Going to give this a shot. My philosophy is three fold - 1) you go BPA but have to consider depth of draft 2) we can't afford to miss on our top 3 picks given Idzik's debacle last year so if two guys are close go with the one with higher floor and 3) No RB in the first round ( the trend has gone the other way for a reason - the returns haven't been there and the league has gravitated to committees. Round 1 1) TB - Winston 2) Titans - Mariota. Could be another team here with a trade but pick is the same. 3) JAX - Dante Fowler. I think he's overrated so would prefer this scenario plays out. 4) OAK - Leonard Williams. (Toss up with Cooper but they've improved drafting as of late 5) WAS - Vic Beasley. 6) New York Jets takes .... Amari Cooper. This isn't ideal scenario as I really want Beasley given I think there will be better WRs available at top of 2nd than OLBs but Randy Gregory is too risky given his off the field stupidity. Let's all be honest - three months ago narrative on this board was that we had no chance to land Cooper. Now given the rise of pass rushers he falls into our lap. His route running ability, speed and IQ makes him a fan favorite for years. He will make an impact from day 1 especially with Decker and Marshall commanding attention. Round 2- Pick 37 - Cedric Ogbuehi- Texas A&M. 6'5, 306 and potential LT for next decade made available due to injury. If he wasn't injured, he would be a top 10 pick here. Great footwork, awesome pass blocking ability. He also has experience at guard so he can play there if we need him to. Brick is declining. He was a great pick, but we need to start thinking about the future as franchise tackles don't grow on trees and they definitely never become available in free agency. This position has been overlooked in many mock drafts but it's a necessity. Alternative pick - if he is gone, hopefully Eli Harold or Nate orchard are available Round 3 pick 70- David Johnson - northern Iowa. Smooth, fast, elusive and can catch. He comes in and establishes himself as our third down back and takes on more responsibility over next four years. I know it seems early but I like him better than Ajayi (fumbles and apparently has a leg issue scaring off teams). Alternative pick - Lorenzo Mauldin (OLB), Quentin Rollins (CB) that's a converted basket player. Round 4 - Markus Golden (DE/OLB) (Missouri). Played across from Shane Ray and commanded double teams. 6 sacks in 2013 and 8.5 in 2014. Didn't have a great combine but this late definitely worth a flier to push Calvin Pace with tremendous upside with the right coaching Round 7 Jerry Lovelocke - QB - Prairie View A&M. I never heard of him until I watched him at the combine but honestly his throwing mechanics were right up there with Mariota in my opinion. Would love to get a developmental QB on the team (alternative pick is Brandon Bridge) 2nd pick in Round 7 - Nick Boyle or Wes Saxton (TEs). I am not high on Cumberland and if we could get a more complete TE in the last round to compete, that would be great. I welcome any feedback or comments, good or bad. Thanks and am looking forward to the draft.
Good job. I like your rationale for each pick and alternatives if the player you like isn't there. If we can't get Mariota, I'd be very happy with those first 3 picks. I prefer White over Cooper because I think he has a higher ceiling, is hungrier and more determined to prove himself, but would be ecstatic with Cooper. I don't know anything about your last 3 picks other than what you wrote, but like adding an OLB and another TE who can block. Nick Boyle probably won't be there in the 7th. I can't say about Saxton. Never heard of Lovelocke, but I have no problem with adding a 7th round QB if he has some potential.
Don't know about the 7th round QB but rather burn a 7th round pick on one then a 2nd or 3rd rounder like has been floating around a lot lately. Overall looks pretty good to me.
Here's my philosophy of drafting: when you draft in the top ten, you need to get a player who can be a game changer. To me, that means guys who put points on the board: QB, RB, WR or on the the other side PR (pass rusher). Other needs can be filled in the later rounds. I would never draft an OT at 6, although I have seen some mocks with the Jets taking B. Scherff. When discussing the all-time great QB's no body cares who played LT for these guys. Guys like Manning, Favre, Brady excelled because of who they were, not who the LT was. Same can be said of RB's. WR's require some competence at QB, but guys like Andre Johnson and Anquan Boldin thrived with mediocre QBs. PR's can affect a game in a number of ways: sack, rushing loss, fumble and most importantly: hurrying the QB makes the four DB's more effective. Therefore, I love your top pick. Not sure I would go OT in round 2 though, but I might, depending on who was on the board.
Love Coop but if we do that I want Eli Harold in the 2nd. Love the Johnson pick. Hate the Locklove pick. He has a 7th round grade. I wouldn't even draft him, he's such a long shot project.
If Scherff was a bonafide no questions asked starting LT in this league I would take him at 6th (depending on who was available, obviously). LT is an integral role in the team and to have a potential pro-bowl LT would help our pass and run game immensely. The issue is I'm not convinced he projects to LT or RT in the NFL, more of an OG which isn't worth the 6th overall pick. so, on that basis, I wouldn't draft him unless we traded back.
Agree that an OT helps the pass and run game, no question. However a great OT is not going to put Geno, Ivory, Powell, Decker, Marshall etc. in the HOF. My point is: the great QB, RB, WRs of the game became great because they were great players and I don't think it mattered who was blocking up front. Therefore, when drafting as high as 6, and you have an opportunity to get a potentially great player, you should take advantage of it. I probably shouldn't have said "never." I would take an OT at 6 if my team was pretty well stocked at QB, RB, WR and PR, or I would also take one if the class was so weak at QB, RB, WR, PR and the OT was a clearly superior player to the others.
Not a bad mock, but I think as a Jet fan you might have subconsciously designed it so that Amari Cooper was still available at number 6. Beasley's stock is rapidly dropping and I don't think Redskins will take him.
Nick Boyle ran a pretty slow 40 so I think he's off a lot of people's radars now. Prior to combine I saw him in the third to fourth round range on mocks and now he's 6th. - 7th. Interesting. Hopefully Eli is around in the 2nd but I think he may be gone. But obviously if he's there he would certainly be on the radar. Problem is I think after the 2nd round chance at getting a quality OT is pretty much nill so willing to take an upside guy like Mauldin or Golden later. I'm trying to keep depth of positions in mind as well (I view RB as deepest, WR 2nd deepest and on other spectrum OTs and QBs as pretty thin) why is Beasley's stock dropping? He has production, a monster combine and now Shane Ray has potential surgery overhang which inflates his scarcity value. Only because I am higher on the 2nd - 4th round WRs than I am on the pass rushers. I'd clearly be happy to get Cooper too, just would rather get Beasley in first round and a Strong/Lockett/McBride later. Thanks all for the responses!
