kurgan 2019 Mock Draft v.1

[kurgan]

Draft order via tankable.com

Offseason Needs:  CB, ILB, Edge, DE

FA prediction:  Midlevel RB, Midlevel CB

1.28--Julian Love, CB Notre Dame  5'11" 193

At this point, whomever is the next best CB on the board when we pick at #28 is my selection.  No questions asked.  I cannot live with Artie Burns/Coty Sensabaugh, and who knows if Sutton ever gets a shot.  I have to have someone ready to play on day 1 at CB, and hope like hell that Haden does not get hurt.  If Love is gone, then it is Baker or whoever is there.  I don't care if 5 CB are taken, our first pick HAS to be a CB

2.56--Vosean Joseph, ILB Florida  6' 225

Issue #2 is play at ILB.  Bostic is OK as a stopgap, but we need someone long term.  Joseph is not my FAVE, but I can't take Bush at 1, so Joseph is here.  He is big and rangy, and is good enough in coverage to play on early downs until the nickel is ready to come in on passing downs.  A thumper with an attitude, plays with a chip.  Was a safety in high school, and bulked up to play in the box.  Needs work on technique and finishing, but is a physical force that can be a long term fix for Bostic.

3.88—Javon Kinlaw, DL South Carolina  6’6” 305

An underrated need for this defense is that of a DE player.  With Heyward and Tuitt as monsters on the edge, the issue comes with injury and age issues creeping into these two men.  I love the use of Hargrave as some subpackage DE, but past him and Alualu, Walton and Shade Tree are NOT impressive at all.  Kinlaw is a guy that can come in and play some 5 tech AND some even if we go with the traditional nickel looks.  Add into that the fact that he has played some 1 tech, and has the size and frame to bulk up and be a beast.  At the very least, pushes Walton and McCullers off the roster, and allows us to maybe look at Alualu for one more year before turning it over to Kinlaw long term.

4.120—Carl Granderson, OLB Wyoming  6’4” 255

So first, no way we go 4 straight defensive players here, but since I am in charge, what the hell.  I expect there will be a RB or WR taken in here somewhere, but I am fixing the edge issue here.  When Watt went down for a couple of plays in JAX, I was nervous as hell about the rest of the game.  I like Chick, and I think he is a good backup and exceptional special teams guy, but we need a long term answer for Dupree/Watt if there is an injury or if Dupree stops growing.  So, this is a little later than I wanted to address this, but it is what it is.  This kid is raw and will be changing positions, but with Chick and Ola in front of him, he has time.  All reports are that he is not an explosive athlete, but is a technical guy who understands his role and plays it well.  Wyoming puts out good players, and he has the measurables needed to play, and some of the humbleness that will be needed to grow and be a great player.  Can come in and learn, grow, understand and then work on unseating Chick as the backup and longer term answer.  Or even having the best of the three of Chick, Ola and Granderson will do wonders for the reserve situation and the special teams areas.

6.161 (Raiders pick)—Zach Gentry, TE Michigan  6’7” 262

So, I gotta get an offensive guy here at some point. I like Gentry and he is a not a need position, but more of a depth piece.  With Vance being a handful but injury prone and Outlaw being great as a #2, we have 2 pretty good ones.  Grimble is OK (fumble in Denver not withstanding) and I don’t know what the future is for the Rugby kid.  Gentry is a huge target that is great on pop passes and short routes.  Huge catch radius and above average hands.  Needs work in the blocking aspect of playing, but is big and physical enough to make a difference if properly motivated.  I am comfortable enough to bring him in to push Grimble and maybe make him a new Matt Spaeth??

6.184—Myles Bryant, CB Washington  5’8”  180

The ‘other’ Washington cornerback.  Shutdown nickelback who has done great things in the PAC 12 against some real good recievers.  Obviously size is a concern, but plays super aggressive and plays through his cushion and attacks downhill.  Hits like a guy 220.  Obvious comparison to Mike Hilton, is a guy with many of the same traits.  My idea here is to get as many corners as I can get into camp and see if something pops.  Almost like a Yin to Brian Allen’s Yang, Bryant can be super aggressive and make plays as a smaller dude.

7.200 (Tampa Bay’s pick)—Jalen Hurd, WR? Baylor  6’4” 229

Helluva story here.  Not sure where he will end up projected due to his position change, school change and system change.  Was a tall, bruising tailback with fumble issues at Tennessee, sat out to transfer to Baylor, and became a outside receiver for the Bears under the new Matt Rhule spread option.  I am not sure where he will end up on the field, as he is brand new to the WR spot and looks raw at times.  But, size and athleticism are rare and must be used.  Hell, I don’t care if he is turned into a powerback, Flex TE, H-Back, or even moves in with Darryl Drake, AB or JuJu and sells out on the WR spot and becomes a true force there.  His traits and skills are worth a shot, at least, and if developed, can be a weapon wherever he ends up.

 

[JLambert58]

Don't know these players (yet) but this is exactly the type of draft we need position wise.   Thanks for the breakdowns.

I'm not ready to jump out of the James Washington window, but we are going to need another capable WR that is bigger than Switz.   Maybe Trey Griffey will make the leap next season or maybe "The President" figures it out.  

Good early effort on this mock, kurgan. 

Edit:  Forgot about RB, we'll need to pick one of those up in the first 4 rds imo.

 

 

[mwalker]

Positions are fine, but I think we can get better players in each round.

[kurgan]

@JLambert58 thanks for the kind words.  I, in no way, am off the Washington train.  Hurd is only the pick since he is such a freak, and I don't even know what position he would be.  He would be moldable clay for me.

Also, I cheated on the RB situation.  I HATE the RBs in the 3-4 range right now, and had a big RB reach where I have the TE now.  But, I just put in that we would sign one in FA and let it ride. I cannot get a feel for what we are doing with RB right now.  Clearly Connor is the #1, but Samuel got a lot of burn last night, and they must feel pretty good about him.  I'd like to get a vet #3 to run with the young guys.  Honestly, IF the Steelers draft a RB, it would have to be a shifty/gimmick guy.  Connor is the all-around and Samuel looks to be the long term 3rd down blocker/pass catcher, so we would either need a true #2 (ala Blount) or a tricky gimmick guy.  Unless you think that Samuels COULD be a #2 guy, then you could get a 3rd down back.  Either way, it is a very confusing area right now for me, TBH.

 

@mwalker Hard to know right now who will be where.  Need some declarations, some more work, and some measurables.  There is just not a whole lot of data working right now.  Just my eyes and some early projections.

[3rivers]

why bother with all this when our coaches ask a traditional LB to cover WR1 ?

[DR43]

Why do you feel we need a DE?

[warfelg]

11 minutes ago, DR43 said:

Why do you feel we need a DE?

LT Walton is a JAG, Alualu is a FA.  We have no one else in the pipeline unless we play Hargrave more at DE.

[3rivers]

6 hours ago, warfelg said:

LT Walton is a JAG, Alualu is a FA.  We have no one else in the pipeline unless we play Hargrave more at DE.

might not be a bad idea, he could do it. DMC is gone and old NT's are easy to find on the cheap.