Hey all,

 

I've put together a mock draft of how I think the first round of the NFL draft may play out. If you're a fan of the NFL or just football in general by all means check it out. It's the first time I've done a first round mock. Any comments, questions or critiques are definitely encouraged. If anyone is interested it can be found by visiting my personal webpage.

 

http://chasecharney.wordpress.com/the-last-word-the-blog/

Hey all,

 

I've put together a mock draft of how I think the first round of the NFL draft may play out. If you're a fan of the NFL or just football in general by all means check it out. It's the first time I've done a first round mock. Any comments, questions or critiques are definitely encouraged. If anyone is interested it can be found by visiting my personal webpage.

 

http://chasecharney.wordpress.com/the-last-word-the-blog/

 

OMG if the Vikings get Manziel I will just die.  That would be awesome.

 

Great mock, that was a good read.

As a Packers fan, I actually hope it happens. Football is so much better when the Vikings are competitive and I really hope he lands there. I worry about Oakland possibly taking him as I think it would be career suicide for him. His pro day today was absolutely tremendous and likely boosted his stock. This is a VERY deep first round to two rounds this year. The top 10 in particular will be tremendous to watch.

Hey all, I've done an updated NFL mock draft for those that may be interested. I've added who I previously had in that given spot in the draft as well as other positions that may be targeted. Have a look if you feel so inclined. All feedback welcome.

 

http://chasecharney.wordpress.com/the-last-word-the-blog/

Let's analyze this:

 

4/32 in their actual spot... 5/32 if you toss in Watkins at #4... 25/32 right in the first round

 

Best pick: Kelvin Benjamin, 28, Carolina

Worst pick: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, 21, Green Bay

 

For a first round that was quite wacky, I'd say a job well done.

Michael Sam taken in the 7th round by the rams.

 

I don't watch too much NCAA and i'm not too familliar with this SAM kid, only really recognize him because he came out as being gay.

 

But did notice he was the sec defensive player of the year.. so a question to those who know more.. why did teams take  guys from programs not as good as where SAM came from and who werent named defensive players of the year in their conference over him? was it because of SAM coming out? or is it true that he just isn't that good overall. 

From reading a few draft sites most of them were surprised he went a round or so later then what he should of.

Most scouts said he didn't have the proper size.

Sam is a tweener, which means he is too small for a defensive end and too big for a linebacker... think Shomari Williams in the CFL. Tweeners often don't have too much success in the NFL.

 

Jackson Jeffcoat, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is the same fit and wasn't even drafted.

 

Other thing is, Sam isn't much of a player outside of a pass rusher, but in the NFL with the extra down, it is a lot easier to have a guy who can only play one way... in the CFL it would be a little more difficult to get away with that due to a smaller roster and one less down.

 

Better players than Sam overall went undrafted as well... being a fan of the Stanford Cardinal, perhaps slightly biased, but one of my favourites - Shayne Skov went undrafted and I think that is absolutely criminal. But he wound up signing with the 49ers, so while he doesn't get as much money, he may be better off. Then again, it is the 49ers and they're loaded, so he may not even make the team.

As someone who hates giving compliments to anything Stanford (Oregon fan here) I have to agree that it's criminal that Skov went undrafted

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

I don't mind that pick... Tom Brady will be 37 this season and he's not going to play forever.

The pick that struck me as odd was the Browns using their first pick on Justin Gilbert, a cornerback. But they were still able to grab Manziel later on so it ended up looking like an okay move, I guess.

A lot of people will say Bortles at #3, but I myself am a fan. I think the Jags have done a decent job of adding some targets for him early on here as well. I think Miami was a bit high on Ja'wuan James, and especially considering they also took Billy Turner in the third round... I would have looked at someone like Cooks or Lee for WR or even Dennard or Verrett at CB as those are positions they selected later on as well.

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

 

Rookies have to be quite special to come in and make an impact for Belichick right away, and I think perhaps they looked at the next draft or two and didn't see a QB they liked and with Mallett likely leaving after this season, they felt it was time to make a move.

 

Sort of the the same idea when they took Mallett, though that was in the 3rd round, not the 2nd round.

A lot of people will say Bortles at #3, but I myself am a fan. I think the Jags have done a decent job of adding some targets for him early on here as well. I think Miami was a bit high on Ja'wuan James, and especially considering they also took Billy Turner in the third round... I would have looked at someone like Cooks or Lee for WR or even Dennard or Verrett at CB as those are positions they selected later on as well.

The thing is, the Jags needed a QB. They obviously had Bortles rated the highest, so in reality it is hard to fault them for making that pick. Every analyst I saw had the top 3 or 4 QBs jumbled in different orders... There really wasn't one guy who was head and shoulders above the rest.

Personally I was thrilled with the Vikings getting Bridgewater at 32. I think that is a steal, regardless of how shitty Bridgewater's pro day went.

 

A lot of people will say Bortles at #3, but I myself am a fan. I think the Jags have done a decent job of adding some targets for him early on here as well. I think Miami was a bit high on Ja'wuan James, and especially considering they also took Billy Turner in the third round... I would have looked at someone like Cooks or Lee for WR or even Dennard or Verrett at CB as those are positions they selected later on as well.

The thing is, the Jags needed a QB. They obviously had Bortles rated the highest, so in reality it is hard to fault them for making that pick. Every analyst I saw had the top 3 or 4 QBs jumbled in different orders... There really wasn't one guy who was head and shoulders above the rest.

Personally I was thrilled with the Vikings getting Bridgewater at 32. I think that is a steal, regardless of how shitty Bridgewater's pro day went.

 

 

Agreed. I think a large part of it is a lot of people were on the Manziel hype-train. I am not a huge fan of Bridgewater, but I will agree with you there, great value considering the speculation throughout the entire last year.

 

I read somewhere that the Patriots would have taken Bortles if he was available at 29, and so they were already thinking a QB in the first round if it was the right one. If Belichick liked Bortles enough to use a first round pick on him, I'd say that's a decent indication of his stock.

Let's analyze this:

 

4/32 in their actual spot... 5/32 if you toss in Watkins at #4... 25/32 right in the first round

 

Best pick: Kelvin Benjamin, 28, Carolina

Worst pick: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, 21, Green Bay

 

For a first round that was quite wacky, I'd say a job well done.

Thanks. Considering it was my first time doing one I was quite happy especially when reflecting on some of the mocks put out there on NFL.com by some of their writers. I was kicking myself for moving Clinton Dix out of the Green Bay spot as I had him there initially. Nothing against Aaron Donald, he's a tremendous football player but I would have figured the Rams would target their secondary as their front seven is already stellar.

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

Depends how you want to look at it. Garoppolo went exactly where he was suppose to in the late two-early three range. It looks bad though based on how far the rest of the QB draft class slid. Out of the QB picks I'd say Arizona taking Logan Thomas before McCarron, Murray and Mettenberger is highly questionable based on their respective body of work. That being said Arians has worked with a similar passer in Roethlisberger so I'm sure that played a role in the decision to draft him.

 

 

A lot of people will say Bortles at #3, but I myself am a fan. I think the Jags have done a decent job of adding some targets for him early on here as well. I think Miami was a bit high on Ja'wuan James, and especially considering they also took Billy Turner in the third round... I would have looked at someone like Cooks or Lee for WR or even Dennard or Verrett at CB as those are positions they selected later on as well.

The thing is, the Jags needed a QB. They obviously had Bortles rated the highest, so in reality it is hard to fault them for making that pick. Every analyst I saw had the top 3 or 4 QBs jumbled in different orders... There really wasn't one guy who was head and shoulders above the rest.

Personally I was thrilled with the Vikings getting Bridgewater at 32. I think that is a steal, regardless of how shitty Bridgewater's pro day went.

 

 

Agreed. I think a large part of it is a lot of people were on the Manziel hype-train. I am not a huge fan of Bridgewater, but I will agree with you there, great value considering the speculation throughout the entire last year.

 

I read somewhere that the Patriots would have taken Bortles if he was available at 29, and so they were already thinking a QB in the first round if it was the right one. If Belichick liked Bortles enough to use a first round pick on him, I'd say that's a decent indication of his stock.

 

I like the Bortles pick at three. There was no guarantee that had Jacksonville traded down based on who was in the top 10 that they would have gotten him later. Overall I was very impressed with the Jags draft. Bortles, Lee, Robinson, and Johnson (No idea how/why he lasted to round 7) are very solid picks for a team needing to revamp the offence.

Michael Sam taken in the 7th round by the rams.

 

I don't watch too much NCAA and i'm not too familliar with this SAM kid, only really recognize him because he came out as being gay.

 

But did notice he was the sec defensive player of the year.. so a question to those who know more.. why did teams take  guys from programs not as good as where SAM came from and who werent named defensive players of the year in their conference over him? was it because of SAM coming out? or is it true that he just isn't that good overall. 

Size as you mentioned was/is an issue for sure. Teams also put a lot of faith into the scouting combine (more than they should IMO) where Sam was absolutely awful in. Again though, you look at his game tape, stats and the SEC honour and that's something that shouldn't be tossed away easily. Some food for thought: The best defensive player in the SEC went in the seventh round but the top two tackles in the draft (Robinson, Matthews) also came from the SEC.

 

Previous players to win the SEC defensive player of the year award:

 

2012 Jarvis Jones - 1st round pick

2011 Morris Claiborne - 1st round pick

2010 Patrick Peterson - 1st round pick

2009 Rolando McClain - 1st round pick

2008 Eric Berry - 1st round pick

 

You get the picture I'm sure. Granted one of those players turned out to be a bust and another is on his way to being a bust, but getting recognized as the SEC defensive player of the year obviously means you've made quite an impression.

 

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

I don't mind that pick... Tom Brady will be 37 this season and he's not going to play forever.

The pick that struck me as odd was the Browns using their first pick on Justin Gilbert, a cornerback. But they were still able to grab Manziel later on so it ended up looking like an okay move, I guess.

 

I like Gilbert but I hated the move for two reasons. First of which I don't think the Browns got NEARLY the return they should have gotten moving down from four to nine, especially when you consider the prices paid to teams for first round draft trades in the past. The return St. Louis got from the Redskins for example in the RG3 deal when they moved from four to two immediately comes to mind.

 

Second, based on reports some (not sure how everybody didn't know but I digress) but some of the Browns staffers were aware of the second failed drug test by Josh Gordon two weeks before the draft (Last year's NFL leading receiver with over 1,600 yards) that will most likely result in him missing all of the upcoming season. Based on that, why are you trading out of that spot when you have Sammy Watkins right in your lap? Your defence is already very good. You could have had Manziel (who I think sits now for 2014 based on the Gordon situation) paired up with Watkins and Cameron. Add Gordon back in 2015 and that's one hell of a passing attack.

 

 

So what was the worst draft pick this draft?

NEW England blowing an early pick on a QB?

I don't mind that pick... Tom Brady will be 37 this season and he's not going to play forever.

The pick that struck me as odd was the Browns using their first pick on Justin Gilbert, a cornerback. But they were still able to grab Manziel later on so it ended up looking like an okay move, I guess.

 

I like Gilbert but I hated the move for two reasons. First of which I don't think the Browns got NEARLY the return they should have gotten moving down from four to nine, especially when you consider the prices paid to teams for first round draft trades in the past. The return St. Louis got from the Redskins for example in the RG3 deal when they moved from four to two immediately comes to mind.

 

Second, based on reports some (not sure how everybody didn't know but I digress) but some of the Browns staffers were aware of the second failed drug test by Josh Gordon two weeks before the draft (Last year's NFL leading receiver with over 1,600 yards) that will most likely result in him missing all of the upcoming season. Based on that, why are you trading out of that spot when you have Sammy Watkins right in your lap? Your defence is already very good. You could have had Manziel (who I think sits now for 2014 based on the Gordon situation) paired up with Watkins and Cameron. Add Gordon back in 2015 and that's one hell of a passing attack.

 

 

I think they got a great return.

 

Justin Gilbert, a likely top 10 pick in 2015 and a 4th rounder in the same year. If suddenly that 2015 1st rounder turns into an offensive weapon like maybe Todd Gurley or Nelson Agholor ... that trade looks great for Cleveland.

I think the Browns played it right. My own philosophy is to never draft a receiver or running back in the first round. Part of that is there is just way too much of a history of those picks - especially in the Top 10 - turning out to be completely worthless. There are some exceptions, but they have to be quite the exception. That said, obviously not every single player selected in the first round is a complete bust, but I would guess that about 35-40% make it through to multiple 1,000 yard seasons.

 

I think teams are starting to draft that way as well... certainly fewer skill  guys going in the first round the past few drafts since the bomb that was 2009 that featured guys like Heyward-Bey, Brown, Wells, Britt, Nicks, Moreno...

 

As for Gilbert, I think the Browns picked up a guy who won't be too far off of him in the 4th round, Pierre Desir.

One of the more interesting and sad things to me was the record 98 underclassmen entering, and the record 36 going undrafted. That is some bad advice going around for those young men. Of course most if not all will get signed and they can prove themselves that way, but the odds that your career is over now is probably about 90%. No more scholarship, no outside career, nothing.