DISCLAIMER: I know it's way too early to project our draft position, or the players draft position, or anything about this offseason really. I'm just bored, and this will keep me entertained for a half hour or so. Pre-draft: Cut Mark Sanchez Cut Santonio Holmes Resign Austin Howard Resign Vladimir Ducasse Resign Darrin Walls Resign: Kellen Winslow Let walk: Willie Colon, Jeff Cumberland, Calvin Pace Sign: Jarius Byrd, S, BUF Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI Reasoning: We'll have ~40 million in cap space, and we desperately need some safeties. Byrd is young and dynamic. He would fit great into our defense. Maclin, on the other hand, is coming off an ACL injury. He should come somewhat cheap, and is an absolute playmaker. MM would sure love to get his old weapon back in this offense. Draft: I'm saying we'll have around the 10th pick in the draft. With our pick from Revis and comp picks, I'm thinking we'll have a 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7 1. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington Will finally give us that stud TE we're looking for. This guy is a Jimmy Graham level of good. He comes from that basketball player converted into a TE mold (see Gates, Graham). Will give Geno the perfect weapon to develop with. 2. De'Anthony Thomas, RB/WR/KR/PR, Oregon As the Jaguars put it, De'Anthony Thomas would be an "offensive weapon". This draft should be about surrounding Geno with weapons to work with, as last year as about solidifying the O-line. Thomas is a player that can get about 10 touches per game all over the field. He's a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball, and would fit perfectly in our WCO, either at RB or WR. In addition, he would instantly make our KR and PR electric, and we would finally see the end of Jeremy "fair catch" Kerley, and Kyle "an invisible returner is better than me" Wilson on special teams. 3. Aaron Lynch, OLB, USF Rex likes his big OLBs, and now we'd have another one to match up with Coples. He sat out last year after transferring from ND after a very good 2011 season. He's a freakish athlete, and would absolutely provide a long term solution to our OLB corps. I'm just hoping he doesn't play himself out of our reach, as the only thing dropping him this far is the fact that he didn't play last year. 3. Andrew Jackson, ILB, Western Kentucky Jackson is a powerful ILB. He knows how to hit, and hit hard. He's extremely physical and agile. His major weakness is his ability in coverage, which is why he drops to the third round. Harris' future replacement. 4. Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville A solid safety who can add to the depth in the SS position across from Byrd. He's better in run support than pass coverage, but is solid in pass pro. Definitely not a playmaker; he doesn't have a knack for picks, but he's a solid player. I've given up here as this is a lot harder than I thought. With the rest of the picks, I would address some OL depth, maybe add a late round punter, and another RB perhaps. QB: Geno RB: Thomas, Goodson, Ivory, Powell FB: Bohanon WR: Maclin, Hill, Kerley, Thomas, Spadola TE: ASJ, Winslow LT: Brick LG: Ducasse C: Mangold RG: Winters RT: Howard DL: *Coples*, Wilkerson, Ellis, Snacks, Richardson LB: *Coples*, Harris, Davis, Lynch, Jackson CB: Cromartie, Milliner, Wilson, Lankster, Walls S: Byrd, Smith, Jarrett, Allen, Landry
I hate taking tight ends in the first round, especially in the top 10 if that is where you are projecting them. The fact is you can find a pretty serviceable one later in the draft, many of the best TE's in the league now were not first round picks
Noooo shot on Aaron Lynch. He'll be a first rounder on his upside alone. I do like taking ASJ in the 1st if were picking around the teens
Yeah, we will have 40 million to spend. Unfortunately Oakland will have 80-90 million to spend and will sign every free agent worth signing there is.
Top 10 pick on a TE is rediculous. Not a fan of that Thomas pick either. Sent from my HTCEVODesign4G using Tapatalk 2
I like the ASJ idea but I doubt he'll be there when we pick, even if it is around 10. Kid is magnitudes more impactful looking than Eifert was, who slid to only 21 this year. TE is becoming more important and he's a big bodied matchup nightmare that blocks and does it all.
Maybe a TE like Vernon Davis who can run a 4.3, look at all the losing seasons tony Gonzalez has had. TE's can be found later in the draft but top 10 is not justifiable IMO. Sent from my HTCEVODesign4G using Tapatalk 2
Thanks for the feedback. I completely disagree with the TE notion though. The reason you didn't see it a lot in the past was because of the way the game is played. Now, you have TEs like Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates in his prime, and even guys like Eifert getting drafted. Big, tall, fast TEs who are better receivers than blockers that create huge match-up problems. It's now becoming the norm in today's NFL. Back when Graham/Gronk.etc were getting drafted, these types of players would fall to the 2nd/3rd. Not anymore. If we want one, we either pay Graham ~10M a year (which we absolutely shouldn't do) or draft one. At 10-12ish, Lee is probably gone, and there's a good shot Watkins is gone also. Should we be reaching for a different WR when ASJ is clearly the best player on the board? I don't think so.
Then look at Tavon Austin getting snatched out from underneath us at 8 this year. Not that many years ago nobody would have even had a receiver like that on their radar in the first few rounds, but the truth is he never should've made it as close to 9 as he did. The point is that you don't pass up game changing matchup nightmares when they come along, even if they aren't in the traditional Randy Moss/Calvin Johnson role. It's a dynamic offense now and weapons at TE and slot WR can be just about as lethal now. I wouldn't be surprised to see ASJ's draft stock climb and climb this year as a guy that can get the job done well at every facet of his position, kind of like Dion Jordan did this year. If he makes it to our pick I'd be surprised if there was a better player for us left on the board.
I don't get this and you are not the 1st to say this. The Lynch from ND is a far different animal than the Lynch currently at USF. I think he takes a tumble come draft day. The fact he bolted from Notre Dame because he was "Homesick"(Supposedly he had a girlfriend back in Florida he missed and thus left ND) will come into deep question. What if he gets drafted to Seattle? To Denver? Will he be homesick then? He was in a really good situation in ND and went to a pretty lousy one in USF and one where thus far he hasn't looked good from a conditioning standpoint or even playmaking standpoint. Potential can only do so much. I don't know if he has that potential anymore that he showed at ND.
Good Mock, i wouldn't choose a TE in the first but i wouldn't mind it since ASJ is so talented. Aaron Lynch could be had in the third but hopefully he gets his act together and starts making some plays on the field
I Don't Like TE in The First The Jets haven't had any luck with TE in the first. Remember Kyle Brady, Anthony Becht, and Keller fizzed out. Teams are finding good TE's in the 2nd and 3rd round now. We also do not need a ILB drafted that high get one as a UDFA. Davis is playing good right now. We need WR and OLB. Pace is toast and has been for the last 3 years. Its brutal watching him play and I can't believe he was resigned. Safety is another need it would be nice to develop one for the long term.