Are you Smarter than an NFL GM (2022 edition)

[adamq]

#61 Drake Jackson DE USC

#93 Kerby Joseph S Illinois

#105 Daniel Faalele RT Minnesota

#134 Khalil Shakir WR Boise State

#172 Dohnovan West C Arizona St

#187 Josh Jobe CB Alabama

#220 ZaQuandre White RB SC

#221 Kevin Austin WR ND

#262 Verone McKinley

Pretty awful value 😕 

Edited May 1, 2022 by adamq

[Justone2]

#61 Nik Bonitto

#93 Nick Cross

#105 Darian Kinnard

#134 Isaiah Likely

#172 Josh Johnson

#187 Zaquandre Smith

#220 Tariq Castro-Fields

#221 Juanyeh Thomas

#262 (Mr Irrelevant!) Alec Lindstrom

[Forge]

Not going to go west. Going to go Josh Jobe, CB from bama

[Aussie9er]

My Draft

61 - Abraham Lucas OT

93 - Myjai Sanders Rusher

105 - Coby Bryant - CB 

134 - Darian Kinnard - OG 

172 Matt Araiza - P

187 - Dohnovan West C 

220 - Verone McKinley III - S

221 - Tariq Castro-Fields - CB 

262 - Kevin Austin Jr - WR (my token Notre Dame draft pick)

[Geek]

#61 Travis Jones

#93 Nick Cross

#105  Zach Tom

#134 Tariq Woolen

#172 Kingsley Enagbare

#187 Dohovan West

#220 Tariq Castro-Fields

#221 Bo Melton

#262 Makai Polk

[Melbourne 9er]

#61 Abraham Lucas OT

 #93 Kerby Joseph S

#105  Cody Bryant CB

#134 Zach Tom OG/C

#172 Kingsley Enagbare Edge

#187 Amare Barno Edge

#220 Samori Toure WR

#221 Tariq Carpenter ILB

#262 EJ Perry QB

On day 3 it was all about athletic traits. Tom will give us a proper backup on the IOL, the 2 edges are super fast so lets see what Kurecek can do with them, athletes at the end of the 6th (plus we will probably get rid of at least one of our ILBs at the end of the year) and if we are picking a QB I want one that is more athletic with higher upside.

 

We can get a RB from the UDFA ranks as I didn't see any worth the spot that we were picking in (all the decent ones went in the early 4th round prior to our pick). 

[JIllg]

With the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, JIllg selects Charleston Rambo, WR Miami

#61 Dylan Parham, G Memphis

#93 Nick Cross, S Maryland

#105 Calvin Austin III, WR Memphis

#134 Zach Tom, OT Wake Forest

#172 Dohnovan West, C Arizona State

#187 Markquese Bell, S Florida A&M

#220 JoJo Damann, LB Nebraska

#221 ZaQuandre White, RB South Carolina

#262 Charleston Rambo, WR Miami

 

(had to go for the all name team there at the end lol)

[Forge]

I am going to try and finalize my picks tonight with my big long descriptions, who else was on the table, etc etc

[Melbourne 9er]

2 hours ago, Melbourne 9er said:

#61 Abraham Lucas OT

 #93 Kerby Joseph S

#105  Cody Bryant CB

#134 Zach Tom OG/C

#172 Kingsley Enagbare Edge

#187 Amare Barno Edge

#220 Samori Toure WR

#221 Tariq Carpenter ILB

#262 EJ Perry QB

On day 3 it was all about athletic traits. Tom will give us a proper backup on the IOL, the 2 edges are super fast so lets see what Kurecek can do with them, athletes at the end of the 6th (plus we will probably get rid of at least one of our ILBs at the end of the year) and if we are picking a QB I want one that is more athletic with higher upside.

 

We can get a RB from the UDFA ranks as I didn't see any worth the spot that we were picking in (all the decent ones went in the early 4th round prior to our pick). 

I think that this is the first one of these that I haven't agreed with any of our picks. It's just so all over the place. Would have preferred to trade some of these picks into next year if possible.

[John232]

i went and saw the northmen. guess i’m out of this. 

[Forge]

Forge's final tally: 

#61 - Drake Jackson (Actual Pick: Drake Jackson)

• After so many mocks over and over and over again that often times left the most value at edge, I wasn't exactly shocked when we came upon our pick and the most value was....surprise surprise...on the edge. I'm not as big of a fan of this as my fellow moderator. I don't think that this is some great value or anything. This is right about where I thought he should go. Maybe a little before, maybe a little after. We have long needed a consistent edge rusher opposite Bosa, and while the year to year thing has worked well so far, there's going to be a point in one year where it just doesn't...so I like having a long term option here of a successful, steady pass rusher. He also brings a little uniqueness in his bend and dip and athleticism. Still pretty raw, but I have no doubt that Kocurek is going to get the best from him in that regard. I have two main concerns: 1) his weight and 2) I'm concerned about why he never took off in college. He came in as a true freshman, was kind of a stud, and then really never got much better than that. Coaching issue? I don't know. 

 

• Others in consideration: Travis Jones was my highest rated player here and it was really, really hard not to take him but I thought it better to prioritize edge. That hasn't worked well in the past (sigh, solomon thomas). Dylan Parham had been a favorite of mine since draft season started, but truthfully, I thought this just a little bit too rich. Before the senior bowl and combine and stuff, I though Parham was a late day 2, early day 3 guy. I didn't want those things to factor too much into it, though the fact that he could start out and be a guard if Mack came back held a lot of appeal, but in the end, I just thought that there were so many IOL in this tier group (or close) that someone would be there in the next pick...meanwhile I felt there was a decent drop from Jackson and Bonitto to the next group of edge rusher. Jackson  get the nod over Bonitto due to a possible future of being a 3 down player. 

 

#93 - Zyon McCollum, DB Sam Houston St  (Actual Pick: Tyrion Davis Price, RB LSU)

• Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to take Davis-Price. I didn't want an RB this high, and more to the point, I don't even like him that much as a running back lol. This pick was tough because there were a lot of tantalizing players left on the board. The IOL market dried up quick with Parham and Fortner coming off the board beforehand. McCollum turned into a reach (ultimately going in round 5 to Tampa, I believe) but he's a freakishly athletic guy with good height to boot (even if he has short arms). There had been two athletic freaks I had been enamored with most of the draft season in the secondary, the other being Woolen. I really liked McCollum because one, I think there's a potential safety here. Similar to our own Tarvarius Moore, you can have a real debate on where you want to put him. As a safety, this guy could cover ground. As a corner, his feet should be able to mirror receivers in man. But also, the dude gets after the ball. This is something we have sorely needed. He averaged more than a pass breakup a game in his college career, had an INT every 4 games (13 in 52) and forced 6 fumbles. Oh, and he can play special teams as a gunner. He's got his warts (otherwise he wouldn't have lasted until round 5), but some of those could be cured by a move to safety if you wanted, and some could be cured by coaching. Some will probably stick around (over aggressiveness). Yes, there's definitely concern that despite being physically gifted and not fully dominating FCS. But there's a difference between taking that type of guy at 34 by using two seconds like the Packers did with Watson (a guy I had a similar concern with) and pick 93. 

 

• Others in Consideration:  This was a big safety spot as you just knew if you didn't take Nick Cross or Kirby Joseph right now, they both could potentially be gone by the next pick even though it was only a dozen picks away. But man, I just never fell in line with either of these guys. Niner twitter fell in love with Cross after he tested, but I never looked at him and thought "Wow", to be honest. This was right around where I Felt he should go, and I was just lukewarm on him. Same with Joseph, who was a late bloomer on a team that frankly hasn't been very good. Its really hard to pull the trigger on a guy you're not all in on. It also helped that I do believe, as I mentioned, that I could have McCollum play safety. Zach Tom was also considered, but I was reasonably sure I could wait. 

 

#105 - Zach Tom, OL Wake Forest (Actual pick, Danny Gray, WR SMU)

• I'll preface this by saying that I actually like the Gray pick, and if I had a clearer idea on what was going on with Alex Mack, there's a reasonable chance that I would have stuck with him. That said, at this point, IOL (and center specifically) was just toast. After Tom I had absolutely no interest in the remaining guys. This ultimately was a reach (he would have been available at the next pick by a couple of selections), but I couldn't risk it. Like McCollum, the biggest thing working in his favor here was versatility. Mack doesn't come back? Great, he can be our new center. Mack comes back? Great, he can compete at any position on the line in a season where both guard spots are very much up in the air. Big Tom fan with regards to his athletic profile and the fit within the system. There's a chance that it seems like we may be branching out a little given the players we have been drafting on the line recently, so maybe that is a factor in what's going on, but the kind of versatility Tom has, the crazy efficiency in pass blocking in a passing league makes him hard to pass on. 

 

• Others in consideration: Kind of sort of none? I never really got to that point. I had to decide first whether or not I was going to do something on the Alex Mack situation and I felt like this was the clear line of demarcation (turned out not to be lol). Once I made the decision that I wanted to prepare for Mack's departure and help the offensive line this was pretty much the only available option. Had I not gone this route, I probably would have looked at corner with Tariq Woolen or Jalyn Armour Davis. 

 

#134 - Calvin Austin III, WR Memphis (Actual Pick, Spencer Burford, OL UTSA)

• Again, I actually like the real pick, but after missing on Gray previously for Tom, and not being a fan of the receivers at the bottom of this year's draft class, I wanted to get someone here. Austin is super tiny, but he's an athletic freak who can help out in the punt return game. He's probably more of a niche role player, but thats okay because I think that works really well with Jennings who I believe is also a niche role player. While Austin is most likely going to be a specialized and potential gadget player, there's just not a lot of receiver options here. I would certainly prefer a guy who can grow into more of a full time role. In a perfect world, I keep gray or draft Doubs at 105 and draft Tom here (he went pick 140), but I had to shoot my shot. The draft would be a lot easier with hindsight. 

 

• Others in consideration: Again, kind of none. If there was one it was probably Khalil Shakir.  I really wanted a receiver here because if I waited any longer, I feared that I would draft someone who wouldn't be able to stick. This was way too early for Dareke Young who I had targeted as my Mr Irrelevant. The receivers following Austin off the board were all likely slot guys as well, including another undersized mighty mite in Kyle Phillips)

 

#172 - Kingsley Engabare, DL South Carolina (Actual Pick: Samuel Womack, CB Toledo)

• I know absolutely nothing about Womack. Never watched him, never read anything on him. No real clue on him, so he simply can't be my pick. The case for Engabare is simple. He's by far the highest player on my board. Viewed him as a third round prospect. I didn't love doubling down on edge (though I view Engabare as an SDE once he adds weight who will slide inside on pass rushing downs  to humiliate short armed guards and centers with reckless abandon).  I know that he's divisive. His success (when he has it), doesn't quite make sense. I think his battle plan can often be viewed as, "I'll bet my arms are longer than yours". But he wins. A lot. And he does it on a mediocre team in the SEC. He's not twitchy. He's not explosive. He hits hard, and he wins. I think there's value here as a disrupter, even if not a sack artist. He kind of reminds of me of how I felt about Yannick Ngakoue where it didn't make sense that he would succeed in the NFL, but you just watched him win in college and you figured some of it had to be translatable. 

 

• Others in consideration: Despite being the best available in my opinion, I wasn't sure on doubling down on the defensive line. I thought about just getting my running back out of the way here since my board got ripped apart and taking Ty Badie, but I was determined to take an RB in round 6 and not a moment before lol (I Have no idea why). I kept kicking safety around in my head, but honestly, given how little the 49ers seemed to care about it, it kind of made me less inclined to go that route. Even still, Mckinley and Markquese Bell were options. Lastly, I gave real thought to adding to the offensive line again but this time on the outside. Dare Rosenthal and Zachary Thomas  were both potential targets. 

 

#187 - Verone McKinley, DB Oregon (Actual Pick: Nick Zakelj, OL Fordham)

• Like Womack, didn't really know anything about Zakelj, so I couldn't draft him. The only thing I thought I knew was that he had a rough time at the senior bowl. With 4 picks left, I was having a tough time deciding on what positions I wanted to address. I wanted a running back with one, a very specific receiver with another, offensive line help, corner help and safety help.  At this point, I was largely out on the tight end market. Ultimately, I ended up with McKinley. For those that remember, I was a big fan of Elijah Molden last year. His traits were worrisome, but he came into the NFL and he looked just fine. We've also seen a similarly sized Honeybadger come into the league and be a success. The key is that they all know where to be and their ball skills translate. McKinley picked off 11 passes in 3 years. He knows what's going on. I do believe that he could also come down and play nickel every now and again, though I woudln't want that to be an every down thing. I just like Mckinley at the next level more than I do Bell. 

 

• Others in consideration: Various people in the positions I mentioned previously. Ty Badie was still there, but I was still very "meh whatever" about it. Lecitus Smith and Dare Rosenthal again. Josh Jobe at corner and Tariq Castro-Fields

 

#220 & #221 - Abram Smith, RB Baylor + Rasheed Walker, OL PSU (Actual picks - Kalia Davis, DT UCF & Tariq Castro Fields, CB PSU)

• Both Davis and Fields were good picks imo. Davis was out of the running because I didn't want to triple down on the offensive line. He and Engabare don't play the same position (Davis is a more natural DJJ replacement) but it really felt like overkill. There was no real reason behind passing on Castro-Fields other than I preferred to add another lineman and I felt like that took priority given I had added two secondary pieces already. Abram Smith was my highest rated RB at this point and he's a fantastic fit for the running game. He's a limited running back...he seriously just gets the ball and goes. Not much else to it. Even still, the guy we drafted 100 picks before him is similarly limited and perhaps even more so. I actually had Smith rated higher. Smith has only been a running back 1 year...he runs far too vertically and stiff, but there's no stutter to his game and he runs hard. If you give him a hole, he'll hit it. While he's not overly explosive or fast, he was able to display a game that allowed him to run inside or outside. He can't really pass protect yet and he doesn't really catch passes yet, but could certainly help out in special teams as a former linebacker. Walker is at best a right tackle in the NFL, and could project as a guard. Long and strong and even if he's a guard, I kind of like the idea of having at least one of our guards just being able to outmuscle someone as opposed to putting a priority on someone who can get to a spot to block. I want to be able to consistently win at the 2 yard line. Walker was a much better prospect than his draft spot which ultimately came in the 7th round...he missed most of the draft process with an injury, so I assume that was a piece of it. 

 

• Others in consideration: The first pick was always Smith. Just felt like he was a good match. I actually considered just leaving Castro Fields as is, but I wanted offensive line so it was really walker or Rosenthal

 

#262 - Josh Jobe, CB Alabama (Actual Pick, Brock Purdy, QB Iowa St)

• Definitely no interest in purdy, who at best feels like a mediocre backup quarterback. I'd rather just consistently sign journeymen backups at reasonable deals then waste a pick drafting a guy who won't be a starter. Jobe grabs us another CB. Probably restricted to being a zone corner or moving to safety. Wasn't very good last year, but I really think that has swung too far the wrong way as he was clearly playing through injury. 

 

• Others in consideration: Well, if you're going to go QB, I probably would have gone Carson Strong, despite the broken knee. He also has the arm that could translate to being a starter. I also would have certainly taken Jack Coan over Purdy even though I also see his ceiling as a backup.  I thought about taking Dohnovan West here, but truthfully there was simply no reason to. Solid value for sure, but I have Tom and Walker. Mario Goodrich was in consideration as a secondary corner option and Markquese Bell was still on the board as a safety. Linebacker was also a consideration...Jack Sanborn and Jojo Domann were still on the baord and I figure that you can take those guys late and they can either make the team as special teamers or they can develop on the PS without too much concern about someone poaching them. That said, I think Domann must have been flagged for injury and he's not got ideal length and I don't think that Sanborn is quite the athlete I would want in this spot. Jack Cochrane was a guy from South DAkota i had taken in a previous mock, and while he has the traits, I didn't find what little play I got to see of him all that inspiring, even against lower level competition. 

[Forge]

29 minutes ago, John232 said:

i went and saw the northmen. guess i’m out of this. 

No reason not to still do it. We didn't all get our picks in right at the spot either. Its fun if you can do it live, but ultimately doesn't really mean anything because the players you pick either suck or they don't. The efficiency only matters to you right when you're drafting lol 

[StevenK]

51 minutes ago, John232 said:

i went and saw the northmen. guess i’m out of this. 

I know it’s not the thread to ask, but was it good? I heard mix reviews honestly

[John232]

7 minutes ago, StevenK said:

I know it’s not the thread to ask, but was it good? I heard mix reviews honestly

Idk. I kept watching this dude kill people and I kept picturing me killing 3rd round rbs, wasn’t paying attention….yeah, it’s good. Eggers is a Great director 

[Forge]

If anyone else wants to participate, please feel free to throw down your selections for the 2022 draft. Going to unpin this topic soon and link it in with the other Are you Smarter than years.