Mock Draft

[Haha21]

1^st Round (29^th overall) - Jalen Mayfield OT Michigan 6-5 320 lbs

Mayfield is a very athletic tackle that has the potential to play on either side. He’s got the length and size that you look for in a bookend. He’s more proficient in run blocking than as a pass protector at the moment but his upside is immense. He leaves Michigan with only 15 starts under his belt (played in 2 games in 2020) which makes his evaluation incomplete. I would be very excited to see what Stenavich could do with this kid.

 

2^nd Round (62^nd overall) - Elijah Molden DB University of Washington 5-10 191 lbs

He may be small but make no mistake about it, Elijah Molden is a football player. Molden’s top attribute is his intelligence. He has an uncanny ability to diagnose routes pre-snap that allows him to consistently be around the ball. He isn’t shy at all about it when it comes to providing run support and he is one of the stronger tackling DB’s in this draft. Molden comes in and locks down the nickel role while also providing flexibility at safety.

 

3^rd Round (92^th overall) – Paulson Adebo CB Stanford 6-1 192 lbs

Back-to-back corners? Even with Kevin King returning on a one year deal, the depth and talent at corner outside of Jaire Alexander underwhelming. Adebo is a big corner who has great speed and ball skills (8 career INTs). He is well versed in both man and zone coverage. After somewhat of a down 2019 season he sat out the 2020 season due to COVID.

4^th Round (135^nd overall) - Dazz Newsome WR University of North Carolina 5-11 190 lb

Newsome is a dynamic receiver that UNC moved frequently around the formation. Because of his stature he is probably limited to the slot. He does a nice job of settling in the hole in zone coverage. He needs to improve on his release and expand his route tree as he primarily ran slant and post routes at UNC. Newsome also operated as a punt returner for UNC and he did a fine job in that regard.

4^th Round (142^nd overall) - Daelin Hayes OLB Notre Dame 6-3 266 lbs

There is no such thing as having too many pass rushers in this league. Hayes comes in an provides depth at OLB.

 

5^th Round (173^rd overall) – Bobby Brown III DE Texas A&M 6-4 315 lbs

Brown comes in and provides depth on the defensive line. He’s a much better run defender than pass rusher at this point in his career. He finished the 2020 season with 7.5 sacks so perhaps that can be developed upon.

 

5^th Round (178^th overall) – Josh Imatorbhebhe WR Illinois 6-2 215 lbs

Imatorbhebhe is a very athletic wide receiver with good ball skills. He has great speed but his route tree is fairly limited and will need further development in the NFL.

 

 

6^th Round (214^th overall)- Gerrid Doaks RB Cincinnati 6-1 225 lbs

Powerful back with good speed. He has decent hands as a receiver even though Cincinnati didn’t deploy him that way.

 

6^th Round (220^th overall) – Foster Sarell OT Stanford 6-6 315 lbs

Developmental OT prospect that can also slide inside. He was a 5 star prospect coming out of high school so the tools are there.

 

 

7^th Round (256^th overall) – Traded for a 2022 6^th round pick.

 

Notes: I believe that GB will sign a veteran ILB in free agency as insurance behind Martin and Barnes. Thoughts about the draft?

[vegas492]

I liked it.  A lot.

I think Mayfield is a player.  He's ready to play RT right away.  Not sure if the feet are good enough for LT in the pros, but he is a good football player.

I like the double dip on corner.

I like the EDGE, he reminds me a little of Hunter coming out.  

I like the WR's, and like you see, when you double dip at corner high, you miss out on a couple WR's.  But I liked who you took.  The second one from Illinois reminds me very much of MVS.  Lots of athletic potential.  But those hands.  Yuck.

Thought you found value on the DL when it was correct.

All in all, nice job!  

[MacReady]

10/10, would love.

I’m in 2021 for the interceptions and the interceptions alone.

Might not even watch regular season offense.

[cannondale]

Molden is an intriguing guy. But slot only or safety. Not an outside guy. Many have a First Round grade on him. I would be shocked if Adebo is there at the end of the 3rd. Newsome is getting some hype and could be a late riser. Nice mock, but dont be surprised if picks 2-4 go a full round earlier

Edited March 25, 2021 by cannondale

[Dubz41]

Nice job.  Like Adebo more than Molden, but don't know if I could go back to back that early. Really like Brown in the 5th.

[Joe]

22 minutes ago, Dubz41 said:

Nice job.  Like Adebo more than Molden, but don't know if I could go back to back that early. Really like Brown in the 5th.

Why? Adebo could easily become King's replacement halfway through the season IMHO. 

 

Big "no" on Molden; at least on Day 2 and he'll probably slide to the 4th. He's small and speed is an issue for him. Not sure Imatorbhebhe will be there at 178 and he might go late Day 3; I like the prospect but I'm not sure he's a good fit for our particular offense either, whereas Dazz Newsome should be an early Day 3 lock for us if he's there. Big "no" on Sarell for the same reasons I say "no" on Walker Little - can't run-block for $#!^. Tommy Doyle or Jaylon Moore might be better options there though I'd look to double dip at OT a little earlier. So the only changes I'd make to this would be to swap Molden and Adebo(maybe draft Trill Williams in the 3rd), drop Imatorbhebhe for another OT, and then take someone like Jonathan Adams Jr. at the end of the draft.

 

Other than that, this is really good. Mayfield is plug-n-play at RT from Day 1 though I'd try him at LT first TBH; Billy Turner is NOT LT material... Adebo would be excellent value in the 3rd if he falls, though LIS I'd swap him and Molden in this mock TBH. I think Hayes is excellent value where you have him though I'd like to see what he could do in coverage. I also wonder if he could potentially take reps at ILB as well given his athleticism; I'm a little surprised he isn't ranked higher at his respective position - same with Newsome who should be a Day 2 pick TBH. Always love seeing Bobby Brown in a mock because he can be that rotational guy that will actually produce and isn't a liability IMHO. I like taking a chance on Doaks as well because we can stash him on the PS if Dexter Williams decides to show up. My only concern with Doaks is the injury history, but with Mike Weber, Patrick Taylor, and the aforementioned Williams coming back we could easily stash Doaks on an IR list of sorts while he learns the playbook. He'd be a great addition to the RB room given his size and style of play.

 

Good work!

[Les Punting]

A pretty good collection of players, the biggest concern is at the top.

Mayfield is likely a guard. I've got him #5 as a G and #7 as a T. He lacks tackle length, lacks tackle feet, has mediocre anchor and doesn't use his hands well in pass pro. Rushers get into his chest constantly. If he has to see the field at OT in year 1, he'll get abused. Drafting a T/G tweener who has a ways to go in pass protection with pick 29 doesn't seem like great value. 

[Arthur Penske]

Like it a lot if something is done to help iDL other than a mid round pick.

[vegas492]

17 minutes ago, Les Punting said:

A pretty good collection of players, the biggest concern is at the top.

Mayfield is likely a guard. I've got him #5 as a G and #7 as a T. He lacks tackle length, lacks tackle feet, has mediocre anchor and doesn't use his hands well in pass pro. Rushers get into his chest constantly. If he has to see the field at OT in year 1, he'll get abused. Drafting a T/G tweener who has a ways to go in pass protection with pick 29 doesn't seem like great value. 

Didn't Mayfield have a very good outing against Chase Young?  Or am I getting him confused with someone else?

I'm not disagreeing with you.  I think he's a RT all day long.  Kick inside if it doesn't go well.  I liked the player, thought the feet were fine, but not great or elite.  Honestly, I didn't notice his hands.

[vegas492]

30 minutes ago, Joe said:

Why? Adebo could easily become King's replacement halfway through the season IMHO. 

 

Big "no" on Molden; at least on Day 2 and he'll probably slide to the 4th. He's small and speed is an issue for him. Not sure Imatorbhebhe will be there at 178 and he might go late Day 3; I like the prospect but I'm not sure he's a good fit for our particular offense either, whereas Dazz Newsome should be an early Day 3 lock for us if he's there. Big "no" on Sarell for the same reasons I say "no" on Walker Little - can't run-block for $#!^. Tommy Doyle or Jaylon Moore might be better options there though I'd look to double dip at OT a little earlier. So the only changes I'd make to this would be to swap Molden and Adebo(maybe draft Trill Williams in the 3rd), drop Imatorbhebhe for another OT, and then take someone like Jonathan Adams Jr. at the end of the draft.

 

See, I hate highlight videos.  But here is a sophomore highlight video of Walker Little.  Flat out abusing guys in the run game.  Elite feet, elite balance.  They even pulled him.  If you are okay with how Bakh run blocks, you should be fine with Little.

Opening of the video even talks about his run blocking.

Course, this is off of a highlight reel.

If his feet still chop like that and he still moves in space like that, he's a superior athletic prospect to Mayfield.

 

[vegas492]

Another Walker Little post...just his reps against Notre Dame.  Looked a lot like his highlight reel.

 

[Haha21]

Three wide receiver sets have become increasingly common across the NFL which is why it is important to have a strong nickel corner. They are basically starters on the defense at this point. I believe Molden is the best nickel corner in the draft. While he may not be the biggest or fastest guy around he has incredible feel for where he needs to be with great route anticipation. I love his physicality too, he comes down hard on ball carriers and plays a lot bigger than his size indicates.

 

[Joe]

On 3/25/2021 at 3:39 PM, vegas492 said:

Another Walker Little post...just his reps against Notre Dame.  Looked a lot like his highlight reel.

 

1:54 in the highlight video is rather concerning given that he's a bit of a waist bender and just throws a guy half his size down to the ground; he obviously won't get that in the NFL.

 

I hate to be confrontational, but did you actually look at this video? It almost completely proves my thesis on Walker Little: he's elite in pass-pro and horrible in the run game. He does exceptionally well in pass-pro in the video with the exception of the Okwara sack at about 7:30, though that's just a REALLY good move by Okwara catching the break and beating his man. The other issue in pass-pro is what happens around the 9:10 mark, though to be fair again, that's Little not being 100% because he's human though he does extend a bit much late in the game and conditioning becomes an issue late in the game when ND doubles Tillery with that other player to take advantage of Little's fatigue, though fatigue and motor clearly seem to NOT be an issue overall for Little especially with our coaching staff and an NFL level conditioning program. 

As for the run game however, the first two plays on the quoted video show him trying to use similar moves as seen in the highlight video against guys who easily shed his blocks and get home very quickly; 1:36 in that video is rather problematic as it's like he bails on the block(to be fair, could that possibly be schematic given it happens a couple times before that particular play). 6:05 in that video is really the reason I worry about Little as a run-blocker, he barely touches the first guy before he gets 2nd level which leads to Bryce Love getting strung out though he's not the only offending party along that OL(the Guard next to him did him no favors much of the time). The play at 6:18 is even worse. Later in the game, the replay at 10:35 shows how he has very little drive in the running game before Okwara embarrasses the other Tackle for a major loss. 

Also, I see your 2018 video and raise you his 2019 video against Northwestern.

1:22: Stood right up on a combo block to have the guy to his right make the play
1:55: Stands up and essentially holds his guy turning that player to their left only to have that player swim under him and grab enough of the runner to make the play
2:48: Pulls like a Guard and gets enough of his guy to seal him off and does so similar to his pass-pro, the one good run-block we see, play is flagged due to another player
3:27: Another reaching block where he barely gets to his guy and extends to try and get a hand on him.
3:46: Total fail at chip blocking his man who promptly gets a TFL
4:37: Another run play to the left with a bunch formation that gets nowhere because of poor blocking all around. Little's guy gets under his pads and drives him back
5:54: Holds his man until his man figures out it's a running play to which he quickly disengages and makes the play with no contest by Little.
10:24: Most of the plays are pass plays to this point, but he gets his left shoulder crushed by the defender slinging him over said shoulder and winding up on his back allowing a huge hole for other defenders to come in and make the play. He exits the game with what looks to be a shoulder injury.

 

Looking over his tape some more shows that he's exceptional in pass-pro, but when it comes to the running plays, he has no oomph whatsoever. He can stone his guy at the LOS, but he can't move him the other direction in the run game. That tells us he's great for a pass happy offense where he just needs to use his anchor to keep defenders off his QB and even if he loses a 1-on-1 he's able to at least take the guy down with him as he's falling without drawing a holding call. Still, that doesn't suggest that he'd fit our offensive scheme within the least.

[ThatJerkDave]

@Joe and @vegas492 do you guys still feel as strongly about Mayfield after seeing his RAS of 4.03? It isn't the end-all be-all, but it certainly gives me pause.  It also really goes against the mold that Gute has been establishing.  

[Joe]

3 hours ago, ThatJerkDave said:

@Joe and @vegas492 do you guys still feel as strongly about Mayfield after seeing his RAS of 4.03? It isn't the end-all be-all, but it certainly gives me pause.  It also really goes against the mold that Gute has been establishing.  

Personally, I think that's why you see Radunz selected and we might even reach on him at 29 as his RAS score is 9.3, the 79th highest of all OT's(just over 1,100) since the system was created in the late 70's.

RAS score aside, I'd rather have Radunz anyway given his strengths and weaknesses vs. that of Mayfield's. Mayfield is being pegged as this guy who's going to be a better pro than a college player; that makes him iffy for me despite our elite coaching staff at that position. We need a plug-n-play guy at Tackle and Radunz is that guy IMHO.