1. Tavon Austin. WR 2a.Johnthan Banks CB 2b.Kyle Long OT 3a.Cornelius Washington DE 3b.Travis Kelce TE 4. B.W. Webb CB 5a.Montori Hughes DT 5b.David Bass DE 7a.John Boyett S 7b.Earl Watford G 7c.John Lotulelei OLB I could sure get on board with those first 5 picks!
Probably my favorite mock draft on the web to date :confetti: They even gave us Earl Watford in the sixth!
The only thing I would change here (and Im probably in the minority) is to swap out Kelce for a RB in the late 3rd. Im a big believer in Dustin Keller and Charles Clay long term and therefore see Kelce more as a luxury pick. Who knows - maybe Keller doesnt resign. But until we know for certain, I feel there are other more pressing needs we can fill. Using Drafteks mock scenario, Id be much more comfortable picking up a Christine Michael or Marcus Lattimore in the 3rd/4th round. But honestly, Im nitpicking. Wed be getting two potential above average starters in areas of need (OT and DB) as well as everyones favorite dyanmo at #12.
They don't have Dustin Keller locked up long term. He's on a one year rental. If you're a big believer in Dustin Keller then you obviously think he'll produce this year. If he produces this year he's back to wanting Jared Cook money, as he and his brother indicated while Keller was trying to sell himself in free agency. IMO, Marcus Lattimore is not playing in 2013. I don't think Ireland would reserve a 3rd for a guy who won't play. Christine Michael is a possibility...but he seems like he's got BAD attitude and character, and Mike Sherman likely knows a lot of stuff that others don't. That could go either way. But I think if a guy has good character, those closest to him are likely to have seen just how good it has been, they're likely to be even higher on him than people who are just scratching the surface. The opposite is also true. If a guy has bad character, those closest to him will have been in position to tell those just scratching the surface, "You don't even know the half of it." On the other hand maybe he's in position to think he's not as bad as others are letting on. Perhaps how Michael was treated under Sherman is an indication. He came in and made a big impact immediately as a freshman, outrushing Cyrus Gray and producing twice as many touchdowns. This should've been enough to win the primary job from Gray. And indeed at the beginning of 2010 it appears he did exactly that. Taking a back seat to Gray halfway through the year may be explainable due to injuries. But is it? In the 6th game of the year against Missouri, Michael still had 14 carries to Gray's mere 1 carry. But by the 7th game against Kansas, Gray had 13 carries to Michael's 6 carries. Gray ran more in the next game too although Michael may have gotten hurt during the game. Gray held the alpha role over Michael in most games in 2011 as well. As far as pure talent goes, Cyrus Gray was only a 6th round pick whereas Mayock is talking about how Michael would be 1st round all the way if not for the character issues. It may be that Kevin Sumlin wasn't the first coach to keep Christine Michael on the bench in favor of an inferior tailback. And if that's the case perhaps Sherman knows too much dirt about Michael to sign off on taking him.
I hear you on Michael. From a talent perspective, he looks to have the goods but only Sherman knows whether or not he wants someone with his mental makeup on his team. Im not surmising to know him better than our FO/Coaching staff - my comment was more around the idea that I think if we drafted the right RB in the mid-rounds, he could be an immediate contributor this year. Michael and Lattimore fit the bill as the type of complimentary backs we need to pair with Lamar Miller. But I dont know if either one is necesarrily the guy. Lattimore of course intrigues me - not sure if hes going to make a Willis McGahee like comeback this year or whether he'll be shelved for the season. If hes out for the year, then he probably wont even get drafted. Shame if its true. As for TE, if we cant afford Keller AFTER the season, why cant we simply draft a TE high in 2014 or, alternatively, sign another UFA? And on the flip side if he delivers the goods and were able to bring him back at an affordable price, then we have our answer at TE and dont need to spend a high pick this year. I know a lot of people are high on Kelce (and Eifert) so thats probably not a popular view, but thats always been my stance since the day we signed Keller. What are your thoughts about going with a blocking-heavy TE later in the draft such as Michael Williams? He could probably be had in the 5th-6th round and would upgrade our run-blocking in specific formations.
I can live with that draft class, for some reason Dave Bass's name is sticking in my head. FWIW, Lattimore will play in 2013, some close friends are wired into SC football and he took part in activities over Christmas
A couple of things. Drafts nowadays are notorious for being light at the tight end position. It's a dying position in college football. You can go drafts like 2006 when you've got a good class that includes Vernon Davis, Marcedes Lewis, Anthony Fasano, Tony Scheffler and Owen Daniels. But then a year prior you had Heath Miller...and...and...that's it. Heck there were 20 tight ends taken in 2009 and the only 2 worth anything are Brandon Pettigrew and Jared Cook, and I personally think Cook got massively overpaid. But then the very next year you've got Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Aaron Hernandez, Dennis Pitta and Tony Moeaki. Oh but the next year after that? Kyle Rudolph and... and... and... I think you've got it right on Michael Williams. He's a blocking tight end only. As is Levine Toilolo. Both are excellent in that capacity. But I wouldn't be all about blocking specialists in this offense. The Packers didn't grab Michael Crabtree as a blocking specialist. He just ended up in that role by virtue of his pass catching prowess relative to the others around him. When I cite Travis Kelce as a guy I like, it's not as a "blocking specialist".
Anyone can say what they want but this is a really deep draft. Take a look at some of the names still available in the 4-6 rounds of this mock. I think it does create some reasonably accurate facsimile of what kinds of picks will be available day three of the actual draft. I'm sure Chris will attest to this based on the Mock 2 that he participated in.
My #MockTwo results had a lot more to do with the people I was playing with not being quite as prescient as me, to be honest. I had no trouble getting Travis Kelce in the 2nd or Shamarko Thomas in the 3rd. I was in no danger of not being able to get them and I'm sure many thought "WTF??" when I took them. Now, Travis Kelce seems to be accepted as carrying a 2nd round grade and Shamarko Thomas is accepted as carrying a 2nd-3rd round grade. When you get further down is where things really got adventurous! D.J. Hayden still available in the 6th round. Unbelievable. Hugh Thornton in the 7th! Well, that sure isn't going to happen NOW. In #MockFive, Hugh Thornton went in the 5th round and Hayden in the 4th. Even those results are perhaps two rounds to late, in each case. Kelce went in the 2nd round. Shamarko went in the 4th, which is a round earlier than he'll really go. I try not to make the case for whether any particular draft is deep or not. You can usually find late gems in ANY draft. Let's take the 6th round as an example. 2003: OL Reggie Wells, DL Antonio Garay, LB Cato June, S Yeremiah Bell 2004: OL Rex Hadnot, DL Corey Williams, P Andy Lee 2005: DL Anthony Bryant, TE Bo Scaife, CB Chris Harris, DE Kyle Moore, OT Will Svitek, TE Joel Dreessen, OL Chris Myers 2006: TE Delanie Walker, OL Kevin Boothe, OT Jeromey Clary, DE Jeremy Mincey, DL Kedric Golston, S Antoine Bethea 2007: PK Nick Folk, LB Desmond Bishop, PK Mason Crosby 2008: LB Erik Walden, OT Barry Richardson, WR Josh Morgan, DT Ahtyba Rubin, OG Donald Thomas, WR Pierre Garcon, LB Geno Hayes 2009: OL Matt Slauson, WR Brandon Gibson, TE Brandon Myers, CB Jason McCourty 2010: DE Greg Hardy, WR Antonio Brown, WR David Gettis, OL Ted Larsen
Well, I have to partially blame YOU for Hayden still being available in Round 6? Right? Oh wait... you didn't have a 4th of 5th? WTF?????
Can't blame me too much, like you said I didn't have 4th or 5th round picks as a result of my trade up for Cordarrelle Patterson. Can't blame me for Hugh Thornton being on until the 7th either. With my 6th rounder I had to run up to the podium for D.J. Hayden. LOL. Admittedly I had Shamarko Thomas as a 2nd-3rd round talent and I had D.J. Hayden as the same, whereas now I have Hayden much higher because we've gotten more clarity on his medical situation.
I think your ideal situation has Christine Michael's intangibles keeping everyone away from him til VERY late.. like the 6th round, where the Phins just have to pull the trigger. I say that's ideal because it may be the wake up call a kid like that needs. Almost going undrafted. he comes in here grateful Sherm balied his arse out, is embarrassed and determined to prove the world wrong. That's the fantasy. The problem is, his talent will get him a semi-pass and he will go in the 2nd-3rd round. And not get a wake up call as a result.
I could see that going the other way though. I could see him thinking he'll get away with more because of Mike Sherman's presence. Say you think of yourself as a 1st rounder and you go in the 6th round and you know it's because of this reputation you have. Can't claim you don't know what people are talking about when you do things like oversleep for team interviews at the Combine. You know. If you're going to a team you don't know, nobody you know, 6th round so they didn't invest in you...you know you've got two strikes already. You have to be on your best behavior. But if you go to a team with your old coach, you feel more comfortable. You know you're probably there because he's in your corner. And if he's as high up as Mike Sherman is with Miami (practically Philbin's first mate), you think you've got a backer in a high place. You might be comfortable enough to pull some of the same sh-t.
Blech. Well, if we only use a 6th it's worth the gamble, even if that's the result. Kid's damned good and in no way shape or form is he less deserving of a spot than the Honey Badger, who by all accounts will go by the 6th if not sooner. I have Christine as my 4th round running back selection, depending who else is available. If we haven;t picked up TWO decent tackles yet (via FA and draft combined) then that pick may go for Reid Fragel instead.
Just wondering who would that be? Banks is softer then SS24 which I hate in a player. And before we start talking ball skills.. isnt that what everyone was saying about SS24 coming out of college? Banks is just SS24 part duex IMO. And while I like Long, the kid is going to be a guard in the NFL he is not a OT. Based on who he had on the board when we picked I would much rather have gone Slay with the Banks pick and Watson with the Long pick. Cant comment on the Washington pick as I really dont know much about him but I see DJ Swearinger sitting there and I would have to take him at the point. in the fourth round I like Escobar, DJ Hayden, Jonathan Franklin and B Williams better then Webb. with the first 5th rounded L Bell, Kiko, the shark…. I could have missed it but he doesnt have Hayden drafted at all? I cant find the OG from Cal (Schwenke) or Brennan Williams UNC OT… and Huge Thornton in the 7th?
Shamarko Thomas… everyone has been calling him the shark for some reason… couldnt be his first name or anything…
I love that draft. It's interesting to see them having the Dolphins take Austin. You don't hear much about that possibility outside of Dolphins fans and local media. This is the first national mock I've seen give them Austin since the Wallace signing.
Last I heard, he now has a 2nd round grade on him. NFL Draft Scout says 2-3. Apparently, he's been climbing. Anyone else hear the same?
There's a rumor that Dion Jordan will be the first pick. If Jordan goes at 1, Smith would likely be the 2 with Oakland sitting at 3 with a DT. That means that Joeckel could slide to 4. There's a big difference between Lane Johnson at 3 versus Joeckel at 3.
A rumor started by whom? Anyone can start a rumor saying anything. It's getting especially ridiculous this year though.
Hells bells, I could start a rumor by posting it here. A rumor could be started by your barber or the bartender down at the corner bar.
They still have him 87th overall, which would be late 3rd. I think that is about where they've had him since after the combine. Usually they put an up arrow by the players who make significant rises in the rankings. No arrow by him though. They just did move DJ Hayden from the 6th round area to 2nd round, 57th overall. That's just been in the past few days. He is now their 7th corner. He has an up arrow so perhaps his ascent isn't complete.
Maybe I'm just getting starry eyed seeing and reading all the player evaluations by you and other very knowledgable posters here, but when I look at all the prospects in this years draft it seems like there are more talented players this year than most. This mock was an example when looking at names going in rounds 4-5 for example.
You want to start a rumor? I could start you a rumor. I could start you a rumor by 3 o'clock this afternoon... [video=youtube;20wUS_bbOHY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20wUS_bbOHY[/video] There goes Walter again.
Horror has a face. And you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies... [video=youtube;o6tV1yfEPTk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6tV1yfEPTk[/video]
Well, maybe so. It's the kind of macro call that I hate making. But the truth of the matter is last year I had trouble stuffing even 60 players on my favorites board and this year I have no trouble getting to 100.
