRICK SURTAIN II<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This one seems to be a foregone conclusion, with Dallas
having the worst defense this side of Tucker Carlson. They have complete scrubs
at cornerback, and using TLC’s Law we can ascertain that this is not an ideal
situation. So, to address it, they will draft Patrick Surtain II, son of former
NFL All-Pro Neil Rackers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surtain Two Sticks is a corner in the true lockdown mold,
with all the scoutspeak going for him like great feet and quick twitch and
locates the ball and bathes regularly and all of that stuff. Teams just avoided
him, which is not true of many of the top corners this year. I know Richard
Sherman said that you can’t be a top corner if teams completely avoid you and
you aren’t getting picks, and Surtain does have a glaring lack of those, but
this is the prototype athlete you look for at corner and I think that’s enough
to get him taken off the board first. People who are 6’2” 208 lbs generally do
not move like this. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">11. NEW YORK GIANTS – JAELAN PHILLIPS, DE, MIAMI<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Giants could use just about any defensive player,
however their most glaring need is probably the lack of an edge rush.
Gettle-dog loves his defensive linemen, so I think that’s where they go here.
Everyone remembers 2008 when the Giants finished 2<sup>nd</sup> in their
division and went on a wild playoff run on the strength of their DL, so
obviously that is the time-tested formula for success. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have them taking a bit of a chance here, because while
Jaelen Phillips is awesome at edging (don’t Google that), a concussion history
forced him to retire prematurely, which is the polar opposite of edging. A
highly touted 5-star recruit at UCLA, he did return following his hiatus and
transferred to Miami, where he showed many flashes of brilliance. While he does
seem to be inconsistent and goes stretches of doing nothing, this guy tested as
a truly elite athlete and he looks like an All-Pro DE and he has all the tools
and if it weren’t for the concussion issues he’d be considered an easy lock as
the top pass rusher in this draft. If Gettleman has any of that lotion left,
this is probably where he used it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">12. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – DEVONTA SMITH, WR, ALABAMA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Man, remember back yonder when the Eagles were good? Back
when life was simple and a gallon of gas only cost like half a bitcoin. Those
were the days. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, since the time ages ago when this roster was good
enough to win a Super Bowl with a career backup QB, a combination of injuries
and general shitty management has resulted in its emaciation into a collection
of Greg Wards and Travis Fulghams. And right on cue, speaking of emaciated, the
Eagles once again go WR in the first with Devonta Smith. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Smith is basically Megatron with AIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s like 6’1” 160 pounds yet he’s jumping
over everyone and catching balls with a few fingers. This dude’s catch radius
is crazy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/Flan0UI.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="508" src="https://i.imgur.com/Flan0UI.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He didn’t weigh in or test athletically so you’re only going
off the tapes but he’s an absolute monster in them. I realize Waddle was hurt,
but Alabama WRs don’t dominate like this. He had like 45% of their receiving
production. Even last year when Jeudy and Ruggs were top pick locks, Smith was
the guy who led Bama in yards and TDs. He’ll go downfield and catch the ball
over your head or take a screen and just slither through an entire defense.
This guy may be the most outliery outlier to ever exist. He looks like Todd
Pinkston on a hunger strike. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So maybe you think, “ehh, this is the NFL, teams will just
press the shit out of him”. Well, he’s incredible against the press. You can’t
get a hand on him. You can’t say that about Henry Ruggs. He might break? Well,
he didn’t in college in the SEC and I don’t really know that there’s any link
between size and injuries. Megatron himself weighed like 4 tons and he was just
battered with injuries by the end of his career because DBs got so many square
shots on him. That may not be the case with Smith. So while the risks are
obvious and will probably keep him out of the top 10, at this point I’m pulling
the trigger. If this guy were 6’2” 210 he’d probably go before Chase. His tape
is that good. He’s incredible. Shit, even last year while watching Tua I was
like “who the hell is this random #6 guy that catches everything?” – well, this
is that guy. Eagles fans probably won’t even be able to hit him with batteries.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">13. LOS ANGELES AFTERTHOUGHTS – RASHAWN SLATER, OT,
NORTHWESTERN<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chargers got themselves a shiny new Herbert and obviously
you gotta protect your valuables. This also happens to be a great draft for OTs
and my favorite of all of them is still available at 13. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Slater is very good technically, he absolutely shut Chase
Young down when Northwestern played Ohio State in 2019, he moves really well,
he tested incredibly, and he’s got great quickness to mirror speed rushers.
He’s plenty strong and moves defenders. Penei Sewell gets most of the hype but
to me a few of these other guys test better than Sewell and have better tape.
Slater to me is the best of that group – he’s so consistent and that to me is
extremely important for an offensive lineman. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TRADE YALLS</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CHICAGO TRADES WITH MINNESOTA FOR THE 14<sup>th</sup>
SELECTION, I DON’T KNOW HERE VIKES TAKE LIKE A 2<sup>ND</sup> NEXT YEAR<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">14. CHICAGO BEARS SELECT JAYCEE HORN, CB, SOUTH CURRALINA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t love the way the board lines up for Minnesota here,
so I’m gonna trade them out of it to a team that I could see jumping up for
Jaycee Horn. To trade you need a target, and Jaycee Horn is rare enough to be
that target. Now, do I think he’s worth this move? No. I have him as my 4<sup>th</sup>
corner, and that’s only because of his Pro Day testing. Before that I had him
even further down the list. But you can’t ignore those results, and this guy
tested as the single best athlete at the corner position since the late ‘80s.
That’s insane, given that NFL corners are some of the best athletes on the
planet. These are the guys that get cool nicknames, like Prime Time and Revis
Island and like Swaggasaurus and all that shit. And Jaycee Horn is arguably the
best pure athlete among all of them, and he does it at 6’1” 205 lbs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The reason I don’t love Horn is that he doesn’t really have
any refined technique and he does have a tendency to get lost and lose his man
when plays are extended. Not sure if he’s baiting throws or what but he has way
too much Artie Burns in him for my liking. But man, the flashes of brilliance
are flashing in blindlingly bright neon and the ability is clearly there that I
can understand a team believing that these are flaws that can be worked on as
he is developed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/MuZJjFR.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/MuZJjFR.gif" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Horn – and yes, he is the son of former NFL receiver Brian Finneran – has the
raw ability evident that I wouldn’t argue with this. He doesn’t create a ton of
interceptions but he does show ball skills often enough that you know they are
somewhere in there. He makes enough plays on the ball that you know he can do
it. He’s faced a gauntlet of top college WR talent in his college career. He
basically won USC’s game against Auburn by himself. But man is he targeted a
lot for a top corner. I know he’s on the other team’s top WR but to me it
suggests that teams don’t really fear anything bad happening when they throw at
him, and most of the time a particularly bad thing did not happen. But tools
are tools and Jaycee Horn is Tim fuckin’ Taylor. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">15. CAROLINA PANTHERS – SAM COSMI, OT, TEXAS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Panthers can afford to trade down because of the glut of
top tackles available and here’s one of them. I like Darrisaw more but Darrisaw
didn’t test at his Pro Day and Cosmi has a top 3 all-time athletic profile at
the position. With a top pick like this, if it’s close I’m probably taking the
guy who showed that he has the athletic times that most NFL All-Pros possess.
And while he is kinda raw, the athleticism absolutely screams out on his tapes.
He has very rare movement for a left tackle. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bad? Well, his technique needs some work, he often looks
a bit out of control and could probably reel it back a little. He does get a
bit grabby at times, often because he misses his initial punch and has to hold
the rusher that just beat him. But these can be worked on and they aren’t all
that common anyway. I think Cosmi is one of those guys that goes higher than
people expect. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">16. ARIZONA CARDINALS – IFEATU MELIFONWU, CB, SYRACUSE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This won’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, Arizona is almost
certain to draft a corner, and that’s why I had the Bears jump them to move up
for Horn. It just won’t be Melifonwu. But I think it should be. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are two corners that I have much higher than any of
the draftniks, and they are Melifonwu and Adebo. I may have ranked Adebo a bit
higher but I really like Melifonwu in particular. He is the brother of uhhh
that other Melifonwu guy, who I did really like at the time but who did not pan
out in the NFL as a safety. However, I noted then that Obi Melifonwu (just
remembered his name) may have been 6’4” 230 but he just did not play like it.
He was a decent tackler but wasn’t all that physical and didn’t bring the pain
that you’d think he would. This guy, though? This guy is a destroyer. He’s 6’2”
210 and plays like it. He has quick feet, good technique and is really good at
getting into a WR’s kitchen and knocking passes away. He is smart, attacks
screens aggressively and doesn’t really bit on double-moves. He’s a monster. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bad? Well, his agility times were not great and he seems
more of a chase and breakup corner rather than a guy who’s going to get a ton
of picks. But the raw ability is there in spades and I would take him in the
first round even though everywhere I look he’s rated as a 3<sup>rd</sup>
rounder. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He might actually be even
better as a safety, to be honest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">17. VEGAS RAIDERS – MICAH PARSONS, LB, PENN STATE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Parsons in reality will probably go to Denver at pick 9 if
this all plays out the way I have it, but in my reality he’s perfect for the
Raiders. He’s got the crazy elite athleticism and the trademark Raider
character concerns to go with it. Al Davis is probably already possessing his
body as we speak. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Parsons not only timed at an elite level, he plays like it
too. He’s got NFL size, incredible speed to match up with RBs and TEs in
coverage and he has a pretty good feel for it, he sorts through the trash really
well, and he typically makes good reads before he commits. In addition, he has
enough edge rushing experience to provide value there. My comparison for
Parsons was Bobby Wagner and I just see a great athlete who does almost
everything well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="OLE_LINK18">18. MIAMI DOLPHINS – KWITY PAYE, EDGE,
MICHIGAN<o:p></o:p></a></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK18;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now everyone has Miami desperately needing a WR but I don’t
think they take one here. For starters, teams are drafting too many WRs early
and it seems that more than any other position, value is coming later in the
draft. In addition, this is a Belichickian outfit now, and that makes me think
they lean defense over fancy offensive skill guys. And they need an edge
rusher, which we just happen to have available here. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When you ready about Kwity Paye, the first thing you notice
is “guhhh, fuckin’ Michigan”. The second thing you read though suggests that
he’s kind of a project, a pure athletic projection. I don’t see that at all,
though. Is he raw? Yeah. Does he seem to lack a plan? Often times, yes. But so
do most of these college edge rushers. I’m not going to pass on a guy because
he needs to work on his planning, he’s a defensive end not an architect. We’ll
plan for him. He is a bit light and can get handled by OTs at times, but again
so do a lot of guys. Most concerning to me is his good but not great snap
jumps, which for an athlete of this caliber you’d expect to be better, and his
good but not great flexibility, which could result in him running around the
arc in the NFL more than you’d like. But that’s an inherent risk with most of
these guys. You draft the athleticism and the skill, and Paye has both of them.
He can shed blockers and knock away their punches. He finds the QB and
finishes. He IS an elite athlete. He just looks like a guy who’s going to be a
good NFL pass rusher, so take him and hope for the best. Jayson Oweh is the guy
who is a complete athletic projection, not Paye. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">19. WASHINGTON TAN GENTLEMEN – ZAVEN COLLINS, LB, TULSA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of my favorites this year. Collins won the Bronco Nagurski
Award as college football’s sexiest defender last season and it’s because he’s
just making huge plays every week. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/pgtcVet.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/pgtcVet.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/SrRjZoz.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/SrRjZoz.gif" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a guy who reads plays extremely well off the snap,
who is always around the ball and managed 4 picks last season,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and who timed out as an elite athlete. That’s
important since this was a concern for him before his Pro Day. Now, there are
concerns which are keeping him from going much higher. One is that he isn’t the
best getting off of blocks. He’s not terrible but you’d expect a lot better.
And secondly, he’s a really big linebacker (6’2” and like 260 lbs) but he
doesn’t really play like it. Now, I don’t ascribe bigness to shedding blockers,
as I believe the best way to avoid blocks is to do just that, avoid them. NFL
OL are like 320 pound murdering oxen, and that’s going to be tough for any LB
to just toss aside when they take them head-on. But he doesn’t really hit
anyone as hard as you’d think. I compare him to Ray Lewis but that is one area
where the comparison doesn’t hold up. Ray Lewis was driven by murder both off
and on the field. Collins doesn’t play like that. But he does so many good
things that I’d consider him well worth the risk that he isn’t murdery enough
to tackle Miles Sanders.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">20. MINNESOTA VIKINGS – CREED HUMPHREY, C, OKLAHOMA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Congrats to the new man on the Minnesota Vikings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Creed Humphrey is another player who I hold in much higher
esteem than The Machine does. I typically read that he’s, you know, smart and
gritty obviously, but athletically limited and he’s probably a 2<sup>nd</sup>
rounder. I watched him and thought, this guy is amazing. This is the best
center prospect I’ve ever seen. He’s blowing people off the ball and shit, why
is he not ranked higher? Is it because NFL teams don’t really value centers,
even though lines with bad ones typically crumble into bits? I don’t know.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then he went out and tested as the single most athletic
center prospect of the last 30 years. So why is he still a first round
afterthought?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, one I guess is that athleticism is not really a huge
deal for centers. In that regard the position has more in common with QBs and
safeties than it does with the other positions. Other than that, though, I
think people are just wrong. Sure, athleticism alone doesn’t matter for
centers. Probably because there’s so much more to the position, both mentally
and also I would imagine skill-wise as snapping the ball before blocking is
probably really difficult. But Humphrey has shown he can do all of that. So he has
the elite, elite athleticism on top of it. He’s one of the handful of guys I’d
prefer for the Steelers pick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">21. INDIANAPOLIS BABY HORSES - TEVEN JENKINS, OT, OKLAHOMA
STATE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/iXLqp1P.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="600" src="https://i.imgur.com/iXLqp1P.png" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That dude is one of the meanest mf-ers in this draft. Brian
Burlsworth lives on! This fit is perfect for him too. Put him next to Karate
Bear and they would just maul people. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I first watched him I thought, “whoa, this guy is a
literal truck and should be arrested for vehicular homicide”. However, like a
truck, he wasn’t really all that great in space. I believe I compared him to a
drunk moose. He was strong as shit and would just move the shit out of people
while the rest of the DL is busy collapsing his teammates, but once he got into
space he just looked a bit oafish. It was very Ronnie Stanley-esque, but hey,
he certainly worked out for Baltimore.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then he had his Pro Day, and it turns out he’s an elite
athlete as well. Now, with all of these elite athletes this year, you have to
assume that maybe something is up with the Pro Day times. However, I can’t
really determine that so I have to go off of what we have and assume it’s
trustworthy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But for a murderball that tests through the roof? I have to
believe that he’s going to be just fine. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">22. TENNESSEE TITANS – AZIZ OJULARI, EDGE/OLB, GEORGIA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jadeveon Clowney wasn’t it, so the Titans still need to work
on their edging. Fortunately for hypothetical them, Aziz Ojulari is sitting
right there. RIGHT THERE! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
I for some insane reason watched Rodney Hudson (a 12<sup>th</sup> round
offensive tackle prospect) before I watched Ojulari, and because of that I
didn’t expect to like Ojulari. Rodney Hudson plays tackle like Cincinnati just
randomly put him there, which….they did. He was a converted defensive lineman.
But, Hudson was handling Ojulari in that game until he got ejected for just a
mind-numbingly dumb late hit that I had to screencap.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/9JfPUOZ.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/9JfPUOZ.gif" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">DOG WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Anyway after that Ojulari took over
and flipped that game and scrappy upstart Georgia ended up coming back and
beating longtime powerhouse University of Got-damn Cincinnati. I don’t really
want a pass rusher that only gets home against backup MAC tackles. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then I watched Ojulari, and he’s actually quite a good
prospect. Maybe he’s a bit underwhelming as a top edge prospect, but in the
20s? I would be happy with that as a team like Tennessee, for whom he would
probably be a really good fit. Ojulari is a throwback to like 7 years ago when
we had actual 3-4 OLBs. He’s kind of a jack of all trades, and I think he can
jack well enough in them to be a quality player at the NFL level. He has
good-not-great timed athleticism, good burst, pretty good in run defense, good
bend, good hands and rush moves, etc etc. He managed just under 10 sacks last
season despite playing a TON of coverage. Like 2,000 pounds of it. I think he’s
a pretty high IQ player with a good motor who does get pushed around a bit and
may not be good enough to be a consistent double-digit sack guy in the NFL but
I’d be confident in taking that chance and I think he’ll be solid with a chance
at being a Pro Bowl caliber player. Plus he’s one of the young guys this year,
he’ll be 20 when he’s drafted and that does matter when projecting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">23. NEW YORK JETS – ASANTE SAMUEL JR, CB, FLORIDA STATE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Planes needs a corner, and what do you know, Jason
Sehorn’s son is sitting there waiting to be picked. Let’s do that. (In reality,
this is probably going to be someone like Caleb Farley, but I’m not putting
Farley in the first and I’m probably not putting Adebo up here either even
though I like him a lot).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Asante Samuel Jr. probably looks the most like what people
think a corner looks like, if that makes sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s smallish, doesn’t really tackle, but moves around really quick,
changes direction and breaks well on the ball and all that. He’s like a corner
from 2007 before they all the sudden became like 6’3” and shit. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/V9pp9dS.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/V9pp9dS.gif" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His low RAS number is largely due to size deficiencies; he
appears to have NFL athleticism. I’m also betting on the bloodlines here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">24. PITTSBURGH STEELERS – ERIC STOKES, CB, GEORGIA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ok, call this one a hunch. In reality if this situation
presented itself it would be hard not to take Christian Darrisaw here, but also
in reality Darrisaw will probably be long gone. I just have a feeling that Eric
Stokes is the kind of player the Steelers would go for. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I haven’t seen this mocked anywhere but the Steelers were at
Stokes’ Pro Day, he’s a great athlete, he played in the SEC, and he entered the
draft after his junior season. Those are four things you generally see from
Steelers first rounders – Tomlin et al at the Pro Day, elite athleticism, big
conference player who came out early (with some obvious exceptions in some
categories, like Jarvis Jones and a falling David DeCastro that they didn’t
even think would be available). Plus, there are so many offensive linemen in
this draft that I think you can wait on one. This draft is also full of corners
with elite athleticism, but they will almost certainly all be long gone by the
middle of the 2<sup>nd</sup> round or so. Stokes is a sub 4.3 guy, he’s ludicrously
fast.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Steelers play that weird Seahawks zone on defense that
leads to all kinds of busted coverages when you don’t have a football genius
like Dick Sherman running the show, but Stokes is perfect for that scheme. He’s
big, he’s comfortable in man and zone, he has good ball skills and gets his
head around deep passes (something the Steelers haven’t had in like 20 years),
and he’s always around the ball. This draft is full of guys who have all the
coverage tools but somehow only managed like 1 or 2 career interceptions.
Stokes had four last season, and it was mostly just because he put himself in
the right position to make the plays. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/BgbtYEr.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/BgbtYEr.gif" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>So, why isn’t he a top ten player? Ludicrous athlete, big
corner, ball skills, what’s not to like? Well, there are a few things.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One, he can be pretty grabby – he’s got that Darqueze
Dennard in him. Two, he tends to get beat at the line and compensate by using
that make-up speed, which worked for William Jackson III but isn’t something
you can confidently depend on when drafting a guy. He also seems to get
contorted at times and can’t get in position quickly enough to recover. Weirdly
it’s as if he’s baiting a throw but uhhhh, gives too much bait? I don’t know.
Also he’s not much of a tackler but that’s not a deal breaker for me. Might it
be for the Steelers and a lot of other teams? Probably not, he’s not thaaaat
bad, but it is a thing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So while Jaycee Horn and Stokes are both big, super-athletic
corners, Horn faced a murderers row of WRs and mostly shut them down while in
Stokes’ case, while he did also play great competition, he struggled quite a
bit with Devonta Smith. I initially saw that his agility metrics were average
though it seems like they are no longer listed, perhaps they weren’t official
or were a mistake? I’m not sure but I’m leaving it in as it may help explain
some of the strugs. This is a top-10 caliber athlete being pushed into the 20s
by some significant flaws but not flaws that I don’t think can potentially be
improved upon as he develops and like grows body hair and his voice deepens and
stuff.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">25. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS – CHRISTIAN DARRISAW, OT, VIRGINIA
TECH<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It would be malpractice to continue to drop Darrisaw, and
the Jags need a tackle, so here. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Darrisaw is a monster who improved throughout his college
career, appears to be a really good athlete, and is a massive beast who will
push defenders into the outer reaches of the solar system. He’s another guy
where you see the defense collapsing the pocket and then there’s one guy still
at the LOS handling his man with ease, much like Mia Khalifa. He also has the
ability to get to the 2<sup>nd</sup> level and create the blocks that turn 10
yard runs into 60 yard TDs. (#77 in the vid below).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/zExXEKm.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/zExXEKm.gif" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OL running downfield dominating is one of my favorite things
to watch and Darrisaw is really good at it. For comparison, here’s Rodney
Hudson. Why do I have two gifs of a 7<sup>th</sup> round project tackle?
Whatever. (Again, you can tell which position I watched first).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/Hnyko9F.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="416" src="https://i.imgur.com/Hnyko9F.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I love Darrisaw, he’s going to be long gone by here in all
likelihood and I doubt the Steelers would pass him up if he weren’t gone by
now, but this is my world and you’re all just living in it so deal with it. I
have Darrisaw as a top 10 talent, the only real flaws being that he sometimes
can get off balance with the initial punch and that even though he appears to
be a great athlete, he didn’t record any Pro Day times and so you’re just kind
of hoping that he’s as quick as he looks. Now – would that push him out of the first?
I doubt it. I mean, the game isn’t played in shorts, so who cares about 40
times, right??? Well, when we’re talking about a top 10, top 15 pick – that
stuff DOES matter. Most All-Pro OTs are elite level athletes. When you’re
betting on one of them that high in the draft, you probably want to have proof
that he checks that box IF there are other comparable players that have put up
elite times. Would this hurt Darrisaw in a normal year where there aren’t 9 top
tackles? Probably not much. Will it this year? I think it will and he’ll go a
bit later than most people think. Remember, Jachai Polite looked fast as shit
too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TRADE ALERT WOO WOO WOO WOO<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">MIAMI TRADES WITH THE MISTAKE BY THE LAKE FOR THE 26<sup>th</sup>
SELECTION FOR SOME OF THE 100 PICKS THEY HAVE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">26. MIAMI DOLPHINS – NAJEE HARRIS, RB, ALABAMA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My mock
not-real-life-so-who-gives-a-shit-why-are-we-even-here board does not really
line up with Cleveland’s needs, so instead of forcing a pick I’m gonna trade
them out of it. Yeah, Jaylen Waddle is still there, but I’m leaving him out on
purpose and in real life he might go in the top 10 so who cares.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One feasible move would have Miami trade up to take Najee
Harris, whom I consider the only RB this year worth a first rounder. People say
“don’t draft RBs in the first round!” but…why not? Maybe not in the top 15 or
20 or whatever, but in the 20s? I say go for it. Like an adult, I have reasons
for this opinion. First, most players taken in the 20s aren’t very good. Pick a
year at random and look at picks 20-32. Let’s say….2016. Those players combined
to make ONE Pro Bowl. Maybe a third were above average players. Six were
absolute certified busts. How about 2004? Three of those guys became Pro
Bowlers, and one of those players was an RB. (Shout-out to Rashaun Woods, one
of the worst first rounders of all-time). You’re passing on a guy who is the
clear top RB prospect to take JP Losman? (BTW, this year’s Losman is named
Davis Mills and yes, his name sounds like a flour refinery). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Second, the problem with RBs is often that they aren’t worth paying. Well, ok,
take one here and pay him like a million a year for four years WITH a 5<sup>th</sup>
year option. Now, to be clear, I only want to do this for guys like Najee Harris
who are just built different. I don’t want Travis ETN in the first, or Kenneth
Gainwell or Rashaad Penny or some rando scrub who looks like 30 other running
backs. Najee Harris is an explosive runner who is built like Derrick Henry’s
younger brother who can run away from people, jump over them, and function as a
true receiving option. He doesn’t come without flaws – he is another behemoth
runner who would rather dance, he was running behind an NFL OL, and he blocks
as if his religion forbids him from doing so. He also did not test at his Pro
Day so we don’t know exactly how athletic he is, but I’m ok taking a chance on
the size/speed combo here. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">27. BALTIMORE RAVENS – TERRACE MARSHALL JR., WR, LSU<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baltimore once again makes a surprising WR pick in the
first, this time for Terrace “Not a Typo” Marshall. Much like Alabama and their
RBs, LSU apparently has a WR lab somewhere on their campus that just keeps
putting out freakshow receivers. With Justin Jefferson gone and Ja’Marr Chase
opting out, Marshall got his chance to shine and shine he….well maybe he didn’t
“shine” per se but he played well and he was productive. But the play isn’t why
he is going in this spot – it’s the play plus the athleticism, and Marshall is
an absolute prototype. He’s also kind of “jack of all trades” and there appears
to be something missing there but a) I can’t quite put my finger on it and b)
all LSU WRs look like jack of all trades types until they do their Pro Days and
blow up in the NFL. I wouldn’t love this pick if I were a Ravens fan however
they have to do something about their stable of Kenny Stillses and get a guy
who looks like an actual NFL wide receiver. This pick is also in large part due
to underwhelming options elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">28. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – ELIJAH MOORE, WR, OLE MISS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t want to go WR here but there’s really nothing I like
here outside of WR. The Saints could use a corner however I mean they aren’t
taking Paulson Adebo and I am keeping Caleb Farley out of the first round if I
can help it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second biggest need is probably WR and while I’m really
souring on taking WRs in the first when outside of the elite elite freakshows
you can just as easily get them in the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup>
rounds, Elijah Moore is really good and I’d rather mock him here than try to
jam a shitty edge rusher into this hole. You know the difference between jam
and jelly? I can’t jelly a shitty edge rusher into this hole! ROFL<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright so Elijah Moore may also be a mythical sprite just
like what seems like half of the WRs entering recent drafts, but he was hella
productive, has great tape and timed really, really well. I didn’t think he was
blazing fast but a 4.35 40 suggests he kinda is. I mean this is basically
Brandon Cooks so why not run that back?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>29. GREEN BAY
PACKERS – SPENCER BROWN, OT, NORTHERN IOWA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wtf are you doing Horse? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, alright. So Green Bay needs a receiver. Rashod
Bateman, whom I compare to Davonte Adams, is sitting RIGHT THERE begging
(metaphorically) to be picked. But what fun is that? Green Bay hasn’t picked a
1<sup>st</sup> round receiver since Javon Walker, so why start now? Instead
let’s piss Aaron Rodgers off by drafting a guy he’s never heard of to protect
him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, Spencer Brown tested out as the best athlete to enter
the draft at offensive tackle since at least 1987. He’s an insane athlete and
he moves like it when you go to the Midwestern Small Conference Football
channel and watch him. Now he seems like he’s going to need some actual
coaching, and you’d want to see more dominance against future letter carriers
and Winn-Dixie deli managers, but you can’t teach a 6’7” 315 lb human to move
like this and for that reason he’s probably going to be one of those “wtf” guys
that go really high and leave people scratching their heads. I’m putting him a
little higher than most here but this isn’t real so I can put him first overall
and it doesn’t change anything so get off my gens man. Plus he’s used to
playing in the middle of nowhere so this is perfect.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>30. BUFFALO WILLIAMS
– RASHOD BATEMAN, WR, MINNESOTA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another arctic team, so I’ll give them another arctic
player. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rashod Bateman IMO is actually perfect for the Chiefs, but
since they traded out of their spot I’m not going to save him for the purpose
of art. Instead, he can go to Buffalo, because Josh Allen has shown that if you
put him in a good situation he can be an MVP-level QB, so hey let’s keep him in
that good situation and give him a top WR prospect. This is basically a 2<sup>nd</sup>
rounder anyway so don’t overthink it, Bills. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bateman isn’t quite at Davonte Adams level with his routes
and body control, but he’s the same type of WR and he tested as an elite
athlete so I’m pretty confident he’ll be able to translate this to the NFL. It
seems like he could be an elite WR but for whatever reason isn’t – then again I
watched like a game and a half so what do I really know? Spoiler alert – not
much.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">31. BALTIMORE RAVENS – JALEN MAYFIELD, OT, MICHIGAN<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ok, so I had Jalen Mayfield as a first rounder, then he
tested poorly and I dropped him out. But this year’s class seems a bit weaker
than I expected at the back end of the first, and I don’t want to put Liam
Eichenberg in here (even though he may actually go in the first and Mayfield
probably won’t) so Mayfield is back. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, Mayfield didn’t have a ton of tape, as Michigan played
like, one game this year or something? So the improvement he showed this year
doesn’t have much to back it up, but man he looked like a fuckin’ ox in that
game. I believe I called him an “absolute house of a tackle”. He is a
structure, and the team that drafts him may need to obtain some permits from
the city. (He’s the right tackle below).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/45hpgQR.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/45hpgQR.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But – I had some concerns about his lateral movement ability
and then he went out and tested like an NFL backup. While most great tackles
have elite athleticism, we’re at pick 31 and you aren’t talking about a top 10
pick here. Plus, if you could only pick one, you’d obviously prefer great tape
to great timed metrics – there are all kinds of elite athletes who you never
hear of every year because they aren’t good and they get drafted in like the 6<sup>th</sup>
round. And I mean Baltimore is replacing a guy in Orlando Brown who only
dropped to them a few years prior due to his own poor testing, so I don’t think
this would be a problem for them here if they like Mayfield. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">32. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS – JAYLEN WADDLE, WR, ALABAMA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fine. Waddle can go in the first, because apparently Tampa
needs a WR kinda. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Waddle is ranked very highly this year and in fact some
sites have him as their number 1 WR prospect. For real. He’s almost universally
top 10 or top 15 overall rank. Now, I don’t hate Waddle at all. I think he’s
fine. But I don’t get this top prospect thing with him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alright, he’s fast. Well, so are like 10 other guys this
year and he didn’t run anything at his Pro Day to solidify him as like a 4.2
guy so why does that put him at the top? He doesn’t really run routes all that
well. Devonta Smith is a stringbean sure but Waddle ain’t all that much bigger,
and unlike Smith he doesn’t really give you anything in traffic. Yeah he’s a
surprisingly tenacious blocker for his size but I don’t draft receivers high
due to their blocking abilities. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
Maybe I’m missing something and Waddle is a version of Tyreek Hill that
respects pregnant women, but I’m going to have to see it for myself before I’m
buying him as a top 10 player this year. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ALRIGHT! Finally done with that. Here’s some other guys I
watched but didn’t mock in the first:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">QBs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kellen Mond – I think he’s a borderline back-end of round
1/early round 2 guy, not that far behind Mac Jones from a talent standpoint.
Very patient under pressure but perhaps too patient and I don’t like that he
throws receivers into guillotines but he’s got a good amount of talent to work
with if you can’t get a top QB this year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kyle Trask – Another guy with great pocket presence and calm
who generally throws to where he should be throwing. However, he’s slow as fuck
and misses a lot<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- yeah he led the NCAA
in TDs but so have a lot of guys who weren’t NFL QBs and he had Kyle Pitts and
a bunch of other good receivers jumping over guys to catch his off-target
throws. I see a lot of Mason Rudolph, whom yes I liked but I’ve learned my
lesson and I liked Rudolph more than Trask. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Davis Mills – If Davis God Damn Mills goes in the first
round I will retire from mock drafting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">RBs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Javonte Williams – I like him a lot and think he should be
the 2<sup>nd</sup> RB off the board.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kenneth Gainwell – Best RB name of all-time, he did a lot of
good things at Memphis even though he was playing WR half the time because this
is the college that decided to hide Antonio Gibson, but his athleticism is
concerning when projecting him to be as explosive in the NFL. But bad testing
or not he can cut on a dime. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Travis Etienne – expected to be so much more impressed than
I was. He goes down on contact and I expected more juice. I do not want in the
first round.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chris Evans – This is a complete projection because he’s had
suspensions and didn’t play much last year when eligible but he’s got a lot of
Lev Bell in him. I’d take a chance in the late rounds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Elijah Mitchell – Hugely productive, elite athletically, but
just does not look like it. He reminds me of Donnell Pumphrey, who set the
all-time (I believe) NCAA rushing record at San Diego State in perhaps the
least impressive way you can possibly set an all-time rushing record. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jake Funk – Not sure why I watched this guy but he’s fast as
shit. If only he could cut and didn’t tear both ACLs in college. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WRs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stop drafting good-not-great WRs high. I hated even putting
as many as I did in the back half of the first.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nico Collins – Another of Shea Patterson’s victims. Shea
Patterson has stolen so much money from Nico Collins and Donovan Peeps-Jones
that he should probably be arrested for some sort of financial crimes. Nico
Collins is a prototype who has never seen an accurate pass in his life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kararius Toney – I love this guy’s routes – he’s creative
and shifty as all hell. Reminds me of Stefon Diggs in that regard. However, he
didn’t breakout until his senior season, and he may just be a bit of a gimmick
player who needs the ball schemed to him. Reminds me of Percy Harvin in that
regard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chatarius Atwell – True burner, but he may just be a
straight-line type receiver and that’s quite a risky pick high in the draft.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rondale Moore – Hardest player for me to slot. Has some tape
from his freshman year where he looks like a top 10 pick. He torched Ohio
State’s defense to the ground as an 18 year old. However, he hurt himself in
his sophomore year and didn’t look all the same to me last year. But there’s
more – he tested like he IS all the way back at his Pro Day, so which is it? If
he’s back he’s like Saquon Barkley playing WR. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Johnathan Adams Jr. – <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I
like Adams a lot more than my ranking indicates. He’s a small school guy so
he’s rather raw and he’s not as elite athletically as playing against small
school guys made him look, but there’s something to work with there and he’s
feisty as hell. You just hope he can get separation in the NFL, otherwise
you’re just drafting off-brand N’Keal Harry. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
Sage Surratt – Here’s a guy I watched for some reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Marlon Williams – Didn’t update my chart – he should be be
ranked as a Rd 7-UFDA. This guy is basically Jerome Bettis at WR and I wanted
to like him a lot but I was afraid of the speed and his testing proved that to
be a valid concern. He has the athleticism of a Division 3 receiver.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
Whop Philyor – I watched him because his name is Whop Philyor. And he actually
looked pretty good! But then he did his Pro Day and his numbers were atrocious,
particularly because he’s a small WR. He won’t be drafted. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TEs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pat Friermuth – Pretty good blocker, decent long speed (Penn
State would split him out and throw him verts much like Notre Dame used to do
with Tyler Eifert), and he’ll make touch catches and drag DBs along the ground.
But the “Baby Gronk” stuff is silly, and I don’t agree with the hype he’s been
getting as a potential 1<sup>st</sup> rounder. He’s not THAT great at contested
catches, he’s not THAT great as a blocker, and he’s usually covered pretty
easily. Plus, the good NFL tight ends more than any other position are truly
elite athletes and Friermuth didn’t put up any Pro Day times so I wouldn’t risk
a high pick on him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tommy Tremble – Love this guy as a 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup>
rounder, he’s a blocking machine and super athletic. Even though he wasn’t very
productive in college, the canvas is there if you think you can turn him into a
homeless man’s George Kittle. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunter Long – All-around decent tight end, however his timed
metrics suggest he’s better athletically than I thought and he may end up as
the 2<sup>nd</sup> TE off the board. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">IOL:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Landon Dickerson – I like Landon Dickerson but I don’t love
him like a lot of people seem to. He’s generally ranked above Humphrey but I
don’t see that at all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alijah Vera-Tucker – Another USC lineman whose ranking I
just don’t get, this year’s Austin Jackson. Yeah he’s fine but first round? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wyatt Davis – Projected as a 2<sup>nd</sup> rounder, plays
like a borderline UDFA. Do not understand.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deonte Brown – I didn’t love Deonte Brown but didn’t hate
him, but then he did his Pro Day and showed the speed and agility of a cruise
ship. He’s out. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OTs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Liam Eichenberg – He’s ok but I think he’s just a guy,
though he did test really well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dillon Radunz – Has elite athleticism but I want to be blown
away by a Division 2 OT and I was not. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jackson Carman – Jackson Carman moves like a Mega Man
villain named Car Man. It’s like he’s just doing a three-point turn at the LOS.
He’s ranked as a 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> rounder and I don’t see that
at all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">James Hudson – You can’t be a raw athletic projection who
puts up below average athletic metrics.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alex Leatherwood – This guy is considered a borderline first
rounder? THIS GUY??? And he tested as a super-elite athlete? I do not see it at
all. Not even a little bit. I probably need to watch more of him but I’m not
gonna do it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />
DEFENSE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">IDL:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Terrible year for defensive tackles. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daviyon Nixon – The closest thing to a first round DT that I
see this year. He’s a great (but not elite) athlete, he’s powerful, he’s quick
off the snap and has some rush ability. But he didn’t seem like he did any of
it at the level you want from a top pick.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Milton Williams – On some plays he looks like a top 20 pick,
others he looks like a bottom 20 pick. So somewhere in the middle? He’s a truly
all-time elite draft athlete for the position so someone’s gonna bite pretty
early. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Levi Onwuzurike – Has the tools, just doesn’t produce
enough. I think he’s Robert Nkimdeche without the insanity. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christian Barmore – I don’t get Barmore as a top player.
Even Alabama never really committed to playing him. Some team is going to be
disappointed with their first round pick this year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Johnathan Williams – Saw his RAS score and went to look.
He’s a productive SEC DT who put up one of the best Pro Day shows ever, and he
might not even be drafted. If you give him some daylight he will burst through
it and wreck the play, but too often he’s just not doing much of anything. I
have to think somebody will be enthralled with the athleticism though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DE/EDGE:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Elerson Smith – Another small school player from Northern
Iowa (they must have wrecked shop this year), I am a huge fan of this guy. He’s
projected as a mid-round pick but I would not be shocked if he went 2<sup>nd</sup>
round or even snuck into the back end of the first. An elite athlete (as most
good edge rushers in the NFL are) with good burst off the snap, good bend and
great technique for a college edge rusher, this dude went into the Senior Bowl
and made some top OL from actual colleges look silly. On the negative he’s a
bit skinny for an edge rusher so he can get pushed around at times and not only
was he playing scrubs, there just isn’t that much tape available on him on the
Youtubes. I think he’s gonna be awesome though. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joseph Ossai – We are now into the “just a guy” rushers that
you might see at the back end of the first round but that I didn’t really want
to put in there. Ossai is also an elite athlete but he’s got an inconsistent
burst at the snap and doesn’t really have any moves. He’s just running around
the arc. This is a bit of a project but it could work out and then you have
Brian Orakpo. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gregory Rousseau – One of the toughest guys to gauge this
year. Weirdly skinny for the position, like Elerson Smith after a hunger
strike. Not a great athlete (he’s good but not great), not particularly
explosive, rather blockable at times, but he is super-raw (was a safety entering
Miami and really only played one year as an edge rusher), was insanely
productive considering he probably has no idea what he’s really doing, and you
see glimpses of ability that make you think that it could actually work. He has
an odd knack for finding his way through the line that I can’t really explain.
My bet is that he doesn’t work out in the NFL but I would understand using a 2<sup>nd</sup>
round pick to find out. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joe Tryon – This guy is rated as a end of first/early 2<sup>nd</sup>
rounder and man you gotta be confident in your projections because there is a
lot of work to do. Seems to be really good at getting blocked. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ronnie Perkins – If you need some edge rush depth, Ronnie
Perkins might functionally fill that spot on your roster. But I would be
stunned if he ever has a Pro Bowl caliber year in the NFL. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jayson Oweh – The athletic projection to end all athletic
projections. An insaaaaane athlete who ran like a 4.35 at 260 lbs. He’s the
ultimate member of the Penn State track squad that James Franklin has assembled
in recent years. But he’s just so bad that it doesn’t really even make sense.
Yeah I get it, with some NFL coaching and those measurables if he hits he could
be a superstar. But I sure as hell would not be willing to take that chance
with a first round pick. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LBs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nick Bolton – If you wondered what Sean Spence would have
been without the severe injury, here’s your chance to find out. I could see
Bolton sneaking into the first and while I wouldn’t love it I probably wouldn’t
be too against it either. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jamin Davis – Oh look, one of those twitched-up tackle
machines who makes every tackle 5 yards downfield because he has no idea what’s
going on. There’s late first round smoke with Jamin Davis right now because I
guess everyone already forgot about Kenneth Murray. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CB:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Paulson Adebo – I don’t know, maybe it was early in the
process, maybe I only saw the best this dude had to offer, but he looked like
an elite CB prospect. He almost looks to me like how everyone described Jeff
Okudah last year. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Caleb Farley – Alright, so everyone says he’s awesome and
he’s a top 10 talent and he’s going to be gone before the end of round 1. But I
guess I just don’t see teams tripping over themselves to draft a relatively raw
corner who has already had two back surgeries. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Greg Newsome II – Looks like an elite corner. Runs like one.
I just don’t see it though. He’s decent but I don’t want him in the first.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jason Pinnock – I like Pinnock a lot IF he’s taken in the
middle of the draft somewhere. To me he’s like a flawed Richard Sherman. If he
improves a little bit in some areas I think he could be a Pro Bowl caliber
corner. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Safeties:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Disclaimer – It’s so hard to watch safeties on the TV tape
that is available on the Youtubes. Huge grains of salt with them every year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Richie Grant – I really thought I’d have Trevon Moehrig as
the easy top safety but I think I like Grant more. Richie Grant may be more
boom-or-bust but I would probably rather bet on the boom. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trevon Moehrig – Thought I would love this guy but his full
game tapes just didn’t wow me. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but it seems like
he just doesn’t have the juice to get his body to where his brain is telling
him it should be. And the brain is right, but that alone could be the
difference between an average starter and an All-Pro. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-29640364877757069102020-04-21T16:34:00.000-07:002020-04-21T16:49:13.843-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2020 NFL DRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-weight: 700;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">FINALLY DONE.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It's that time of year, and that means
it's mock draft time. This year I present to you the most half-assed effort of
the past few years, as I didn't put much effort into something I didn't think
was going to happen. It's still way too overloaded with GIFs that will probably
render it unloadable and most of those gifs did not appreciate the compression
attempts at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There were a lot of missed Pro Days
this year, so I think that favors names over athletes in many cases. It will
probably also lessen the risk-taking that some of these GMs make. Assuming they
can all figure out the technology and this actually happens. I'm still
skeptical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Oh well, let's get it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>1. Cincinnati
Bengals select JOE BURROW, QB, LSU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">No need to get cute. The Bengals take
Cajun Colt Brennan after thinking about it for 4 seconds. I don’t buy the
Justin Herbert smokescreen….if the Bengals take Justin fuckin’ Herbert over
Burrow then I don’t know what the shit they are doing and they should be
contracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I wasn’t fully on the Burrow train at
first because he plays in one of those “everyone is open” offenses and it
seemed like every time I watched he was throwing a dicey sideline pass that
should have been picked, but apparently that was all just weird coincidence
because he’s ridiculously good. I’ve never seen a QB prospect this accurate –
every single pass is placed immaculately, even if he’s running diagonally
backwards and turning to throw a dig route 15 yards down field across his body.
It’s uncanny. Urban Meyer sat this guy behind JT BARRETT for two seasons. Urban
Meyer is so dedicated to his late 1990’s offense that he’d probably sit him
behind JT Money if he had the chance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">-How?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyway, you have to pick nits with
Burrow. “Oh, his arm strength isn’t great”. Yeah well maybe he isn’t Lincoln
Hawk but his arm is plenty strong enough. Yeah, some of those sideline throws
that should have been picked might suggest his arm isn’t like bionic or
anything, but every QB has balls that should be picked and Burrow throws them
significantly less frequently than everybody else except maybe Jake Fromm, but
Jake Fromm has the arm talent of Jake from State Farm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ehh, I mean you have to look hard and
long to find other instances of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">How much arm strength do you need?
This is a dart, rolling out, right on the money. Burrow is basically
impersonating Sam Darnold at an elite level. He also loves to take deep shots,
and they are usually also right on the fuckin’ money. Yeah he throws a lot of
short passes but so does everyone these days and he probably throws less of
them than everyone else. Every other pass Tua throws is a screen. Burrow
doesn’t need many screens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I will pick nits though because that’s
what you gotta do I guess….it was too easy for him and that is something to
consider for about 3 of those 4 seconds. There’s usually at least one guy who
is wide the fuck open:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And if not, his entire receiving core
is gonna be drafted in the first couple rounds of the draft and he can just
throw the ball up to whichever one of them is single-covered on that play and
he’s probably going to catch it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I had the same concerns with Marcus
Mariota and Baker Mayfield, for example. The offense was just so easy for them.
But even still, the QB still has to find the right guy and still has to put the
ball where he can catch it. I would have taken Mariota and Mayfield in spite of
that, and yeah it didn’t work out with Mariota and it may not work out with
Mayfield (who the hell knows what to expect from him now), but you don’t pass
up on Aaron Rodgers just because Jeff Tedford also coached Kyle Boller and you
don’t pass up on Burrow because Mariota is afraid to take a chance downfield.
Burrow can’t get hard without throwing downfield 10 times a game and I’m taking
my chances that he can figure it out when the windows get smaller in the NFL.
And really, the NFL windows are growing yearly. Why the hell do you think
everyone other than Mason Rudolph is a decent QB nowadays? Yeah I know I liked
Rudolph coming out, suck a D. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like Rudolph though, Burrow would move
quickly away from pressure when it did get through his NFL line and I think
he’ll need to work on that in the NFL. But you don’t pass on a guy this
accurate because of that. You don’t pass on this guy because of the potential
upside if he translates to the NFL. And you sure as fuck don’t pass on him
because you like Justin Got Damned Herbert. If the Bengals do this then the
franchise should be forcefully wrested from Mike Brown’s stingy fingers and
given to Harambe’s family. Why does the NFL allow it’s version of Donald
Sterling to continue existing just because he hasn’t been taped being racist?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Oh, but Burrow doesn’t want to play
for Cincinnati”. Maybe, but I don’t think he’d sit out. That offense can be
really good, right away. Draft John Ross in fantasy because Burrow is going to
hit him for like 5 TDs in the first two weeks before he goes on IR with a quad
pull. And if he does refuse to play, trade him then for 3 first rounders
because you know damn well some team will give them up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>2. Washington
Redskins select CHASE YOUNG, EDGE, El Universidad del Ohio Estado</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It seems like every year I’m not
buying the hype about a top edge rusher, and this year it’s Chase Young. Now,
Chase Young is a phenomenal athlete. He’s extremely quick off the ball, always
first off the snap on the defensive line. He’s quick as shit around the edge.
But to me, that’s it for him at the moment. Sure, he’s relatively stout and
it’s not like OTs don’t have to work to stop him, but he’s not generally going
to go through them to get to the QB from what I’ve seen. He’ll pile up coverage
sacks and sacks against lesser OTs, kinda like Josh Allen last year. Now, Josh
Allen is a beast and yeah, I didn’t like Josh Allen. But I tried to talk myself
into Josh Allen during my write-up last year because he did show some nice rush
ability if you kept watching but I just couldn’t shake my initial read on him,
and that was a mistake. I don’t have the same hold-ups with Chase Young. I
think he’ll be decent-to-good. He’s too athletic not to make an impact; he’d
probably be an Allen-level elite elite athlete if he had Combine numbers. But I
don’t see anything like the absolute dynamo he’s being made out to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I originally had a trade in this spot,
but after doing so realized this draft isn’t all the great as far as high-end
talent outside of OT and WR (though at both and particularly at WR I think it’s
more great depth than top-notch prospects), and I doubt the Redskins are likely
to trade out of this spot without getting a huge return for it. I would have
given them that huge return if Tua weren’t injured, but…well, he was injured,
and he got injured a lot before that, and I don’t think anyone will move up to
2nd overall for him right now. I may not be all that big on Chase Young -
scouting pass rushers is hard, particularly when you’re doing it 5 minutes at a
time on Youtube, because more often than not they aren’t doing jack shit and as
with some of the other guys in previous years, I just didn’t see enough of
Chase Young doing jack shit at an elite level - but this is generally what top
Edge rushers look like, this is where you have to draft to get them, and that
alone is probably enough to cement this pick. Even if Young doesn’t live up to
the expectations, worst case he’s still probably going to be an 8+ sack guy off
athleticism alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>3. Los
Angeles Chargers trade with Miami Dolphins (how about a pick swap, 3rd rounder
and 2nd rounder next year? Might be enough. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Los Angeles Chargers select TUA
TAGOVAILOA, QB, ALABAMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I wanted to have the Dolphins trade up
to 2 to take Tua, but changed my mind after seeing Washington’s options after
the trade. If it gets to this point, and Miami is truly just going to “let the
board come to them” and all that dumb cliché shit then I do think LAC will try
to jump over them. The Chargers need a QB, and they need a reason for people to
give a shit about them. Nobody will care after they have Tua but they don’t
need to know that so just humor them. Hold on a second…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">PUT YOURSELF ON MUTE GETTLEMAN!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">…ok. Back to this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I understand the injuries but people
have been jerking off about Tua for like three years now and suddenly he’s
going to drop to 5 because the Lions really want Jeff Okudah? I considered just
sending Tua to the Lions, because you need to take advantage of these
situations when they present themselves, and if not for the injuries I probably
would have. I mean, look at the Dolphins – they’ve been pissing into the ocean
breeze at QB for 20 years trying to find their next Dan Marino and they got
jack shit so far. And unfortunately for them they gonna keep pissin’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tua is like Burrow in that he put up
video game numbers in an easy offense, but he’s just significantly more
scattershot in my opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Burrow never misses. Tua doesn’t
drastically miss but he’s still off way more than I thought he’d be. Yeah he
can run, but he ain’t Burrow. He’s more Kyler Murray to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyway, yeah yeah, same flags apply to
him – everyone is wide open, the entire offense is getting drafted in the first
round, if everyone is covered he can throw it up to his like 4th best receiving
option and he’ll still pluck it out of the sky off some dude’s nameplate:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But this is still a QB that can sling
it and run like a slot receiver, and that’s probably not dropping to 5th
overall unless his hip is truly fucked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>4. NY
Giants select JEDRICK WILLS, OT, ‘BAMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It would be hilarious to mock a DT to
Gettleman’s boys but I can’t not give them an OT here. The Giants have needed
OL for years now, and they happen to be in position here to take a really good
one. Of course, if the Lions decide that they are Jeff Okudah away from finally
getting over the hump I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to trade down into
the lower single digits to some team like Carolina that might want to go up and
get Tua. There are like 4 truly top notch OTs in this draft and they’d be
guaranteed to get one if they didn’t drop too far. The only shot to do that
right now IMO is a team loving Justin Herbert, which they shouldn’t, or loving
Okudah/Simmons/another OT so much that they’d want to trade substantial assets
to go up and get him, and I doubt that will be the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I didn’t really know who to send to
the Giants because I am not familiar enough with the kind of scheme they want
to run and I initially wanted to give them Wirfs, but after watching Jedrick
Wills I think he is the guy I would bet on if I had to put money on just one of
them to become a perennial NFL All-Pro. He’s one of those guys that almost look
like they are just going half-speed because they move so easily. He’s really
quick dropping into pass blocking sets, mirrors edge rushers really well, and
generally just stonewalls them when he gets his hands on them. Very rarely is
he flailing or out of control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>5. Miami
Dolphins select </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">No. I can’t do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Miami Dolphins select Justin…..GUHH no
man I can’t even write it down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Fuck it. Miami Dolphins select JUSTIN
HERBERT, QB, OREGON</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nobody:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Absolutely positively nobody:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">U. of Oregon: WE MADE AN ELITE VERSION
OF BLAINE GABBERT!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Justin Herbert is a great athlete
(truly an elite athlete among QBs even by NFL standards). He’s got a great arm.
He’s tall. Awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He also misses like every throw by at
least a little bit. That’s great that he’s mobile and he can run like flea
flickers and all of that Mike Mularkey stuff that no one gives a shit about
anymore, but when you aren’t doing that he’s going to be busy throwing
incompletions, snuffing out all YAC, and occasionally murdering your WRs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yeah I know he got hit as he threw but
his games are positively littered with that. I realize it was much more
difficult for him than it was for Tua and Burrow. Like, exponentially.
Supposedly their coaching was garbage and he had restrictions on what he could
do as well. But you should still throw the ball near where it’s supposed to go
if you’re going to be an NFL top 5 pick. Herbert does not. I would not draft
him in the first round. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yeah, Josh Allen was scattershot, but
with Allen it was more a complete lack of pocket presence and a hilarious
inconsistency, throwing dimes 40 yards down field and then the next play
standing flat-footed and throwing a swing pass into the 8th row. With Herbert
it’s just missing throw after throw after throw. He looked good against
Colorado (I believe it was Colorado at least) in the games I watched. He looked
awful in the others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I bet Miami’s glad they won all those
games in December.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>6. Detroit
Lions select JEFF OKUDAH, CB, Ohio State</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Every single mock draft on Earth has
it Burrow/Young/Okudah, and while I mixed in a trade I’m essentially going to
go with that as well. I don’t love Okudah – I might be the only person on Earth
that doesn’t – but this draft sucks as far as I can tell and I don’t see a
corner I can move ahead of him. I don’t want to give them a receiver or a
lineman (defensive or offensive) and I don’t think there’s a safety that could
go here nor is there an edge guy explosive enough for this spot (don’t search
that term on Pornhub).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Okudah is one of those ultra rare big
guys who can move, and that’s going to get him drafted even with a slow-ish
(for an elite CB at least) 40 time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He’s also pretty good in run support,
shedding blocks pretty well for a corner:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But – I don’t know, outside of the
very basics there I don’t think he’s all that exciting as a prospect. Draft
Twitter has been blowing cubic meters of hot cum over this guy for months and
saying he’s Darrelle Revis but other than the foot quickness, I don’t see that.
He’ll stick with guys really well at the line of scrimmage but good WRs seem to
just find separation from him downfield, even if it’s just a small bit of it.
In the NFL, that’s all you need (unless your team drafted Justin Herbert). Even
guys like Tee Higgins who aren’t burners found some space. He’s also lauded for
ball skills that I don’t think I saw at any point of the videos I watched.
Again, I slacked this year, and you can’t learn much in ten minutes, but that’s
all I have to base these opinions on and this is what I saw from Juicy Jeff.
Like Chase Young, he should still be a good player and I guess that’s really
all you hope for realistically with most first rounders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>7. Carolina
Panthers select ISAIAH SIMMONS, ILB/S, CLEMSON</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Isaiah Simmons is an absolute freak
athlete in the Shazier mold. He ran in the 4.3s, he can legitimately play ILB
and safety, and he’s legitimately in play to go anywhere as high as 3rd to the
Lions. Why is he lasting until 7? For all of the speed and power and coverage
ability, I don’t think he has the elite instincts to match. In a lot of plays
that I saw, he just seemed to react a bit slowly before committing and
sometimes looked a bit lost:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(lined up at the top in the
“safety”-ish spot)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When he does decide to go, he goes
hard and he tackles the shit out of people and really, #7 is really high for an
ILB. Prior to Devin White last year I think the last one to go this high
was….Luke Keuchly, 7th overall to the Panthers. Of course, like I say seemingly
every year, “this guy is not Luke Kuechly”. I almost think Simmons should be
used more like a safety than an ILB. Either way he’ll immediately be the
fastest LB in the entire NFL so he’s not going to last very long. Which makes
sense because he’s not an EDGE guy. Get it lol<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>8. Arizona
Cardinals select TRISTAN WIRFS, OT, IOWA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Arizona finally decides to keep their
QB for more than a year. Now it’s time to give Kyler Murray a pocket that he
can completely ignore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wirfs is an ath-a-lete. Yes, that’s a
common thread that you may notice with players selected at the top of drafts,
but most NFL All-Pros at just about every position except center, QB, nose
tackle and believe it or not safety are truly elite elite ELITE athletes. I’m
sure NFL teams notice this. They probably have their own metrics but for me,
all I can do is use numbers provided by relativeathleticscores.com, which
reduces all Combine/Pro Day numbers to a single metric from 0-10. 10 is Deion
Sanders, 0 is Dionne Warwick. Anyway, if you look at the 24 OTs in the NFL
since 1990 that have made a first-team All-Pro AND who also have numbers in the
database, 58% (14) had draft year RAS numbers over 9, four more had numbers
over 8, and of those guys 11 where over 9 when compared to all OTs in the
entire database (not just to their draft year). Wirfs if over 9.5. So when I
talk about the difference between a good or great athlete and an elite athlete,
this is what I’m talking about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of course, the top of those lists are
littered with elite athletes who sucked hot ass, so that’s just one part of the
puzzle. Not only did Wirfs show out at the combine, but he’s got the tape to
back up this selection as well. He’s quick as shit and not the most stout
against power rushes but he’s stout enough and really, in today’s NFL that’s
what I’m looking for. He’s a 1990’s Broncos kind of OL. And who cares if he
played right tackle? In the NFL today both tackles are arguably equally
important and the right side is where most of the beast pass rushers line up.
And Wirfs is the kind of guy who can stick with them. Jedrick Wells and Andrew
Thomas and Matthew Peart and a whole lot of top OTs this year played right
tackle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So his name is kinda dumb and he
sounds like a Secret of Mana character. That’s fine, since no one’s ever going
to say it again after he goes to play for Arizona. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>9. Jacksonville
Jaguars select DERRICK BROWN, DT, AUBURN</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So I was watching Auburn play LSU and
Brown wasn’t doing anything for the first minute and I was thinking “well this
guy sucks JFC am I done yet let’s just move on why does this take so long”, but
then he sacked Joe Burrow with his right guard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That guard isn’t some scrub, he’s
going to be drafted this week as well in the middle rounds and he’ll probably
start some NFL games. After that Brown just started rampaging through double
teams and being a general all-around menace. Is it a concern that he’s merely a
decent athlete by NFL standards? Yes but it’s not a dealbreaker…NFL DTs stars
are generally elite athletes as well (excluding some true nose tackles), but
there are a handful of guys who managed to make All-Pro teams without being 9+
RAS guys – Marcell Dareus, Chester McGlockton, Jerome Brown (though pre-modern
era Combine numbers should be taken with grains of New Orleans Saints-sized
salt) – that suggest Brown can potentially do this in the NFL. I look at two
guys with similar profiles in Vernon Butler and Akiem Hicks. Butler rampaged
through lines at Louisiana Tech but can’t do it in the NFL, while Akiem Hicks
was the guy that makes the Bears defense really go when it’s playing at 2018
levels. Which one will he be? Magnets….how do they work?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>10. Cleveland
Browns select ANDREW THOMAS, OT, GEORGIA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This pick took about 4 seconds, only
decision was between giving the Browns Andrew Thomas or Mekhi Becton. I settled
on Thomas because he seems to be a more “traditional” top OT prospect and I
mean, the Browns have had success picking OTs named Thomas before. And really,
Cleveland has made about 4 good draft picks this millennium so I’m sure they
remember them quite clearly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thomas started off as the top OT
prospect and then kind of fell a bit but I don’t think there’s really any great
reason for it, and I almost slotted him to NYG at #4. He likes to murder just
like all of the other OTs in this class, he’s got pretty good mobility, he’s
not elite athletically but he’s still really really good there and that’s fine,
and his technique needs some work but it’s also still starting at a good level.
Sometimes he shuffles into pass sets a bit slowly and has to turn early but
other than that, he’s a guy you expect to plug into your lineup and forget
about for the next ten years, even though it never fuckin’ works like that
almost ever and there’s no reason that’s an accepted draft trope. I could watch
offensive linemen in space all day:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>11. NY
Jets select MEKHI BECTON, OT, LOUISVILLE</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The last of the top tackles goes to
the Jets to protect Sam Darnold from all of those spooky ghosts. Becton is a
mountain of a human who also put up like top 2% all time RAS numbers (which
take size into account). He’s got some of great highlights just pushing people
into last year, in fact this play (he’s the left tackle) is probably why
Gettleman had that lotion on his desk:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I expected to love this guy as a
prospect, but it seems to often that he is kind of lumbering or almost flailing
to hit rushers that I can’t put him above the other three. And I mean that’s
kind of to be expected, this motherfucker is a 6’7” and a legit 370 lbs. He
still could turn into Johnathan Ogden and in most other years he’d be the first
OT off the board. Hell, he still might be this year. You could make an argument
for just about any of these guys in any order, so I can’t wait until Skip
Bayless and Steven A. do just that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>12. Oakland
Raiders select CEEDEE LAMB, WR, OKLAHOMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I thought about the Raiders trading up
to get a receiver, because theirs are atrocious and would struggle to get
separation in a divorce court, but the top 10 is littered with tackle-needy
teams and the WR class is also extremely deep this year. So the Raiders stand
pat and get to pick their guy at 12.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Who will their guy be? Who will be
open downfield only to be ignored by Derek Carr in 2020? Barring a surprise the
choice will be between Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs and I am going to go
with Lamb. Jeudy just reminds me too much of Amari Cooper and Gruden shipped
him out of town so why bring him back? Lamb on the other hand has a lot of
Antonio Brown in him IMO, plus his feet are a perfectly acceptable 98.6
degrees. Lamb didn’t set the Combine on fire but he’s still a good athlete and
he’s just always open. He runs great routes, he’s a smooth strider that just pulls
away from DBs, and he has insane body control at the catch point. He also kind
of reminds me of Santonio Holmes, though he’s far more advanced as a receiver
than Holmes was at Ohio State. I think he’s the first WR off the board. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>13. San
Francisco 49ers select JERRY JEUDY, WR, ALABAMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is a very year to need a wide
receiver and only pick in the teens. Jerry Jeudy used to be considered a
borderline lock top 5 pick but it’s a deep year for receivers, everyone needs a
tackle, and none of the Alabama guys had the season that would catapult them
into that range. And yeah they have a lot of talent but in general, top NFL WRs
dominated their team’s production in college, no matter who they played for and
who else they had around them. Odell Beckham did even though he had Jarvis
Landry across from him at LSU. Michael Thomas did. DeAndre Hopkins did even
with Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant also on his Clemson team. So it’s a
concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But Jeudy is too quick and explosive
to pass on him over said concern. He’s lightning quick and has silly jukes that
you’ve probably seen before (the one near the endzone is an all-time – I got
tired of GIFfing but it’s easy to find). His routes aren’t great but they are
still good because he’s so quick. He does get a bit dropsy at times as well.
Aside from the obscene jukes you look at him and you really think you’re
watching Amari Cooper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He also wears a Star of David necklace
because his last name starts like “Jew”. I’m not joking. L’Chaim!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>14. LET’S
GET WEIRD</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tampa trades 1.14 to NY Jets in
exchange for Jamal Adams<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>NY Jets select HENRY RUGGS III,
ALABAMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Why not? If the Jets are intent on
trading away Adams, why not do it when you know who you’ll be getting out of
the draft pick. For the Bucs, I mean sure they could draft a safety. But they
are going all-in on Tom Brady this year (it’s SO weird to type that), so why
not trade the pick for a known quantity who can be that guy right now? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This makes too much sense, so expect
the NFL Zoom app to force close while they work out the details. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hank Ruggs has top-end all-time speed
in addition to real actual WR skills. He’s like John Ross but without the
constant drops and injury troubles (so far). And yeah I know that doesn’t sound
like a ringing endorsement but during the 7 minutes that John the Broken is not
injured and/or dropping balls he’s usually wide open 50 yards downfield. Ruggs
can do that too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My only major concern with Ruggs is
that for a guy this quick, he struggles a bit at times getting a clean release
off the line. I don’t think it’s significant enough to sink him though and you
don’t get guys that run 4.27 40’s every year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>15. Denver
Broncos select JAVON KINLAW, DT, SOUTH CAROLINA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This one was tough. The Broncos need
an entire receiving corps, but just miss out of the top tier guys and they may
as well wait until later on. Particularly with so many top NFL WRs coming
outside the first round (more than any other position, I believe). They need a
corner, but I do not like CJ Henderson and I don’t really know what to do with
Jeff Gladney. I don’t think they’ll go safety. They also need an OT but the top
tier is gone there and I’m not sure if the 2nd tier is going to start this
early. It might, of course – it’s kinda important to have a good OL and you
always have surprised like the time last year when Houston took a guy from West
Mississippi Culinary Academy in round 1 – but I don’t want to start that run
just yet. Looking at the board, there is one blue chipper left that stands out,
and that’s Javon Kinlaw. Denver can probably use a backfield wrecking DT. Who
couldn’t use that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kinlaw isn’t Derrick Brown. He’s not a
bull in a Chinese shop (or something like that), but he is a super twitched up
murder machine:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He’s not as consistent as Brown, he’s
quite tall for an interior DL and can get stood up because of it, loses his
balance at times, and it seems like he’s more TARGET KILL DESTROY at all times
than Brown and that gets him into trouble sometimes like this yoink move from
the Alabama center:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But when he does stay low, he comes in
like a wreccccckiiinnnnngggg ballllllllll. I think you take the good with the
not as good and there’s a ton of good here IMO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>16. Atlanta
Falcons select JEFF GLADNEY, CB, TCU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gladney was my favorite corner in this
draft, and then they all went to the Combine and ran 4.5s so who even knows
anymore. But he’s tenacious, a smooth strider, all those buzzwords that the
people on TV use when describing guys who are going to disappoint in the NFL
relative to draft expectations at a minimum of about 50%. He did this to a guy
once:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sidenote – TCU has a lot of prospects
this year which is complete bullshit because what THE FUCK are these uniforms?
Why have they not been burned in a Waco-sized fire? These should be ISIS’s flag
and here’s TCU proudly wearing them like they are declaring a jihad on my
retinas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In real life if CJ Henderson is here
the Falcons would probably take him, but I am trying to not get caught up in
groupthink so I’m not going to follow along with that. The Falcons take Jeff
Gladney and never look back, which probably isn’t true because someone later in
the draft will probably be better so of course they’ll look back what are you
an idiot?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>17. Dallas
Cowboys select XAVIER McKINNEY, SAFETY, ALABAMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I love this guy. The Cowboys have
needed a safety for what feels like 30 years and finally one falls into Jerry
Jones’s lap, only this time he’s not going to get in trouble for it. McKinney
is a more of a “strong” safety type but not only is he physically imposing, he
appears to be a very heady player as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He is the anti-Delpit when it comes to
tackling:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He often seems to know exactly what
play is coming. He makes plays like this a few times a game:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And THEN he does stuff like this which
is just what the fuck come on:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There are top middle linebackers that
can’t do that. Shit, Kenneth Murray would be waiting 5 yards off the ball to
make those tackles that McKinney made in the backfield. He’s insane. The only
thing keeping him on the board this long is his slowish 40 time – he ran just
over 4.6. But, like I mentioned earlier, safety is the one defensive position
where pure athleticism doesn’t seem to be damn near a prerequisite. Roy
Williams, Ed Reed, Eric Weddle, Brian Dawkins, the aforementioned Earl the
Squirrel, Landon Collins – these guys all put up rather pedestrian Combine
numbers. McKinney’s 40 time was also really hurt by poor starting times, just
like Jalen Reagor’s, which means that either he’s slow to accelerate or he just
doesn’t start well out of a stance no safety will ever start from. I think his
actual straight line speed is decent and I think he’ll be a Pro Bowl safety in
the NFL. Like a real one, not 8th alternate Andy Dalton style because
Londraspidous Willowhedge dropped out last minute with athlete’s gout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Five gifs? You can tell which
positions I watched first)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>18. Miami
Dolphins select ANTOINE WINFIELD JR, FS, MINNASOTAH</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dolphins could really use anybody good
so I’ll just go to someone I would want to draft. Winfield is one of my
favorite players in this draft, a smart safety with good speed and range who
turns bad decisions into turnovers. This play is pure insanity put into a
needle and shot directly into my ravaged veins:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The commentary on that play is
hilarious as they watch either the win get snatched out of their hands or vice
versa (not sure which team’s announcers are even on the call). He can close too
– doesn’t quite come up with this one but you can see the burst and
aggressiveness (the receiver is KJ Hamler btw):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He’s got the bloodlines too, as he is
the son of former NFL-er Art Schlichter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>19. Oakland
Raiders select CESAR RUIZ, C, MICHIGAN </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m probably generally sticking to the
accepted script too much through the first 20 or so picks so I need to start
getting wild, because that’s what NFL teams do, they get wild. Particularly
once we get into the 20s, when they start drafting the LJ Colliers of the
world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ruiz doesn’t fall into that group,
though. He’s awesome. Watching Ruiz is like watching a Pouncey twin as he just
ping-pongs through the defensive levels popping dudes in the face at each stop,
like a trucker just knocking out glory holes as he brings knockoff wireless
speakers from Amazon across America. He’s arguably stouter than Pouncey A and
Pouncey B as well. I believe the Raiders need some OL help, so here it is. I
doubt they need any glory hole help. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>20. Jacksonville
Jaguars select CJ HENDERSON, CB, FLORIDA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Boring Florida team selects boring
Florida cornerback and bores their way to 7-9 while Doug Marrone chases away
any player who dares to excel on the field. CJ Henderson has the build and
athletic traits of top corners, though he didn’t run any agility drills (that’s
the one area where I think RAS could be improved – guys that don’t do certain
drills should have certain flags shown). But based on the size, 40 and bench
press, he’s a top 0.2% athlete at the position. And this is NFL cornerback,
perhaps the most Twitched-up place on Earth this side of a Fortnite lobby. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But what does he do? I didn’t see this
guy do much of anything. It’s hard to judge corners without All-22, but he just
looked like a guy to me even in his highlight tapes. You know, a JAG. Hey! This
makes perfect sense! This is a roster full of just a guys, destined to just a
guy their way to 6 wins in a part of the country no one pays attention to.
Jacksonville just re-opened their beaches in the middle of a historic pandemic
and there’s still not a soul alive that gives a shit about it. It’s ok
Jacksonville it gets better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>21. Philadelphia
Eagles select a GOT DAMN RECEIVER</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Which one? Hmmm…not sure Shenault
makes sense. I don’t think Mims is nuanced enough to save a team by himself.
Reagor? Maybe but I think they want a more prototypical #1. Justin Jefferson?
This I could see, he’s like a version of Jordan Matthews who can actually run. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I got it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <b> Philadelphia
Eagles select DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES, WR, MICHIGAN</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">DPJ was dinged for a lack of
production, but people finally realized recently that hey, maybe his QB being
complete pigeonshit might have contributed to this. Hey DPJ, produce, would
ya????<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He would later make a really nice TD
catch on that drive so all’s well that end’s well!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ok, so Shea Patterson sucks. We all
know this now. Still, outside of maybe DeAndre Hopkins and a few other examples
in the NFL, top tier WRs still find a way to produce, even with shitty QBs,
right? Well….not really. It wasn’t just that the throws weren’t great, even
though that helped to highlight DPJ’s ability to catch balls that are
off-target. Much like Calvin Johnson at Georgia Tech, the opportunities just
weren’t there. GT has always run that triple option from 1940 so it was no
surprise there and no one held that against Megatron because why would you, but
in Michigan’s case, it was that their QB was so limited that they couldn’t run
a normal offense. Brilliant tactician Jim “VIOLENTLY ATTACK LIFE WITH YOUR
TALONS AT 700%!!!” Harbaugh schemed up a bunch of runs and WR screens to work
around this and I gotta say, it was as exciting as shrink-wrapping pallets. As
Harbaugh always tells his players, “VICTORY IS BREASTMILK AND COMPETITION IS THE
TITTIES!”. Or something like that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So if you want to watch a guy
stalk-block corners for 60 plays a game, turn on some Michigan film and hone in
on number nine. When he’s not doing that though he’s a big fast WR that can
jump out the gym, go up and get the ball, get separation through his route-running,
and control his body really well in the air when the ball gets somewhat near
him. I have a feeling that he’ll sneak into the back-end of the first round,
between this, the five-star pedigree and the fact that he just looks like
receivers are “supposed” to look. Plus he has the coolest name ever. Should
just change it to Peoples-Elbow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>22. Minnesota
Vikings select A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Vikings have no corners and if
they want one they can use this season they should take one now. WR can wait
until round 2. There are a handful of guys left who you can look at and say
“this guy has a good chance to become an NFL regular” and Terrell is one of
them. He’s feisty, his technique is decent, he seems to have pretty good speed,
and his ball skills are decent as well. He’s like a boring corner but in a good
way in that he’s usually covering his guy pretty well. The non-descript corner
seems to be one that Mike Zimmer is into, as he continues to coast off
reputation from years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>23. New
England trades down because that’s just like what they do</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">New England trades with Kansas City
for a pick swap and then like KC’s next 43 7th rounders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b> Kansas City selects KRISTIAN FULTON, CB, LSU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This guys is very similar to AJ
Terrell to me, just kind of boringly covers up his man, missionary style.
KRISTIAN MISSIONARY! It’s not going to catch on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I think I like this guy a bit more
than Terrell actually, but I am rushing this and so I’m not going to sit down
and split these hairs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>24. New
Orleans Saints select PATRICK QUEEN, ILB, LSU<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I really like Patrick Queen. Over the
past few years, it’s been a lot of “hey look here’s another linebacker that
reads like Floyd Mayweather” but Queen is not that guy. He reads at a 12th
grade level, and then moves forward/backwards, side-to-side, and even
diagonally to attack. He’s often the first guy to the ball, even if the play is
going away from him:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He’s also a really good timed athlete.
What’s not to love?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wellllll he’s about 220 lbs playing
middle linebacker and that leads to a lot of unfinished plays. But while this
is true, he’s getting dinged for missing tackles that other players wouldn’t be
in position to miss. The Ryan Shazier dilemma. I personally was always on the
side of “go wreck shop in the backfield and if you miss hopefully a fluffer
linebacker will clean it up” over “hey just sit back a few yards and let
running backs just kind of run into you and stuff”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>25. Minnesota
Vikings select JALEN REAGOR, WR, TCU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Great, another TCU guy. It’s like
being maced by Youtube. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My weirdest player comp this year is
Jalen Reagor. I compare him to Peter Warrick. This move is dripping hot:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He’s a downfield homerun threat, jukey
YAC monster, leaper that goes up over anyone and makes crazy highlight grabs
out of the sky, guy who goes to the Combine and doesn’t run nearly as fast as
people expected. He’s probably lucky that all of the Dillard’s stores are
closed right now because who knows where the similarities end? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Reagor was expected to run a great
time, but barely cracked sub-4.5. His agility numbers were horrible. How can a guy
who broke ankles all over the field corner that slowly? I have no idea. The
only thing in Texas more electric than Reagor are the chairs. The jumping
metrics by the way do show up when he makes highlight reel catches. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">From the metrics it does appear that
he just starts slow for whatever reason, at least regarding straight line
speed, as the 10- and 20-yard splits are awful but the final time is good. 22.8
mph by the way is extremely high, the only guys this year I’ve found that have
a faster top speed are Ruggs and Javelin Guidry. And maybe that explains why
most of his big plays are go routes. Maybe Reagor is Peter Warrick, and what
worked in college just isn’t going to work all that well in the pros. But I
just feel like his numbers don’t really reflect how fast this dude is and hell,
the Vikings might want to run back the Percy Harvin experiment one more time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>26. Miami
Dolphins select PRINCE TEGA WANOGHO, OT, AUBURN</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are in the presence of royalty! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wanogho was born in Nigeria and came
over to the US for his senior year of high school after showing enough in a
camp to interest a private school in Alabama. Oh, it was a basketball camp, by
the way. Basketball was his first sport and the school’s basketball coach was
his Sandra Bullock. Wanogho was taken to a football practice to watch his
adoptive family’s son, who was a QB for the football team, and he was either
interested in trying it out or was asked when the coach saw this giant kid on
the sideline not destroying people on the field and wondered “hey why isn’t
this guy out here destroying people on the field, I’ve seen The Blind Side so I
know this obviously is going to work” or something like that…I forget exactly
and I don’t want to go and re-read it. So obviously they put him on the field
(in this case at defensive end), give him a quick Cliff Notes and he’s
all-state or whatever. But he still wanted to play basketball because he grew
up dreaming of becoming Scott Skiles. Or maybe someone else, I’m not sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unfortunately, he suffered a really
bad leg injury that season that was serious enough to legitimately threaten his
career prospects in any sport and that was the end of that. Football coaches
had been recruiting him all year (he famously said “who’s Nick Saban?” when asked
if Saban had contacted him because he knew nothing about college football) and
he appreciated that Auburn came to see him in the hospital and kept their offer
on the table. So he committed to Auburn and once he got there, they convinced
him to bulk up to play offensive line and here we are. So he’s only been
playing OL for a few years in college.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now I read that this guy is raw and a
developmental prospect and all that and while that may be true, I think he’s
already pretty good. He moves really well, he seems to be strong enough, the
technique I don’t think is bad and he mirrors well and I think he’ll go higher
than projected. Offensive tackles are in demand – I mean, Gosder Cherilus went
in the first round one year. Once you get to the 20s in most years, the
blue-chipper types are gone and essentially it’s just an early start to round
2. And obviously, weird picks happen every year. If I would have mocked Tytus
Howard to Houston last year people would have laughed and told me to stop
making fun of Bill O’Brien. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And of course I like watching OL run
at little corners with bad intentions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>27. Seattle
Seahawks either trade down or make a baffling late first round selection</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This has become an annual tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I can’t come up with a baffling
selection or a trade down scenario that I like so instead I’ll give them one of
my favorite guys this year that I want to get into the first round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Seattle
Seahawks select NEVILLE GALLIMORE, DT, OKLAHOMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I compare Gallimore to Javon Hargrave.
He’s a spark plug type penetrating DL that has some actual rush moves outside
bull rushing and shooting gaps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’ve always like the smallish, quick
and powerful DT archetype, particularly as the NFL becomes less and less about
pure mass. Of course it usually swings back at this point as if it were one of
Joe Exotic’s husbands but that’s another matter. Everyone needs depth at OL and
DL pretty much every year and I think Gallimore goes round 1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>28. Baltimore
Ravens select KENNETH MURRAY, ILB, OKLAHOMA</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I want to give them a WR here and I
was considering Justin Jefferson but I don’t know if he’s weird enough to be a
legitimate Ravens first round WR selection. If DPJ were available I might slot
him here. They need at least one actual WR to complement Hollywood Brown and I
think he should be a well-rounded type and not another track star who runs fast
in a straight line. How long can you have Willie Snead playing this role? Ehhh,
I guess for another year. The Ravens might want a break from drafting first
round receivers and this team goes defense with what seems like 80% of their
picks so I’m going to have then filling another glaring need at ILB. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Murray is under-the-radar polarizing.
He looks like fuckin’ Robocop, he’s a really solid tackler and a great athlete,
he’s the all business ILB type, etc. etc. What’s not to love? Well, he’s an ILB
so you can guess what I’m going to say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Look at him just waiting there on 2nd
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Where is he going? There is nothing in
this play that suggests that the ball is going to go where he goes and he just
runs himself right out of position to make the tackle before the play even
really starts. The LSU-Oklahoma game is full of either tentative
decision-making or quicker but outright wrong reads and based on that game
alone he’s like a round 3 player at best. Yeah, he’s a significantly more solid
tackler and inside presence than Patrick Queen. But if Patrick Queen misses the
tackle in the first gif, at least he’s missing it 2 yards deep in the backfield
and making it difficult for the back to get to the sticks. You don’t even have
to block Murray on this play because he’s a non-factor as far as preventing a
first down is concerned. Maybe it’s play design – we obviously don’t know what
teams are drawing up on each play and maybe the safety is blitzing by design
here and Murray is playing this perfectly but I doubt that, and his tape is
full of it, and it’s why he’s not Patrick Willis. Xavier McKinney plays it
better than that and he’s a safety. The Ravens might like that he’s in the CJ
Mosley mold and maybe they think that this is correctable and he’ll develop
into a guy who plays more like he does in some other games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Against Baylor he looked really good
early but by the end it seemed like he was making questionable or late
decisions again. I don’t know if you can correct that. Perhaps you can, and if
so, it’s really the only thing holding Murray back from being a guy I’d say
could be a top tier NFL linebacker. He’s a beast of a tackler and while he
maybe doesn’t show the greatest coverage instincts either, he moves quite well
dropping into his zones and chasing down receivers. If he gets better at this
or it can be schemed around to some degree, he could be really, really good. I
just know that I would bet against it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>29. Tennessee
Titans select JOSH UCHE, EDGE, MICHIGAN<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is a tough one. I’m sure the
Titans would be furiously messaging other teams on the Zoom trying to trade out
but which player is another team going to trade up for? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tennessee’s biggest needs are Edge, OT
and DT, and instead of potentially “reaching” for an OT since there are still a
ton of them left, I’ll have them “reach” for an Edge since there are basically
none of them left and who are you going to get at the end of Round 2? Terrell
Lewis? Nah I’m good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now I don’t like Uche either – he goes
long stretches doing nothing and his game against Iowa was a Tristan Wirfs
highlight tape outside of a few plays.
But he is another twitched up freak athlete who looks and moves like top
NFL edge rushers do, and I think that’s enough to get him wildly overdrafted in
the hopes that he becomes Danielle Hunter. He does rush really well at times up
the middle on plays designed for him because he’s so damn explosive but you
can’t just draw up every play for one guy. I still think he finds a way to
sneak into the first round based on athletic ability alone. Guys like this are
rare and they generally don’t last long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He didn’t do anything at the Combine
due to injury, and without the ability to run at a Pro Day it might hurt him to
not have verified numbers available to prove that the athletic ability is real.
Perhaps GMs remember Jachai Polite looking like a freak athlete on the field
before running drills like Rich Eisen. Could happen but I’ll take my chances
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>30. Green
Bay Packers select JUSTIN JEFFERSON, WR, LSU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Aaron Rodgers will probably threaten
to play the entire season left-handed if the Packers don’t take a WR here. The
hard part for me is predicting which one they take. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First option is Denzel Mims, who is a
6’4” track star in the DK Metcalf mold who really excels making difficult contested
catches as well. Mims, however, is really raw coming out of Baylor’s system and
he really just doesn’t even run routes. He kind of just runs to a spot. I don’t
think this would fly in Green Bay, where they already have a roster full of
Denzel Mims types. Mims would be their best Mims easily, but they don’t need
more Mimses right now with all the choices available.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Second option is Laviska Shenault, who
is basically Derrick Henry playing receiver. He’s like Shaq Thompson and Myles
Jack – he essentially played running back half the time as a wildcat QB and his
RAC ability is ridiculous. He’s another guy that can get open deep but his 40
time was concerning (4.58) and he’s also not the most polished receiver. I
doubt he’s going to be running wildcat snaps in Green Bay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Could be KJ Hamler? I really like
Hamler, he’s fast as all hell but he’s basically Marquise Brown and I don’t
know if Green Bay can risk potentially setting off their Real Housewife of a QB
by giving him a 5’9” sprite in the first round. He also doesn’t have Combine
times so there’s nothing concrete to verify the speed, which I think might be
important to a GM picking a guy like Hamler in the first. I do however think he
would pair well with Davante Adams and it’s not like you’re taking a Florida
kid here and sending him to the arctic – this is a guy from Michigan who played
at Penn State. Regardless I’m going to bet against it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Brandon Aiyuk? Doubt it. Tee Higgins?
I don’t think so but maybe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My bet is Justin Jefferson. It seems
that people thought he was just a generic WR who was the product of playing at
LSU with Burrow, and then he went to the Combine and ran like a top-flite NFL
WR and his draft stock (at least on the Twitters) skyrocketed. He’s a true WR
that can play the position, not just a deep guy or a speed mismatch or
whathaveyou. He’s almost like a twitchy Reggie Wayne (I don’t mean that Reggie
Wayne was just shot multiple times by Marvin Harrison, I mean twitchy like
athletic). Is he too similar to Davante Adams? I don’t think it’s a problem to
have two well-rounded WR types and he’s fast enough that Green Bay won’t have
to rely so heavily on their stable of Budget Mimses to stretch the field. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>31. San
Francisco 49ers trade out</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not an ideal situation for them here.
I think Grant Delpit could be a trade target, so I’m going to make that happen.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> San
Francisco trades with Cleveland for some shit, I don’t know who cares they’ll
figure it out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b> Cleveland
Browns select GRANT DELPIT, S, LSU</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This might still be too high for
Delpit – a lot of mocks have him well into the middle of round 2 – and maybe
I’m still putting too much stock into the name value. I’m not going to drop him
just because the numbers were down last year, I mean that happens particularly
to DBs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The main knock against Delpit is that
he misses a lot of tackles and I mean, yeah but a lot of guys miss some tackles
but hold up wait a second what the fuck<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Delpit sure isn’t Derwin James in that
regard. I’ve read that this game was a bit of an anomaly even by Delpit
standards but I mean holy frosted shit.
Other than that Delpit is a first round type of safety - his blitzing
ability is what most reminds me of James, his man coverage ability is actually
really good for a safety, and he can play deep zones pretty well. He finds the
ball, he flies up to make tackles, he also flies up to miss tackles but at
least he’s still flying, and he has like a white dude’s name for some reason.
Like, it would look good on a realtor sign. If he screamed “FOR SALE BY GRANT
DELPIT!” every time he made a big play I would by his jersey immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I really have no idea what to think of
Delpit and he didn’t run in Indianapolis so any questions about his true timed
speed may drop him well beyond this but he’s got a ton of first round traits at
the position and in a meh class like this I think that might be enough to get
him into the first Google Hangouts session. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>32. New
England selects JORDAN LOVE, QB, UTAH</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is why I think that teams with
old QBs (and even teams with QBs like Stafford who are getting up there and
whom you could see yourself moving on from if you wanted to), when a guy drops
to you, you should strongly consider taking him. I bet Belichick is kicking
himself over not taking Lamar Jackson when he had the chance and the
opportunity just presented itself to them. The Steelers were very interested in
Dak Prescott but instead took a developmental OL because “HOW IS A QB GOING TO
HELP US WIN NOW!”. I know they took Mason Rudolph and he has sucked fat asshole
but so do most 3rd rounders. Was Malik Jefferson going to help them win now?
Probably not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So now the Patriots are essentially
forced to take whatever QB is available to the year that they need one, and
this year the pickins are slim after the top two. Most years are like this.
That’s why I always suggest picking falling Q Bs
during particularly good years at the position. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyway Love is the typical “toolsy” QB
that will probably be overdrafted by a QB-needy team, though at this range in
the draft it makes some sense. To me, Love is the anti-Kaepernick, in that he
throws with so much touch that it actually often works to his detriment. He’s
got a nice arm but often times he just floats nice catchable balls into windows
that demand a bullet before they close violently:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There are multiple examples of it and
I don’t understand it but at least it shows that he CAN throw with touch if
someone can develop this skillset. He also had his numbers fall way off last
year; in fact they are a huge red flag as I cannot think of any decent NFL QB
who put up anything like a 20 TD/17 INT year before going to the NFL. Even Josh
Allen last year wasn’t anywhere close to that and this was mentioned as a flag
for him. These are like, Trevor Siemien numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So what happened? Obviously the team
was worse, and his receivers were slow and underwhelming, though one of them
was a contested catch gawd who definitely helped Love more than he hurt him and
the others were definitely sufficient enough for a first round draft pick
playing in the Mountain West. But really, he just made a ton of of Winstonian
decisions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Oddly enough the game that gave me the
most hope for him was against LSU, where his team was thoroughly outclassed at
every spot on the field and it was his “worst” game from a numbers perspective
but to me he looked decent under very tough conditions and got absolutely zero
help on this particular day. (Much like Drew Lock last year).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When I mention that Tua and Burrow can
just throw it up to a single-covered WR who will come down with it for a TD, I
generally mean plays like this where it doesn’t work the same way for guys like
Love and Herbert:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That corner (might be Fulton) plays
that perfectly, doesn’t allow the WR to get into position to make a contested
catch and goes and gets the ball himself. You don’t see that happen when Burrow
tosses one up to Jamarr Chase or Justin Jefferson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The good bits aside though, Love just
makes too many bad reads and also commits too quickly, and teams figured that
out and started jumping them, which would explain a lot of the hospital balls
like the GIF above. New England probably won’t actually take him and even
though he’s actually generally accurate, he’s got so much to improve on in this
regard that I don’t think he’s going to do much in the NFL. He also tends to
run at the first hint of pressure instead of maneuvering within the pocket and
once he gets off his block he’s just running wildly, there’s not many instances
that I saw where he actually resets and makes a sound throw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>OTHER PLAYERS WATCHED:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These guys were given at least a
minute each:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jalen Hurts – No. He is so scattershot
and does not run nearly well enough that I would consider him before round 6 or
something. His vision when running is superb but that’s about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jacob Eason – Man I want to like Jacob
Eason. If it were just throwing the ball he might be my favorite QB in the
entire class, and that’s including Burrow. But he simply does not read
defenses. He takes the snap, focuses on where he thinks the ball is supposed to
go, and that’s who he throws it to. EVERY. TIME. I had some gifs of this but I
can’t seem to find them and I doubt anyone cares enough that it would be worth
going back and re-making them but it’s ridiculous how limited he is at this. I
say it often but this is the stuff Lamar Jackson got unfairly hammered for and
that you might not hear more than once about Eason. He originally started at
Georgia but lost his job to Jake Fromm and I have to think that this is the
main reason for that. This alone is enough to tank his draft stock IMO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jake Fromm – Another guy who I
actually kind of like but just can’t get over his lack of juice throwing the
ball. I just had a front row seat to a half-season of Duck Hodges and I don’t
think many other teams want to watch it after hearing the reviews. He is at
least more aggressive than Duck but this is under most circumstances not an NFL
arm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">James Morgan – I kinda like this guy.
It wasn’t easy at all there and he did miss throws he shouldn’t have missed but
he did also throw some dimes down the sidelines. As a 5th rounder or so you
could do a lot worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anthony Gordon – No. He is not Gardner
Minshew. Nooooo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cole McDonald – I expected to hate
this guy but I love him. He throws super weird but outside of some meltdowns
(it really snowballs with this guy) he’s actually really accurate most of the
time. He’s also a great athlete. He might not even get drafted but I would take
him over a lot of the guys higher on these “lists”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">D’Andre Swift – Will probably go first
round, the prototype modern NFL RB. He is a shifty runner and a really good
pass catcher 3-down type RB. I like him but I don’t love him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JK Dobbins – I think he’s Emmitt
Smith. Does everything well. But Emmitt Smith is Emmitt Smith for a reason and
I don’t think that’s a great key to NFL success for most players. Zeke Elliott
IMO was many times more impressive at OSU.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Johnathan Taylor – Has the track speed
but to me he doesn’t play that fast. Expected to love him, came away quite meh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Clyde Edwards-Helaire – He’s explosive
but I think D’Andre Swift is a more consistent version of Helaire as a runner
in addition to having the great receiving ability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Zack Moss – Perhaps my favorite RB
this year. Great contact balance:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Also has some burst. However while he
often does well pass blocking, he has moments where it’s like he’s just daydreaming
or something:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But that’s not enough to exclude Moss
in round 4-ish as my top value pick for RBs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>WRs </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Denzel Mims – Like I mentioned
earlier, this guy is a jet of a wide receiver who in addition to legit
track-champ speed has real catch-point abilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But he has a long way to go from a
technique/route running standpoint. Being talked about as a first rounder now
but I think he slips to the 2nd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">KJ Hamler – Like this guy a lot but
too many WRs and he’s way too five foot nine to get put into the first. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Laviska Shenault – Named after an 80’s
European automobile, he’s Derek Henry or Corey Dillon playing WR. He actually
kind of reminds me of Justin Blackmon (no idea why he comes up every year) at
times but isn’t the actual receiver that Blackmon was and he’s got speed
questions. I could see him going in the first though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tee Higgins – I don’t like receivers
that can’t separate well. Higgins is one of them though he does show some
ability to do it, certainly more than N’Keal Harry ever showed. But I wouldn’t
take him early in this class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Chase Claypool – Oh great, another
Notre Dame WR that everyone ignored until he blew up the Combine. You should
have learned your lesson with Miles Boykin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>TEs</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Adam Trautman – He’s way too “playing
at Dayton” to tell how good he is, though I do think he’ll be good in the NFL.
Probably a late 2nd rounder. I just couldn’t really tell watching him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hunter Bryant – A really good slot WR
but that’s all he is, a slot WR. He’s like 6’2” 225ish and he cannot play
in-line TE effectively IMO. Even at Washington he was getting knocked all over
the place when they had him line up there. Also looks much faster on tape than
he ran at the Combine but this guy is a really, really good pass catcher. No
idea where to expect him to go this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Brycen Hopkins – Legit NFL receiving
TE, just not at an obvious first-round caliber. He’ll probably be a good
NFL-er.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thaddeus Moss – A bit more of a
traditional TE style than Hopkins. I like him but I like Hopkins and probably
even Trautman more but if Moss (and yes he is related to that Moss) becomes the
best of this group I wouldn’t be surprised at all. He’s a good receiving TE,
just not as explosive as Hopkins and Trautman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Josh Jones – Meh. He’s decent but I
don’t get the first round hype.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Austin Jackson – Strong bench but he
doesn’t play to it, which makes sense because real power comes from the legs
when you’re trying to move people. I’m not impressed at all with his tape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lucas Niang – I like Niang quite a bit
but couldn’t fit him into the mock. Part of the TCU optical assault
unfortunately. He’s a bit of a plodder at times and has raw technique (this
drop for example is kinda slow and clunky):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">…but he’s a strong people-mover of a
tackle and he too is Ogden-sized at 6’7” 350ish or whatever he goes, he just
doesn’t move quite as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Isaiah Wilson – I watched three plays
and came away impressed and that was enough for me because honestly are we done
yet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ezra Cleveland – lit the Combine up
and has elite LT measurables but he’s just a guy on his tapes. Not impressed. I
don’t think he’ll be bad or anything I just wouldn’t take him in the first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Matthew Peart – Liked him more than I
thought I would. Moves well and has functional strength. He’s the guy moving
the RB in the hole:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Saahdiq Charles – I think he’ll be
half decent as well in the league but he just doesn’t move or block like the
other guys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Interior OL</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lloyd Cushenberry – Just not first
round material IMO. Not bad but after deciding he wasn’t going top 32 I moved
on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Interior DL<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ross Blacklock – The closest to the
first round DTs in my opinion. This guy is a player and I do like him, just
didn’t have a spot for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Justin Madubuike – Specimen of an
athlete, 9.5+ RAS score, does jack shit on tape and is often single-blocked
with no problem at all for the OL. Great, he’s Rashede Hagemann. Do not want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Marlon Davidson – I think he could be
good but Auburn did him no favors and played him like a legit edge rusher. This
guy is like 310 lbs. He’s hard to project but I do like him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yetur Gross-Matos – I wanted to put
him in the first but couldn’t find the right spot. Not super twitchy but has
enough burst but dear Lord this dude is great with his hands, which by itself
may be enough for Robert Kraft to insist that the Patriots draft him. He sheds
blockers by routine and it’s no surprise he racked up so many TFLs at Penn
State. Fits best in a 3-4 IMO and I see a bit of Cameron Jordan here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ Epenesa – When Epenesa was a
freshman, I watched him play against Penn State and just dominate them and
thought “this dude is going to be a top 5 pick”. He was a rare 5-star recruit
who went to Iowa and it just screamed top pick. But he didn’t dominate like
that too often and he might just be a tweener in the wrong era. A big dude
stuck as an edge rusher in a league where speed and bending the edge is the
ticket to success there. He might still go first round but he just doesn’t
really have the juice that you typically see at the position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Zack Baun – I like Zack Baun, just
don’t love him. His pass rush moves are good, he’s really good at turning into
the pocket and getting to the QB, he just doesn’t win enough that I’d take him
in the top 30 or so. But if he turned into a good NFL edge guy I wouldn’t be
shocked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Terrell Lewis – Hard pass. Shows
nothing IMO. I think he’s a late round guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Julian Okwara – Not consistent enough
but he’s got the measurables to develop into something. Long limbed pass rusher
who also shows some ability to work back to the QB from around the edge. He’s
projected 3rd round but I’d be happy with him at many spots in the 2nd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">K’Lavon Chiasson – NO idea why this
guy is the consensus #2 edge rusher and considered a lock first rounder. He
does almost nothing. Everyone blocks him without much difficulty. Supposedly
he’s one of Orgeron’s guys and a true leader type and they all love him and
Coach O hypes him up to NFL coaches but I don’t want to draft this guy anywhere
near the first round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>LB</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Willie Gay Jr – I considered slipping
him into the back of the first as a surprise crazy pick but there were too many
ILBs still available. This guy is a ridiculous athlete and crazyperson in the
Ray Lewis mold (and a lot of teams love that), but he’s also raw as all hell
and also, well, a crazyperson who was suspended for fighting his teammates last
year and has only started 6 games. He’s going to go earlier than people think
and they are gonna be like “who?” and I’m gonna be like, Willie Gay Jr. stupids
he’s a badass freak who will break faces on the field when he’s not running
himself out of every single play. No, he is not the son of former Steeler
William Gay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>CB</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jaylon Johnson – Didn’t seem all that
special, at least not first round special.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Noah Igbinoghene – This dude has
played corner for all of two seasons, and he’s getting first round hype, but
outside of Richard Sherman those guys don’t pan out all that often. He’s
aggressive as shit and has some real athletic ability as a man cover corner but
he’s sooooo damn raw. He moves in ways that remind me of Artie Burns, and we
all know how that worked out. (Top of the screen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Trevon Diggs – Nope. (Bottom of the
screen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He might be fine as a 2nd
starter/depth guy as an off-ball corner, but I don’t see NFL first or second
round corner here. Guys run by him too easily and he just looked lost there
trying to locate the ball. (Jamarr Chase is gonna be insane btw)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Safety</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Disclaimer – Safety is hard as hell to
analyze without all-22 views. They are out of the screen for most of the play
so for me it’s often just a guessing game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Terrell Burgess – Made some nice run
stops:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He just
didn’t do anything that screamed “take me in the first!”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Neither did:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ashtyn Davis (though he did have a
nice INT of Herbert) – btw here’s a gif of Eason just looking right at a guy
and throwing him right into a defender. Not sure if Davis was supposed to cover
him OR if he just realized “hey this is where Eason is going with the ball
because he’s Eason” and jumped it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jeremy Chinn – Super all-time elite
athlete at the position who wasn’t even all that impressive in highlight tapes.
Has a lot of INTs so I’m sure he’s doing something right but they aren’t
playing top competition at Southern Illinois. Generally if a safety isn’t impressive
even in highlight tapes then I won’t put them in the first round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Was impressive but only for running
over people at a D-3 school <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kyle Dugger – Yeah his highlights are
ridiculous but it’s not like Nasir Adderley where they are all plays on the
ball. It’s a guy with NFL measurables running over kids at Lenoir Rhyne
University. Yeah he might be a decent NFL player but he’s not going to run
roughshod over the Chicago Bears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Kickers/Punters</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hahaha stfu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Alright, finally another one in the
books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-68086203215115268202019-04-02T05:33:00.002-07:002019-04-02T06:14:26.229-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2019 NFL MOCK DRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Draft time! The time of year where hundreds of thousands of people pointlessly attempt to guess the trivial selections of recent college football players by NFL teams, as if a mock draft means even the slightest damn. Like, why don’t people just wait until the draft and see who they take? It’s so dumb. Anyway, I’m part of that group of morons so here’s the 2019 Mock Draft Extravaganza, presented by CVS brand generic Omeprazole. Hey dipshit, did you take too many aspirins and give yourself a fuckin’ ulcer? CVS generic Omeprazole.<br />
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If something crazy happens like the Giants trading up to the first pick tomorrow to take a left guard, I might release a version 2. But in the meantime, since the trades for the first pick seem to happen before the draft, I’m not going to mock a crazy one until it actually happens, even though I don’t think the Cardinals will end up using the pick if they don’t take Murray. I did for real think about having the Bengals jump up to #1 for Kyler Murray, as unlikely as that is, because ehhh why the fuck not.<br />
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Speaking of trades, I think people should include trades when they make mock drafts. But why, if this is a pointless exercise existing only to give questionable information to people who would gladly read an article written by Adolf Hitler’s dick so long as it were about the NFL? Well, it may be borderline impossible to predict the NFL draft, but it’s also nearly impossible to win the Powerball. Yet if you’re going to play, you’re going to pick a number that is actually capable of winning. And since there are trades every single year in the first round of the draft – an average of 5 each year on draft day since 2010, with at least 4 every year excluding 2015 (only 2 that year) – if you don’t mock it, you’re just not being realistic. So if you’re gonna shoot, shoot your best shot, iiite?<br />
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Finally, this mock is a combination of what I would do and what I think will happen and ultimately something I just do because I like to do it. Are some of these picks going to be hilariously wrong? Yes. Will this be obvious to some people well in advance? Sure. Are some of these mocked selections just plain stupid? Yes. But – do I give a shit? No. I don’t. And shit, nobody would have predicted Terrell Edmunds or Rashaad Penny last year so who the hell really knows. I don’t know every team’s tendencies, I don’t know how much is smoke and how much is fire about prospect interviews and general demeanor, I don’t know their medicals, I don’t know who broke their infant son’s arm or pissed on a tollbooth attendant in November. I don’t know how QBs do in their interviews, and I don’t know how much is just Charley Casserly continuing to traffic in wrongness to sell his draft interview prep service or whatever the hell he does. I’m just guessin’ blind, man. Alright so here we go.<br />
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<b>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>SAN FRANCISCO trades with ARIZONA for the first overall pick.</b><br />
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<b>SAN FRANCISCO selects Nick Bosa, EDGE, el Universidad de Ohio Estada.</b><br />
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It seems pretty clear that San Francisco wants Bosa, and I think that Arizona would rather have Quinnen Williams and some extra picks to help their rebuild along. Similar to the 49ers getting the Bears to cough up a bit extra to ensure they get Trubisky, I think the Cardinals could finesse a 3rd or 4th rounder or so out of the Niners to do the same. And they would have a compelling argument – some other team may really want Kyler Murray, the Cardinals could certainly quite feasibly select Bosa themselves and shit, the Bucs have been whiffing on Edge rushers for as long as I can remember and I briefly considered having them move up to take Bosa. But in the end, I don’t think that will happen.<br />
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Does that mean I don’t think there’s anything to the Kyler Murray smoke? No. I do think there’s something to it, I just think in the end the Cardinals will pass. Or hell, they could still do something like this and take him 2nd.<br />
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Anyway, since I was wrong on Joey Bosa, I’m not going to make the same mistake on bro Nick. He seems like a better prospect than Joey as well – more of a pure edge guy than Joey was, at least from an athletic perspective. Like, the flexibility and bend is crazy for a guy this size, almost like Myles Garrett a few years back:<br />
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I think Edge Rusher is one the hardest positions to project, because pass rushers “lose” so many of their reps. If a DE pressures a QB once every 15 plays – not even 7% of the time – he’s going to the Pro Bowl and the offensive lineman responsible is being cut. So you’re watching a lot of guys making no impact and trying to judge who is making no impact better than the other guys. You also don’t know their responsibilities – in college in particular, edge guys are playing a contain role first on many plays. They can’t just blindly rush with half of the teams running spready college offenses (though these are becoming much more commonplace in the NFL). The only ones I was ever sure on were Khalil Mack and Myles Garrett. Am I that sure on Bosa? Not quite – I am not quite considering him a “generational” prospect to add to my short list*. But he’s in the tier of really, really good prospects right below that. He’s strong, he’s got the bend, he’s got the juice to fly around the edge and the hands to counter:<br />
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His athletic profile is nearly elite. Mix that with the bloodlines? I think he’s going to go first overall. He’s a very, very good chance at a star at a position where you don’t always see that and GMs would wade through an hourlong acid bukkake in order to take an Edge Rusher fitting that profile.<br />
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*”Generational” may be a bad term because there may be too many to literally mean generational but whatever, let’s just call it “extremely fuckin’ elite”. The list so far since I’ve paid attention is:<br />
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1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Reggie Bush (whoops)<br />
2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Calvin Johnson<br />
3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Andrew Luck<br />
4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Khalil Mack<br />
5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Myles Garrett<br />
6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Leonard Fournette (ok so I guess ignore running backs when they are on this list)<br />
7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quentin Nelson<br />
8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ndamukong Suh (forgot about him in previous iterations), and…<br />
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<b>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ARIZONA selects Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama</b><br />
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Quinnen Williams is incredible. He’s literally double teamed on like 95% of snaps (I’m not joking or even exaggerating to my knowledge) and it doesn’t matter. He just runs through them. He looks a bit like Suh did at Nebraska where if he’s not your main focus on every snap, he’s going to wreck that play. He’s also a very smart player who puts himself in great position to make plays against the run. He’s incredible. A lot of people think he’s the best player in this draft, and I obviously agree. However, Bosa is no slouch himself and plays a more “valuable” position, so Williams has to settle for 2nd this year.<br />
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(Sidenote: I had changed my mind to consider interior pressure more important but this from PFF is interesting - https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-edge-vs-interior-which-pass-rusher-reigns-supreme . They make the case that you can scheme against interior pressure more easily than against edge pressure, which is sort of counterintuitive but so are a lot of things in this world. I happen to chalk a lot of it up to worse results for the offense when edge pressure gets home but either way it’s interesting.)<br />
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<b>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>NY JETS select Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State</b><br />
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Everybody has Josh Allen as the next Edge Rusher off the board after Bosa. Well, except me. I’m not a huge fan of this year’s Edge group (sounds like a Pornhub tag), outside of Bosa and Brian Burns. And the Jets need Edge rushers. I started capitalizing that earlier and now it’s annoying that I can’t stop without being inconsistent.<br />
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Burns is the only other Edge guy in my opinion outside of Bosa who has good flexibility/bend and hand technique in this class. (This keeps getting even more Pornhub-ier). It’s not as good as Bosa’s but it comes in a more athletic body, at least according to Combine metrics. Burns has good tape and tested extremely well, so why is he being mocked in the 10s while Josh Allen gets top 5 hype? Do I just irrationally dislike all Josh Allens? I don’t know.<br />
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Regardless, Burns can bend into the QB:<br />
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…and he has the technique to counter blocks around the edge:<br />
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He also has a motor that does not quit, like a lot of the pass rushers in this class (it’s a very good year for high character guys on the field – these dudes’ motors run hot). He’s a pretty decent run defender, and he even drops back into coverage occasionally. I wouldn’t depend on it – he’s definitely best going after the QB – but he’s got the ability to do it if he lands with a 3-4 team like NYJ. (Those distinctions matter less and less now as most teams spend 70+% of their time in sub packages but whatever). Burns and Bosa are the only guys that don’t seem to get regularly held up around the edge (and maybe Chase Winovich), and to me they are the only ones I’d trust in the top 10. This guy is a player and I don’t think he’s lasting anywhere near Green Bay or wherever people are slotting him now.<br />
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<b>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>CINCINNATI trades with OAKLAND for the 4th pick.</b><br />
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CINCINNATI selects Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma<br />
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Now it’s time to really get wild with the Bengals. Those crazy cats! RAWR<br />
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Will this happen? Almost assuredly not, especially when Mike Brown remembers how much he has to pay the 4th pick.<br />
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Should this happen? Hell yeah it should. Why not?<br />
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Andy Dalton is like a thermometer. He tells you the temperature of your offense. If you have a really good offense, like the Bengals did a few years ago, Andy Dalton will play at a high level. He will, for real. But if your offense is not so good? Andy Dalton will struggle a ton. And that’s great and all but it’s been almost 10 years and it’s time to move on and look for a guy who can play well without having elite guys around him. Is Kyler Murray that guy? I don’t know…does a bear shit on another bear’s chest? Probably depends what city you’re in.<br />
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Kyler Murray presents the same issues that Marcus Mariota and Bob Griffin III and Baker Mayfield presented….they play in an offense so good that it’s very tough to determine how good they are really playing. Guys are WIDE the f open regularly, teams barely play any defense in the conference, and the offensive line keeps the QB clean for minutes at a time. These are relatively typical windows that Murray is throwing into:<br />
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Those windows are big enough for Antonio Brown to throw furniture through them.<br />
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He’s certainly very accurate into these windows, and he does obviously have to throw into tighter windows at times and often does so quite well. It’s not that he doesn’t necessarily have the capability to do it, it’s that there aren’t that many instances to project him as confidently as a guy like Jameis Winston, who was regularly throwing balls through glory holes to plodding wide receivers running 12 yard curls. And we all see how that has turned out, so in the end who the hell knows what’s going to happen.<br />
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In addition to the windows that are naturally created by the offensive scheme, the Oklahoma team is just completely stacked. They have NFL guys all over this offense. One of them is Marquise Brown, who threatens every single defense that doesn’t focus on him with a 70 yard TD every single play. Another is Cody Ford, part of a line that just manhandles defenses and generally gives Murray hours to throw. And they’ve got Rodney Anderson, a running back who has first round tape but will fall in this draft due to injury. They are stacked, just like last year, just like when Baker Mayfield put up crazy stats throwing into the same windows. Just like when Mariota did the same at Oregon. While we may be cursed to never knowing how good Marcus Mariota is or isn’t, Baker Mayfield is already on a Hall of Fame level trajectory, so none of this means you can’t take Kyler Murray high. It didn’t mean you couldn’t take Aaron Rodgers high, and it didn’t mean you couldn’t take Kyle Boller high. All of these guys are risks and traditional QBs – like Winston – also bust. So do guards and corners and everyone else. You’re just less confident in your projection is all.<br />
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Murray has a great arm – naturally, as I don’t know if you’ve heard but he also played baseball. It’s really easy to compare him to Russell Wilson, but – he looks just like Russell Wilson. He doesn’t have the cannon that Wilson had, but he throws with more touch. He’s much more tethered to the pocket than Wilson, who runs away from clean pockets like they are trying to have premarital sex with him (which may be height related), and he is absolutely dangerous when he takes off and runs. And unlike say Lamar Jackson, he doesn’t really take big hits. He’s a very smart runner. Was this ideal 15 years ago? No, but outside of Ja Rule being relevant in the news, it’s not 15 years ago. Teams run different offenses that are more college-y and friendlier to QBs who run around, especially for ones who can sneak into your house through the doggy door. Just because Murray is usually looking to throw first doesn’t mean he won’t take off running for no reason at times:<br />
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Running against a three man rush, into the defensive end:<br />
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Running outside into pressure and forcing a throwaway when he could have made throwing room by stepping up:<br />
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But even when he does run needlessly, it often has good results. However, that’s not necessarily the case in the NFL, as Lamar Jackson quickly discovered. But Lamar Jackson learned, and so can Murray. Even if Charlie Casserly thinks he’s disinterested or whatever. Maybe the baseball thing will scare teams off, I don’t know. I’m assuming it won’t.<br />
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Murray is going to be a nightmare to defend against, if even a little of his throwing ability goes along with him and translates to the NFL. And we are picking nits with him, to some degree. If he does have one major flaw, though, to me it’s his tendency to randomly just heave balls into coverage sometimes (particularly when pressured).<br />
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Against Alabama, the guys weren’t wide open, the running lanes weren’t there, and Murray struggled. So it’s definitely a concern. But all of these guys have concerns, every year. And it’s Alabama. They’re pretty awesome. I think the pros outweigh the cons and a team like Cincinnati, who is kind of trapped in NFL purgatory (I’m talking about a middle-tier team with a meh QB, not “Ohio”) – if they see a shot to go up and get a top QB, they should take it.<br />
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<b>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>TAMPA BAY selects Devin White, ILB, LSU</b><br />
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Tough spot for Tampa Bay, but I don’t see much of a move out for them here. Since ILB is a huge need for them and since there are no Edge guys here that I like enough to take at 5th, I’ll just keep them in this spot for Devin White.<br />
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White has some concerns with his processing, just like every single other ILB in this class and arguably in most classes, but his athleticism is just insane. He’s the fastest, strongest guy on the field. He looks like Fournette playing linebacker.<br />
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Every year it’s “oh this LB struggles getting off blocks” – well yeah, they pretty much all do when 300+ pound guards square them up. Ray Lewis struggled at getting off blocks, too. Leighton Vander Esch was running around Boise last year crushin’ hoes, slowly reading his keys and occasionally getting stuck on blocks but when he saw the ball and was able to sneak through the trash, he would run to it and tackle the shit out of it. Now he’s doing that in Dallas at an All-Pro level (the hoes too probably). I think White could do the same thing. He’s one of my favorite players in this year’s draft.<br />
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The mental processing thing could be a problem, sure – but I don’t think it’s bad enough to drop him (unlike with Devin Bush). He’s seek and destroy.<br />
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<b>6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>NY GIANTS select Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State</b><br />
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Now it’s time to start doing dumb stuff.<br />
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Montez Sweat KILLED the Combine. He murdered it. (https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/montez-sweat)<br />
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But he doesn’t play like that.<br />
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Sweat is strong as an ox (regardless of what the bench press result indicates) and will push offensive linemen right back into the QB’s lap or just throw them on the ground pretty regularly. Watch him bury this K-State tackle alive (Dalton Risner, who I have late in this mock):<br />
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So, strong rusher with speed and quickness, right? What’s not to love!<br />
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Well, if you didn’t know what Sweat’s timed athleticism indicated, you’d think he was an average athlete at best. There’s no bend. There’s no cornering ability. Not really any burst. Not much of a motor. Nothing special in terms of technique. He’s a complete athletic projection.<br />
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He’s slow to turn into the QB. He’s rigid and uncomfortable coming off the corner. He let up well before the play was over. He runs like Shaq Lawson. I do not like Montez Sweat at all in this draft.<br />
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But – some team will. His athletic profile is just that gaudy that some team is going to overdraft him and hope that they can harness it into an elite Edge Rusher. And maybe they can – hell, the Giants did it with JPP once. But I think that’s the exception. Montez Sweat reminds me of Josh Sweat from last year (not sure if there’s any relation). Despite what the metrics suggest, they just aren’t overly impressive on the field going after the QB. So yeah, I totally think this is a Gettleman move. I don’t think they are going to draft a QB this year either. Eli’s time to shine, baby!<br />
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<b>7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>JACKSONVILLE selects TJ Hockenson, TE, Iowa</b><br />
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This is a tough one to predict, as Jacksonville can go in a lot of different ways. But as teams suddenly start to remember how valuable do-it-all tight ends can be, why not take one if you’re a team like Jacksonville with a lot of holes to address offensively?<br />
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Hockenson is a 5-star TE prospect just like OJ Howard was. He can block very well (though some of the hype is getting a tad ridiculous – he’s not a left tackle), and to me he often actually looks more explosive as a receiver than Noah Fant. Tight ends that are instant mismatches the moment they step onto the field are so rare and valuable, so I don’t think 7th overall is too high to take one.<br />
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<b>8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>DETROIT selects Greedy Williams, CB, LSU</b><br />
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It seems like the city of Detroit has needed a corner for almost as long as it’s needed functioning infrastructure, so once again I’ll mock one to them in the first.<br />
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Greedy Williams is a big, rangy, ballhawkish, athletic specimen of a corner who is going to get taken in spite of some red flags that might push down lesser corners. His technique is often poor and just looks lazy off the snap – if he had Denzel Ward’s feet we’d arrest him because that would be an awful crime. Jk jk if he had Ward’s feet he might be an All-Pro lock. He loses focus at times and gets beat at the end of plays. But for the most part, he just overcomes the footwork issue and jogs alongside WRs, absolutely blanketing them. It is insane for someone this size to turn and run and change direction as smoothly as Tre’Davious White, but Williams does.<br />
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He’s just like, jogging with those guys and blanketing them. He’s also got a huge wingspan to knock away deep passes and he finds and takes away the ball if you give him a chance. His tape isn’t quite as good as Byron Murphy’s, but he’s such a rare athlete who actually translates his athleticism to the field that he’s probably going to be taken much earlier.<br />
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<b>9.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>BUFFALO selects Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida</b><br />
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The Bills can go in a multitude of ways here, as the roster is not all that great up in Buffalo. They can absolutely take defense to keep that side of the ball strong, because if it is not strong, they will fuckin’ suck. Or they can help out Josh Allen – either with a pass catching option, or a blocker. (Dark horse might be TJ Hockenson if he’s available). I’m going to go the blocker route, as their offensive line last year was mostly devoid of actual talent.<br />
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Mainly, I really like their OC and after they dropped the dead weight that is Kelvin Benjamin – who probably got his name because he contributes absolute zero to your offense – they were able to scheme their undrafted scrub WRs open quite regularly, especially with Allen’s mobility stressing defenses so much and buying them time. Robert Foster may be a nobody but he’s fast and he got open deep so who cares what his pedigree is? Take the massive tackle and give Allen even more time to run around.<br />
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Jawaan Taylor is a massive, strong tackle who moves people like Ronnie Stanley but can actually move. Here he is (#65) pushing Kentucky’s DT into the Gulf:<br />
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Don’t overdraft DK Metcalf because he’s fast when you need linemen so badly and a guy like Taylor is available. And I don’t think Buffalo will.<br />
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<b>10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>DENVER selects Drew Lock, QB, Missouri</b><br />
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Initially I had Denver trading up for Lock, but after taking Murray out of the top spot it just felt too forced, almost like Joe Flacco threw it. Also – the last like a million first round QBs that haven’t gone 1st or 2nd overall had been picked by teams that traded up to do so. Just seems like the current meta. Oh well. All things end eventually.<br />
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I buy the Denver/Lock stuff, and I can’t see how Elway can actually go through a full season with the current iteration of Joey Flaccs as his QB. He can’t, right? I don’t think he can. Prove me wrong, Johnny!<br />
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So the Broncos will take a QB here because, well, because they kind of have to. And the more I watch of Lock, the more I like him. The arm is exceptional – he just effortlessly flicks the ball downfield like a dart. His deep accuracy is generally really good. He doesn’t flinch in the face of pressure:<br />
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He’s often holding the ball as long as possible, looking for a throw to open up. He’s like Ben Roethlisberger in that regard. I’ve seen him get compared also to Josh Allen for the arm strength and I can kind of see like a boring version of Allen where the big arm is there (but isn’t quite as good), the bouts of inaccuracy are there but not nearly as often, and the timed athleticism is there from the Combine measurements. However, with Lock, outside of the weird misses, he’s generally quite accurate (when set and when on the run). But, on the flipside, the athleticism absolutely does not show up on the field and he is no threat to run. I don’t know if this is potentially related to his seemingly slower processing before making throws. Maybe he just doesn’t like running. I know I don’t. Cardio is dumb.<br />
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The obliviousness to pressure is not always a good thing, as he often seems incapable of getting rid of the ball quickly almost as if he simply can’t process as fast as say a Tom Brady or Phil Rivers type (see above), but it’s worked for guys like Roethlisberger and so far to a degree Allen, though they may be outliers. I’d still take a shot on the tools that Lock has over trotting fuckin’ Joe Flacco out there, and he may improve these deficiencies as he progresses in the NFL.<br />
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One knock against Lock was that he put his numbers up against weak competition. And he did, but watching some of his bad games, he often got ZERO help from his receivers. They were awful. So it’s hard to tell how much is on the supporting cast and how much is on Lock (he certainly wasn’t blameless in those games, particularly v. Alabama).<br />
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<b>11.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>OAKLAND selects D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss</b><br />
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This is stupid and won’t happen but it hasn’t stopped me before. I don’t know…it seems Raidery. Even Grudenny. Big fast freak athlete WR surprisingly around at pick 11….why not?<br />
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The why not is because Metcalf doesn’t really seem to play receiver all that well. His routes are often weird feet jumbling, he’ll just kind of stop on comeback routes, he struggles sometimes to get by press coverage…all things that would seem to indicate that the impossibly slow agility times he registered at the Combine may actually mean something. Like for real, what the fuck is this Pac-Man shit?<br />
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I’ve never seen anything quite that extreme. Justin Hunter and to a degree Sammie Coates – two guys that can’t effectively run routes and consistently get open in the NFL if they can’t just run in a straight line – are similar to this. But not nearly as extreme. Might Calvin Johnson look like this if he ran agility drills at his Combine? He might…but Metcalf probably ain’t Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson was smoother, he caught the ball better, he had better body control – I just don’t know if Metcalf is good enough at everything else to be a top NFL receiver. Now he might be – there are flashes that suggest that maybe he can – but I wouldn’t want to risk it. Sure, if you take Metcalf you aren’t drafting him to run curls but – with the exception of a few guys, NFL corners can stay with rigid fast receivers. Justin Hunter, Darrius Heyward-Bey types? Not a problem for them, no matter how fast they are. DeAndre Hopkins is an example of a receiver working out with bad agility metrics but nobody in the world outside of Cirque du Soleil has the body control that Hopkins has. I liked Metcalf at first, but the more I watch the more afraid I’d be to take him high.<br />
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But Grudes probably won’t. And I mean, they could certainly use a downfield receiver in that offense, assuming Derek Carr can regain the confidence to actually throw downfield again (he’s been ruined by that leg injury and sees ghosts). Put this awkwardly fast motherfucker in some spiked shoulder pads!<br />
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12.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>WASHINGTON trades with GREEN BAY for the 12th pick<br />
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WASHINGTON selects Dwayne Haskins, QB, The Heroin State University<br />
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Alex Smith has become Barbaro. He is done, unfortunately. Even if he weren’t in his 30s I don’t believe he’d come back from that, and if he did he wouldn’t be effective. So the Redskins need to start planning to acquire their next QB.<br />
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And if the draft falls this way? If the Giants inexplicably decide to go all-in on the late-stage Eli era? They have to go up and get Haskins, IMO. Yeah, they need a wide receiver, but without a QB what the fuck is a wide receiver going to do for you?<br />
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Last year, analytics/accuracy type stats had Baker Mayfield incredibly highly ranked relative to past prospects. And this year? Some have Haskins even higher. His numbers were absolutely remarkable and he checks just about every box you look for in a traditional drop-back style QB. He’s got a good arm, he makes good decisions, he fits the ball into tight windows, he's money on 10-15 yard sideline throws, he throws WRs open and hits them in stride to create YAC, he creates windows for them, etc. etc.<br />
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But he’s got a few flags. One, which isn’t really his fault and not something that should be weighted heavily (in my opinion at least) is that he was only a one-year starter. That hurts him in a lot of statistical projections that take that into account, as there is not a large track record of one-year college starters coming into the NFL and having success. However, that may be a relic from an older era. Here are the guys taken in the first round since 2009 who were one-year starters in college:<br />
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Mitch Trubisky<br />
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Cam Newton<br />
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Mark Sanchez<br />
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There’s not really much of a sample size there to tell you anything. Sanchez was generally a bust, Trubisky is too early in his career to judge and Cam Newton has been a successful NFL QB whether you like him or not. I can live with this. Kyler Murray is going to be in the same boat but nobody is really talking about it with him.<br />
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Second flag is that Haskins panics a bit against pressure, though the more I watched of his the less convinced I am that this is a significant problem for him. He’s not Alex Smith or Derek Carr out there. He’ll occasionally just bail out of a clean pocket at racewalking speed straight ahead (bro you ain't Kyler Murray) or throw blindly falling backwards but it’s not a common occurrence for him. Another thing to consider is that Urban Meyer ran an archaic offense for him that looked like something out of a Madden playbook – all slants, a bunch of drags and crossing routes – that made things more difficult than they were for say, Murray or Will Grier. Teams also blitzed the shit out of Haskins, which lead to a ton of quick pressure and his only options were some slants to mostly covered WRs. Did teams blitz Haskins because of this or because of what they thought of Haskins? Teams will go after QBs that don’t handle pressure well and make quick reads, but I thought Haskins generally did this. But the offense didn’t really threaten them, and then that dovetails with Haskins’ third and most significant flag to me. He’s not a good deep thrower.<br />
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Short and intermediate, Haskins throws dimes. He’ll fit great balls into tight windows on the sidelines or over the middle. But deep balls? He’s just consistently inaccurate and leaves a ton of plays on the field. Against Purdue OSU struggled and Haskins struggled particularly with his deep ball and against pressure, which Purdue ratcheted up and OSU had no counter for. I couldn’t GIF that game because the video was too long but many of this deep balls are just woefully off target.<br />
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Can he improve this? I think so. He was after all only a one year starter. Teddy Bridgewater was somewhat similar in his skillset to Haskins (plus some speed and minus the arm), and he struggled going deep downfield early in his career. But word was that he worked on this and greatly improved it aaaaaaand then he shredded every ligament in his knee taking a snap. Considering the offense and his inexperience, Haskins’ season was very impressive and I think he should go higher than this, but I think he’ll slide a bit. Looking at the Purdue game, he really wasn’t all that bad outside of a few plays. It wasn’t a meltdown by any stretch. And he’s the last QB left in this draft, at least as a first round option. Daniel Jones can’t hit anything further than 10 yards downfield and melts down at a hint of pressure. Brett Rypien floats the ball around, also panics and every 5th play throws the ball right at a defender. Tyree Jackson takes 10 seconds to windup and throw the ball. Gardner Minshew is a type of fish you can buy at an exotic market. Maybe Will Grier if his arm is strong enough can have some NFL success, but to me, there’s three guys this year if you need a QB. And the Redskins need a QB, so they should go up and get the last one left.<br />
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<b>13.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>OAKLAND trades with MIAMI for the 13th pick</b><br />
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OAKSVEGAS selects Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky<br />
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This is already stupid and not going to happen. Oakland isn’t going to turn the 4th, 24th and 27th picks into the 11th, 13th, Bengals first in 2020 and Bengals mid-rounders. And Josh Allen is most likely going to be long-gone here (probably even to the Raiders at 4th overall). But:<br />
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• I think the Dolphins will (or at least should) trade out of this spot. They are clear about their intent to tear the whole thing down so why not get some more picks?<br />
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• I don’t see all the top-5 pick stuff with Allen. I just don’t. He has his moments, and he’s a great athlete, but so many of his sacks are unblocked or coverage/chasedown sacks. He doesn’t beat a tackle one-on-one all that often. It certainly happens and he was really good against Missouri, but it’s not a consistent thing like it is with Burns and Bosa.<br />
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This doesn’t mean I think that Allen is bad, I just don’t think I’d want to spend a top 15 pick on a guy who mostly wins like that. And he is relentless.<br />
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That’s a first round play. He’s also particularly good with inside moves.<br />
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But I don’t think he does it enough to project as a star in the NFL. He’s too often handled pretty easily by one guy if he doesn’t blow right by the tackle.<br />
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I don’t know. There’s got to be a reason he’s projected as a lock top 5 pick. Maybe I just don’t like Josh Allens. Kentucky also used him a ton in coverage or as an edge run defender, so he’s a great fit for a 3-4 team. And a ton of college tackles say he was their least favorite player to play against. I just don’t think the consistency is there to warrant a top-10 pick.<br />
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<b>14.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ATLANTA selects Rashan Gary, DT/EDGE, Michigan</b><br />
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It’s almost universally set in stone to mock Ed Oliver to the Falcons. And to put Rashan Gary in the top 10. Ed Oliver is such a rare athlete at the position that he’s likely going to go in the top 10 himself, but I’m buying the hype that he’ll slip and I also don’t see it when I watch him.<br />
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As for Gary, he’s the freak athlete without the production. But, in my opinion, this is because he was miscast at Michigan as almost like a 3-4 DE edge rusher. He shouldn’t be doing that. He should be wrecking shop inside. That’s what he’s good at, that’s what he profiles best as athletically, and that’s what Atlanta needs. I don’t understand why everyone considers Gary to be an outside rusher.<br />
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<b>15.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>GREEN BAY selects Nasir Adderley, FS, Delaware</b><br />
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Adderley is one of my favorite prospects this year and Green Bay needs a centerfield safety. I don’t see Adderley lasting nearly as long as most people do – if you want him, I think you have to take him top 20 minimum.<br />
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He’s not the biggest safety but he sure plays like it.<br />
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I know these are 1-AA opponents but I’ve never seen anything like that second play. He also has the range and ball skills to play single-high.<br />
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He’s not quite Malik Hooker but Malik Hooker didn’t have a tenth of the physicality that Adderley plays with. He’s also got the bloodlines (Herb Adderley). I understand that the competition is a concern but 1-AA guys are not just complete scrubs or anything.<br />
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NFL teams have been devaluing safeties for awhile now and I don’t understand it. Earl Thomas made Seattle’s defenses go. Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed used to take over games from that spot. Stop throwing Chris Contes back there.<br />
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<b>16.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>CAROLINA selects Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State</b><br />
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Carolina needs guys on both lines and in my opinion the best one available here is on the offensive line, though if this actually happens I think they’d take Ed Oliver. I don’t want to re-do my whole draft though, so suck it.<br />
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Dillard has incredibly light feet for a tackle, and he just effortlessly stays with defenders. He might be the best pure pass blocker in this year’s draft. I think he goes a lot higher than people expect him to. Peter Warrick also robbed him once, which is cool.<br />
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<b>17.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>NEW YORK GIANTS select Byron Murphy, CB, Washington</b><br />
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New York continues their 5 year send-off to Eli and takes another defensive player. This one though I actually like. Murphy is aggressive as all hell, he’s like the Honey Badger playing corner. He has great technique, great change of direction ability, and he is a ballhawk.<br />
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So why’s he falling to 17? Well, he ran a slowish 40 and he’s not very big. That’s great – Eli Apple was pretty big for a corner and ran a good 40. Maybe go in the other direction this time. Murphy is going to be a really, really good corner for the Giants for a few years until they trade him for a 2nd rounder.<br />
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<b>18.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>MINNESOTA selects Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma</b><br />
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If Minnesota doesn’t take an offensive lineman this year, then the franchise should be moved. This team has had a good line one year of the past like 5 or so, and in that year they went to the NFCCG with a scrub QB. Keenum was the Case that they gave us! So maybe address that?<br />
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I don’t like Kirk Cousins but that’s the direction they’ve gone in so you might as well protect him just a little bit. And there is no better way to start building that wall than to take a massive road-grader like Cody Ford. (Sidenote: there should definitely be a site called RoadGraders where offensive linemen just rate streets). This is the team that gave us Phil Loadholt! So go back and get another mastodon from Oklahoma and actually block some people every once in awhile.<br />
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Ford isn’t quite Loadholt – he can move a little bit. He’s projected to potentially be a guard in the NFL but Minnesota doesn’t just need one spot. They need an entire line save for their center. So in true Bryant McKinnie fashion, they should just start filling holes with anything that fits.<br />
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<b>19.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>TENNESSEE selects Noah Fant, TE, Iowa</b><br />
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Noah Fant tested out of the building in Indianapolis. Well – he did the tests inside the building but you know what I mean. His blocking is often knocked but I think it’s just fine. He’s a fine blocker as an inline tight end. He’s not Hockenson but who is?<br />
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Tennessee can go in a bunch of ways but I think tight end is a sneaky need there. Delanie Walker (if he’s even still there) is rapidly declining and Mariota throws to him a ton. In theory I think this makes a lot of sense.<br />
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I just don’t see the explosiveness with Fant that I’m supposed to. I still think he’ll be good, don’t get me wrong. And he’s a better prospect than Eric Ebron, but Ebron is who I think of because with both of them, I just didn’t see all of the vertical ability that I expected to see. Maybe he’ll turn into a version of LaDarius Green who can block and whose brain hasn’t been melted by headshots yet.<br />
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<b>20.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>PITTSBURGH selects Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State</b><br />
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I know that people are talking the Steelers going after Devin Bush – even trading up to get him – but I just can’t mock that. That is my nightmare scenario. Everything I read says it will happen if he is available. But I don’t want to do it. Hopefully I’m wrong and he’s awesome. Alright moving on.<br />
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The Steelers really need defense, but they also need a receiver now that Antonio Brown went nuclear and got sent ahtta tahn. Yinz don’t want tah reach for defense – why not instead go get thaht big kid Hakeem Butler ahtta I-wah State? If the board falls like this, this would be my preference.<br />
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And not just any receiver. There’s only one I’d want to take over Chauncey Gardner-Johnson or even Chase Winovich/whoever else is left. And that’s Butler. You just don’t see 6’6” beasts running sub 4.5, getting separation on deep balls and catching everything within 10 feet over DB’s heads. And when I say catching everything – I mean difficult catches, which Butler’s QB at Iowa State regularly created for him. The big knock on Butler is that he drops easy catches, and while it’s true, a “dropsy” WR is only dropping a few more balls a season than a sure-handed WR, generally. Butler is so good at everything else that I can live with the concentration drops.<br />
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That shit is B-A-N-A-N-A-S. It’s all kinds of fruit. That shit is like melons or cantaloupes or something. Out of the slot (which he can do just as well as he can play outside), Butler just eats up the safeties cushion immediately and strides 2 yards past him effortlessly. His shitty QB decides to throw this ball to his 8 foot tall receiver downfield clear of the entire defense on a low trajectory, and Butler stops, jumps over the safety and catches it in front of him, throws the dude into the law building and strolls in for a TD. He might be able to fix Dwayne Haskins’ deep ball problem by himself. He also quite commonly blocks DBs out of the screen.<br />
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Another thing about drops – when they are measured over a season, they can be sample size outliers. Mike Wallace for one caught most easy balls early in his career, then he had a season where he dropped a ton, then it leveled out. Jerry Rice dropped a shit-ton of passes his rookie year. So I’m not even confident in saying that this is going to be a long-term issue with Butler. Everything else he does is awesome and I think he’s the best WR in this class. The only holdup I’d have is the seeming tendency for the best WRs in draft classes to come later in the draft. Looking at some top WRs, you’ve got Julio Jones, AJ Green, OBJ and Mike Evans as top of the first round guys who went on to live up to expectations. I’ll throw DeAndre Hopkins in there too. But other than them, you’ve got:<br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Antonio Brown: 6th<br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keenan Allen: 3rd<br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Adam Thielen: Undrafted<br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michael Thomas: 2nd, 6th WR off the board<br />
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Tyreek Hill: 4th, but of course that’s because he beat the shit out of his pregnant girlfriend soooo we’ll just ignore him for the time being<br />
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Davante Adams: 2nd round, 9th WR taken<br />
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Stefon Diggs: 4th<br />
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I don’t know if this is common, but it seems like the wide receiver position is full of guys outside of the top 3 prospects or so turning out to be the best players. And this year’s draft class is full of mid-round guys who have the ability and/or tools to potentially add themselves to that list. Still, I like Butler enough to buck that trend and I also think that the Steelers offense does not properly function without this component and they need to make sure that they have it this year.<br />
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<b>21.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>SEATTLE selects Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, FS, Florida</b><br />
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CGJ is a “late-riser”, which generally means that he wakes up late in the mornings but actually in this case means people actually started watching and adjusting the meaningless lists that Mel Kiper puts out in May and the Yahoos and CBSSportslines of the world just run with. He’s a jack of all trades but he’s actually good at the trades, which makes him quite valuable. This past year he improved a ton and showed that he can indeed tackle people. He can play nickel corner quite effectively. He’s a good safety either in cover 2 or single high. He may not be the best at any of these but he’s a guy who can effectively do all of them. And with offenses creating advantages through personnel mismatches, that is something that I would value very highly in today’s game. Players like CGJ allow defenses to be more fluid in matching these packages.<br />
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So no he’s not Earl Thomas, but that doesn’t mean that Seattle doesn’t need safety help in a bad way and he’s a good safety soooooo yeah they should probably do this. They’ve become the Legion of Whom.<br />
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<b>22.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>BALTIMORE selects N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State</b><br />
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Will Baltimore even like, actually address the wide receiver position? It’s like they tried one time, ended up with Breshad Perriman and got scared off forever. They can’t keep signing retreads and drafting 40 year old tight ends. Actually they probably can but humor me.<br />
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N’Keal Harry is in the Butler mold in that he’s a big receiver who wins at the catch point. And man does he ever win at the catch point. Every ball to Harry seems to be a crazy catch on the sideline over a guy’s facemask. 50/50 balls are 90/10 balls.<br />
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But that’s my problem with him. Every single catch, unless it’s a short slant or screen, is a contested catch. There is no separation. That was my problem with James Washington, who I didn’t really like even though he caught everything with a corner draped all over him. Is that sustainable in the NFL? I don’t think it is except for extreme cases. Michael Crabtree is like the best non-separating WR I can think of. It worked for Fat Kelvin Benjamin for a season but when you’re never open, you aren’t likely to be that effective. And Harry is rarely open.<br />
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His 40 time is fine for his size, but he didn’t run agility drills and perhaps there was a reason for that. I mean….this isn’t a route:<br />
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This is a route at least but not a particularly good one:<br />
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Yeah, it worked, but I’m chalking that up to awful corner play more than I’m crediting the route. Do you think Denzel Ward or Greedy Williams get fooled by that route? Hell, Greedy actually went up against DK Metcalf this year – another guy with shoddy routes – and absolutely locked him down. Metcalf had no shot against Greedy. Harry has better WR skills and body control/contested-catching ability than Metcalf no doubt, but I’d expect a similar result.<br />
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Harry to me is like Brandon Marshall or Juju Smith-Schuster, but those guys just seemed to get a LOT more separation than Harry does. He’s an amazing contested catch guy who is also surprising good after the catch, just like those two, but I don’t think that alone is the best way to make a living as an NFL receiver. Can he learn to run better routes to get himself open? Sure. A lot of guys do. But there’s certainly some risk there. In the touchdown catch above, the choppy feet are evident. Good NFL route runners make strong moves to get corners off balance and then use suddenness to get by them – these are NFL corners and some of the best athletes on Earth. They aren’t going to be fooled by some choppy feet. I don’t know if Harry has agility limitations preventing him from doing this or if he just hasn’t learned. A lot of WRs don’t and that’s IMO why the bust rate is so high at the position.<br />
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Finally, a lot of the new era QBs want to see guys open before they throw the ball, and Lamar Jackson is one of those QBs. Will he even throw contested balls to Harry as a matter of routine if he’s not getting separation? I don’t know. I’ve never bought into that “let’s get a jump ball WR!!!” trope because most QBs don’t want to blindly heave interceptable passes as part of their offense.<br />
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Now, I like Harry a lot more than I let on. He’s really effective after the catch, and he’s a monster at the catchpoint. I’d just rather have a guy like Hakeem Butler who can do all of that, and on top of it is also getting open downfield. But Hakeem Butler is gone and Baltimore needs a receiver and now that I write all of this out I think they go defense here and draft a receiver in the 2nd or 3rd rounds – or shit, even draft Marquise Brown or Parris Campbell here in the first – but I’ve already written out the draft order and made my GIFs (pronounced “yiffs” with a soft G) and I don’t really want to change it right now.<br />
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(EDIT: Harry ran agility drills at his Pro Day and they were just fine. I have no idea why he is so coverable).<br />
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<b>23.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>HOUSTON selects Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama</b><br />
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Houston is like Minnesota. They are selecting an offensive lineman come hell or high water. Actually scratch that – high water already came through and they still need offensive linemen. So I’m just going to give them the highest one on a list in Jonah Williams.<br />
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I’m not the biggest fan of Jonah Williams, and I’m making him my annual Riley Reiff top tackle draft fall this year, but he’s still solid and the Texans will take that. I don’t think he’s all that great matching speed rushers but I thought similar things about Mike McGlinchey last year and it turns out he’s awesome so what do I know. I guess lines screw up my judgment. I’m basically Darryl Strawberry.<br />
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<b>24.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>OAKLAND selects</b><br />
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Wait a second. I had Oakland trade with Miami. I think they’d probably have to give up both first rounders to do so. You know what? Let’s say they give up one of the first rounders, plus a 2nd and maybe another 2nd next year. Yeah. Let’s do that, because I already planned all of this shit out.<br />
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<b>OAKLAND selects Devin Bush, ILB, Michigan</b><br />
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Devin Bush is supposedly a lock for top 20 and potentially a top 10 pick after he blew up the Combine. I certainly don’t see it. He looks like an average-to-decent ILB. His highlight tapes aren’t even really that impressive. I don’t think he’s all that good in coverage. He occasionally shoots gaps and makes stops in the backfield but it’s not like he does a ton of it.<br />
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Now, I often say that I think ILB block-shedding ability and ability to diagnose plays is overrated, because most ILBs don’t just stack and shed blocks on the regular – these are 300 pound guards who are generally going to move you if they get their hands on you – and a lot of college players don’t really read keys all that well. They are new at it. Good players sort through the trash and get to the ball more often than not. Leighton Vander Esch last year was an example of this – he wasn’t great at shedding blocks and he didn’t diagnose plays all that quickly, but once he did he AVOIDED blocks and got to the ball for the tackle. And I thought that was enough for him to develop into a good ILB. I didn’t think he’d do so this quickly, but here we are. Ryan Shazier was similar. But Bush, in addition to just not having nearly the same level of splash as those guys, often times doesn’t seem to even realize what sport he’s playing.<br />
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That’s a two play sequence where first he just runs himself out of the play immediately, which, honestly, happens a lot, but in conjunction with the very next play, where he just kind of freezes while every single other player on his defense runs to the ball – the other linebacker actually passing him on the way – this is your first round ILB? He’s got a bunch of plays like this and I don’t like that in an ILB I’m going to take in the first round. He seems a bit slow or hesitant to process and ends up getting caught up in the mess.<br />
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The good? Well, he’s a great athlete, he’s got a great motor, he’s pretty good slipping through blocks if he reads the play well, he’s a good tackler, there’s definitely stuff about him to like. Here’s another misread, but this one includes a strong finish:<br />
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I would draft Bush in the 2nd, sure. But I wouldn’t want to take a first round shot on that without a huge reel of explosive game-changing type of plays to counter it. Someone will though, and it will probably be well before this pick that it happens.<br />
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<b>25.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>PHILADELPHIA selects Ed Oliver, DT, Houston</b><br />
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If I do a version 2, which I plan to do – if R. Kelly can do 33 chapters of Trapped in the Closet then I can do a few mock drafts – Ed Oliver will go much earlier than this. He’s simply too good of an athlete – his shuttle time from his Pro Day was faster than that of 10 cornerbacks during this year’s Combine. He did like 100 reps on the bench press. He also ate 47 hot dogs in 10 minutes and his WIFI achieved a 372.3 Mbps download speed. He’s ridiculous. Here he is pretending to be Bruce Lee:<br />
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https://twitter.com/i/status/1088277926670405633<br />
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So why isn’t he still a top 5 lock like he was before this past season started?<br />
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Well, one reason is because this happens like every single year. He’s an example from 2016, mocking the 2017 draft right after the 2016 draft concluded:<br />
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https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2637164-2017-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-way-too-early-predictions#slide5<br />
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It has Deshaun Watson going 1st. He fell to 12th. Carl Lawson is second – he went in the 4th round. (And perhaps Matt Miller was on to something as he’s been a steal for the Bengals). Brad Kaaya went in the top 5. Brad Kaaya! These early mocks are just best guesses by guys who have to fill the NFL draft vacuum before anyone has really even gone back to look at these guys in detail.<br />
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Another reason is that Ed Oliver wasn’t as impressive this past season as he was in 2017. However, I’ve read that he was hurt for most of this past year – shades of Stephon Tuitt – so that would be something that needs to be taken into consideration.<br />
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And the third and final reason is that I’m just a fake horse on Twitter who watches like 15 minutes max of most of these guys and doesn’t a) know what I’m doing or b) have a full frame of reference to compare these performances against. To me, Oliver is like Ryan Shazier in that while his highlight tapes stand out like Bill O’Reilly getting motherfuckin’ iced tea in Harlem, his standard game tapes don’t really show that same consistency. I didn’t see it like I did with say Aaron Donald, who was bringing it on every play and just wrecking shop. But it worked out for Shazier, and I think a team drafting much earlier than 25th is going to take a shot on the plays that go like this:<br />
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The Eagles build their teams on the lines, and I don’t think the lack of a clear open spot would be enough to keep them from taking Ed Oliver if he were available. I didn’t believe the Josh Jacobs smoke even before they traded for Jordan Howard – I think they would do something like this before they drafted a running back in the first this year.<br />
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<b>26.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>INDIANAPOLIS selects Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame</b><br />
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I’ve already planned this out and written most of it – and it takes forever – so I’m not really apt to change it mid-stream. In this case, I’m considering having the Colts move up, maybe even trading with Miami, to get a falling Ed Oliver. They need some beasts in the front 7 in the worst way and Oliver would potentially go a long way towards addressing that. They also need some help in the secondary, but I think they’ll continue with the path they took on offense and strengthen the line first.<br />
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I don’t know why Christian Wilkins and particularly Jeffrey Simmons are getting more hype than Tillery. Wilkins looks like just a guy to me, and Simmons is like Robert Kraft in that he spends most of his weekends getting immediately blown off the ball.<br />
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Tillery, however, he’s the one that’s doing the blowing. Wait…uhhh what? Nevermind.<br />
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“I AM THE ONE WHO BLOWS!” – Jerry GD Tillery<br />
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I have seen a bunch of examples of Tillery just destroying offensive linemen – the one above is the first example I could find quickly because I apparently didn’t save a few of these GIFs when I first made them. He’s just walking the guard back into the QB’s lap and then showing the quickness and anti-Nkemdiche-an presence of mind to disengage and find the ball. This is a guy who is bring it every play and in this game really speeding up Stanford’s offensive process. He’s also really good at getting through double teams (this is where I think he shines the most over Christian Wilkins) and shows really developed pass rush technique and hands. He even has outside rush moves, though the interior moves are incredible.<br />
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I’m just realizing that Tillery got 4 sacks in this game, which is more than half of his season total, so maybe it’s not truly representative of his ability. But he looks like a top 10 talent in that game and it’s more about pressure and disruption than sacks or tackles, and Tillery is disruptive and, uh, pressurey as hell. His athletic tests are good, too. He’s kinda like a version of Malik McDowell that has his head on straight.<br />
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<b>27.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>MIAMI selects Garrett Bradbury, IOL, NC State</b><br />
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I think I screwed up the trading, but anyway Miami ends up with this pick at least. I think they are going to trade down potentially a long ways in order to secure a bunch of draft capital, as they are clear about this rebuild. This isn’t a standard Miami rebuild where they just get like botox and some fake tits. They are ripping this shit to the studs.<br />
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And the first area that sticks out to me as an area that they need to address is the offensive line. It’s killed their team in the recent years when they were halfway decent and they haven’t really done much to improve it. So they need like, do that. And Bradbury won the Rimming Trophy, so he should fit in just fine in South Florida.<br />
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<i>Ed’s note: Bradbury won the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top lineman. He did not win the Rimming Trophy, which is given anally.</i><br />
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Bradbury is a mean, dominant center who is also athletically elite for the position. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he goes 10 picks earlier to Minnesota.<br />
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<b>28.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>LOS ANGELES CHARGERS select Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State</b><br />
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I’m sure LA would like to add a DL or a receiver here, but the way the board plays out in this case the best weakness to fill would probably be at tackle. Risner seems to be the best tackle left.<br />
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He’s another aggressive lineman who looks like he wants to absolutely bury guys every play. He’s strong and stout when he gets his hands on a guy and generally stops them in their tracks – he dominated during Senior Bowl week, supposedly. But he also can get beat badly at times by speed rushers around the edge and lacks length for the position (like in his arms, you freaks). Remember earlier when Montez Sweat got into him and pushed him a few miles into the Earth’s mantle?<br />
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<img alt="Image" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/pzrvgvUfUHlXmHDKap/giphy.gif" /></div>
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Of course, Montez Sweat’s arms are about as long as a 2019 Kia Sorento and he has a tendency to do that to people. But RIsner handled him pretty well through most of this game.<br />
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Also, the top like 3 or 4 tackles so far have played Right Tackle. I don’t think it matters anymore what side the tackles play. Offense and particularly how the QB position is played have changed a bunch and the “blindside” isn’t nearly as much of a thing as it used to be, in my opinion. Also, a ton of top pass rushers line up primarily on the offense’s right side. Case in point Montez Sweat in the GIF above.<br />
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<b>29.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>KANSAS CITY selects Jachai Polite, EDGE, Florida</b><br />
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Jachai Polite was a tough evaluation before he ran like a 7 second forty at the Combine. After that it became a question of, is he a bad tester? Why does he look so fast on film? Then it became known that his interviews went horribly, and not in like a team asking Dez Bryant if his grandmother fucked dwarves kind of way or whatever. So then it was a question of him even going in the first round (which probably wasn’t a lock before all of this). NOW he goes to his Pro Day, runs a 4.96 or something like that out of Jarvis Jones’ playbook, and hurts himself doing it. His defense was that he got fat to weigh more or something. So he’s probably going on Day 3 now. But I already planned this pick and made GIFs so it stays.<br />
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The Chiefs need an Edge guy badly. They let Justin Houston go and traded Dee Ford, leaving them with (looking it up) Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon. Hey, I liked that dude in the 2017 draft! Still, that’s like 3 combined sacks between them and I haven’t gotten the impression that these guys are locked in as the clear future at the position. So I’m going to have Andy Reid take a flier on a top pass rusher falling due to the recent event of “becoming borderline undraftable”.<br />
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Well - I guess the celebrating during a live ball after the second sack isn't the best look, but that isn't exactly rare. I'll let it slide.<br />
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Polite is a guy unlike many I can remember in past drafts. His first step is ungodly, his burst is Peter North-ian, and he’s got a relentless motor. This is why his 40 time and interview fiascos were such a surprise – he was expected to test very well and his on-field performance suggested he was a high-character type of player. But when a tackle gets their hands on him, he’s pretty much just done. Like just done, right there. I can’t remember a guy with outcomes this extreme. It’s not due to a lack of effort – he will chase down backs and he takes on the run with aggression despite his small frame. I don’t know if it’s a lack of strength (recent developments probably suggest he isn’t a gym rat) or technique or both. But I can see – I doubt very much but I can see – a team like KC being enamored with the good and taking a guy at 28 at a premium position who a month ago they probably though would be long gone at this point.<br />
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Me personally? I would have had a hard time selecting Polite in the first round even before the Combine, because I think there’s too much of a chance that he’s just a complete non-factor against NFL-level competition. Now, after he’s shown to be im-Polite (hahahahahahaahaha LOLZ), I certainly wouldn’t do it. He’s so sensitive that Jan Arden would probably love him. But at the very end of the round? I can see somebody pulling the trigger and I’d understand it.<br />
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<b>30.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>CAROLINA trades with GREEN BAY for the 30th overall pick</b><br />
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<b>CAROLINA selects Chase Winovich, EDGE, Michigan</b><br />
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I know that Green Bay is all like “fuck you Ted Thompson” and blowing money fast, so they probably won’t trade down once, let alone twice. Well, fuck ‘em.<br />
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I’ve liked Winovich for awhile. His athletic testing was top-level, and I thought it showed on the field. He’s got the same relentless motor that most of this year’s guys have. He has good-but-not-great strength and technique. I thought he was probably the third best edge rusher in this class, behind Burns and Bosa. And Carolina needs to replenish that position.<br />
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BUT – I just found out he’s going to turn 24 this month. He’s a year or two older than most of the guys he’s playing against. That isn’t a be-all end-all – but it is a red flag. He not only has a bit of a physical advantage in college, but he also has less developing to do once he gets to the NFL.<br />
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https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/age-played-a-bigger-role-in-the-nfl-draft-its-about-time/<br />
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Now, Marcus Maye, Cooper Kupp and Eddie Jackson were all 24 when they were picked in 2017, and they are each awesome. Jackson may be the best safety in the league right now. Old Ass Mike McGlinchey was one taken in the first round last year, and we’ve established that he’s awesome. Ziggy Ansah was also 24 in 2013 and he alternates really good years with shitty seasons. But there really isn’t a huge track record of these guys coming in and being really good as pros. Since 2000, there have been 30 players taken in the first round who were 24 or older at the time of the draft. (I could look up their first season age but I don’t have time to be looking up a bunch of people’s birthdays and shit). They are:<br />
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So of 30, you’ve got McGlinchey, Kyle Long, Dallas Clark, Terence Newman and Casey Hampton as being stud NFL players. Ansah is generally good and that was a weak year so he counts. Jason Babib was, eh, I guess alright, apparently Gosder Cherilus is good now as a guard, and Jammal Brown and Chad Pennington were useful for awhile. The Dolphins had to move on from Tannehill so quickly because he was so old when he was drafted – and being a late convert to QB on top of that likely didn’t help. Robert Gallery, the can’t miss tackle is there. Peter Warrick was 31st on that table – he turned 24 that June and just missed the list. Is this a bust-ier list than usual? I don’t know but it kind of looks like it.<br />
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So that’s the red flag on Winovich. Now I’m not so sure. But I do like him and I’d rather take him than a lot of the guys getting more press right now.<br />
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<b>31.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>LOS ANGELES RAMS select Mack Wilson, ILB, Alabama</b><br />
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Just a few months ago, Wilson was considered a lock first rounder. Possible the number 1 inside linebacker in this year’s class. But over the last season people started noticing that he wasn’t really all that quick processing each play and was indecisive and slow with his first step. And it’s definitely there. Now, do I think Devin Bush is worse in this regard? Yeah, I do. But perhaps being inconsistent but decisive is preferable to Wilson taking his sweet old time. He also tested rather poorly, running a 4.70 at his Pro Day (which is generally adjusted upward a bit to level it to slower Combine times). So was he really this explosive athlete that people had thought he was running around backfields in 2017 or was he just another Alabama player elevated by his supporting cast? I’m not sure if he’s Manti Te’O but teams may want to do their due diligence and check to make sure his girlfriend is a real person. Maybe have that Catfish guy lend them that space-age “reverse image search on Google” technology that the entire show seems to revolve around.<br />
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The main reason I’m going to put Wilson at the end of the first while I didn’t think that Te’O was anything even approaching a first round talent are the ridiculous ball skills that Wilson showed at Alabama. He supposedly isn’t that great in man coverage (and the testing wouldn’t do anything to dispel that), but this guy is an absolute ball magnet in zone drops. He had six interceptions over his Alabama career, and they aren’t all just a bunch of tip drills or anything like that. Most are legitimately impressive plays on the ball. That really seems to profile well to the NFL level, and I’ll bank on a team like LA – who really needs off-ball linebackers badly – taking a shot on Wilson late in the first. Perhaps Wade Phillips can develop his processing a bit more. And there’s a really good track record on Wilson-Phillips.<br />
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<b>32.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>DALLAS trades with NEW ENGLAND for the 32nd pick</b><br />
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<b>DALLAS selects Darnell Savage, FS, Maryland</b><br />
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One, New England always seems to trade back with their early picks, so I’m just gonna make them do that again here. Two, there’s always a few guys at the end of round 1 who are real surprise selections, and Savage is going to be my guess at one of those guys. Three, Dallas needs a safety like Savage and doesn’t have any first rounders, so ol’ Jerrah may decide that he needs to do some wheelin’ and dealin’ with New England here, giving up say a 2nd and 3rd this year, a 2nd in next year’s draft and maybe jerking off Kraft a couple of times. Darnell Savage will be the fruit of his labors, and we all know that you can’t have fruit without seed.<br />
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I read about this guy rather late and was surprised how awesome he was when I took a closer look. This was before watching Dwayne Haskins play against Maryland, which is where I think a lot of people took similar notice. I mean, this is just ridiculous:<br />
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He’s undersized so he’s not the most sure tackler, but it’s not due to a lack of effort. Savage flies around the field and goes after people like he’s 6’4”. And when he gets a head of steam behind him, he can do some damage. When he isn’t in the backfield blowing up stretch runs, he’s all over the place making plays on the ball. Size is less important in the NFL than it used to be – outside of Nick Foles, of course – and playmaking and pass defense has taken priority over power. Will the pendulum swing back? It might, and it might in rather short order if last year’s Super Bowl is any indicator. (Spoiler: it probably isn’t imminent, that was one game, relax). But even if it does, Savage can still play in that NFL. So Dallas moves up to try and get their Eddie Jackson, because the real Eddie Jackson will be like 40 by his 5th season.<br />
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<b>OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE:</b><br />
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Guys who I like but couldn’t get into the first round:<br />
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Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson: I think he might be the 3rd best corner in this year’s draft, but he’s being looked at as like a 2nd or even 3rd rounder. He’s big, fluid and makes plays on the ball. I considered giving him to the Chargers.<br />
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Deionte Thompson, FS, Alabama: Gambles too much and should probably make a few more plays on the ball but you don’t see single high safeties who bring the wood like this all that often.<br />
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Charles Omenihu, DE, Texas: Considered making Omenihu one of the surprise first rounders at the end but he just doesn’t show quite enough.<br />
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Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama: Just don’t think he’s good enough to mock into the first at RB. Will some team probably take him there? Yeah.<br />
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Christian Miller, EDGE, Alabama: I think he might be a top 5 edge guy this year when all is said and done. I am mostly down on the edge group this year – there’s no real depth IMO.<br />
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Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky: A better-covering Justin Layne at a likely discount.<br />
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Taylor Rapp, S, Washington: Just didn’t really watch enough of him to put him in the first. He looked good in small samples though.<br />
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DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia: I think he’s fine but he’s not the best athlete and I think there’s fire to all of this smoke about his character.<br />
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A bunch of later round guys, some schools: Everybody has late-round sleepers and shit. I won’t bore you with them here.<br />
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Guys I don’t really like but a lot of other people do:<br />
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Jeffrey Simmons, DT, Mississippi State: This guy seriously looks terrible. I just absolutely do not get it with him.<br />
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Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson: He’s fine but I’m not blown away. Will make some plays but is mostly neutralized from what I’ve seen.<br />
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Clellin Ferrell, EDGE, Clemson: I don’t dislike Ferrell, and he’s got some clear talent, but for some reason he just doesn’t seem to put it together. It’s almost like he finds blocks once he clears OTs, like they were pulling him back magnetically or something. Tough to explain.<br />
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Daniel Jones, QB, Duke: This guy looks awful and I have no clue what people are seeing. He’s accurate out to like 10 yards and always running around looking to throw an incompletion. I’ll be shocked if he’s even decent in the NFL.<br />
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Jaylon Ferguson, EDGE, Louisiana Tech: NCAA career sack leader but a non-athlete (NFL speaking of course – he’s a much better athlete than I am). Occasionally looks powerful and throws some people around but he’s mostly Jarvis Jones to me.<br />
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Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State: Seems to be mocked high because he’s big for a corner. I see Eli Apple without the athleticism. I have no idea why this guy is getting so much hype.<br />
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Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State: Very good tackling corner. Very not that good everything else-ing corner.<br />
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-2667402645170302302018-04-26T08:13:00.001-07:002018-04-26T08:30:24.648-07:002018 MOCK DRAFTGASM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's that time of year again, the only time I ever put anything on this site anymore. NFL DRAFT MOTHERFATHERS!<br />
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As usual, this is not "based" on anything - it's a hybrid of how I feel the draft WILL unfold and how I think the draft SHOULD unfold. Sometimes I purposely keep players I really don't like (e.g. Jabrill Peppers) out of the first round, but usually not if they are extremely likely to be a high selection (Josh Allen, etc.). I will however often drop those guys way below where they are projected to and probably will land out of principle. This also, as previous iterations, carries the Business Horse Guarantee that everything laid out in this exercise is a 100% leadpipe lock to happen exactly as predicted in the actual draft.<br />
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Let's get to it.<br />
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1. CLEVELAND BROWNS - Sam Darnold, QB, USC<br />
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Let me get this out of the way first....interviews, white board stuff, etc. all matter greatly for the QBs and I'm not there. I have no idea how knowledgable they each are, how they are relating to teammates, exactly what they were supposed to be doing in their offense, etc. Anything we hear also needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some of it is exaggerated rumor or just plain misinformation put out to reporters by people who have a reason to do so. For example, do I think there may be something different about Josh Rosen? Yeah, I do. Do I think all of his teammates hate him? Come on, man. So I ignore most of it unless I have a feeling myself that something is an issue, in which case I'll weigh it accordingly and make it clear that it is an opinion.<br />
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So that out of the way, I'm going to guess that the Browns take Darnold first overall and do not trade the pick or take Saquon Barkley or wait until 4 overall to take whatever QB is left because...they aren't "all the same", like so many people are suggesting. On the flipside, there are so many good QB prospects in this draft that I think to some degree we are nitpicking the hell out of them to some degree (and ignoring nits with Rosen and Allen for some reason). Anyway, since the Browns have a football guy now, they take the QB. In reality, and you can look back and read this, the plan previously was believed to be acquiring draft capital and putting off the QB selection until this year, when all of the great prospects would be available. That's conveniently out the window now, though, as football guy Jack Dorsey rides in to the rescue to draft a QB, watch the tape, piss on all the stats people (IN THEIR MOM'S BASEMENT! Hahahahah because I guess their parents are always divorced) and resurrect the franchise before destroying the team's cap by overpaying marginal talents and older stars.<br />
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Darnold has some Andrew Luck in him. He also has some Jameis Winston:<br />
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He also has a tendency to immediately roll out to his right...not sure how many are by design or if he gets skittish easily due to whatever reason(s). But outside of the dumb throws, and many are also from the pocket, he seems to be the most well-rounded of the QB group. He looks like if Andrew Luck had a younger brother that liked to impersonate Russell Wilson. Not as big and strong as Luck, but bigger than the other QBs in this class except for maybe Allen (I don't mean just height). Good arm, not great. Mechanics not great, but largely good and consistent. Makes a lot of tough throws into coverage that could be dangerous, but so does Luck. If he can cut down on the dumb throws, he'll be fine. And I think he will...his WRs are USC were atrocious. So bad. Maybe not worse than Allen's, but when factoring in the competition, I think he had it worse than any of these guys in terms of supporting cast. So I still think that Darnold is the first pick, even if his star has faded since last season (2016).<br />
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I know the Browns have Tyrod Taylor, and I like Tyrod, but Tyrod Taylor on essentially a one-year deal with options doesn't keep you from drafting your perceived long-term guy at the top of the draft. Even if you were the biggest Tyrod Taylor fan in the world, dude is damn near 30. Browns go old school and draft a QB and not a calculator hahahahahahahahaahah ROFL<br />
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2. NY GIANTS - Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State<br />
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Alright. This is by all accounts not going to happen. However, I think Rudolph is the best QB in this draft, and I want to give the Giants a QB, and I also think he fits their system brilliantly, so I'm not going to dance around that just to match online draft projections. In truth, they mean jackshit, and hell, last year Pat Mahomes and DeShaun Watson showed just that. No one thought Kevin Byard was going 2nd round, or that LeVeon Bell was going ahead of Eddie Lacy, or so on and so on. Talent is talent.<br />
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Point two - these teams often telegraph who they are interested in. Pre-draft visits, pro days, dinner meetings, etc etc. I don't have time to track that and I'm not interested in doing so either, so I ignore them much of the time unless it's obvious. If I think a team should draft a guy, I'm going to make that their pick, even if in real life they have shown no interest in that player and thus probably aren't going in that direction. I'm just a guy doing mock drafts for fun in his spare time. You get what you pay for.<br />
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Anyway, there are two traditional drop back QBs in this draft, Rudolph and Rosen. And only one of those seems like he'll be really good. Rudolph is great at creating space in the pocket and if he isn't pressured, he'll sit in it as long as he needs to before finding a good throw (that, btw, is in my opinion one of the most significant reasons that Aaron Rodgers is so good). Yeah, he has decorated WRs, and this is a Big XII spread offense so there a few occasions each game where guys are running open downfield, but mostly these guys aren't getting much separation. Rudolph is throwing into tight windows and throwing them open. They are particularly adept at the catch point, and that helps, but without a top QB, I don't think this offense is very good. Oddly enough, if Rudolph were worse and struggled, I think people would actually think he was better and would blame his supporting cast (the Allen Effect). People forget that Peyton Manning also had a first round WR - turns out that it was Manning making that offense go, not Marcus Nash.<br />
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And the Giants? Well, they have great WRs and a statue of a QB. Rudolph isn't a statue (same 40 time as Kirk Cousins) but he will function best in that style of offense. Eli was not nearly as bad as people think last year, but he wasn't nearly as good as many of his defenders say. He was average-y, and he's just going to continue to decline. At MOST you have two more decent years. Take your last chance with Eli this upcoming year and draft a QB in an epic QB draft while you have a chance. If you don't, you may not again. Let's say you go 7-9 and it's clear Eli is done. And then next year is say the 2009 draft. Your replacement is Josh Freeman. Let's say it's 2010. Tebow? Clausen? If it's 2011...Jake Locker? Blaine Gabbert? CHRISTIAN PONDER???<br />
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Keep that in mind when you talk about getting a QB later when you "actually need" one. This draft is a 1983 type of draft for QB prospects. And back then, Marino was picked apart and fell. Probably because there were so many QBs available so they all blended together in people's eyes, each looking less impressive than they would if there were just one or two. Like, Matt Stafford. If Matt Stafford were in this draft, everybody would wonder why his completion percentage were under 60 and why he threw so many picks. And yeah, you may draft Todd Blackledge. You may also draft Vernon Gholson. What's the difference? If your QB is pushing 40, and a top QB prospect is available (that you like, obviously)....take him. Most teams don't go Manning to Luck...they go Manning to Siemian.<br />
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3. NY JETS - Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma<br />
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Do I think this will happen? No. But, I think the Giants should take a QB, and I don't like Rosen or Allen. The Jets are pretty much a lock to go QB, so that leaves Mayfield or Jackson. Which one do I think is more likely to go here? I like Jackson more, but I think it would be Mayfield. Draw your own conclusions.<br />
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Mayfield gets compared to Russell Wilson a lot, and I see it. I see a lot of Russell Wilson in many QBs, because they are all running around. Do you know why? Because a lot of pro teams don't run "pro style" offenses anymore. That's arguably one reason why there are so many decent-to-good young QBs these days. These offenses are easier to run and lead to efficient passing numbers and it's all Andy Reid's fault. Alex Smith can't function in a "pro style" offense. Put him in Reid's, and it covers up many of his flaws while making him look elite statistically. Is he elite? No. Could he be? Yes. Alex Smith is one of the biggest what-ifs of this era. DId Urban Meyer ruin him? Did he never have it in him to play actual QB? Whatever it was, Alex Smith is a good athlete and great downfield passer who refuses to throw downfield. He can't sit in a pocket for more than 3 seconds and senses pressure coming from 20 yards away, and thus misses a TON of open throws downfield to run into 2 yard gains or hit his back for 6 yards. Makes the stats look good, but in the end it hurts your team and you end up losing playoff games you should win and skating off to Washington as an underrated star while Andy Reid is again saddled with a can't win the big one! stigma. They should have beat Pittsburgh by 10 points last year and should have beaten Tennessee by just as much. He is what everyone thinks Tyrod Taylor is. Anyway, that's today's NFL for many teams.<br />
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And that's what Baker Mayfield does. He has some Russ Wilson in him but nobody seems to compare him to Mariota and that's the offense I think he's running at Oklahoma. People rave about his completion percentage and thus his accuracy, but....he's throwing to wide open receivers. Wiiiiide the f open. If he didn't have the highest completion percentage of this group, something is wrong. Is he all a creation of scheme? No. He does throw accurately, particularly shorter deep routes. He'll throw great passes on the run right over a tight end's shoulder with three defenders around him. He throws darts, just like Wilson. It's almost like Mariota impersonating Wilson. He seems to struggle, however, on go routes/fades down the sideline and short throws into tight windows. The latter could be a huge concern, if he gets thrown into the wrong offense and forced to be Tom Brady or Phil Rivers. Just keep him away from Mike Mularkey and he'll be fine. He would wreck shop in Kansas City. He'll have to settle for the Jets.<br />
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Oh, and stop comparing him to Manziel. He doesn't move around for the same reasons Manziel did. Both are shorter. Both have, I guess, SWAG. But one was definitely a drug addict and an alcoholic. Maybe Mayfield is too, but until he starts blowing lines after the draft, I'm going to assume he's not in Vegas under an assumed identity when he should be studying his playbook.<br />
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4. (TRADE) BUFFALO BILLS trade with CLEVELAND BROWNS (give up both first rounders and change) - JOSH ALLEN, QB (I think), Wyoming<br />
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I hate Josh Allen as a prospect (I'm sure he's a fine young man). All of the bad that comes with Alex Smith? That's Josh Allen. He's like Josh McCown on meth. Josh McCown is a 40 year old rookie who stumbles out of clean pockets to throw into triple coverage that he should have seen coming from a mile away, and yet he still is thought of as an underrated QB and great mentor type for some reason because he throws a pretty deep ball every couple drives. Josh Allen is that in a younger, more athletic body. He's got the big arm. He can run. He throws effortlessly. He makes amazing highlight throws regularly:<br />
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BUT....he more regularly does idiotic things. He runs out of clean pockets into sacks. He gets off balance and misses his WR by 5 yards. He blindly throws into double coverage. He floats backside sideline passes that are pick-sixed by a DB that actually has to time his break lest he get there too early. He throws checkdowns 10 feet over the WR's head. He does so much awful shit that the good doesn't do nearly enough to compensate.<br />
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But he gets the defense of, how can anyone win with this shitty supporting cast? That definitely matters, but he's also playing shitty teams. He has many instances of his shitty WRs being open, and he's missing them by a mile. He has plenty of plays where the shitty OL gives him a good pocket, and he runs out of it early into a sack. He has multiple plays with a wide open checkdown, yet he's oblivious to the pressure and takes a bad sack or decides he's throwing deep into triple coverage. He gets all the excuses that Christian Hackenberg got. I read that comparison a lot now, but I've been using it for months. Here's what I said in March of 2016 about Hackenberg when he was getting defended by a ton of people for having to suffer through a spread-type scheme as his draft stock plummeted:<br />
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"I watched so many plays where there was a normal dropback pass called, the shitty line did protect, a shitty WR did get open, and Hackenberg stepped up in a clean pocket and either bounced the ball to him or threw it 5 yards over his head.<br />
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Franklin may have hindered him but he also did more than his fair share of sucking."<br />
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This isn't Sam Darnold having everything go right and his shitty WR, who is barely open, lets the ball hit off his face and bounce to a safety. This is a more functional version of Hackenberg with more consistency and better peak plays. Funnily enough, his boring pro style offense gets blamed while for Hackenberg, he also got the excuse that he needed a boring pro style offense. The reason is that he sucked as a prospect and was always going to look bad. I feel the same way about Allen, but the ties to Buffalo are out there so I can't ignore that Buffalo needs a QB and likes Mayfield and Allen. The Bills mafia will love Allen - he'll make some huge plays up there in the snow and might will them to a couple wins and he'll get excuses for every bad thing he does for a year or two. But...here's the thing about Buffalo. Buffalo DOES have shitty personnel that actively hampers the QB's performance. They ran Tyrod Taylor out of town but came up with excuses for Nate Peterman. And you know what? You CAN excuse some of Peterman's atrocious play. But that's the point. Nate Peterman exposed just how truly awful that team was. It had NO business in the playoffs. None. The WRs are plodders who are never open and struggled to catch when they were. The scheme was boring as hell just like Allen's at Wyoming. Mayfield would be a disaster in that scheme. Taylor was at times (particularly in the playoff loss when Jacksonville just erased every predictable route by each unathletic WR and ran right through their OL). Allen will be right at home. And he will probably struggle, and they will probably win 6 games.<br />
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Could Josh Allen excel? Yes. If he learns to keep himself under control, and throws WRs open before their breaks, and makes anticipatory throws into tight windows, yes. He could. He's got the talent and the ability when he actually puts it all together. But will he? I'd bet heavily against it. Carson Wentz is like Allen in a lot of ways, he misses a lot of WRs, makes great plays with his athleticism, etc. But Carson Wentz doesn't make the bad plays like Allen. He makes enough throws in the pocket to keep his offense moving until the big plays present themselves. But let's not forget that Carson Wentz plays in an offense where his backup just won a Super Bowl and many of his flaws are covered up. To me, Allen is Alex Smith without the good parts. Josh McCown with pedigree. He's gonna struggle mightily if he has a bad fit on a bad team IMO - moreso than most QBs. But he's not hopeless, like Hackenberg was.<br />
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5. DENVER BRONCOS - Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville<br />
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Whoa! Five QBs! Yes. Five QBs. Kirk Cousins just got $90 mil guaranteed. KIRK COUSINS. He's the definition of mediocrity, Andy Dalton without the opportunity to even have playoff meltdowns. The man that you can beat with the prevent defense - he'll throw for 340 yards and score 20 points. Case Keenum got $18 mil a year. Jameis Winston has actively regressed each year, gotten Lovie Smith fired and he's gonna get a massive contract soon. QBs are gold. If you have one, you pay him whatever it takes. If you don't, you do whatever it takes to find one. Last year, Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson were considered highly flawed 2nd round prospects. (Sidenote: why Pat Mahomes, who is a significantly better version of Josh Allen as a college QB, was ranked so low, I don't understand). Teams gave up boatloads of picks to move up and take them in the top half of the first. So in an era where this is the case, and a bunch of elite QB prospects available, hell yeah I'm mocking all of these QBs at the top. Any year where there are two guys like this, they go one-two. This year there's 6 of them.<br />
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So that gets us to Lamar Jackson. King of the hot takes. Running QB! Nevermind that half of these guys need to run in order to set up their passing and can barely function without it. Ignore that Ben Roethlisberger needs to run around more and get out of the pocket because that's where he's at his best. Because when it comes to Lamar Jackson, we need a pocket QB. A QB that can make multiple reads! A QB that doesn't depend on his feet! So....Mason Rudolph? Nope, he's gonna go 2nd round according to most. Baker Mayfield! It's ridiculous to me.<br />
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Here's the thing with Lamar Jackson - the whiteboard stuff if true, does matter. The mom as agent stuff - might matter, but might not and will absolutely not matter for the reasons most people say it will. He struggles to communicate with the media, has a bit of a speech impediment, and it makes him look dumb sometimes. QBs don't sound like that, typically. Supposedly got a 13 on the Wonderlic. Could it matter? It might. But he seemed to be able to run a "pro style" (hate that term) offense at Louisville, and presumably will be able to call a play at the NFL level. He does get lazy with his mechanics sometimes and sails passes. This is all true.<br />
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But with Lamar Jackson, it is blown to nuclear proportions and he is hammered into a role to fit his narrative. Dumb, running QB. I'll listen to you if you don't think Lamar Jackson will be a great NFL QB. Absolutely. His arm isn't elite. He does have accuracy issues at times. He is slight of frame. But if you think he's Kordell Stewart? I don't know what to tell you. If you think he should switch to WR? I don't know what to tell you. Josh Allen is a great athlete, should we put him at tight end? Even Tebow was a QB until he proved he wasn't. And Lamar Jackson is light years ahead of Tebow. He's better than Kordell Stewart was in college. He's better than RGIII. I think he's better than Josh Allen as a college prospect. Better than Rosen. Better than Mayfield too, but that one's close for me. If you tell me that Lamar Jackson cannot stay in the pocket and make a throw? I don't think you've watched him play all that much. If you say he can't make more than one read? I don't think you've watched him all that much.<br />
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Baken Mayfield would probably not make this play:<br />
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Josh Allen will NEVER make this play:<br />
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He's got the 2nd best pocket presence in this draft behind Rudolph. But nobody cares, because he's a runner. He's RGIII!<br />
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Here's the thing - being able to run isn't bad. Being able to run opens you up to making plays that aren't available to lesser athletic QBs. Being a runner is why Aaron Rodgers is not just a great QB but is instead probably the greatest QB of all time. (Sidenote: being really good is why people thought Aaron Rodgers was washed up while he was playing out of his mind in 2015 and being dragged down by an interdimensionally shitty offense while Kirk Cousins is considered a top 10 QB playing well in spite of the receivers that he continually misses downfield). Being a runner gives you a margin for error. Where it becomes bad is when you look for it before it presents itself, like Mike Vick. Kind of like Alex Smith. Johnny Manziel is a unique case who would not be able to function as a QB but once you allow him to set up his throws with his legs, he can not only play QB but make it to the NFL. That's not Jackson. Carson Wentz is a running QB. It lifts him to MVP level play. Tyrod Taylor's running was the only way Buffalo's offense would function at times. Andrew Luck's running let's him extend plays and keeps defenses from selling out to get to him. Cam Newton's running (like Lucks in this regard) gives him an option when on short yardage plays. Lamar Jackson could play through a hypothetical injury that Manziel or Vick or Tebow could not, because there is an underlying QB there who can dropback and read progressions and throw downfield. This is NOT Robert Griffin.<br />
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I admit I liked RGIII at Baylor - he too could sit in the pocket and his downfield throws were a thing of beauty. But I went back and watched some college tape of Griffin. He's not Jackson. Griffin threw short, or he threw deep, and his intended WR was usually wiiiiiiiiiide open. If he couldn't do either of those, he ran. If he had to go through too many progressions, he ran. If he sensed any pressure, he ran. And he was often indecisive. He took big hits in the NFL. He hurt his knee the first time at Baylor on an option play where it looked like he wasn't sure whether to pitch or not and got himself all awkwardly contorted in the confusion. Colin Kaepernick never took big hits. But Colin Kaepernick also couldn't throw with touch and didn't develop even a little bit as a pocket passer until the 2016 season, and he's still an awkward thrower. Lamar Jackson is the good part of both of them. He throws with touch like RGIII. But he'll also throw 20 yards downfield on a line and runs with purpose like Kaepernick. On the whole, he's not really all that similar to either of them (particularly Kaepernick - he is certainly somewhat comparable to RGIII but far superior IMO).<br />
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And finally, when people talk about not being able to run in the NFL like you could in college - many of Lamar Jackson's runs in college were designed runs. He wasn't Mike Vick, bailing on passing plays to try and make Sportscenter. Those won't happen in the NFL like they do in college. Cam Newton runs a heck of a lot less in the NFL than he did at Auburn, but he still can when he needs to. Lamar Jackson does not depend on running to be able to throw. He just ran in college because his coach realized he was awesome at it.<br />
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So, will he fit in Denver? Yes. He'll fit anywhere. Stop that. He doesn't need a massively customized scheme around him. He just needs what Bill Belichick did for Jacoby Brissett - a downfield scheme with a few dedicated plays that take advantage of his athleticism. John Elway has shown an interest in QBs that can move - Kaepernick, Tyrod Taylor, and now Case Keenum, a guy who needs to move around a bit to compensate for a lack of arm strength - and I don't see why he wouldn't be interested in Lamar Jackson if the draft board falls this way.<br />
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Unless there's fire to the off the field smoke. And with the view so many people reflexively have of Jackson, excuse me if I think that there may not be nearly as much there seems to be.<br />
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6. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State<br />
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Now this starts to get interesting. Rosen is still on the board, but who wants him? Nobody in the next few picks, clearly. While I think there is certainly something wrong with Luck's shoulder and I would bet he'll never be the same guy that he used to be, I'll operate as if the Colts truly believe what they are saying.<br />
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So, the team that "swindled" the Browns and led to Mike Holmgren's last moment of relevance when they traded a first rounder for the frog-human hybrid Trent Richardson, the team who's Frank Gore-lead rushing offense could best be compared to the excitement of watching trees grow - why wouldn't they take an elite RB prospect like Barkley? I understand the thought that they would take Bradley Chubb, because you need pass rushers and they suck all over their defense. I get the thought of adding Denzel Ward or Quentin Nelson. But I think that if this team had the chance to draft a guy like Barkley they would do it. He's ridiculous. I think Fournette was better as a pure runner, but Barkley can do everything and being a pure runner isn't always your best bet in the NFL these days. Teams don't line up in the Power I formation. They need RBs to pass block and to catch short passes and run stretch plays out of shotgun and RPOs and all that jazz. Barkley is like a slightly better version of Zeke Elliott as a prospect, IMO. You can get a good RB late, but great RBs can still be game changers and as much as they depend on their surroundings, their mere presence can also lift said surroundings. The Cowboys with Zeke are a different animal than the Cowboys with Alfred Morris. I don't think Chubb is at a high enough level to go ahead of an RB like Barkley here.<br />
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7. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - Derwin James, S, Florida State<br />
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I like James and Minkah Fitzpatrick. But I like James more. He can do everything and he can do it at a higher level than Fitzpatrick, IMO. Fitzpatrick to me is a more elite version of Jamal Adams. James, however, I'm not even sure who to compare him to. He's like a bigger Bob Sanders. He's what Jalen Ramsey could have been if he stayed at safety. He can do absolutely everything important in the NFL. He can play centerfield. He jumps short routes. He can man up on RBs and inside WRs. He can house any ball he touches. He can come up and knock ballcarriers into 2007. He can obtain consent from women before he has sex with them. He can rush off the edge like a literal edge rusher....it's ridiculous.<br />
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What the fuck is that shit? Seriously, if someone doesn't tell me what the fuck that shit is, I have to quit writing this. I at least need to take a break.<br />
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*30 minutes pass*<br />
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This guy is absolutely ridiculous and I'm fighting an urge to move him up to the Colts pick. I also want to move a team up for Rosen but there aren't enough contenders to trade up and there are too many elite guys that have fallen as a result of mocking 5 QBs to the top 5 picks that I just can't do it. I can't see a team like Tampa Bay that starts CHRIS FUCKIN' CONTE at safety passing on Derwin James to pick up an extra 2nd rounder. The teams in the back half of the top 10 this year are in primo spots. There's always one sweet spot in each draft and to me, this year it's 6-10. Similar to 2014 but a little earlier.<br />
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If there's one flaw with James, it's his tackling ability. Not that he can't tackle, but that he misses a lot of tackles because he's moving too fast and not in good position. Sort of like Ryan Shazier but not quite as out of control. It would seem to be a big issue but it typically rears it's head when he's attacking a play near the line of scrimmage, so it's not like there's nobody behind him to clean up his mess. Maybe Conte can earn the nickname of "The Maid". Either way it's not something that I think teams will be all that concerned about, as Derwin James is an alien assuming the human form. Imagine if Jabrill Peppers were a lot bigger and also didn't suck. That's kind of what you're getting with James. To me, he's like a bigger and better and more all-around capable Eric Berry.<br />
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8. CHICAGO BEARS - Quentin Nelson, G, Notre Dame<br />
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I can't keep dropping Karate Bear. Every year I mention that I only have a few players in my top, top tier, which is determined not only by skill but just by a certain feel for each prospect. The list is going to be a bit biased toward recent players because I started paying a ton of attention only a few years ago, but it goes:<br />
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Reggie Bush<br />
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Calvin Johnson<br />
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Andrew Luck<br />
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Khalil Mack<br />
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Myles Garrett<br />
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Leonard Fournette<br />
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Quentin Nelson<br />
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Something is keeping Derwin James off of it - perhaps injury history, lack of huge production, I don't know. It kept Jalen Ramsey and Malik Hooker off even though I loved both of them as prospects. But Nelson is the best OL prospect that everyone has ever seen, and in a world where Brandon Scherff was a top 5 pick once, I can't keep dropping him just because people don't care about guards anymore.<br />
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But why not care about guards? The left tackle as most important component belief just won't die, and especially in a passing league, but I think ironically the thing that is making left tackles less important (and similarly non-elite receivers and corners) IS that it's a passing league. You don't need an elite LT like you used to, because everything is tilted in the direction of the passing game and QBs are running all over the place and throwing quick slants to wide open WRs that you can't touch. Scheme seems most important these days. Two things though - 1. what do the best OLs in the league have? and 2. what wrecks modern schemes the most? 1. Great interior linemen and 2. interior pressure. Tom Brady can get the ball out when his left tackle gets beat. But Aaron Donald charging through the center of your line? That destroys most plays from the start. Now, I feel that with safeties and guards and ILBs you should sign them instead of drafting them, but that doesn't apply to elite talents and the only reason I say that is due to market values (draft expensive positions like WR and CB and Edge Rusher all things equal). Guards are valuable even though teams don't draft them highly or pay them as much, though that may be changing a bit.<br />
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There are jacks of all trades, and then there's Quentin Nelson. Power? Elite. Technique and footwork? Elite. Athleticism? Not quite elite but very good. Elite pass blocker. ELITE ELITE run blockers. There is nothing he can't do very well and that is particularly valuable for a team that wants to run like the Bears by mauling people and has recently highly valued its guards. Nelson should go higher and probably will but I don't really have anywhere to put him.<br />
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9. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS - Harold Landry, Edge, Boston College<br />
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I am not nearly as high on Bradley Chubb as most people seem to be. I think he's underwhelming as a top-pick Edge guy, which is where he's consistently slotted in mocks. But I do think he's a good player, good all-around (seems to be a lot of those types in this draft), and he fits a huge need in San Francisco. However, I like Harold Landry a bit more, and he's more explosive and seems to be a better fit for a 3-4 rush OLB, even though I'm sure Chubb would be fine there too and it's really just become a stand-up DE on most downs. I don't believe either of these guys are the best OLB/edge guy in this draft, but they seem like they are going to be the first ones of the board so I'll conform a little bit.<br />
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Landry can disappear but his top plays look more "NFL" to me than Chubb's, who I think will beat up on lesser OTs. Landry is explosive as hell and can dip and collapse the pocket like top NFL rushers. I think he'll be a better version of Vic Beasley. Edge rushers are so hard to mock because (IMO) none are really all that developed technically when they reach the NFL, they get so much production that does not translate against NFL blockers, they often have outside rush/option responsibilities that don't really apply similarly in the NFL and finally, even the best ones are kept in check on a majority of plays. So, with the exception of the Myles Garretts and Khalil Macks that just consistently jump off the screen, I never know with edge guys (and it seems NFL teams don't either). So who knows. Either way, Landry is the type of athlete that CAN become one of the good ones at the next level. I'm not as convinced about Chubb. And his name is Chubb. Who wants that jersey?<br />
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10. OAKLAND RAIDERS - Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama<br />
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Typically, I wouldn't put a player like Fitzpatrick in this spot, but the Raiders are not the same Raiders anymore and particularly with Gruden, since this seems like the type of player that he likes to jerk off on live TV when broadcasting games. To me, Fitzpatrick is a better version of Jamal Adams as a prospect. He does everything well (GUH). He's very smart and instinctive, a decent deep safety, a decent slot corner, etc etc. He is however a sure tackler who reads plays very quickly and attacks them before they can really develop. The Raiders could really use help anywhere on defense, and there's no fullback for Gruden to draft here on his charge to 7-9, and Fitzpatrick's versatility will allow him to potentially complete a talented on paper secondary group, so I'll slot Fitzpatrick to play a few years in the Sewage Bowl before bringing his wholesomeness to Vegas with the rest of the team.<br />
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11. MIAMI DOLPHINS - I don't know.<br />
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Do they want to go forward with Tannehill and the ACL that he treated before last year with ancient tribal remedies? This team remains criminally boring, even with Jay Cutler's mopeshow headlining last year's team. Can I put Roquan Smith or Tremaine Edmunds here? Sure, but...they don't seem splashy. I'm going to do something stupid with the team that gave us top ten selection Teddy Ginn.<br />
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MIAMI DOLPHINS - Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State<br />
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This is a hilarious overdraft. Gesicki is more like Jimmy Graham than a real tight end, but he's fast, did awesome at the Combine, the Dolphins need a tight end, have watched Gronkowski for the last 8 or however many years (and Gesicki is definitely not Gronk) - I'm gonna do it. Fuck it, WE'RE DOING IT LIVE! Gesicki! Dolphins! Tannehill!<br />
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The excitement is back at Turnpike Stadium. Man does this team suck, and they probably always will. They are perfect to overdraft Gesicki. He's gonna catch so many screen passes. He can take all of his explovesiveness and use it to replace Jarvis Landry's 4 yards per catch role.<br />
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I already think this was stupid and definitely isn't going to happen but I like it so I'm keeping it here.<br />
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12. CLEVELAND BROWNS - Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State<br />
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I can't see this happening but I still have Ward available (he'd probably go to the Dolphins if all of this happened in real life) and Cleveland has a need at general defense. The more I watch Denzel Ward, the more I'm convinced that he IS Darrelle Revis.<br />
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Denzel Ward's feet are ridiculous (settle down, Rex Ryan). He can get up in any WR's face and lock them down on most routes. He does seem to struggle just a bit on in-breaking routes, but those are hard as hell to defend. Corners with true man-to-man lockdown ability like Ward are few and far between.<br />
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Here’s what a typical top corner looks like (Isaiah Oliver, going to be a first rounder this year most likely):<br />
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Here’s what your Revises and Denzel Wards look like:<br />
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Most people on Earth just simply cannot do that. There are great corners like Richard Sherman and Josh Norman and even Marcus Peters who can't do what Denzel Ward can do. Marlon Humphrey cannot do this. Josh Jackson cannot do this. I have faith that Gregg Wi....oh shit. Nevermind. Gregg Williams would have him 70 yards off the ball on 2nd and 2. Gregg Williams will blitz him and have him playing personal protector on punt and anything but locking down WRs. Is Gregg Williams still in Cleveland?<br />
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I don't know what Cleveland likes to do with their corners other than fill them with syringes and prostitutes, but they can figure out a way to incorporate a guy who can go step for step with any WR off the line into their defense, I'd hope.<br />
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13. WASHINGTON REDSKINS - Vita Vea, NT, Washington<br />
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Washington runs a 3-4 and there are only so many nose tackles on the planet. Particularly ones like Vea, who move like people that are 50 pounds lighter. Washington doesn't really have a nose tackle. Also, their defense sucks, particularly their run defense. NFL teams love them some big Samoan dudes. All those signs point to Vea. I know nose tackles are "2-down players", but if Vea doesn't get tired quickly (not a small feat though for big NTs), I don't see why he couldn't play on passing downs. And anyway, if you aren't stopping other teams on 1st and 10 and 2nd and 5 and setting up 3rd and longs, you aren't even going to get a chance to use your shitty pass rush. Why do teams pass over guys who are great on 2 downs and set up good situations for their defense to draft guys who suck on 3 downs? Reminds me of Jacksonville drafting a punter in the 3rd round because he was going to be a starter. Like they are trying to get more letter-winners or something. (Hat tip serious professional JJ Watt!). Vea looks ridiculous when it all works out - he can push OL back into the QB, rush through the middle of the line, even chase QBs down if they go into Josh Allen mode - but he often has plays where he looks like a complete non-entity. This seems early for him in that light but when there are teams constantly searching for a certain position (like Pittsburgh with Edge guys or KC with 3-4 DEs or Cleveland with functional NFL talent), I usually mock that position to them when it lines up like this.<br />
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I’m tired of GOATS so maybe Vea can be the BIRD (Best Interior Run Defender)? Or the HAMSTER (Huge-Ass Man Stopping Teams Every Rush)? Nelly Furtado was like a bird once. She had a long career. Think about it.<br />
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14. BALTIMORE trades with GREEN BAY – Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA<br />
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This is so far off the rails that I may as well be hanging out with Strawberry and Gooden. But fuck it – weird things happen every year during the draft, so you better put some weird ass shit in your mock. And this is some weird ass shit right here.<br />
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Anyway, Baltimore has to realize that Flacco is about shot. He’s been awful for years now, there’s no rebound coming, A smart franchise would cut their losses and move on when given the chance. Baltimore is a smart franchise. You can’t really cut Flacco this year but you can next year at a tolerable dead money hit, especially since they’d be saving a lot of money by not paying his 2019 salary. Maybe they can trade Flacco for a 9th rounder, I don’t know. Flacco used to be Rex Grossman in a functional QB’s body. Now he’s Brock Osweiler in Steven Tyler’s body. He’s doesn’t even throw deep anymore and is wildly inaccurate on many of the short passes that he leans on these days. It’s not coming back. Flacco hasn’t been Joe Flacco since the ACL injury and probably before that.<br />
So I’m going to get weird here and have them jump over Arizona for Josh Rosen. Josh Rosen seems to fit their scheme, at least stylistically. Do I think he’ll be good? No. I don’t. He seems to flinch at pressure more than the other QBs in this class, he makes too many horrible decisions when not pressured even a little bit, and he misses quite often on difficult throws into tight windows. I think he’s going to be a pick-6 machine in the NFL, like a version of bad Carson Palmer. Carson Palmer between 2008 or so and 2014-ish would just routinely make a boneheaded inexcusable throw into the middle of the field or the flat into the teeth of a cover 2 zone and you just had no idea what he was thinking. That’s what I see of college Rosen, and he just wasn’t punished for it all that often. Rosen is the guy that stares down a vertical route in the middle of the field and throws the ball right to the deep safety like he meant to do it. When not doing that, he’s throwing 50 times a game and lighting teams up – just like Carson Palmer. I think he’s like Mason Rudolph if Mason Rudolph were not actually good at QB. Plus, he’s frail and had a completion percentage barely over 60%, which means he’s too slender to play QB. I think. Heard that somewhere.<br />
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But he’s a top prospect this year and there’s gotta be a reason for that so I’ll figure that my analysis is incomplete or wrong and some team that needs a QB takes him early. The Ravens need a QB. (In real life they’ll probably take a WR, and I’d bet Courtland Sutton, but that’s no fun so I’m not doing it).<br />
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15. ARIZONA CARDINALS – Connor Williams, OT, Texas<br />
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I have no idea why Mike McGlinchey is considered the consensus top tackle in this class. He anchors well enough in pass protection but he just looks sluggish, gets beat around the edges and doesn’t really seem to explode off the ball. It worked for Ronnie Stanley, but Ronnie Stanley is a hell of a lot stronger than Mike McGlinchey.<br />
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But Connor Willams? He looks a complete douche, like Taylor Lewan. And that’s what you want in your offensive linemen, isn’t it? He’s relentless and just drives defenders downfield like they offended him personally. He’s also the athletic type tackle that teams are looking for these days, like your Lewans, or your Lane Johnsons, or your Al Villanuevas. Bradley Chubb just ran by McGlinchey. The NFL is full of pass rushers that will probably run around McGlinchey. At least Connor Williams has a chance to move with them.<br />
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Arizona could go in a number of directions but the QBs are gone and they are tasked with the monumental task of protecting Sam Bradford from defenders and particularly strong winds, so they better build that wall. At least in this case we know what the wall is going to cost.<br />
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16. GREEN BAY PACKERS – Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado<br />
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I want to give the Packers a WR but with all the talk about their shitty secondary last year, I think they will go there high in the draft yet again. With so many applicable prospects available in my mock, they can afford to trade down a bit and still get one of these guys. And if I had to guess which one they would take, I’d go with Oliver.<br />
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While Oliver isn’t Denzel Ward, he is capable of playing press man pretty well, and he comes in a bigger body that NFL teams are always looking for out of their corners these days. He isn’t a tremendously explosive athlete but he runs well and has good makeup speed. He jumps routes very well and has a nose for the ball. He could be a damn good corner in a lot of schemes, be it a more aggressive man scheme like Kansas City’s or a cover 3 man/zone scheme like Seattle’s and I believe like Green Bay runs. (Scheme isn’t hugely important for good corners if you also have a good coach who puts these guys in positions where they excel within his overall scheme). I think Oliver could be your Marcus Peters type of corner if he hits. If he sucks, well, in that case he’ll still fit in nicely in Green Bay’s secondary.<br />
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One thing though that would scare me is that he has a habit of recovering and breaking up deep passes late, which is something that both Justin Gilbert and William Jackson III did commonly. One of those two couldn’t work an alarm clock and the other is already an absolute animal. I think Oliver is closer to Jackson in that regard but who knows.<br />
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17. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS – Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan<br />
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Assuming Hurst’s heart checks out (I have a minor heart issue myself that probably would have been flagged during a medical exam as comprehensive as I image the NFL’s are), interior pass rushers are the new hotness in the NFL and Hurst is the best one in this class. He’s compared to Aaron Donald a lot but, come on, nobody is Aaron Donald. But Hurst does look explosive and he is a good interior rusher and if surrounded by the talent that San Diego has up front, he’s going to get an easier road to the backfield than he would with most other teams. If I’m San Diego, I’m adding to my strength here and drafting OL later on. The Chargers with another dominating pass rusher up front, this one coming up the middle, could be the most dominant cosmically cursed 8-8 team we’ve ever seen.<br />
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18. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS – Bradley Chubb, NC State<br />
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If the hype is to be believed, this is wayyyyy too late for Chubb. Like, 10+ spots too late. But every year top guys (according to the media at least) fall, and this year I think Chubb may be one of them. But if he does fall, Seattle would be a great place for him to land. They need help on both lines (I’m also tempted to give them Josh Jackson to rebuild the secondary), but if there’s a guy like Chubb available I think they take the pass rusher over an offensive lineman. Plus they probably want to continue using converted CFL nose tackles as guards and who am I to tell them not to do that.<br />
Chubb seems to me like the kind of guy who’s going to feast against lesser tackles, but he’s definitely got ability and he’s not just a one-trick pony, and Seattle’s defense is built around guys like this coming after the QB in waves. Seattle collects pass rushing defensive linemen like Aldon Smith collects subpoenas and just like Smith, it’s time to start restocking.<br />
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19. DALLAS COWBOYS – Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU<br />
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It’s time to let go of Dez Bryant. I have no idea why the Dezbian is still on their roster – they are strapped for cap space and can afford to cut him. The receiving corps in Dallas is in shambles and is in desperate need of an upgrade. Now, they could also use a Roquan Smith type, and arguably Smith is elite enough to overcome the fact that non-edge LBs are much less expensive than WRs, but Sutton may be tempting enough to be the pick here over a defensive player. The Cowboys have a sneaky top-heavy roster that is showing cracks, and one of the things that held it together in previous years was a top-flite WR. They don’t have that anymore and Sutton could be that guy. Sutton seems a bit slow out of his breaks, but he is a tremendous deep threat and can make tough catches downfield. He’s a deceptively fast strider who doesn’t look like he’s moving all that fast until he’s 2 steps ahead of the DB chasing him (kind of like Josh Gordon in that regard). Can you throw him out there like OBJ or Antonio Brown or Keenan Allen, have him running the full route tree and revolve your passing game around him? I don’t think so but there’s really not any of those guys in this draft. But can he be Dez Bryant? Fuck yeah he can be Dez Bryant. Especially the washed up current version of Dez Bryant, who couldn’t get separation if he hired a divorce attorney.<br />
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20. LA RAMS trade with DETROIT – Tremaine Edmunds, ILB, Va. Tech<br />
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Every mock I see seems to put Edmunds above Roquan Smith, and I can buy that. They also have him in the top 10, which I do not buy as readily. Edmunds shows flashes of spectacular ILB play but there’s just too much inconsistency for me to slot him that high. Alec Ogletree has apparently been playing ILB like a drunk moose and was just the latest in a string of inexplicable contracts given out by the Rams to bad players that made people think that they might actually be good players (I was fooled on Ogletree – he was godawful last year), and while Roquan Smith appears to understand the rules of football, he’s too similar to Ogletree in (theoretical) style to go to LA. Smith is a sideline to sideline missile, similar to Ray Lewis but in a smaller body. But the Rams have penetrating DTs – they don’t have the kind of defensive line that occupies blockers for LBs to make tackles. (Can you imagine Ndamukang fuckin’ Suh just holding up blockers? Ha! He’d rather hit QBs on running plays in the CFL). Edmunds is much more along the lines of a stack and shed LB. When he’s on, he reads plays, throws blockers out of the way, and is always a sure tackler. He’s a great athlete. He has a chance to be really, really good. But too often he’s just way out of position or makes the wrong read. He also has pass coverage ability. With teams just running straight at the Rams last year and bowling Ogletree and Mark Barron 10 yards backwards, they need an LB in this mold. Edmunds is a great tackler even when he’s playing poorly, and if he hits he’s going to be a more athletic, non-crazy version of Vontaze Burfict that actually has marginal respect for human life. That’s why he’s mocked top 10. I just don’t see enough of it to do that myself.<br />
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EDIT: Well, the Rams traded their pick to Brandin Cooks while I was working on this. So inconsiderate! (Maybe they think a QB will fall to 23?). Back to the drawing board. I want to move the Lions out of this pick. I’m going to say that the Browns trade with them. This probably isn’t likely because who are they really jumping to get Davenport but I’ve already written most of this and I don’t want to do the last third all over again.<br />
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20. CLEVELAND BROWNS trade with DETROIT – Marcus Davenport, OLB, UTSA<br />
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Marcus Davenport is an interesting prospect. He’s like 7 feet tall, very good athlete, plays at random state, has only been an edge rusher for like 30 minutes…you don’t see these too often. He’s like Tanoh Kpassagnoh in a lot of ways. Like an even rawer Anthony Barr.<br />
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But when you watch him, you expect to hate him as a prospect. But if you’re like me, you can’t. His development was incredible. He definitely struggled early on but as time went on, you can see why people talk about this guy as a potential top 15 pick. I know he’s playing against future Winn-Dixie store managers but he’s a monster.<br />
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The Browns probably want to add some pass rushers to help Myles Garrett, who got like 6 sacks as a rookie in 10 games for a team that was never ever winning even for like a few minutes and so Browns fans inexplicably think he’s a bust. And they don’t need a plug-and-play finished product here. This team is going to win a fuckin’ game this year baby yeah!<br />
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21. CINCINNATI BENGALS – Isaiah Wynn, OG/OT, Georgia<br />
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Wynn is a unique tackle, standing “only” 6’2” and weighing 310 lbs. He’s a fireplug of a lineman that looks like a guard and I think that’s what he’ll end up being in the NFL, at least at first. But Cincinnati doesn’t care – there are bad O-lines in the NFL, but the Bengals line actively sabotaged them for much of the 2017 season. They can put Wynn wherever he fits best. Wynn is very stout (and he should be at that height) and stonewalls defenders who try to bull rush him. He’ll stop guys in their tracks. He’s aggressive. He’s got good feet. He might be fine at tackle. Either way, he’s a really good lineman and the Bengals need a shit-ton of players at the “good lineman” position.<br />
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I want to mock a corner here because it’s the Bengals and all they do is draft first round corners and it’s hilarious, but I can’t have them passing up on Wynn. Plus, if he’s a guard, he’ll be cheaper on that 2nd contract! You think that doesn’t matter to Mike Brown? Mike Brown is the kind of guy who takes a 5:35 am flight with a stop in Atlanta just to save $34. Mike Brown 100% flies to the owner’s meetings on Spirit and you know he’s in the $9 fare club.<br />
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22. DETROIT LIONS – Derrius Guice, RB, LSU<br />
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I’m tired of Detroit not having a running back. It’s never a huge need for them, but I think that’s because they’ve just convinced themselves that good running backs don’t exist because in actuality, it’s consistently a huge need for this team. Wtf? Any time they draft a halfway decent RB he’s always like 180 lbs, immediately suffers every injury and he’s done in a few seasons.<br />
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So fuck it, and fuck their other “more pressing” needs. The Lions need a damn top running back. Derrius Guice is a top running back. Everyone is comparing him to Adrian Peterson. Previously the only time the Lions have been compared to Adrian Peterson is when other teams savagely beat them as if they were a small child. I’m not giving them a 25 year old tight end (Hayden Hurst), and they should have learned their lesson last them they drafted a TE in the first round. I’m not giving them a guard or a defensive lineman. Let’s get Detriot running again! Is there some Ford slogan similar to that? I think there was something like that.<br />
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23. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (trade with LA Rams) – Roquan Smith, ILB, Alabama<br />
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Well….the Patriots also need an ILB, and an edge guy, and some OL…this is also a spot where they like to add OL…I’m actually going to slot Roquan Smith to them here. They certainly don’t have any issues drafting an Alabama inside linebacker, and the seek-and-destroy type of ILB fits their system much better than a team like the Rams. They traded for Danny Shelton to eat up blockers, not to get sacks. I want to mock Edmunds here to wrap this all neatly in a bow but I just can’t help but think that Smith would be a great fit here.<br />
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24. CAROLINA PANTHERS – Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa<br />
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The Panthers absolutely refuse to add WR talent, so why would I start now? This team is driven by defense and by Cam Newton doing absolutely everything offensively and still getting ripped for it in the media. Ever since Josh Norman left, they’ve been struggling to patch up their secondary, and Josh Jackson is a very similar corner to Norman stylistically. He’s not going to get up and press people like Denzel Ward or even like Isaiah Oliver. He is going to be at home in a heavy zone scheme reading QBs and jumping routes. This is the guy who if he hits becomes Richard Sherman.<br />
I saw him getting mocked lower and lower and didn’t see it at first but after having done this exercise, I get it. He’s not as versatile as the other top corners – he has to be played a certain way to really succeed. But he’s not a bad athlete by any stretch. People downplayed Desmond King last year and Josh Jackson is a more athletic version of King in a better body. King did very well as a rookie and I think Jackson will as well. He finds the ball very well. And in a league where even Case Keenum is throwing for like 400 yards a game, it may be a better plan to go after picks to offset the completions rather than try to shut down receivers that you aren’t allowed to breathe on or stare at directly without being flagged.<br />
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25. TENNESSEE TITANS – Tremaine Edmunds, ILB, Va. Tech<br />
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See above. The Titans may not have the biggest need at ILB but it definitely is A need for them and they just lost Avery Williamson. I think they would take Taven Bryan here in real life but I don’t have time for this shit. Fuckin’ New England. Damn it.<br />
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26. ATLANTA FALCONS – Taven Bryan, DT, Florida<br />
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Atlanta can go in a bunch of directions with this pick. They could use one more weapon on offense to really lift their passing offense. They could use a rush DE. They also paid Dontari Poe after whiffing on some interior DL picks in years prior and still haven’t really solidified it. Looking at the available prospects, I think they would take the DL here and worry about the other spots later.<br />
I’ve never really liked big, sluggish Alabama monster defensive tackles, and that will continue here. I don’t know what it is, but while I see Da’Ron Payne in a higher light than I do A’Shawn Robinson, I’m just not a huge fan and I like Bryan a lot more. He’s like a bigger Joey Bosa, just powers his way into the backfield at will. He’ll take one arm, bend an OL back and just push him into the QB’s lap. He can also go around the edge a bit, kind of like Stephon Tuitt. He’s probably going to go higher than this in the actual draft, because teams always need more 3-4 DE than are available, and Bryan looks like he could be a monster 3-4 DE. I won’t say he’s a JJ Watt type because nobody is a JJ Watt type but impact at that position really sets your defense up to wreck shop. For Atlanta, they would probably want more of a Maurice Hurst type but talent is talent and Bryan has a lot of it.<br />
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27. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – Leighton Vander Esch, ILB, Boise State<br />
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STOP COMPARING THIS GUY TO LUKE KUECHLY, MEDIA.<br />
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For one, Luke Keuchy is the absolute gold standard of college ILB tape. Vander Esch is a phenomenal athlete, more like Roquan Smith but with a better ability to sort through trash and get by blockers. But, he seems to get fooled a lot. He is raw and only started for a year at Boise State, but here is how he will often play a misdirection play:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXB5kA3lobs/WuHwT8ruwxI/AAAAAAAAHBE/RlkpUDTC8jES53OAJWaFgoMgWiAYHcCPwCLcBGAs/s1600/LVE.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="444" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXB5kA3lobs/WuHwT8ruwxI/AAAAAAAAHBE/RlkpUDTC8jES53OAJWaFgoMgWiAYHcCPwCLcBGAs/s320/LVE.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here’s Luke Kuechly in a similar situation, immediately diagnosing the end-around like he was the one who called it:<br />
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Kuechly’s college tape is full of that. He was absolutely ridiculous. Great athlete, just like LVE, but different players. Both had questions about athleticism until they blew up their respective Combines, because we live in a world of narratives where the majority of people don’t even bother to learn about the shit they’re talking about, but that’s about where the similarities stop. Nobody is really all that similar to Kuechly, because nobody I’ve seen in college recently has combined that understanding of the position and ability to immediately recognize the playcall with his level of athleticism. Yet I read “oh, scouts tell me he’s like Kuechly” and it makes me think – maybe so many teams blow draft picks because there are a lot of scouts who are just plain morons? I don’t know.<br />
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Anyway, Vander Esch may end up being the best ILB in this class if he develops a little further and I wouldn’t be all that surprised if he’s the first ILB taken. He’s just as good an athlete as the others and seems to be better at slipping through trash and finding the ball.<br />
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28. PITTSBURGH STEELERS – Ognonnia Okoronkwo, OLB/EDGE, Oklahoma<br />
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Ok. This guy is projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick or something. I don’t get it. Every year there are guys like this that are projected so low and go early because teams aren’t using CBS Sportsline or WalterFootball or whatever to rank players, and I often make the mistake of trusting those rankings too much. Kevin Byard is an example that jumps out every time I think about later prospects who I don’t think should be late round prospects. I thought he looked like a hell of a player. So did the Titans, and they didn’t care if Todd’s Draft Bonanza dotcom ranked him as a 6th rounder.<br />
This year that guy for me is Okoronkwo. He’s an explosive athlete. He’s strong as hell. He consistently gets pressure when he rushes. He can play more of a traditional linebacker role. I’d bet he can excel inside as well. He comes up and destroys RBs in the backfield. He’s shorter in the James Harrison mold. He just seems like a Steeler.<br />
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And yes, I know he isn’t an ILB or a safety. But ILB and safety can be replaced in the FA market, at least temporarily. 3-4 OLB? You can’t go out and get a Morgan Burnett or a Tre Boston type at that position for a few million bucks. And don’t look now but Edge rusher is about to become a huge need for the Steelers. I treat them like borderline QBs – unless you are absolutely rock solid set at that position, it’s always at least a bit of a need. LBs drive this system. I don’t care how many picks you blew on LBs prior – just like Detroit didn’t care about how many picks they blew on WRs when Calvin Johnson was there or Carolina didn’t care about blowing a pick on a QB when Cam Newton was there. Calvin Johnson is not Mike Williams, so how is that relevant? Same here. Even if Bud Dupree breaks out in year 4, he’s probably gone next year. And that’s a best case – this could be a huge pressing need right now.<br />
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Okoronkwo is one of my favorite prospects in this draft and this is more wishful thinking than anything but if I think a top edge guy is there at 28, I take him and buy my time with Jon Bostic and Burnett. Hell, there will be more rounds in the draft. Draft some slapdick ILB in the 2nd. Get the guy who’s going to beat the shit out of QBs in the first.<br />
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29. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS – Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama<br />
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The Jaguars offense is still as boring as ever, and they’ve shown that they like boring WRs who put up 100 catch seasons at football factories. Calvin Ridley is like a version of Amari Cooper with a nagging hamstring injury.<br />
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I would give them a lineman if I there were a mauler type available or a QB if the same opportunity presented itself, but the way I have things going, I think they take Calvin Ridley and immediately crown him king of the midgets. I’d probably prefer to put a DJ Chark or DJ Moore here, but for some reason I feel that the Jags would go with Ridley in this case. Their defense is kick-ass as fuck but if one of the ILBs drop or if a beast DT (maybe Da’Ron Payne) is there, I wouldn’t be surprised if they went in that direction. Hell, they could even add to the secondary. Nothing wrong with stacking strength on strength and in a year or two they are going to start losing guys for cap reasons and it’s probably smart to keep restocking the engine that drives your team.<br />
Either way, they are going to rush for like 3,000 yards next season and Blake Bortles is going to get a sixth developmental season.<br />
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30. MINNESOTA VIKINGS – Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA<br />
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Another freakshow athletic tackle (he’s also like 8 feet tall) that I can’t see being taken behind McGlinchey. The Vikings have either the best or 2nd best roster in the NFL but the one place they could really use some fresh talent is on the OL. They patched it up last year but the year before it sank their entire season, so I doubt they rest on their laurels if a top OL prospect is sitting there at 30.<br />
Kirk Cousins is going need some time to throw 4 yard slants on 2nd and 15 or loft one too far inside for Adam Theilen to catch over two guys’ heads. He’s going to take a 13-3 roster to 10-6 and somehow yet again avoid all blame and scrutiny.<br />
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31. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS – Sam Hubbard, OLB, Ohio State<br />
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This is a big assumption that they keep this pick, but I don’t really have an opportunity for them to move up and get a QB in my draft. I want to put a WR here but I think edge rusher is a bigger need. It’s all we heard about last year, after Belichick geniusly traded Chandler Jones to Arizona where he probably struggled mightily in between all of his league-leading sacks. I also really want to put Arden Key here, but I just don’t think they’ll go after a weed guy. Or whatever issues he has.<br />
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So I’ll give them Hubbard, another guy who lit up agility drills at the Combine and probably IMO the best combination of edge-setting run defender and pass rusher in this class. Apparently he struggled a bit last year but in his 2016 tape he jumps off the screen at times defending stretch/outside runs. He doesn’t always show much in the way of outside rushing ability but he’s got great hands that allow him to have success on inside rush moves and he’s quick enough to threaten around the edge after setting the tackle up. He’s also good on stunts and other designed inside rushes. I think he would fit very well into NE’s defense.<br />
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He’ll then get traded to Chicago for a 3rd round pick in 2020.<br />
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32. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – DJ Chark, WR, LSU<br />
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In real life, one of the off-ball linebackers is probably available here and Philly takes him. Malik Jefferson doesn’t count because he’s not very good. I could also see them going corner.<br />
But with this being a bad WR draft relative to recent years, I think there will be a bunch of the higher end guys available at 32 and Philly has shown a proclivity towards big-play WRs in free agency. I think they’ll take another shot at one in the draft if the opportunity presents itself. Chark is tall and fast and should be able to run downfield while Carson Wentz runs around and throws 60 yard darts downfield across his body while falling sideways. Kind of like Josh Allen, if he understood how offenses work.<br />
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Usually there are trades back into the first, but I don’t have any this year because I don’t see anybody available that jumps out to trade for. I’d bet that if NE doesn’t move up, they move back out of 31, but I don’t have all day to write these, man.<br />
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Some popular names that I left out of the first round:<br />
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Malik Jefferson (Texas ILB): As mentioned above, I just don’t think he’s very good. Great timed athlete but doesn’t show it on the field. Looks sluggish and does not work through blockers well. I think he’ll be mediocre at best.<br />
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Donte Jackson (LSU CB): I do not get it with this guy. Always see him mocked into the first but he just doesn’t cover well. He’s like 170 lbs as well. That would be fine if he could do anything more than run fast in a line, but I don’t think he can.<br />
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Christian Kirk (TAMU WR): Gimmick piece WR that makes Percy Harvin looked refined. He might be successful in the NFL but I don’t see a team spending a first rounder on a guy who has to move around pre-snap and run fake screens every other play to get him open. He rarely just lines up and runs an actual route.<br />
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Mike McGlinchey (Notre Dame OT): Covered him a few times but I have no idea how he’s the general consensus top OT. Seems like a Riley Reiff situation where he’s going to “fall”.<br />
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Jaire Alexander (Louisville CB): No reason I dropped him, just haven’t watched all that much and didn’t have a spot where he jumped out as the probably pick. He’ll probably go in the first in reality.<br />
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Da’Ron Payne (Alabama DT): I just don’t like Alabama DL, I guess. Monster DL but they all look great at Alabama. Hell, even Jonathan Allen fell to 18 last draft. Payne though with his Combine performance is almost certain to go in the first round, and the more I think about it I doubt he’d get past Jacksonville if he fell that far.<br />
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Billy Price (OSU Guard): I don’t have time to watch all these guards and centers and stuff, man. Come on now.<br />
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Hayden Hurst (SCAR TE): It was funnier to mock Gesicki to the Dolphins even though Hurst is the consensus top TE. But he’s also going to be a 25 year old rookie. Who drafts a 25 year old tight end in the first round?<br />
<br />
Rashaan Evans (Alabama ILB): Actually he would probably be in the mix for Philadelphia or Pittsburgh if it fell this way but I don’t love him and can see him falling into the 2nd round. This is already a lot of ILBs to be drafted this high and Evans has medical concerns and also performance concerns.<br />
<br />
Carlton Davis (Auburn CB): I literally have no idea who this guy is and don’t feel like finding out right now.</div>
Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-77830514351674487302017-04-05T13:21:00.003-07:002017-04-05T13:22:40.165-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2017 NFL MOCK DRAFT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It's that time of year again! Time to waste a few hours of my time and 5-10 minutes of yours. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I probably don't need to state this, but I will anyway: all of these mock selections are foolproof and are guaranteed to actually happen. Bet heavily on them if you are given the opportunity. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Let's get this fake show on the metaphorical road.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. Cleveland Browns - MYLES GARRETT, EDGE, TEXAS A&M</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">With the first pick, the Browns select Myles Garrett from Texas Ass-to-Mouth.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: initial;"><img alt="Image" class="postimage" src="http://sportslabs-webproxy.imgix.net/http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.silverchalice.co%2Fci-prod%2F2016%2F02%2F02%2F20160202224337_texas_am_jpg?s=4de126d1ae3d85bce26cf75174e916f4" style="border: none; font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /></span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The Browns shouldn't overthink this...Garrett is one of the best prospects I've ever seen, and he plays a position arguably 2nd to QB in the modern NFL hierarchy. I don't think this is hyperbole. Since 2000 or so, there have only been a few guys in this top class for most people. I pick 2000 since I was like, 13 in 1997 and I wasn't dialing up to Netscape and streaming Shawn Springs games through my RealPlayer. Though that was the Orlando Pace year and he is my gold standard for college OT tape, but I digress. 2000 is even a stretch since I've only paid significant attention since like, 2010 but whatever. Here's who I put in that class:</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">• Reggie Bush (may sound funny now, but people accused the Texans of purposefully blowing a game to draft him and people really believed this when Kris Brown shanked that field goal)</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">• Calvin Johnson </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">• Andrew Luck</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">• Khalil Mack</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">That's it. I put Garrett in that class. (Tangent: A lot of people had Robert Gallery at that level - he was the ultimate "safe can't-fail" guy, IMO - and he's proof that there's no such thing and why I'd never say that about anybody, even Garrett).</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Reggie Bush was like a new Barry Sanders in college, and most people thought he'd just dominate the NFL as well. Didn't happen. Calvin Johnson was the ultimate freak athlete wide receiver, with the tape making one hand diving catches behind his back from whoever the hell their QB was to back it up. Matt Millen was a national joke for his WR fetish and even he could not pass on Megatron. No QB has come into the NFL as clearly "franchise ready" as Luck since Peyton Manning, and Luck was a 4.75 40-yard type of athlete on top of it. And Khalil Mack was just an absolute unstoppable animal.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Clowney was not that level of guy, IMO. Neither was Sammy Watkins or Julio Jones or Jalen Ramsey or Larry Fitz. But Garrett is, I think. Usually a top edge rusher's profile will say that this guy is great but he's either a little undersized, he's not the fastest guy, he doesn't have elite bend or flexibility, or he struggles to win with technique. I liked Clowney a lot, but I loved Khalil Mack and thought the Texans should take him #1. Garrett is bigger, faster, and a better rusher technically. He might have the best bend in this class, even though he's like 7'2" and 430 pounds. The cons you are forced to say about Garrett are things like "well there were some plays here where he didn't dominate everybody" and "well I mean he could be a little better setting the edge against the run". You have to stretch. I will be stunned beyond belief if Trubisky goes #1 over Garrett. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">TRADE!<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />49ers trade the 2nd pick to Jacksonville for the 4th pick, a 3rd rounder this year and let's say a 2nd next year<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />2. Jacksonville Jaguars - LEONARD FOURNETTE, RB, LSU</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">That class I mentioned above? I have Fournette in it, too. And I can't seem to make the 49ers pick anybody else with it. Not Jonathan Allen, not Solomon Thomas, not the guy I have them picking at 4 who is the guy I want them to pick here. So it works out. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The way I worked the Texans getting Mack into my mock that year was to have them trade with Jax, who would take Clowney, and then they would take Mack at 3. Because Jacksonville, in addition to running a 4-3, had been blowing draft picks on shitty pass rushers for years. It had become a thing there and just as important to their identity as those "piss meets shit" helmets that look like someone taught a first time Photoshop user how to use the gradient fill layer in a how-to class.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It didn't work out that way, but I'm not gonna stop going to the Jags well. The Jags are kind of in the same spot they were on the DL at running back, trotting out Toby Gerhardt and TJ Yeldon and Chris Ivory and Michigan QBs in a futile attempt to replace MJD. Why not give up a few picks to jump up and grab a guy who is the best RB prospect since AP in a lot of people's minds, and arguably (well, I'd argue it) even better? Fournette isn't the best all-around RB, that's Dalvin Cook, or maybe Christian McCaffery, or maybe even Joe Mixon. But it's not like he can't catch, they just didn't really utilize him like that at LSU. And more importantly, the #1 with a bullet job of a running back is to, well, take the fuckin' ball and run with it. Yeah, David Johnson and LeVeon Bell get their cocks gobbled because they can take screen passes, jump over a guy and spin around and run 30 yards and shit like that but that wouldn't happen if they weren't also phenomenal at just plain running the ball. There are a boatload of RBs in the past half decade or so that could have spent the night before a game in Lamar Odom's opium den and still been more of a 'complete' RB than Adrian Peterson. But which one of them are you taking over 2012 prime AP? Probably none of them. So why do so many people knock Fournette because you can't motion him into the slot? Who cares?</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This guy came to LSU with a Peter North sized load of hype, and he lived up to it almost immediately. He looks like the biggest and fastest guy on the field, at a D-1 school in the SEC. This isn't normal. Guys aren't supposed to go up against Tennessee and have film that looks like a high school phenom. Fournette's does in some cases - it looks like one of those "watch Dez Bryant dominate in high school!" type of videos. I can't think of another player that as ever made me think that. And he was pretty much the LSU offense...I think they have a lineman that might go late and then Malachi Dupre might get drafted in the 4th or something. Teams knew Fournette was the LSU offense and unless slowed by injury or by an Alabama team that has more NFL caliber players than Jacksonville, it didn't matter. This is an absolutely ridiculous draft. It's this draft and 2014 in some order, and then I don't even know who's third. Don't say 2011 - that draft wasn't considered all that great at the time.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Chicago Bears - JONATHAN ALLEN, DT/DE, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Alabama guys can be difficult to judge because of their team's borderline NFL rosters, but Allen certainly looks like he's one of the guys that created that environment and not one that just benefitted from it. I think he'll fit great as a 3-4 DE.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This would have been a slam dunk pick a few months ago, because Allen looks like a bigger version of Aaron Donald on tape. Then he went to the Combine and performed more like Aaron Carter. However, I think his tape is too good and Chicago's defense is too bad to go elsewhere with this pick. Maybe they'll take Trubisky - the signing of alien life form Mike Glennon will have no impact on that if they really want to take a QB - but I'm just gonna guess that they continue to add talent to that defense. And really, that's the only side of the ball that's ever seemed to work in Chicago. You can no joke make a decent argument that Smokin' Jay Cutler is the best QB they've had in the Super Bowl era, which is hilarious. Even more hilarious is the top 2 QBs all-time in Chicago in passer rating, minimum 200 attempts: 1. Josh McCown and 2. Brian Hoyer. McCown is still cashing Alshon Jeffery's checks. Hold on a second.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Chicago Bears - MITCH TRUBISKY, QB, UNC</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">That's just too hilarious to not have the Bears taking a shot at a franchise QB in the draft with every decent chance they get. How has this team not drafted QBs every single fuckin' year until they found one? JAY CUTLER AND JIM MCMAHON ARE YOUR BEST QBS SINCE 1950! This guy's gotta be better than Goff, right? All this talk about "oh it's such a shitty year for QBs" a year after the Rams traded hella picks for Jared motherfuckin' Goff? </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I haven't really watched Trubisky but it seems clear he's the top ranked guy and he's at least a legitimate top 10 draft pick...I mean, Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker are top 10 draft picks so Trubisky certainly seems like he'd be - do the Bears really pass that up to take a guy who performed in the 10th percentile in most of his Combine drills? I don't think they do after thinking about it for a bit. Look, teams are trying to win first and foremost but they also have fans to please and entertain and excite. Chicago fans are all rah rah defense and whatnot but at some point, I mean, you gotta do better than Jay Cutler as QB of your all-time team. Here are the first round QBs for the Bears since 1970 in order of draft pick:</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">1. Jim McMahon, 5th overall in 1982</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">2. CADE MC-GOD-DAMN-NOWN, 11th overall in 1999</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Pause to appreciate that this team drafted Cade McNown at 11th overall. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">3. Rex Grossman, 22nd overall in 2003</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">4. Jim Harbaugh, 26th overall in 1987 (don't argue for him at #1 Bears QB, he sucked there)</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">5. NOBODY</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">That's it. The Bears, a team that has never had a legitimate top 10 NFL QB, has taken 4 QBs in the first round since 1970, with the 2nd highest being CADE MCNOWN. He lasted 2 years in the NFL. Even Ryan Leaf and Jamarcus Russell managed to stick around for three. He's underrated in all-time QB busts due to his draft slot but damn, McNown was the Gio Carmazzi of first round QBs. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So my point is that maybe they should try drafting some QBs. So why not try here? Allen is still on the board.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4. San Francisco 49ers - MALIK HOOKER, FS, OHIO STATE</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I seem to have Malik Hooker higher than most people, but he's just ridiculous when the ball is in the air. I've never seen a prospect this good as a centerfield safety, and he's played like 2 years. He's Ed Reed. I don't care if he's getting surgery, this guy is ridiculous and you see how a safety like Earl Thomas makes a defense go.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Only question about him is he run defense - for all the ability he has to run across the field against a vertical route and get the pick, he seems to be a bit hesitant when backs reach the 2nd level. He's just out there throwing shoulders at people much of the time, and this keeps him from also being in that Myles Garrett/Fournette class. If you want a safety that can do that, you'd want Jamal Adams. But Hooker is so damn good against the pass, and that seems to be the most important role of a free safety these days especially, that I think he'll end up being the first safety off the board. He will let you do so much with your coverage schemes by really minimizing that fear of getting beat deep. He's a complete game changer and I think those guys generally go before jack-of-all-trades types like Adams.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">5. Tennessee Titans - MARSHON LATTIMORE, CB, OHIO STATE</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tennessee has improved a great deal in the past few years, particular on offense. They don't need OL. They could use a big time WR but I don't think this is the year they would do that, as most of the talent resides on defense. They could certainly use secondary help, though, and so I'll give them Lattimore over a guy like Allen, even though 3-4 teams can always use guys like Allen. Hard to pass on Allen - because often when you need secondary help you really need pass rush help - but there are top notch corners in this draft too because this draft is absolutely ridiculous and why wouldn't there be.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Lattimore is a true eraser of a cornerback. He's big, tall, fast and fluid. Those traits do not often come together. Humphrey out of Alabama is as well, but Lattimore is jusssst a bit faster and quicker and played a ton of press man to Humphrey's zone/off-man and I think he ends up going first among them. These guys get $10+ million contracts in free agency - hell, look at Dre Kirkpatrick and even a guy the Titans let move on in Alterraun Verner - so they are tough to pass up when they come on rookie deals with a 5th year option. I don't think Tennessee passes in this case. And neither will the opposition hahaahahaah get it? Whatever. Go fuck yourself.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6. New York Jets - JONATHAN ALLEN, DT/DE, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Allen has tremendous film but a bad Combine, but then again, so did Terrell Suggs. Already went over him earlier so I'll just slot him to a team that is never afraid to take too many defensive linemen and a team that probably wants to pull out of the Sheldon Richardson experience. Former Jet Antonio Cromartie can advise them of the dangers of pulling out too late. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">7. San Diego Los Angeles Chargers - JAMAL ADAMS, FS/SS, LSU</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Jamal Adams is a free safety, but with exceptions for guys like Malik Hooker, I'm usually a "two safeties" guy as opposed to someone who insists on free and strong. I don't know what the Chargers like to run but if they run any Cover 2, it's nice to have two guys who can cover and play the run. Hell, Eric Weddle is a prime example of what I'll call a "box free safety" and he had plenty of success in San Diego. Unfortunately, like most of San Diego's good players in the past decade since AJ Smtih went through menopause and destroyed one of the best rosters we've seen in the 2000s, he gone. So is Jahleel Addae. And Marcus Gilchrist. If they let Jason Verrett walk then I'm convinced that the AJ Smith's ghost has moved with the Chargers to LA. I just remembered now that they are in LA now and will play this year on, like, a high school practice field. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Anyway, Jamal Adams can pretty much do it all and he can fit into anyone's defense. I'd rather have a Malik Hooker or Kam Chancellor type who is absolutely elite in a particular area, but there aren't many guys like that and it being a box safety who can cover just damn near won Landon Collins DPOY. I didn't like Collins coming out of 'Bama because I didn't think he was that great in coverage but I was wrong on that. I was wrong on that and what he became is what I think Jamal Adams is as a prospect, if that makes sense. Then again, maybe that's the kiss of death, because I hated Joey Bosa as a top 5 pick and he turned out to be historically great as a rookie. Can't win 'em all.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><b><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">8. Carolina Panthers - SOLOMON THOMAS, DE, STANFORD</span></b><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I was really tempted to put Humphrey here, because the Panthers really bungled their corner spot last year and spent a lot of draft capital and effort trying to patch up those holes, but in the end, this seems to be a team that goes front 7 on defense and lets the rest of the chips fall as they may. Thomas is getting hyped as a possible first DL off the board this year, and while I don't see teams moving Jonathan Allen that far down over his Combine performance, he's still an elite pass rushing prospect with a particularly explosive sack reel, particularly for a 4-3 team driven by beast DL like Carolina. St. Louis/LA Rams fell off with decline in their DL, but the NY Giants were able to remain truly competitive for years by keeping that 4-3 DL flush with talent. Carolina seems to have the same blueprint. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">9. Cincinnati Bengals - MIKE WILLIAMS, WR, CLEMSON</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'm tempted to slot Humphrey here, as no team seems to be as driven by corners as Cincinnati, but they've drafted so many of them recently and have William Jackson III coming back after an injury redshirt year and there seems to be a lot of corner depth this year. You can't say the same about the WR class, however, and Cincinnti saw a huge decline after letting their #2 and #3 WRs walk and slotting Brandon LaFell and rookie Tyler Boyd across from AJ Green. I think that they draft Williams (or Corey Davis) in an attempt to get back to the 2015 version that was a truly dominant unit. Andy Dalton looked like an actual top-5 QB that year until he broke his thumb on a tackle attempt after daltoning a really bad dalton late in the year. And then AJ McCarron came in and looked like a legit NFL starter. Putting one of these beast WRs across from Green and letting Boyd play in the slot while getting Tyler Eifert back might go a long ways toward turning back the clock for a team that watched their window begin to rapidly shut. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">10. Buffalo Bills - MARLON HUMPHREY, CB, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I mean, why not replace Stephon Gilmore with a Stephon Gilmore type? Strongly considered OJ Howard here but Buffalo is a team that also seems to place a lot of emphasis on the corner spot and in the secondary as a whole, and there aren't that many guys that look and move like Humphrey walking the planet. Though half of them seem to be in the draft this year. I can't say enough how stacked this draft class is, particularly defensively. There are years that don't have a single corner with these kinds of measureables and this year we've got like 4. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">11. New Orleans Saints - JOHN ROSS, WR, WASHINGTON</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This may be a head-scratcher, but why not replace Brandin Cooks with someone who is even more electric? Ross isn't just a Combine creation - this guy was killing people all year. He broke both of Adoree' Jackson's ankles, his pelvis and fractured his soul with a double move. The Saints have been drafting WRs high forever because they like to throw 1200 times a year and Ross is a rare bird. He's Corey Coleman again but even faster. The Saints need to draft a ton of defense, but they have New England's first rounder and there's a lot more depth on that side of the ball so I can really see them making a move like this and then drafting defense the rest of the way. The goal is to draft talent first and plug holes second. I have been high on Ross for awhile and I think that anytime you can draft a game-breaker type of player, you should really consider taking that guy even if he doesn't feel a huge need.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">12. Cleveland Browns - PAT MAHOMES, QB, TEXAS TECH</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The Browns are like the bizarro Bears in that they have had a history of shitty QBs but in contrast to Chicago, they have drafted them high for millions of years with little to nothing to show for it. Also, both teams can probably say that Brian Hoyer is in their top 3 all-time. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I think it's pretty clear that the Browns would take Carson Wentz if they could do it all over again, but this isn't Hot Tub Time Machine and they can't. You can ask Mark Chmura if you don't believe me. Since they haven't been able to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo (yet), I think they go for talent and ceiling over floor and take Mahomes at 12.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I love Mahomes as a prospect. He comes from one of those 'gimmick' Big 12 offenses but before Mahomes, there was Aaron Rodgers coming from a similarly gimmicky offense. Oh, those QBs can't succeed in the NFL! Look at Kyle Boller! Well, Aaron Rodgers can throw dimes off his back foot across his body 40 yards downfield while running to his right, so it really didn't matter that he took a lot of shotgun snaps or whatever it was with Tedford. Mahomes is the same way. Nobody else except maybe Russell Wilson can throw like this. Mahomes' arm is ridiculous, and he's accurate as hell, and his deep ball is amazing, and he's a pretty decent athlete, and why are we focusing so much on how he took a snap? Imagine if Mahomes had less talent but had the same issues he has now, taking primarily shotgun snaps, having inconsistent footwork, making limited reads...and pretend that his name is Jared Goff. What's the difference? Why are we talking down Mahomes so much on the negatives while completely ignoring all the unbelievable talent that he has and the actual throws he's put on tape? Is Texas Tech that toxic? Just because Kliff fuckin' Kingsbury didn't make it, nobody from that school can? I think Mahomes will be a star and the best QB in this class and I don't see him dropping anywhere near the 2nd round in this draft. Even in the deepest drafts, teams could not help but reaching for Blake Bortleses. This guy actually has real elite QB talent, so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't even make it to pick 12.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">13. Arizona Cardinals - REUBEN FOSTER, ILB, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Reuben Foster big-timed a staff member at the Combine and was sent home. Yet I am not banishing him to the 7th round as punishment. Why? Ignoring that it wasn't really the biggest of issues, the main reason is that he's really fuckin' good at football. This guy is all over the field destroying people. Teams like ILBs that are all over the field destroying people. Vontaze Burfict is a literal insane person who has done like actual human sacrifices on the field and he's so good at football that the Bengals pay him a lot of money in spite of that. Foster has one incident, and it's really not all that bad. He could probably get caught snorting coke out of a dead hooker's wilting bush and he'd still go in the 2nd round. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I really wanted to put OJ Howard here but the Cardinals love to take defensive players and Foster is a really, really good one. He's kinda like Jaylon Smith but with functional nerve endings.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">14. Philadelphia Eagles - DEREK BARNETT, DE, TENNESSEE</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I really haven't even started throwing out edge guys yet, and in retrospect I'm probably wrong to wait this long. Teams love edge guys. Teams draft edge guys like Justin Blackmon drafts Miller Genuine Drafts. Barnett is a tape over measurables kinda guy, but his tape is damn impressive and he really knows how to turn into the QB once he gets into the tackle - a ton of college guys just run right up the arc, but Barnett bends well and crashes the pocket very consistently. He's like Myles Garrett without the elite speed and explosiveness. In a scheme that made Brandon Graham into a star, why not Barnett? </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">15. Indianapolis - OJ HOWARD, TE, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I just can't keep dropping OJ Howard. He's too good. He's the best TE prospect I've ever seen - complete TEs are so rare these days and you don't see guys that are as explosive as Howard also showing an ability to do regular tight end stuff, like block people. The Colts like Jack Doyle but they've seem to have used two tight ends for awhile now, and I don't think that alone would keep them from drafting OJ Howard. The only reason a guy like Howard would fall this far is the continued neglect of the tight end position, but a true stud like Gronkowski can make offenses nearly impossible to defend. I know Indy needs defense defense and more defense, and offensive line of course but there's really no studs this year that would merit a selection over the large pool of BPA type players, but I'm that high on Howard and I think he'd be tough to pass on.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">16. Baltimore Ravens - MALIK MCDOWELL</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It's the Ravens. There are a lot of pass rushers available. I think the Ravens take a pass rusher because that's what the Ravens do. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Malik McDowell is a bit of a polarizing prospect - a lot of people hate him and think he'll drop into the 2nd and he does appear to be a bit of a headcase. His interviews are just...there's just a weird vibe he gives off. It's kind of reminiscent of Nkemdiche. And both were destroying OL in their tapes. But McDowell can finish, and Nkemdiche couldn't. I've read that McDowell can disappear, and I obviously haven't watched that much tape, but I didn't really see that. He was consistently throwing guards around and facing double teams and blowing up plays. He looks like he can be an incredible prototype of a 3-4 DE. Could be a risky pick but I have a hard time seeing the Ravens passing that up unless they really like Corey Davis or if maybe OJ Howard falls. I'm gonna give them a guy like McDowell over say a Haason Reddick.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">17. Washington Redskins - CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY, RB, USC</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Everything says that the Redskins need an ILB, and everyone is mocking Zach Cunningham here. I'm not a huge fan of Zach Cunningham, so I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm gonna give them a running back, because outside of one year of pre-injury Bob Griffin and Alfred Morris and one big game from Robert Kelley, they've had a collection of stiffs at the position since the Clinton Portis era ended. After Dalvin Cook's poor Combine, I'll slot McCaffrey here instead. If McCaffrey goes in the first round, he'll be the first white halfback to be drafted there since John Cappelletti in 1974. But this guy isn't John Riggins. McCaffrey is electric. Boogie woogie woogie.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">18. Tennessee Titans - COREY DAVIS, WR, W. MICHIGAN</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tennessee eventually gets their WR, in an attempt to have one guy who is capable of averaging more than 10 yards per reception. I haven't watched much on Davis, but he appears to be pretty damn good, so here Titans, have a receiver. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - CHARLES HARRIS, DE, MISSOURI</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The Bucs have been trying to find competent defensive linemen for what seems like 10 years, and I don't think they are done just because Noah Spence looks pretty good. Harris looks explosive as hell on tape coming off the edge, but he didn't time well at all at the Combine and people are dropping him into the second round. I don't think he'll fall that far. This may be early but I don't really feel like giving the Bucs an RB here or Melinfonwu or another corner or Zay Jones - and I think Harris is probably the best fit for them. If Malik McDowell were still on my board I'd probably slot him here. When the hell did Missouri start recruiting all the pass rushers?</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Denver Broncos - CAM ROBINSON, OT, ALABAMA</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Finally, someone takes an offensive lineman. Watching Ty Sambrailo last year trying to block Justin Houston was like watching Freddy Mercury's immune system trying to block Ebola. It was awful. Someone has to give Trevor Siemian enough time to be mediocre, and I think Robinson can help. He's kind of a plodder but he's stout and he's got some good tape. Showing well against Myles Garrett certainly doesn't hurt his stock.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A year with all of these great edge rushers, and so few competent tackles. No wonder they all look so great on the Youtubes.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">21. Detroit Lions - HAASON REDDICK, LB, TEMPLE</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is kind of a weird choice, because Reddick seems like a better fit for a 3-4 team, but Detroit needs help everywhere in the front seven. Reddick can play outside and inside linebacker, hell, maybe he can play 4-3 end. He's an absolute freak who jumped far and ran fast, and was expected to run even faster. If the Vikings can work with Anthony Barr, I think the Lions can work with Reddick. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">22. Miami Dolphins - ADOREE JACKSON, CB, USC</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Jackson is more well-known than he probably would be otherwise due to his return abilities and his moonlighting as a WR. But he can play well at corner primarily, and Miami needs people that can do that. If this draft weren't full of ridiculous players and particularly corners, he'd probably be a much higher pick. I'm always tempted to mock pass rushers to Miami but the guys left this year seem more 3-4 than 4-3 to me. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">23. New York Giants - DALVIN COOK, RB, FSU</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I know Dalvin Cook had a poor Combine, but I can't let him continue to fall like this. The Giants were thrown into the AP sweepstakes - though I guess sweepstakes is a bad word - but why not just take a guy like Cook if he falls to you? This dude can do just about everything and I watched him destroy Michigan live a few months ago in Turnpike Stadium, so I'm putting that over the timed metrics. He can run in any system, he finds holes, he has great vision and runs to daylight and all those cliches, and they can split him out wide and throw him 60 yard go routes. This will be the latest addition to put the Giants over the edge and make them an unstoppable juggernaut, according to Giants fans.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">TRADE - NY Jets trade 2nd round pick and 3rd round pick and a 2nd rounder in 2018 and also some bullshit pick in 2018, like 9th rounder or something, and maybe a punter or whatever</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">24. NY Jets - DESHONE KIZER, QB, NOTRE DAME</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is probably stupid, but how can the Jets keep never having a QB? There's always trades and so I have to throw a few in here. Why this spot? Well, it's close enough to the 2nd round that it may not require a king's ransom, it's a deep draft, and nobody left screams to be the Raiders pick right here. So I can see it. Also, if you want a QB, you probably need to jump ahead of the idiot Texans, who continue to waste one of the league's better defenses with QBs they bought at TJ Maxx. Why is Brian Hoyer the best QB of the past 5 years for like, 3 NFL teams? </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Anyway, I haven't watched much at all of Kizer. I don't know if I like him or not. I do know that I read in multiple places that he has the best skillset of all these QBs, so I'll throw this trade in there just for the sake of having one. QBs are QBs and I don't care how uninspiring this year's choices are or how stacked the rest of the draft is - even in another stacked year, Johnny Manziel got the Browns to trade back into the first and take him just by texting the Browns. I think Kizer has a shot to be this year's Paxton Lynch.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">25. Houston Texans - DAVIS WEBB, QB, CAL</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Can the Texans continue passing up on QBs? If Derek Carr were anything else - Derek Smith, Derek Jefferson, Derek Andthedominoes - the Texans probably would have taken him a few years ago and been a legit Super Bowl contender. But they didn't, and then they experienced a full year of Brock Osweiler, and now I think they take another of this year's toolsy QBs that people just don't like for some reason. I was gonna put Watson here, even though I am a bit scared off by Watson's consistent inaccuracy and misses to wide open WRs - sometimes he looks like Marcus Mariota with vertigo - that I'm gonna put Davis Webb here instead.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I know NOTHING about Davis Webb. I just read that he's "rising up draft boards" and he's "gonna be a first rounder" and "could be the best QB in the this draft" (couldn't anyone?), and so I'm gonna blindly say this is the pick where people go "who?". Someone please come into Houston and start throwing the ball to DeAndre Hopkins pleeeeeaaassseeee</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">26. Seattle Seahawks - RYAN RAMCYZK, OT, WISCONSIN</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Another guy I know nothing about, but Seattle's line is such hot garbage that it probably started the Centralia mine fire. So draft some linemen. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">27. Kansas City Chiefs - OBI MELINFONWU, FS/SS, UCONN</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Kansas City needs some secondary help, and Obi Melinfonwu is secondary help. He's not just a Combine wonder, the guy has some tape where he is just striding across the entire field in like 4 steps. And it worked for Byron Jones, so why not? Melinfonwu is not Kam Chancellor in that he's not going to come up and pop you, though he is fine coming up and stopping the run - I just expected more violence in his hits. But that's not the main job description. Melinfonwu reminds me of George Iloka, a big, tall strider that can probably play corner, too. I really would try him out at corner, and I think he could be ridiculous there. 6'4" burner that can move laterally? That's just rare as hell...except for this year, of course. I haven't even figured out where to slot Kevin King yet.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">28. Dallas Cowboys - GAREON CONLEY, CB, OHIO STATE</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dallas could use a pass rusher, but they could arguably use a corner more and I think Conley is a better prospect than is available in the 2nd tier of the edge class. Conley is another athletic phenom (so many guys this year have wide athletic webs) who can move both straight forward and side to side. In fact, he might be the second most fluid corner in this class behind Tre White. I can't put Takk McKinley here with Conley still on the board...and does Dallas even have any corners left at this point?</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">29. Green Bay Packers - KEVIN KING, CB, WASHINGTON</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Another damn corner? All I heard last year was "man, Green Bay's corners suck!", so I guess I'll give them one. Kevin King's athletic web is INSANE. Wtf? He makes some of the other guys look pedestrian. This motherfucker is 6'3", 200+ lbs, runs a 4.4, has 95TH PERCENTILE AGILITY NUMBERS, he just can't bench press. If he could bench press then he might legitimately have the best athletic web of any corner in this history of dudes in borderline gay shorts running in circles around cones. This is Richard Sherman after a summer training with David Boston and Mark McGwire. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And he can play, too. Now he can play in Green Bay. Hope he likes Big Lots.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Actually Green Bay is a pretty cool town with some bad-ass breweries. But he's an athlete so he probably shouldn't drink too many nitro porters.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">30. Pittsburgh Steelers - JORDAN WILLIS, OLB, KANSAS ST</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This was tough. If I could think of a trade-down scenario for Pittsburgh, I'd put it here. I'd give them any of the corners just taken, Melinfonwu, OJ Howard...I'm considering David Njoku but I just don't see it...Budda Baker as well but I just don't see it....Zay Jones but I just don't see it....I think they end up taking the edge guy in this case and I guess it will be Willis. It might be Carl Lawson, it might be Takk McKinley, it might be TJ Watt, but for some reason I see Willis' metrics and his production and think he might be the guy here. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I don't love this pick or really even like it. But I gotta put somebody here so Willis it is.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">31. Atlanta Falcons - DAVID NJOKU, TE, MIAMI</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is a tough one as well. I don't see a DL that jumps at me as the pick here. It seems like the Falcons have been trying to find a TE forever, though, so I'll slot Njoku here. He's not OJ Howard but the potential to be OJ Howard is there, and I think it's going to get him into the first round.</span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">32. New Orleans Saints - BUDDA BAKER, FS/SS, WASHINGTON</strong><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Not sure how much sense this makes, but New Orleans needs help everywhere on defense and I just wanted to put Baker into the first round. He does so many Troy Polamalu-esque things that I don't think he's going to be a late 2nd or 3rd rounder like I often see him mocked. So he can go down to New Orleans, drink a couple hurricanes, piss on some painted lady in the street, jerk off next to a police horse, check out some 48 year old Iowa housewife's floppy tits and then go and blow up some stretch runs on Sundays. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Guess that's it. Didn't put the three guys I don't really like (Cunningham, Taco Charlton and Jabrill Peppers) in the first. Couldn't put Watson in the first with his lowlight reel of misfired passes. I would have legit "first round grades" on Zay Jones, Takk McKinley, Tim Williams, Carl Lawson, probably Jarrad Davis, Joe Mixon (yeah yeah), Jourdan Lewis, perhaps Raekwon McMillan (probably alone in that one but I think he's better than Reggie Ragland), and probably some others. It's a ridiculous draft year, and Ryan Grigson isn't around to pick the bust out of this group. </span><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="font-family: "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There's also a guy named Fish Smithson.</span></span></div>
Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-42638615784354349692016-04-26T13:19:00.001-07:002016-04-28T04:56:33.699-07:00BUSINESS HORSE 2016 MOCK DRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Nowhere else to put this, so it's going on here. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">If the fuckers on TV can do shitty mock drafts, why can't I? This also makes watching the draft more enjoyable for me, and certainly more enjoyable than it was for young men in the Vietnam War era. As always, this is guaranteed to be 100% accurate. Jk, it's not, I do what I want I'm a grown ass man</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. LA RAMS - Jared Goff, QB, California</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Before recently, the hype train for Goff had been mainly underground, leading to his nickname of "Subway Jared". Then the Rams traded like 6 picks to move up to number 1, and nothing happened because they assumed they were going to draft Carson Wentz. However, some brilliant people then connected the dots to realize that a) Carson Wentz is some random-ass dude who probably fucks free range bison in North Dakota for sport and b) Goff went to college a mere 8 hours or so from LA. I mean, it's perfect! I haven't paid much attention to either of these QBs but everyone says Goff is the pick. I don't want to watch any QBs this year so that works for me. It will be interesting to see if Goff is strong enough to fight off the effects of witchcraft after he arrives to training camp and Jeff Fisher casts a level 25 Mediocrity Spell. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I never have any idea what the Eagles are doing. It's certainly weird to trade away all of your picks after Chip Kelly isn't even there to fuck them up anymore. It's extremely odd to pay Chase Daniel in Lunchables let alone give him $7 million per annum. And now they have pissed off Princess Sam Bradford to move up and get the QB Bridesmaid, likely to be Lumberjack Ryan Tannehill. I mean Carson Wentz. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Wentz actually has Andrew Luck-esque measurables, so maybe he'll be good. I don't know. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS - Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, Florida State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I've read Tunsil mocked to this spot quite often, and I just do not see it. I'm also listing Ramsey as a CB/S as most sites seem to do this, but to me he's a corner, at least through his rookie contract. I guess he's Charles Woodson, though I think he'll be a better CB than Woodson was as most teams seem to be playing more zone now.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Ramsey is big, physical, strong and aggressive and he's a smart dude, too. He's no Antonio Cromartie. Kind of reminds me of a young Cromartie, though - when Cromartie was young he was a freakish corner and Ramsey appears to be the same. He's got some Marcus Peters in him but while maybe not as strong and feisty (who is), he's more fluid. Peters made some big plays but he also got beat a lot. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">One area where I wasn't as impressed as the others was his pure man coverage - Ramsey doesn't seem to physically press (maybe that's FSU's scheme, just turn and run?) and he gets lost in man coverage sometimes - but nobody's perfect. Everybody hates Cam Newton now because God forbid dudes trained to break each other in half on a field act like something other than foreign dignitaries at all times and Ramsey can be a bit cocky, so I'm sure people will complain about that after he's drafted. I'll continue thinking that it's dumb. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Of all the possible comparisons, the one I see the most for Ramsey's ceiling is a significantly more athletic version of Richard Sherman. As a bad case scenario (I mean worst case is always that he just blows ass or gets hit by a bus or something, so I'm thinking merely bad), he's probably Cromartie. Do you take that 3rd overall? Hell yeah you do, and you thank the deity of your choice that there are 2 decent enough QBs this year to push him down.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. DALLAS COWBOYS - Shit.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I have no idea where to go with this one. I think Bosa is overrated as hell and will not put up significant sack numbers in the NFL. He's strong as hell and will probably set the hell out of the edge and blow up some running plays but you don't draft that 4th overall, do you? I think Bosa is probably best set as a new-breed 3-4 "playmaking" DE, and the Cowboys already have one 3-4 prototype playing 4-3 DE in Randy Gregory. Assuming he stops doing whatever he's doing.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Shaq Lawson? I think he's a bit of an oaf despite his measurables telling a different tale but that was as a 3-4 OLB. Maybe he is worthy of this pick as a traditional DE?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I don't think Myles Jack is the best scheme fit....but they could drop Ro McClain in time and put Jack in the middle after he plays some OLB. Assuming his knee checks out. I think Jack is best suited to be a 3-4 ILB where he could be Ryan Shazier on steroids but it's all 4-3 teams at the top.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Would anyone trade up for Tunsil? (scanning) Probably not. I bet the Ravens will just take whoever falls between Tunsil and the defensive linemen. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Could the Cowboys take Shawn Oakman to replace Greg Hardy? Jk jk</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I need to look up DeForest Buckner.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Verdict: Why do so many people love DeForest Buckner? Let's get weird.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">DALLAS COWBOYS - Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I hate this pick, but weird shit happens every year and this is a meaningless mock draft so yinz can all blow me. I haven't watched that much Lawson tape but I know I just don't like Bosa like many people tend to and I don't think NFL scouts will either. In a perfect world, Ramsey falls to 4 but this ain't a perfect world. If it were, Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon would teammates outside of rehab flag football.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I would like the Cowboys to trade down and get Hargreaves but I can't make it happen and they reallllllly need DL. The Cowboys just noted to the media that they intend to stay at no. 4, which seems like something a team that wants to trade would say to answer a question that nobody was really asking.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS - Myles Jack, ILB/OLB, UCLA</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Rumors say that Jack's knee is made out of Sam Bradfordium, a rare and unstable element that in its purest form only has a half-life of 1.32 seasons. But pre-draft rumor is just that and I have no idea how much stock to put into that. The issue is a meniscus, which can cause long-term wear issues in the knee similar to ones Dwynaneyane Wade has experienced, though Wade had his meniscus removed and I'm not a fuckin' doctor so take that with a Wilfork-sized grain of salt. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">If Jack is healthy, he's Luke Kuechly mixed with some Ryan Shazier, IMO. Potentially the best ILB in the NFL if he hits his ceiling. Usually ILB don't go this early (I think Jack is best suited for ILB simply because I think ILBs have more playmaking opportunities if you exclude pass rushing), but this isn't a great year and Jack is that good and Kuechly is a boss and Bobby Wagner really makes the Seahawks defense go and things change, yo.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. BALTIMORE RAVENS - Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I think this pick would take all of 12 seconds to make. I wanted to put Hargreaves here just to be different but I couldn't do it. Tunsil is a great athlete with great technique who just seems to do everything well. I'm not good enough at offensive line to compare him to anybody - so I'm going to compare him to Orlando Pace with a moderate hangover. Like not throwing up every play but he's a bit dizzy from drinking so much ok I just made that up and that makes no sense but Tunsil is....is he like a bigger Tyron Smith? Is he like a version of Levi Brown that had 3 wishes and wished to be better at football three times? Is he Tony Boselli in blackface? I don't even remember why Tony Boselli was good but that would be a pretty sweet nickname for everybody on TV to dance around. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">If I were the Cowboys I would offer to trade with Baltimore for little in return, like maybe a 5th rounder, assuming they agree on Bosa and Buckner. Which they probably don't. Jerrah probably loves Bosahh.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS - Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Whoa, what? Shit's gettin wildddddddddddd</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">This isn't really a pure mock of what I think is going to happen, it's just something I do when I'm bored and a bit of a hobby so I'm going to have the 49ers take one of my favorite players in the draft who also happens to have that highly sought after ability to rush the QB off the edge. Floyd is skinny but he can totes get some HGH and he's a great athlete. This ain't Jarvis Jones - Floyd is not only probably the best athlete of the edge guys in this class, he's also rather advanced in technique compared to many of them. He has a few moves! That seems to be a lot when looking at college guys. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">He also played in a 3-4 in college, as the 49ers use. He isn't exactly good in coverage but at least he has some experience and he seems to have the athleticism to potentially improve there. I don't know man, I'm just not seeing it with Bosa. The 49ers shocked me years ago and took some random dude named Aldon, so why not do it again? Who knows, perhaps this guy won't be drinking on his way to practice. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8. CLEVELAND BROWNS - Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">You know...as much as I like the idea of Bosa as a 3-4 DE, I just can't bring myself to do it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8. CLEVELAND BROWNS - Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I would consider Hargreaves too but I'm just thinking that the Browns may have corner fatigue. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">This seems really high for Conklin, but I got around to watching him recently and I really liked him. I'm not a huge Ronnie Stanley fan. I keep reading that Conklin is destined for RT in the NFL and I don't believe it (primarily because LT/RT has become blurred - you can put your best OT at left tackle and watch Von Miller line up on your right) - but for now that's what he is. This is already getting carried away. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I refuse to say THE Ohio State, unless I'm making fun of Ohio State. Which is deserved because Ohio is everyone's least favorite state. My 2nd least favorite state is I have no idea.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Bosa's fall stops at 9, hypothetically, in this waste of time exercise, where the Bucs have been trying forever to find somebody who doesn't suck to play end. I don't think Bosa sucks, I just don't see top-5 talent. Yes, he beat a triple team once. Yes, he's pushed a few guys into the QBs lap. Yeah, he had a ton of sacks and tackles for loss (so did Jarvis Jones). I just see a lot of doing nothing in between all of these big plays and I don't see much ability to get to the QB outside of pure strength. There's no great moves, there's no beating tackles around the corner, I dunno...I just don't see it. He seems like he'll be solid but not spectacular. He's like a 30 year old chick's tits. Joey "30 Year Old Tits" Bosa. I like the sound of that. Should catch on. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10. NEW YORK GIANTS - Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Giants could realistically take just about anybody here and it would be a sensible pick, but I like Hargreaves the most and they just gave up like, the most yards ever in the history of color television. Signing Janoris Jenkins to a Too Many Years Too Many Dollars contract might help but when you give up 40,000 yards, one guy isn't going to fix your secondary. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Hargreaves III is not getting enough respect, IMO. He doesn't have the top end speed of William Jackson III or Eli Apple and doesn't have the height either, but his combine numbers show great quickness and that shows up in the games and he is light years ahead of the other corners technically. And that includes Ramsey. This is the only guy who looks like he is playing corner. He's everything people want Mackensie Alexander to be. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">People are talking about Hargreaves in the same breath as guys like Jackson and Apple....I'm not. I don't even know how Eli Apple got into this conversation. I don't hate him but I wouldn't draft Eli Apple in the top 20 with Matt Millen's dick.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">11. CHICAGO BEARS - Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Holy Christ, I have no idea who Chicago's LT is. What is a Charles Leno? Ronnie Stanley is a true oaf but the dude is strong as hell and when he gets his hands on people, they move where he makes them move. They move very slowly but they move nonetheless. This may be a dumb pick but this isn't my job so fuck Charles Leno. GET BETTER CHARLES LENO</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">12. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS - WIlliam Jackson III, CB, Houston</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Saints are garbage in a lot of places but nowhere are they trashier than corner. Brandon Browner was in a wheelchair last season and Keenan Lewis is getting old and ineffective. Enter BJ3!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">BJ3 isn't the most technically sound corner and he gets beat a lot but he also makes a ton of interceptions. He's big and fast and feisty and he's a poor man's Marcus Peters. Maybe not even a poor man but a man who had a decent investment portfolio but put too much of it into oil and gas and he's taken a bit of a hit. But his can-do spirit is intact and he's going to get right back at it and try to make that money back, preferably not depending too heavily on commodities to do so. Jackson III is that guy's version of Marcus Peters.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">13. MIAMI DOLPHINS - Somebody Boring and Shitty, Some Stupid College</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Hmmm. The Dolphins continue being boring as hell without any giant gaping holes (though Brazzers is nearby) but not too many areas of great strength. They should only have one uniform color, and it should be grey. And their logo should not be a Dolphin but instead just a seal. Just a regular seal going about his day on a rock, not causing any harm and just like, eating fish and squeaking and shit. But I guess they have to draft somebody either way.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">13. MIAMI DOLPHINS - Ezekiel Elliot, RB, Ohio State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Ehhh, why not? If they were so cool with Jay Ajayi they probably wouldn't have tried to sign away CJ Anderson. This dude is a boss and drafting RBs high is cool again because Todd Gurley is awesome and everybody in the NFL has the attention span of a rainbow trout.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">14. OAKLAND RAIDERS - Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Well, it's a deep draft for interior DL so they gotta start flying off the board somewhere.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I've read Billings being ranked anywhere from fringe top 10 to 2nd round. I'm in the former group and I'd take him before either of the boring Alabama guys or Nkemdiche. He's a wrecking ball who can also create pressure and he's 19 years old. He's probably going to improve a bit, just like Amobi Okoye....ok, bad example. But still. This guy is a beast and I don't see him falling far.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="background-color: #101010; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">A'Shawn Robinson plays like a big dude that was plucked out of the stands and put on the field. Andrew Billings plays like a burmese python that swallowed Aaron Donald whole. I'll take the python.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">15. TENNESSEE TITANS - Karl Joseph, S, WVU</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Every year, every mock draft is mostly wrong. So screw convention. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">We're talking about Jayron Smith and Myles Jack's injuries and what their effects will be, but Karl Joseph has a run-of-the-mill ACL injury and he's suddenly a lock 2nd round afterthought? I don't believe it. Karl Joseph is a machine designed to kill (though apparently the knee ligaments were a design flaw) and he's also got the ability to play more of a "free" role and go after the ball. This dude is one of my favorite players in the draft. Seems to be one of most people's favorite players in the draft. So why wouldn't Old Man LeBeau stump for his new Troy Polamalu when the Titans talk about grabbing the 5th best offensive tackle? Answer: he would. Old Man LeBeau is probably wearing a WVU jersey right now and yelling at everybody in Nashville to run to the ball.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">16. DETROIT LIONS - Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I tried to make a trade here but there's no pass rusher good enough to jump Atlanta for. So if Detroit has to make the pick, I think they'll take an interior DT.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I don't love Jarran Reed but haven't watched all that much. I definitely don't like A'Shawn Robinson, who looks like a big dude that was plucked out of the stands and thrown onto the field. I'd preferably put Nkemdiche here but I don't think the new good-guy Lions would take him after the Nick Fairley experiment. So here's a DT off a list. Next.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">17. ATLANTA FALCONS - Noah Spence, DE/OLB, Directional Kentucky</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The Falcs have been fiending for pass rushers, so I think they'll take a chance on a falling talent. I'm much more worried about "weed guys" than Spence....no one on this planet depents on mollies to start their day. People become dependent on weed, though...almost like caffeine. IMO, again, not a doctor but I did fuck some chick from Backpages.com at a Holiday Inn Express once. I think it's much easier to stop using party drugs than it is to stop toking up. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I haven't looked at Spence much, so I'm going off what I read. If he sucks he sucks, whatever, ain't my franchise. In that case he'll have a nice job lined up at Home Depot after he washes out of the NFL.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">18. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - The Worst Pick in the Draft</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Ryan Grigson is so bad at his job. They've squandered the Luck rookie-contract era. He almost got a good coach in Pagano fired. So what does Irsay do? Pops some oxycontins and signs Grigs to an extension. What is the worst pick right now? I'm not even going to look at their roster.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">18. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">How about that. I don't get it with Lee. Yeah, he's fast. Yeah, I guess he played some safety. Deone Buchanan kind of working has made people lose their minds. I just don't think Lee is al that good at either, so he sounds like a Grigson pick. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TRADE - DENVER TRADES SOME SHIT TO BUFFALO FOR THE 19TH PICK</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /></b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">19. DENVER BRONCOS - Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Ok. We talk about how QB is so important, we see St. Louis and Philly trade the farm for two questionable top QB prospects, and we're just gonna right off Lynch because he "may be the most talented QB in this draft but he's a bit raw"? WTF? Lynch ain't making it past the Jets. Maybe the Jets will actually try to trade up to get him. Maybe the Browns will take him. But I always have trades in my draft and this one seems to make sense, assuming Denver has any picks left to trade to Buffalo. Buffalo actually has a damn good roster and they can just grab whoever is BPA at 31 and add some mid-round picks as well to shore everything up.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">20. NEW YORK JETS - Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The shellshocked Jets take...I don't know, Corey Coleman. Doesn't seem like a need but it's not like teams just line up in the first round and knock down needs. I think Corey Coleman will be a capital S Star and will light the NFL up, even if sad Ryan Fitzpatrick is throwing to him after failing to bilk a 2nd team out of multiple millions of dollars. He can play in the slot until all of Brandon Marshall's personalities decide to retire.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">21. WASHINGTON REDSKINS - Vernon Butler, DT, La. Tech</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Washington is another team that can go almost anywhere. So I'll have them grabbing a nose tackle in Vernon Butler. Butler is like a bigger Billings, not quite as explosive but still a force and I think he can play nose. I'm also getting bored. Butler blows shit up, so look for Al Qaeda to draft him if the Redskins pass.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">22. HOUSTON TEXANS - Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Houston really needs some offense and they really need a tight end. This is a horrible year for TE but Hunter Henry is graded as a 1st rounder and that's pretty much the extent of my knowledge about him. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">23. MINNESOTA VIKINGS - Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I'm copying this from multiple sites. I don't love Josh Doctson so I can't put my own touch on this. Vikings need a WR, Treadwell needs a good home. Awwwww see how things work out</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">24. CINCINNATI BENGALS - Josh Doctson, WR, TCU</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I don't know why I don't like Doctson. Seems everyone else does. He's big, he's fast enough, he goes up and gets the ball, he's like Mike Evans, who went top 10 in a great draft. I don't know what it is but I'm just not impressed by Doctson on tape. Ehhh. He'll probably ball out and the Bengals are suddenly short on 'ceivers. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">25. PITTSBURGH STEELERS - Darian Thompson, FS, Boise State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Man. All the players I wanted to get to the Steelers are gone (Joseph, Jackson III, Floyd, Billings, even Corey Coleman). So I'll put Thompson here over someone like Nkemdiche. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">He had a rough combine but improved his numbers a bit in the Pro Day and....well, he just looks awesome when you watch his tapes. Everybody says "oh 40 times are stupid, the Combine is dumb" and then they drop guys like Thompson after running poorly. He looks plenty fast on tape, he's big, strong, plays the ball well, looked fluid enough playing some slot corner, he's a baller. I think he's the pick over an Eli Apple or Mack Alexander.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I'm sure I've forgotten somebody but whatever. (EDIT: That somebody is DeForest Buckner but I don't think he's good so I hope it's not him.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS - Any offensive lineman</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /></b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS - Josh Garnett, OG, Stanford</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Seattle's OL is a joke. So they played better in the 2nd half....like 2 of those guys weren't even offensive linemen in college. I have a theory as to why good teams generally have good guards and ILBs - because those guys fall a lot and when you are consistently drafting in the 20s, sometimes you gots to just take the best player available. I think that it's Garnett here, and it fills a huge need. I'd also consider Tyler Boyd. For real. I think he makes a lot of sense here.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27. GREEN BAY PACKERS - Bob Nkemdiche, DE, Ole Miss</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Green Bay needs some front 7 help and they seem to have been whiffing on it a lot lately. I think Nkemdiche is easily the most talented DL left and he has a 3-4 DE build, so another team that consistently drafts in the 20s takes a falling talent that matches their scheme. I'm not even gonna look up if they need DEs...I think they do. Nkemdiche is aloof according to everybody but, really, didn't he do something that was technically legal? I don't know. He needs some work finishing plays and finding the ball but he rips through offensive lineman like a hot knife through Mike Adams.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">28. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS - Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">As fun as it would be to have the Chiefs taking another Pitt WR in the 20s, I'll throw in an athletic projection corner to replace Sean Smith. Apple is not nearly as good as some people make him out to be but he's not nearly as bad as the people who think he's not a top CB seem to make him out to be. He's tall. He's not big, and every time I read that he's strong against the run I laugh for 5 minutes, but he's not small. Just a tall somewhat lanky corner who plays corner pretty well, doesn't get beat deep often and makes a few plays on the ball from time to time. He's fast and athletic enough that he could become a really good corner, although I just cannot see him ever doing anything but getting tossed out of the way by blockers against the run. I wouldn't draft corners to tackle RBs, but I read it so often about Apple and I don't understand what the people paid to watch these guys are actually watching when they say he's a strong run defender. He stops the run in much the same way that Apple stops random people from accessing celebrity nudes. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">29. ARIZONA CARDINALS - No idea</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Not sure who to put here. No area stands out as a dire need. Who is BPA? Wait....ok let's get wild again.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">29. ARIZONA CARDINALS - Connor Cook, QB< Michigan State</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Carson Palmer is 37ish and is Carson Palmer. Why? Eh, why not. Don't know much about Cook. Don't care. I'm ready to be done. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">30. CAROLINA PANTHERS - Tyler Boyd, WR, Pitt</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I'd love to plug Mackensie Alexander in here to replace Norman but even with Norman's departure, the Panthers glaring lack of talent is in the WR corps, even with Kelvin Benjamin coming back. Cam Newton made TEDDY FUCKING GINN look great. Give him a real bookend WR and plug up the secondary with mid-round corners. There are a ton of them this year.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I think Tyler Boyd is awesome and this late-2nd round talk is nonsense. Hogwash. Applesauce! Mountain Dew Baja Blast! Yeah I've lost myself.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">31. BUFFALO BILLS - REGGIE RAGLAND, ILB, Alabama</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I'm not that high on R</span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">agland. Then again I wasn't that high on CJ Mosley, and Ragland is that type of guy. Not going to blow you away athletically (even Mosley is significantly better in that regard) but the dude just tackles the shit out of people with the ball. That will </span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">be the majority of his job description. Hopefully he's just fast enough to not be a huge liability in a passing league but if Brandon Spikes could do it for a few years, Ragland certainly can.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">32. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - No pick</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">I am so glad these guys cheated because I don't want to do this anymore</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">It turns out that I forgot to put DeForest Buckner in there. Mainly because I think he's not very good, but it seems like he's a lock to go high in the draft. So let's say he gets arrested before the draft for, I don't know, fuckin' stupid ass weed. He gets caught driving 48 in a 35 and has a joint in the console. Now he's going round 12. </span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">Ok see yinz in a year!</span></span></span></span><br />
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-63525595392457966062015-10-22T12:58:00.002-07:002015-10-22T12:58:28.360-07:00Business Horse's WEEK 7 FANTASY UPDATE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Hi guys, it's week 7 of the NFL season and it's time for my fantasy update. Everyone is so interested in fantasy these days and I don't quite understand it but I have to get with the times and give the audience what they need.<br />
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This week however, my fantasy is unchanged. I'm sitting there in the stable, just hangin' out and watchin' some Sportscenter on my 5-D paper-thin screened 9 million Hz Sony LIFEPROJECTOR TV when suddenly two hot ass mares walk up to the stable. I'm kinda tired today ladies, plus I'm selfish as hell, so I don't want to disappoint you two and I'm going to have to decline. Because obviously they wanted to bang, who doesn't?<br />
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That's when one surprises me and says "Biz - take it easy today. We just want you to lay back and enjoy this". Suddenly I'm pushed back into some hay and these girls go to town. Just straight up doin' work, blowing the horse like the winner gets added to the cast of Real Housewives. I didn't see a bus route outside, but these girls are just going to town.<br />
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Right as I'm about to finish, I take a look at the TV, and across the scroll I read that Derek Jeter just admitted to using steroids every season over his entire career. At that moment, I paint the barn walls with an explosion reminiscent of the Hindenburg. Every square inch of that barn is going to need sanitized. I lay back and smile....for this was my Jackson Pollock moment.<br />
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So yeah, that's still my fantasy. I'll update you in Week 8 if it changes.</div>
Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-33771940903588139572015-01-14T15:35:00.001-08:002015-01-14T15:41:25.869-08:00Fashed Potatoes 3 - Old Lady Loubs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
I hate Louboutin shoes.<br />
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I don't give the slightest featherweight fuck that the bottom of a shoe is red. It does not concern me. The bottoms of many shoes are many different colors. Why one particular brand being red is such a big deal is beyond me - $7 Starter athletic shorts are reversible and no one sucks their dicks over it, probably because in every other non-Louboutin walk of life, nobody sucks dicks over a color.<br />
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On top of that, these shoes, which were described to me as "gorgeous" and "classic" and "I need to have these" and "I should probably just spend all of my money on shoes because money is an arbitrary concept that only works due to our faith in it and if say some bankers in Iowa conspired to artificially alter its value so they could arbitrage corn or some shit we could end up in a new-age, millenial civil war and if I die in a civil war I'm going to be fabulous while doing so". I may have made that last one up. But...you want them in OLD LADY?<br />
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Look at those things and tell me that you can't see Blanche Deveraux rocking them to the max. That is the color of menopause. Nobody that wears these shoes ovulates.<br />
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Here's how Neiman-Marcus describes them:<br />
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<i>"Reach new heights with the Christian Louboutin "So Kate" pump - a seemingly classic shape that's saucy in glossy patent with leg-lifting elevation."</i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Futura, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"><br /></span>
Ok - where to start first. I'll just ignore how stupid the name is.<br />
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"Seemingly" classic - what do you mean, seemingly? How is that a good thing? Add seemingly to some sentences and see how reassuring it makes them.<br />
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- "She was seemingly STD free when we hooked up"<br />
- "Yeah he's seemingly sober enough to drive"<br />
- "You would seemingly be safe locked in a hotel room for an hour with Bill Cosby"<br />
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Secondly - saucy. Trying too hard, Neiman. You aren't edgy. The only reason these shoes are saucy is because if you wear them you are an old lady and thus you are probably quite often making sauce.<br />
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And finally, glossy patent isn't a color. It's something you use when you don't want to say the real color, which is old lady carnation.<br />
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So in summary, don't buy Blanche Deveraux's shoes. Get these things outta the Stable!</div>
Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-85949260050392542672015-01-12T09:24:00.001-08:002015-01-12T09:24:02.263-08:00Fashed Potatoes 2 - Absurdly Expensive Boots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7LhL0y4eNE/VLPzOTqQaaI/AAAAAAAABxw/VX_E-Q04VOQ/s1600/stupid_boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7LhL0y4eNE/VLPzOTqQaaI/AAAAAAAABxw/VX_E-Q04VOQ/s1600/stupid_boots.jpg" height="320" width="281" /></a></div>
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I've been reminded that the potatoes are piling up and they need to be fashed. Today I bring you some stupid $800 boots.<br />
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Above are some <a href="http://www.stuartweitzman.com/products/highland/">Stuart Weitzman Highland boots</a>, which my stablemate Nicole has been fantasizing over for about two months and finally bought because she realized that she does indeed have $800 that could be turned into one single pair of boots. These boots are apparently all kinds of pluralized apocopations, such as "phenoms" and "increds". I see some plain kneehigh boots that are cool enough but not worth $800, which puts them into the same category in which I place all boots ever created by humankind. The Highland boots differ from most absurdly overpriced boots in that they have burlap sack tie-cords attached to the top and can hold over 4 cubic liters of orphan tears.<br />
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I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news first is that for the price of these boots you could lease a Hyundai Elantra for like 4 months and drive it about 4,000 miles before hitting your mileage limit. The good news is that you could walk 10 hours a day at the average walking speed of 3.1 mph in these stupid boots and also get to about 4,000 miles. It's up to you to determine how you want to get from point A to point who gives a shit.<br />
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You could buy a PS4 for the price of these boots, destroy it with a hammer in front of a poor kid and still have enough money left over to buy a replacement PS4.<br />
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For $800, you could adopt 16 <a href="http://www.snowleopard.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=266&zenid=93j1uh0v3va04gi4rosmdevnn2">Snow Leopard cubs</a>. Think of how many leopard coats you could turn them into in a few years<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">‽</span> It pays to think about your future.<br />
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$800 probably buys lifetime WNBA season tickets for the Phoenix Mercury. Put on some flip flops and take the whole family! You can either wear big-name boots or watch Britney Griner barely dunk all over some poor girls playing for the LA Sparx. I know my choice - I'm going with GrineTime.<br />
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The boots are fine but - $800 for some boots, man. That don't jive with the Horse. I suggest pairing these with a $2000 designer purse and showing up 2 hours late to show the commoners who really means fashion. You're weak, I'm chic, DEAL WITH IT.<br />
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Until next time, keep wasting your money on shoes.<br />
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-74904615351253913162014-10-17T13:25:00.005-07:002014-10-17T13:25:43.750-07:00FASHED POTATOES - Leopard Coats<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxksc-X8fw0/VEF088zz_iI/AAAAAAAABtU/O47hbrNvSkA/s1600/fashedpotates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxksc-X8fw0/VEF088zz_iI/AAAAAAAABtU/O47hbrNvSkA/s1600/fashedpotates.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I am so back. For now. Probably going to quit again tomorrow.<br />
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Anyway, this FASHED POTATOES segment is bout to pop off all up in your heads and all in your mouths and shittttt. Every time my stablemate Nicole sends me clothes she wants to buy from some random site on the internet and asks my opinion, I'm gonna fash-critique the hell out of it. Just like Joan Rivers would have done before overdosed on fashion. RIP Joan, you was a bad bitch. She was acidic as hell, pretty much the opposite of basic. JOAN RIVERS WOULD MELT YOUR SKIN<br />
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Anyways, this week I was sent a barrage of stupid leopard coats. Let's pick the best one!<br />
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1. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oCRosE8ONyk/VEF10-HnHQI/AAAAAAAABtc/8545cosJ_tM/s1600/leop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oCRosE8ONyk/VEF10-HnHQI/AAAAAAAABtc/8545cosJ_tM/s1600/leop1.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></div>
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Alright, that one is pretty sick. The chick in the picture is basic as fuck but you can't catch basic through photography so I'm probably safe. We're worried about 3 people with Ebola yet no one has done a damn about the basic epidemic. "Oh look at me, I have stupid glasses and blond hair and a sweater and one hand in my pocketttt, while the other issss beinggg basic as fuckkkk." But I digress. I actually just assume this is what fashion people say.<br />
<br />
This jacket is nice. Like, you can wear this and look like a real-ass leopard. For a second people would actually think that "hey, is that a leopard on the loose?" until they were like "nahhh, there's no real leopards in Blue Martini". But that's all fashion is about...convincing people for a few seconds that you might be a real leopard.<br />
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2.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bHi8trgbHk/VEF29gW8P-I/AAAAAAAABtk/LxIEIVA8Dsk/s1600/leop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bHi8trgbHk/VEF29gW8P-I/AAAAAAAABtk/LxIEIVA8Dsk/s1600/leop2.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></div>
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Oh GET OUT OF HERE. First off, that hat is atrocious. It looks like the wicked witch of Boca Racon just swooped down riding her wooden BMW 3-Series. Combine that with that stupid ass denim jacket that you ladies try to class up by calling it "chambray"* and a tight, long pointless leopard jacket that looks like someone cut it out of a throw rug and I want to throw up out of my dick. </div>
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<i>Sidenote: stop classing up denim jackets by calling them chambray. If I acid wash jean shorts, no one is going to compliment me on my "chamborts".</i></div>
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Wait...I think this lady is trying to signal me! She needs help! She's...hold on....OH MY GOD! She's trapped in the early 2000s! SHE IS BEING KIDNAPPED BY AN AVRIL LAVIGNE CD COVER! Someone call the National Guard!</div>
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxsHXuM6ah0</div>
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Son of a bitch....they are already occupied! CURSE YOU SHANNON SHARPE! I can't seem to embed videos.</div>
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Anyway, this jacket sucks and I said no. First, it's stupidly tight so that it just looks like a regular jacket with leopard color spray-painted on. Isn't the point of buying fake leopard fur to make it look like you are ballin' enough to have actual leopard fur? Either that or you reared a young leopard cub from birth and then when it got old enough to fit you, you hit it with your car, skinned it and made a nice coat to wear to classy joints like art gallery openings and shit. This looks like a jacket you wear to "Friends - The Movie". Secondly...I don't have a secondly. This one sucks and I said no or else I'm gonna burn it. </div>
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3. <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgifzWk4_Ow/VEF48u5yEhI/AAAAAAAABtw/iWucior8iF8/s1600/leop3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgifzWk4_Ow/VEF48u5yEhI/AAAAAAAABtw/iWucior8iF8/s1600/leop3.jpg" height="320" width="258" /></a></div>
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Ok....this one's cool even though it's another chick who looks a first lieutenant in the Basic Army. I can't tell if this girl dressed like this on purpose with the "edgy nun" thing she has going on or if she hastily got dressed in the middle of a Bosnian civil war. What I do know is that jacket is pretty nice and fluffy and mad leop, son. </div>
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Don't really like the zipper thing though, but I guess I could deal with it if functionality is preferred over real leopardness. I definitely prefer number 1 but at least this one is 8 times better than that shit number 2 tried to pass off as fashion. </div>
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But JFC, replace those boots. This chick probably has a well-known nickname like "The Flaccifyer" or something. </div>
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4.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YLbgzPinGM/VEF6U2BCKpI/AAAAAAAABt8/xMVppgRZ89A/s1600/leop4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--YLbgzPinGM/VEF6U2BCKpI/AAAAAAAABt8/xMVppgRZ89A/s1600/leop4.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></div>
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I like this one a lot, probably because there's no model to annoy me on the site. It's not as bright as the first three but damn, you wear that ladies and you might actually hunt in the woods for gazelles. This thing probably comes with the soul of the leopard as well. That jacket is wet, son. Just plain silky.</div>
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However, I think I like the lighter ones best and I don't like the prominent zipper all that much so if I had to tell Nicole which one I like the most after really thinking about it, it would be #1. Followed by #4 then #3 and then getting your pubes slowly singed by prolonged direct engine exhaust exposure and then finally, #2. </div>
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See yinz again next time I'm asked to pick an item out of a group and until then, KEEP YOUR FASHION OUT OF YOUR ASS!</div>
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-16580821161786528012014-05-08T10:14:00.003-07:002014-05-08T10:16:05.244-07:00BUSINESS HORSE'S 2014 NFL MOCK DRAFT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's that time again - it's late but it's still that time
assuming you're reading this. It's time for the annual Business Horse mock
draft. It was annual before but under different names, and, of course, it was
100% correct. The following NFL draft selections are guaranteed to play out in
NYC.</div>
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1. HOUSTON TEXANS</div>
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There's no way the Texans want this pick. Clowney is insanely beastish but does
not appear to me to be an ideal candidate to switch to 3-4 OLB or to be the rush-neutered
block-sponge that many 3-4 DEs are molded into. Khalil Mack, on the other hand,
IS Von Miller. To the point that Mack may be on molly right now, sweating. Woo.
So how can the Texans trade down and still have a shot at Mack? I GOT IT</div>
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Trade with JAX - 1st
overall for the Jags's 3rd overall and let's say 2nd rounder this year and 4th
rounder next year that becomes a 2nd if the Texans fail to get Mack. Holy shit
can you do that? I think I just invented something that might be illegal. </div>
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1. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
SELECT JADAVEON CLOWNEY, DE, SOME OTHER PLANET</div>
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The Jags have been
looking for pass rushers since Steve McNair were alive and they've been largely
fruitless since. You may say, "well, Biz, why don't they just take
Mack?". Well, I like Mack a lot but, Gus Bradley runs the same defense
Seattle does and monster DEs make that system go. Plus, the Jags are the only
team close enough to Houston that the Texans wouldn't ask for a king's ransom
to make the move down. (Well, Rams too but I cannot see them trading up). Houston
most likely really, really wants Mack and can't go down past 3 or 4 to have a
shot at him. I don't think the Rams will take him and I don't think anybody
will trade up with the Rams for Mack. Maybe for Manziel, which is another point
- the Jags haven't had a QB since David Garrard, which, when you say
"haven't had a QB since David Garrard" really reinforces how bad
they've been at the position. So why not take Manziel? Well, even if they do
believe in him, they could fear he goes 2nd to someone that flips with St Louis
and they get fucked again. I think a Clowney that pans out would make that
defense go. </div>
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Secondly, on Clowney -
of course he took it easy last year. He didn't quit, but he didn't fight
through injuries and play balls out all the time through triple teams but, why
would he? Looking at it Businessally, it was the right move. If you were
selling a car for $1 mil next week, you aren't going to say "well let's
take it on one more drag race". And if people worry about "oh, what's
he going to do in the NFL once he gets paid and has another big contract coming
up" - it's marginal utility, dog. The difference between $0 and $10
million is so much bigger than the difference between $15 million and $30
million. I'm betting that Clowney dominates in the NFL. </div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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2. ST LOUIS RAMS</div>
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Hmmm, who trades with
the Rams? The Rams have built themselves into a surprisingly under-the-radar
good team off of the RGIII bounty and look to do so again. However, without
Clowney as a target, they have to make do with Manziel. The Rams are the only
team that can't see that Sam Bradford is fragile and garbage, but that's
another story. </div>
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So the Rams can't ask
for a bounty here, and I don't think a team is going to give them what they
want for the pick. Word is that the Bucs want Manziel and want to move up to #2
for him, but I can't see them giving the Rams what they want and I think in the
end the Rams grit their teeth and use the pick.</div>
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2. ST LOUIS RAMS -
SAMMY WATKINS, WR, CLEMSON</div>
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Watkins is like an
unholy combination of Santonio Holmes and Andre Johnson, and the Rams really
don't have much at WR. They haven't in awhile. Time to give Bradford some
targets to miss before he gets hurt in week 3. </div>
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3. HOUSTON TEXANS -
KHALIL MACK, OLB, BUFFALO</div>
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Khalil Mack is a beast
and will murder people next to JJ Watt, who is like Justin Smith on horse
steroids. This is much preferable to trying to shove Clowney into a 3-4 and
also gives them some extra picks to play with down the line. Also, Chris Berman
can say Khalil "return of the" Mack and people that wouldn't
recognize humor if sodomized their ass canal with a candelabra can laugh. </div>
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4. CLEVELAND BROWNS -
JOHNNY CLEVELAND, QB, TEXAS A&M</div>
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The Browns need a QB
desperately. Like the deserts need rain or like Darren Sharper needs
unconscious women. I don't see them taking one of the OTs, and if Sammy Watkins
is off the board I think they take John Manziel. </div>
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They could always trade
down but, they are close and it's time to stop trading down and picking Brandon
Weedens. Imagine this team if it had Julio Jones to pair with Josh Gordon - it
would be a much better team. I like Hoyer but they need to take their shot at a
star QB and I think this is where they take it. I also don't believe the
reports that they absolutely won't draft Manziel at 4. They won't if Watkins is
there, but I have him off of the board. And they're not taking a tackle, I'll
bet like a kilo of oats on it.</div>
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5. OAKLAND RAIDERS - MIKE
EVANS, WR, TEXAS A&M</div>
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The recipient of
Manziel's floaters, the Raiders would probably prefer Mack or Watkins but if
this is how the chips end up falling, I think they'll go WR over one of the
tackles. Could also trade down if some team is desperate for Matthews or
Robinson, but I don't think they'll pass on the chance to finally have an NFL
WR on their team. Well, Denarious Moore is good but he'll look much better on
the other side across from Evans. If Matt Shob can't work with this, then he's
done. Raiders will add a QB later in the draft, someone like Aaron Murray or
Mettenberger that will end up being better than massive bust-to-be Blake
Bortles.</div>
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6. ATLANTA FALCONS -
JAKE MATTHEWS, OT, TEXAS A&M</div>
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Damn, another Aggie.
That's it for them though as their team is garbage outside of these three.</div>
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Atlanta probably
doesn't want to go tackle here, but they may have their hand forced by Mack and
Clowney being gone. I don't think they'd take Aaron Donald and I don't see them
reaching for Anthony Barr. What I do see, though, is Jake Matthews and his Hall
of Fame pedigree going ahead of both Robinson and Lewan. Robinson is a
projection based on athleticism and Lewan is potentially a rapicidal maniac, so
I truly believe that the first team to take a tackle will play the bloodlines
and take the guy with like 900 All-Pro NFL players in his family. </div>
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7. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
- Fucked</div>
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They want Evans or
Manziel. They get neither without a trade up. HEY NOW. Could the Bucs switch
positions with Oakland? Who could Oakland possibly want at 7. Hmm. Don't care,
let's make it happen. Oakland has like 3 picks this year and wants more.</div>
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5. TAMPA BAY - Mike
Evans, WR, College Station TX</div>
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See above about Mike
Evans, who is basically a faster Vincent Jackson. They are seriously the same
person. Evans will be better. He's awesome at football.</div>
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They give Oakland a 7th
and how about a 2nd and 5th, assuming they have them. </div>
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7. OAKLAND RAIDERS - TAYLOR
LEWAN, OT, MICHIGAN</div>
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The Raiders do need a
tackle pretty badly - I mean, they attempted to give Rodger Saffold like $42
million before Reggie McKenzie came to from his cocaine and paint fumes binge. I
continually see Greg Robinson ranked at the top of the OT scrap heap but, I
like Lewan more, as his tape shows a huge pass blocking LT that also has a
meanstreak that allows him to play as a road-grading run blocker. Lewan reminds me of a Robert Gallery type from
Io....oh fuck. Oh well. Go Raiders. </div>
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8. MINNESOTA VIKINGS -
AARON DONALD, DT, PITT</div>
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The Vikes have let lost
about half of their DL and I think they look to replace some of that with Aaron
Donald. Donald is awesome on tape and looks almost unblockable at times. I
can't see them taking Bortles until Christian Ponder's memory is long erased
from their minds. Maybe if Will Smith were the GM. </div>
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9. BUFFALO WILLIAMS -
GREG ROBINSON, OT, AUBURN</div>
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The Bills either go
with Williams or Barr, IMO. I think they take the tackle that reminds them of
Mike Williams from Texas, who 10 years ago...wait, was a massive bust for the
Bills. Oh well. Gotta have a short memory!</div>
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(jk, you don't...as the
old saying goes, those that ignore history are doomed to draft athletic
projection left tackles on the reg. I believe Lombardi said that.)</div>
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10. DETROIT LIONS -
JUSTIN GILBERT, CB, OKLAHOMA ST</div>
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Rumblings of the Lions
wanting to move up for Watkins are ignored here, as I'm giving them the benefit
of the doubt in that they are not dumb enough to mortage their entire draft in
an insanely deep year to get a single player when they have multiple holes. One
of those holes is at corner and I think that hole gets filled by the
first-round dick of the draft in Justin Gilbert.</div>
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Gilbert is less impressive
on his tapes than Dennard and Fuller, but he looks just like NFL prototype
shutdown CBs look. He looks like rookie year Patrick Peterson. Outside of
Richie Sherman, who is a crazy outlier, top CBs tend to look and run like
Gilbert. I think the Lions go with that here over in-state product Dennard, who
has crazy stats but holds more than a Comcast customer service rep. </div>
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I don't think they will
go Odell Beckham here, but I do think that doing so would be a much smarter
move than trading their draft away for Watkins.</div>
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11. TENNESSEE TITANS - DARQUEZE DENNARD, CB,
MICHIGAN STATE</div>
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The Titans just lost
Alterraun Verner, who was a pretty damn good corner. Their front 7 are very
good and there is not a QB here to replace Locker, so...wait, could they? Could
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...no. I think they go
Dennard. If you look at Verner last year, and you look at Dennard's college
tapes, you may think you're looking at the same person. San Francisco
apparently will suck a team's dick to move up and take Odell Beckham, but I
don't think they break out the kneepads for Tennessee.</div>
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12. NEW YORK GIANTS -
CALVIN PRYOR, S, LOUISVILLE</div>
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Hmmm. Tough call here.
The Jints need line help but the only guy left is Zack Martin and I don't think
they go Notre Dame technician in the first. I don't think they go for Beckham
what with their stable of WRs. </div>
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They could use a safety
and a corner, and I think they go safety over corner and grab Calvin Pryor.
Pryor is a monster hitter at safety who flies all over the field. He looks
exactly like Bob Sanders did coming out of Iowa.</div>
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13. ST. LOUIS RAMS</div>
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If San Francisco is
going to trade up for Beckham, I think this is the spot they'll move into to do
so. </div>
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It's gonna cost them,
but probably not as much as it would cost with other teams. St. Louis seems to
love moving down. </div>
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49ers trade their 1st,
2nd and next year's 1st and 3rd for this spot. And they suck Jeff Fisher's
dick.</div>
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13. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers
- ODELL BECKHAM, WR, LSU</div>
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Odell Beckham is only
6' 195, but he plays like he's bigger. The guy goes up and gets the ball over
people, which makes sense as the corners are generally no bigger than he is. This
dude looks like exactly what people wanted Mike Wallace to be. </div>
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14. CHICAGO BEARS - HA'SEAN
CLINTON-DIX, S, ALABAMA</div>
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I refuse to call this
motherfucker "Ha-Ha". Maybe LOL. LOL Clinton-Dix has a good ring to
it. </div>
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This is wishful
thinking, as I want the Steelers to take Fuller. Clinton-Dix looks like he'll be
decent at best. I hope Chicago thinks he'll be awesome and wastes the 14th pick
on him.</div>
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15. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
- KYLE FULLER, CB, VIRGINIA TECH</div>
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Fuller probably goes to
Chicago, but I'm the King of Wishful Thinking and I'm slotting him to Pgh. He's
basically their ideal corner, a physical tackler who can get all up in the WR's
grill and has the ball skills to match. In fact, I think he's the best corner
in this draft. </div>
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16. DALLAS COWBOYS -
ANTHONY BARR, DE/OLB, UCLA</div>
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I think Anthony Barr
has a pretty good chance of being a bust, but he's an athletic specimen who
dominated a position in college that he was new to, so I see the other side of
this argument. If the Cowboys think he'll be great, they'd have to be thrilled
to get Demarcus Ware's replacement at 16. Expect to see film of Jerrah Jones
jerking it (say that three times fast) on his giant scoreboard.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
17. TRADE </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Miami really needs a
left tackle and I think they get antsy. There's nobody really for Baltimore to
rush to the podium and select, so they move back two spots for let's say
Miami's 2nd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
17. MIAMI DOLPHINS -
ZACK MARTIN, OT, NOTRE DAME</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Miami is like San
Francisco, in that they'll blow somebody for a left tackle. If Martin falls
this far, I think they'll get jumpy and move up to secure his services. He'll
probably be boring as hell just like every other Dolphins player.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
18. NEW YORK JETS -
BRANDIN COOKS, WR, OREGON STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
It appears that the
Jets are infatuated with Cooks, a midget WR who plays like a mini Calvin
Johnson. This little dude can outrun DBs and also go up over them and win jump
balls. Pretty cray. He's like the Honey Badger at WR. Both the animal and
Mathieu. And the Jets need to continue upgrading what was last year probably
the worst WR corps ever assembled in the entire history of Lamar Hunt's AFL. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
19. BALTIMORE RAVENS - Hmm.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I think Green Bay would
love to get Ebron. However, if the draft plays out like this, does Baltimore
take him? There's no other team that would move up to get him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I think Baltimore could
trade Ebron to Green Bay for their 1st and say 4th, and would probably do it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
19. GREEN BAY PACKERS -
ERIC EBRON, TE, UNC</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Ebron is the top TE and
the Packers really need a TE. Maybe this version of JerMike Finley will show
some consistency. I don't think he'll be that great in the NFL but everybody
else seems to.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
20. ARIZONA CARDINALS -
BLAKE BORTLES, QB, UCF</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I've come around on
this one. If Bortles falls, and Bruce Arians sees young Ben Roethlisberger, I
can see him making this selection. Unfortunately, Bortles throws like Ben
Stein. I think he's going to suck. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
21. BALTIMORE RAVENS -
CJ MOSLEY, ILB, ALABAMA</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I forgot that Mosley
was even available. The Ravens probably remember having a decent middle
linebacker and can consider the fact that Mosley has yet to murder multiple
people a bonus. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
22. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
- RYAN SHAZIER, ILB, OHIO STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I don't know if this is
a need. I assume it is since Stewart Bradley stole money from the Eagles for a
few years. Shazier is athletic as hell and looks like a Madden ILB in his
highlight tapes. On most tapes, though, he gets washed out of the play immediately.
Very Alec Ogletree-ish, but that seemed to work out really well for the Rams. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
23. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
- MARQISE LEE, WR, USC</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Ok. Chiefs have a few
places they could go here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
- They could grab
Ra'Shede Hageman or some other DL they like</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
- Could grab an OL </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
- Could get another
weapon for Alex Smith to ignore</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I think they go with
the latter, and now that I think about it....hmm. I'm not gonna change it but
if I were Baltimore I'd see what they wanted to move up and take a shot at
Ebron.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
In this case, I think
they take the WR. I HATE big-year USC WRs that slant their way to 100 catches
in a wide-open west coast one-look quick read offense that I guess works
against Washington State, but who else can they take here? A guy that runs 5
yard routes is perfect for Alex Smith, as he refuses to throw the ball more
than 10 yards in the air. Kelvin Benjamin would rot into the ground of Dwayne
Bowe's graveyard. Lee seems to be the only available option that makes sense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
24. CINCINNATI BENGALS
- BRADLEY ROBY, CB, OHIO STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Appears that Roby is
getting some run as a first round option over Jason Verrett, and the Bengals
have been atrophying at the corner spot recently. Leon Hall's achilles tendons
are made out of hymens and Terrance Newman is like 40 now. Even Pacman is in
his 30s. It's 2014, man! Crazy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I think they either go
Ealy or a corner here. So I guess we'll go corner and they'll probably look to
add DEs later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
25. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
- XAVIER SU'A-FILO, G, UCLA</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Chargers have a
godawful offensive line and have forever. I've said it before and I'll say it
again - what AJ Smith did to this once stacked roster should be a felony. With
no standout defensive prospects available, I think they address the offensive
line. Su'a-Filo is a guard that I saw ranked highly on a list.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
26. CLEVELAND BROWNS -
KELVIN BENJAMIN, WR, FLORIDA STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Hells yeah! They take
Johnny Foosball, they have Josh Gordon, why not go full bore and create an
insane Madden offense? Benjamin is fat as hell but he's tall and he didn't look
that fat when he was catching mad TDs over everyone last year at Florida State.
He also never raped anyone nor stole any delicacies from the local grocer. A
high character individual who won't even need the Peter Warrick discount at
Dillard's with Cleveland's low cost of living.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
27. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
- Don't know</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
NOLA could probably go
anywhere with this one. They have a pretty strong roster so I'd think they'll
go BPA for the most part. Let's see who is available...</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
27. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
- KYLE VAN NOY, DE/OLB, BYU</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Haven't watched much of
this guy, but he apparently did nothing but produce. However, by nature of
playing at BYU, he most assuredly did not reproduce. Hahahahaahaha get it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Can never have too many
pass rushers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
28. CAROLINA PANTHERS -
ALLEN ROBINSON, WR, PSU</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Carolina has zero in
the way of pass catchers. They need some pass catchers, to catch passes.
Robinson seems to be rated too low, he looks good on tape. Panthers could go OL
if they like Moses or Bitonio but I'm flashy so let's get some diva WRs!</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
29. Trade</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br />
If a team wants a QB, they need to jump ahead of Houston's 33rd overall pick. And
you know New England likes to trade down so they can blow later round picks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Minnesota gives up
their 2nd, 3rd and next year's 2nd and 5th to jump ahead and grab the younger
Carr, who would probably go higher if his name weren't Carr and who looks like
he can also bust like he was Christian Ponder's younger brother and that would
be hilarious.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
29. MINNESOTA VIKINGS -
DEREK CARR, QB, FRESNO STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I know nothing about
him except that his brother sucked. I don't necessarily hold that against him
because Aaron Rodgers and Carson Palmer have terrible brothers, but I do think
it causes him to fall.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
30. ST. LOUIS RAMS - CYRUS
KOUANDJIO, OT, ALABAMA</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Ok. I had Joel Bitonio
here because I read about him on a list and how his versatility has allowed him
to Swiss Army knife his way into late first round talk. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
But this is the
Business Horse mock draft. And Business Horse knows that before a potential knee
injury that like, could happen or something red flagged him, and before the top
three tackles stole his thunder, Kouandjio was the it-girl amongst OT
prospects. He has beastish potential and the Rams could stand to move Saffold
to the hilariously-overpaid guard position. Surprises happen every draft and
here's one of them. You heard it from the Horse's mouth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
31. DENVER BRONCOS -
JASON VERRETT, CB, TCU</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The Broncos struggled
mightily at times last year stopping the pass. They signed Aqib Talib! Yeah, well,
they also let Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the good version I may add, walk in
free agency. I think they try to upgrade the corner spot. They have a narrow
window right now so they could also make a big move to trade up, but I don't
know who it is that they would covet enough in order to do so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
32. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS -
DEMARCUS LAWRENCE, DE, BOISE STATE</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Straight-up explosive
pass rusher. That's what Seattle does - they have a great secondary and a
hilariously deep group of great pass rushers that disrupt offenses all day and
stay fresh while doing it. It sounds easy when you say it like that, but you
gotta draft the athletes as well as they did and, to be fair, before the Hawks
started doing it, no other team stacked their roster with DEs like this. Teams
had maybe two good rush DEs or a pass rushing OLB and then that was it, the
backups were just guys. Seattle goes 3 deep at each spot and rotates them in
like a full-court press basketball team. They let some of those guys go, so
they gotta restock to keep doing what they do over the next few seasons as that
secondary gets expensive. They could use a WR but the second and third WR tier
is so deep that I think they wait, or they could get a TE if they like Jace Amaro. I don't think they'll take Sefarian-Jenkins because the last thing the Seahawks need is another criminal tight end from UW. In the end I think they keep doing what they do, and that's ruining passing games.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
And there you have it.
Usually when I do these, I have to look up the last 5 or 6 guys because I have
no idea who they are or who is available. Not this year - this draft is insane.
Like 10 of these guys could have gone first overall last year. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Let's get it on. </div>
</div>
Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-44540474323490155882014-01-20T14:53:00.001-08:002014-01-20T14:54:56.646-08:00RICHARD SHERMAN YELLS AT SOME CHICK ON TV<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-biJk95Vgw94/Ut2ioORVmqI/AAAAAAAABds/0gsV3VaB_C8/s1600/sherman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-biJk95Vgw94/Ut2ioORVmqI/AAAAAAAABds/0gsV3VaB_C8/s1600/sherman.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">YO CRABTREE CAN EAT SOME MOTHERFUCKING DICKS</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
First thing, mad props to Sherm-dog. I hope he and his teammates enjoy plentiful oats during the next two weeks. Nothing but oats and mares. (But remember the motto, fuck mares, get money). </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But after he went off yelling about Crabtree during his postgame interview with naked keyhole lady Erin Andrews, America DONE LOST IT'S MIND. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
And that's where Business Horse comes in...to, like Warren Gamiliel Harding once said, restore this shit to normalcy. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let's break this down.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1. Sherman is not a "thug". Nobody who talks trash into a microphone after a sporting event is a thug. Tight ends who murder people to cover up previous murders are thugs. Cornerbacks who rape people are thugs. Richard Sherman is a "douche", which is so much fucking different that I can't even put it into words. Richard Sherman is a cocky douche. That's it. Anybody who thinks that he's a thug or that this is what's wrong with sports today or whatever - those are your idiots. Brings me to my next point:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2. You can dislike Sherman and not be a racist or a hater or stuffy or whatever. Some people like cocky douches. Some people don't. I don't. It's that fucking simple. Anybody who thinks any deeper than this...relax. People that think "oh just because of one guy doing something harmless, you are going to root for another team?"...FUCK YES. Sports fandom is irrational. It means nothing. If nobody watches the Super Bowl on TV, these players won't even notice. If I choose to root against the Broncos because Eric Decker is fucking a white chick, I CAN DO THAT. It means nothing. Leave me the fuck alone. And...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3. Stop acting like Richard Sherman chaired the department of theoretical physics at Stanford. In response to idiots calling Sherman an uneducated thug on Twitter, people are incessantly reminding us that Sherman went to Stanford and therefore is one of the smartest people on the planet. He's not. His SAT was about 1050 and his wonderlic 24. He's of above average intelligence. Watching his NFL Films segment shows he's probably smarter than his set scores indicate. BUT HE DID NOT INVENT STRING THEORY. You do not want Richard Sherman operating on your gall bladder, because you will die. And...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4. Richard Sherman wants to play the bad guy, yet is attempting to rationalize away his behaviors so that people do not consider him the bad guy. No can do, Rich. You gotta own it. <a href="http://mmqb.si.com/2014/01/20/richard-sherman-interview-michael-crabtree/">This response he wrote</a> today, which people are posting all up and down the Horse's Facebook, is cray. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><i style="background-color: black;">I spent most of the game on an island: I was targeted only twice during the entire NFC Championship. The first produced a BS holding call against me; the second ended the game. Michael Crabtree stutter-stepped out of his break on first down and sprinted toward the end zone. I was in good position for a pick until he pushed me in the back. My interception became a tip and an interception for Malcolm Smith in the end zone.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><i style="background-color: black;"><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">This motherfucker complaining about un-called pass interferences and holds is like Ben Roethlisberger complaining about public drunkenness. The Seahawks have still not stopped complaining about the refs since 2006 and they probably never will. Their entire defensive strategy is based around clutching and grabbing. Cry me a river. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><i style="background-color: black;">I ran over to Crabtree to shake his hand but he ignored me. I patted him, stuck out my hand and said, “Good game, good game.” That’s when he shoved my face, and that’s when I went off.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">Sherm, you realize this was on TV, right? If people out there actually buy this and think that, by doing the absolutely completely normal act of running up behind a guy you just beat, smiling ear-to-ear, slapping him on the ass and saying good game he was NOT taunting Crabtree and looking to provoke a response - then I cannot help you. Woe is Sherman. Just own it, Shermdog! I don't know about you, but if somebody did this to me in a fucking co-ed softball league, I would probably beat them to death with my illegal bat. It was douchey. Because Sherman is the pinnacle of douche, no matter what Crabtree said earlier. Well...I guess assuming Crabtree didn't say "hey Sherman, I'm going to fuck your entire family in the ass once I catch this game winner". If he said that, then I may be a bit more understanding. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">I threw a choking sign at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Why? Because he decided he was going to try the guy he was avoiding all game, because, I don’t know, he’s probably not paying attention for the game-winning play. C’mon, you’re better than that.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">"See, I only gave Kaepernick the choke sign because he had the audacity to think I wasn't the single greatest football player in the NFL and that I should have to defend against passes." This is just dripping in hot wet douche. Maybe if Kaepernick had some Adderall, he'd be able to pay attention during game-winning plays.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><i style="background-color: black;">Erin Andrews interviewed me after the game and I yelled what was obvious: If you put a subpar player across from a great one, most of the time you’re going to get one result. As far as Crabtree being a top-20 NFL receiver, you’d have a hard time making that argument to me. There are a lot of receivers playing good ball out there, and Josh Gordon needed 14 games to produce almost double what Crabtree can do in a full season. And Gordon had Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell playing quarterback.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">Jesus Christ. So much douche. You just hate Crabtree, that's all. He's probably top 20 - he's damn good. I also don't quite follow the Josh Gordon QB thing - Kaepernick doesn't exactly air it out, as he threw for less yards this year than Weeden did last year. A Kaepernick (and Alex Smith last year) offense just isn't designed to put up huge passing yardage numbers. That being considered, Crabtree's numbers last season were pretty damn good. He's a good WR, Sherm. He's probably a douche, too. Does douche recognize douche? Probably not. Actually, I bet it does but has a hard time identifying itself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"><i style="background-color: black;">Erin Andrews interviewed me after the game and I yelled what was obvious: If you put a subpar player across from a great one, most of the time you’re going to get one result. As far as Crabtree being a top-20 NFL receiver, you’d have a hard time making that argument to me. There are a lot of receivers playing good ball out there, and Josh Gordon needed 14 games to produce almost double what Crabtree can do in a full season. And Gordon had Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell playing quarterback.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">See? It's so easy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">I don't understand why people consider Sherman saying the above and some nice things about his team and the Broncos to be some "see, you have to see both sides of the story!" revelation. Sherman was never thought to be a team cancer. The things he said above are fucking clearly not true or not justifications, assuming you own a television and saw them. He was just douchin' out. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">And that's the crux of it. Some people think douchey athletes are passionate and love the game and just want to win and love it, and some think they are just douches and will "cheer" for "other teams" because "none of it fucking matters you fucking retards".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">It's as simple as that. RELAX, America. </span></span></div>
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-18317884235607821102013-12-26T05:44:00.001-08:002013-12-26T05:44:25.214-08:00Christmas Hangover?It's the day after Christmas but business never takes a day off. Wake up, grab a carrot or an apple and gallop to your work stable to finish the year strong.Heathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04073767537295589943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807874704199146781.post-52178042869861068702013-12-19T14:05:00.001-08:002013-12-19T14:05:36.011-08:00Hi everybody<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hey guys, welcome to The Stable. Or THE STABLE. Or THE MOTHERFUCKING STABLE WITH BUSINESS HORSE WHERE HE LAYS DOWN MAD HARD TAKES ON CONTROVERSIAL SHIT AND EATS OATS LIKE A FUCKING BOSS. I prefer the latter.<br />
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<i>Oh yeah, watch me break shit down on a business trip</i></div>
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It's Christmas season, so I will be sparse for a bit as I mix the legal-minimum family time with my required like-a-boss business and oats time. Or holiday season if you want to fire the first shot in this year's war on Christmas. That's a good way to catch a business hoof the the dick, heathens. Hoes don't step to the Horse like that. You know what happens when you add a ho to Christmas? You get Chris Thomas, and I don't know who the fuck that is but he probably bathes with pumice and cum.<br />
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So I'm gonna get back to business so I can go out tonight and pound some oats with fillies. If you want to talk business or oats, hit up the Horse at bizhorse@gmail.com.<br />
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PEACE<br />
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Business Horsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04642303813842040069noreply@blogger.com0