RonJons 2024 Mock

[ronjon1990]

Alright then, it's that season. 

Couple of notes:

I avoided all trades as they're too tempting to get unreasonable with. 

I also avoided the random surprise faller (ie: in the mock I did, J. Newton was available 77. I used the default rankings and tried to stay within 10 picks or so of where they were ranked. Hopefully, this keeps the "No way they'd be there then" to a minimum. 

So, here we go:

13. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington- I've said it before, I'd take him at 13 if I needed to. 4 QBs were off the board and Nix and Penix were left. On the hot seat, I'm not risking a trade down and hoping for the best. It's a franchise QB opportunity, so you take it. Putting my money where my mouth is and seeing of I can make anyone happy with the rest of the draft. 

44. Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona. He slipped a bit, maybe just outside of my 10 pick parameter. But yeah, he fell and I took the opportunity. Holds down an OT spot for the long haul. 

77. Trevin Wallace, LB. Kentucky. I've gone on record saying LB needs to be addressed. Gives us that guy at the second level we've been waiting for. 

112. Kalen King, CB, Penn St. Solid CB with potential. Doesn't seem like we're enamored with any of the FA guys and bodies are needed. Facyson, Jones, King, Hobbs is a solid start now and going forward. 

148. Zak Zinter, OG, Michigan. We have Parham and maybe Munford or whoever for now. Zinter probably redshirt to heal up, but I think he's a steal here. He's a long term starting OG in the NFL from a program I absolutely trust in the trenches. 

208. Signing Vaki, S, Utah. Honestly took a flyer here. Maybe he surprises. Utah has been solid with secondary guys lately. Teams with Moehrig, Pola-Mao, and Epps for a solid S grouping. 

223. Dillon Johnson, RB. Washington. Another late flyer. Brown and McCormick have been around long enough to stick or kick rocks. Johnson isn't spectacular, but when healthy he's a solid big bodied RB. PS bound and can, hopefully, supplant Mattison at some point if need be. Maybe a bit pedantic, but I think he could have value in the RB room through camp and preseason helping guys adjust to Penix and being a lefty- the change in regard to handoffs isn't something you should take for granted. It's a small detail that can be task to learn. 

229. Omar Speights, LB, LSU. LB body for the PS. I like him as a player, but he's a depth piece. Would have preferred DL, but everyone left was ranked way below the slot. Figured BPA would be the best way to go here and the only person ranked above him was another RB. 

 

We walk off with 3-4 day 1 starters/immediate backups at positions of need, a potential surprise starter sooner than later, and soem decently productive depth pieces/PS fodder. 

Not the star studded class I could see via trades, but again, I chose to stuck to my guns on QB at 13 amd let the rest fall as it may. Feel free to analyze or critique away, but do keep in mind the two notes above.  

🍻

Edited March 27 by ronjon1990

[Devilshark69]

Solid draft, addressed qb,ol,cb and lb. Some picks I definitely liked there. 👍

[Humble_Beast]

C- Don't like the reach on Pennix, but rest of the draft is solid 

[NCOUGHMAN]

King the cb just fell off historical lol

like the rest tho

[ronjon1990]

35 minutes ago, Humble_Beast said:

C- Don't like the reach on Pennix, but rest of the draft is solid 

Meh, I'm of the mind that we are stuck with having to reach for a QB or settle for not getting one. Unfortunate reality. I'd rather take a guy at 44, but nobody worthwhile is going to be there at that point, I imagine. 

 

14 minutes ago, NCOUGHMAN said:

King the cb just fell off historical lol

like the rest tho

I know his Combine was pretty rough, but I heard he made some jumps at the Penn St pro day. What am I missing other than the 40 time? Because I can't say I've kept up in depth since pre-Combine. 

[FloydFan]

Love it 

[raidr4life]

Seems like most everything was addressed, had to do what you had to do at QB. My only issue I think there are better LB's that can be had at 77 and CB's at 112, I feel like both of those were a little reach, but if I plugged in some guys I liked it's solid and covers all our needs. 

[Jeremy408]

4 hours ago, ronjon1990 said:

Alright then, it's that season. 

Couple of notes:

I avoided all trades as they're too tempting to get unreasonable with. 

I also avoided the random surprise faller (ie: in the mock I did, J. Newton was available 77. I used the default rankings and tried to stay within 10 picks or so of where they were ranked. Hopefully, this keeps the "No way they'd be there then" to a minimum. 

So, here we go:

13. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington- I've said it before, I'd take him at 13 if I needed to. 4 QBs were off the board and Nix and Penix were left. On the hot seat, I'm not risking a trade down and hoping for the best. It's a franchise QB opportunity, so you take it. Putting my money where my mouth is and seeing of I can make anyone happy with the rest of the draft. 

44. Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona. He slipped a bit, maybe just outside of my 10 pick parameter. But yeah, he fell and I took the opportunity. Holds down an OT spot for the long haul. 

77. Trevin Wallace, LB. Kentucky. I've gone on record saying LB needs to be addressed. Gives us that guy at the second level we've been waiting for. 

112. Kalen King, CB, Penn St. Solid CB with potential. Doesn't seem like we're enamored with any of the FA guys and bodies are needed. Facyson, Jones, King, Hobbs is a solid start now and going forward. 

148. Zak Zinter, OG, Michigan. We have Parham and maybe Munford or whoever for now. Zinter probably redshirt to heal up, but I think he's a steal here. He's a long term starting OG in the NFL from a program I absolutely trust in the trenches. 

208. Signing Vaki, S, Utah. Honestly took a flyer here. Maybe he surprises. Utah has been solid with secondary guys lately. Teams with Moehrig, Pola-Mao, and Epps for a solid S grouping. 

223. Dillon Johnson, RB. Washington. Another late flyer. Brown and McCormick have been around long enough to stick or kick rocks. Johnson isn't spectacular, but when healthy he's a solid big bodied RB. PS bound and can, hopefully, supplant Mattison at some point if need be. Maybe a bit pedantic, but I think he could have value in the RB room through camp and preseason helping guys adjust to Penix and being a lefty- the change in regard to handoffs isn't something you should take for granted. It's a small detail that can be task to learn. 

229. Omar Speights, LB, LSU. LB body for the PS. I like him as a player, but he's a depth piece. Would have preferred DL, but everyone left was ranked way below the slot. Figured BPA would be the best way to go here and the only person ranked above him was another RB. 

 

We walk off with 3-4 day 1 starters/immediate backups at positions of need, a potential surprise starter sooner than later, and soem decently productive depth pieces/PS fodder. 

Not the star studded class I could see via trades, but again, I chose to stuck to my guns on QB at 13 amd let the rest fall as it may. Feel free to analyze or critique away, but do keep in mind the two notes above.  

🍻

I have no problem with this

[NCOUGHMAN]

3 hours ago, ronjon1990 said:

Meh, I'm of the mind that we are stuck with having to reach for a QB or settle for not getting one. Unfortunate reality. I'd rather take a guy at 44, but nobody worthwhile is going to be there at that point, I imagine. 

 

I know his Combine was pretty rough, but I heard he made some jumps at the Penn St pro day. What am I missing other than the 40 time? Because I can't say I've kept up in depth since pre-Combine. 

Burnt toast in the games it’s like he forgot how to play then bombed the combine like wtf is up with him

[Dessie]

Like it but would probably look to address G in the 3rd as this is a good draft for IOL and Zinter is a likely redshirt. Someone like Mahogany or McCormick should be there at #77.
Would also look to get a WR if possible as the draft is deep in that position as well. Jalen Coker WR is someone I’m looking at late and can play ST.

[Styrian Raider]

I like the first two picks.
You're probably right that the risk is just to high to gamble that Penix is available later aswell.
The only thing that bothers me with Morgan is that he never played a single snap at RT (if the stats from PFF are right). And especially
with Penix I would like a real RT as a competition for Munford.
I'm okay with the next two picks - although I'd rather take a D-Liner and then either a LB or a CB.
With Jakorian Bennett we already have a fourth rounder to develop, so personally I'd rather take a LB.
The Zinter pick is again a pick that i like.

[ronjon1990]

8 hours ago, Styrian Raider said:

I like the first two picks.
You're probably right that the risk is just to high to gamble that Penix is available later aswell.
The only thing that bothers me with Morgan is that he never played a single snap at RT (if the stats from PFF are right). And especially
with Penix I would like a real RT as a competition for Munford.
I'm okay with the next two picks - although I'd rather take a D-Liner and then either a LB or a CB.
With Jakorian Bennett we already have a fourth rounder to develop, so personally I'd rather take a LB.
The Zinter pick is again a pick that i like.

Couple caveats-

It honestly pained me to not trade down because I have yet to generate a mock where Penix wasn't available in the mid 30s or even at 44. I totally get where anyone saying it's a reach are coming from- he 100% should be available later. But I tried to imagine a scenario where we either couldn't find a trade partner or the comp would keep him in a reach scenario or otherwise not really benefit us (ie: Cincinnati offered 18 and 49- I'd still take him at 18 and use 49 on another highly regarded day 2 guy because, in my opinion, we'd have to package 49 and something to move up high enough to ensure we got him, at which point we're overpaying either way. If we're going to overpay, use 1 pick and keep the course or trade back slightly and keep the change. Penix + 2 picks in the 40's would be much better than someone else in round 1 and no QB.)

On Morgan, I thought of the same. I think Kolton wr can play RT if need be. If not, gotta believe Morgan can learn it. The drop from him to the next real option was pretty far, too. 

With the DL, I also considered it again. On my board, just nobody lined up once it became a reasonable option until the last 3 picks- and I knew zilch about any of them. 

4th round for a CB or LB is perfect, imp. I actually kind of forgot about Bennett. Hopefully in real life a LB falls to the 112 spot. Not many guys currently outside of the top 120 really excite me at LB. As for CB- I've noted some folk aren't particularly high on King (I didn't watch much of him last year and only heard the rumblings from the Combine and pro day) so if I did it over again, I'd probably look elsewhere. 

Zinter, to me dude is a day 2 pick getting knocked for being a big boy with a bum leg at the moment. Absolute steal for whoever gets him that late. Healing time aside, I think he's a plug-and-play Guard for sure. 

Edited March 28 by ronjon1990

[Styrian Raider]

14 hours ago, ronjon1990 said:

Couple caveats-

It honestly pained me to not trade down because I have yet to generate a mock where Penix wasn't available in the mid 30s or even at 44. I totally get where anyone saying it's a reach are coming from- he 100% should be available later. But I tried to imagine a scenario where we either couldn't find a trade partner or the comp would keep him in a reach scenario or otherwise not really benefit us (ie: Cincinnati offered 18 and 49- I'd still take him at 18 and use 49 on another highly regarded day 2 guy because, in my opinion, we'd have to package 49 and something to move up high enough to ensure we got him, at which point we're overpaying either way. If we're going to overpay, use 1 pick and keep the course or trade back slightly and keep the change. Penix + 2 picks in the 40's would be much better than someone else in round 1 and no QB.)

On Morgan, I thought of the same. I think Kolton wr can play RT if need be. If not, gotta believe Morgan can learn it. The drop from him to the next real option was pretty far, too. 

With the DL, I also considered it again. On my board, just nobody lined up once it became a reasonable option until the last 3 picks- and I knew zilch about any of them. 

4th round for a CB or LB is perfect, imp. I actually kind of forgot about Bennett. Hopefully in real life a LB falls to the 112 spot. Not many guys currently outside of the top 120 really excite me at LB. As for CB- I've noted some folk aren't particularly high on King (I didn't watch much of him last year and only heard the rumblings from the Combine and pro day) so if I did it over again, I'd probably look elsewhere. 

Zinter, to me dude is a day 2 pick getting knocked for being a big boy with a bum leg at the moment. Absolute steal for whoever gets him that late. Healing time aside, I think he's a plug-and-play Guard for sure. 

At the end of the day we don't know if Penix is really a reach at 13 or not.

I thought about Kolton aswell, since Penix is a leftie and therefore we should really be sure that we have a franchise level blind side protector.
But it seems that all better options on RT are gone at 44 and so you either draft a LT like Morgan or Patrick Paul or you wait until the 3rd round and take Rosengarten or Blake Fisher.

I wonder what happens to these years combine #1 and #2 Tackles from the athleticism score (Frank Crum, Wyoming & Tylan Grable UCF).
 

[big_palooka]

On 3/28/2024 at 12:10 PM, ronjon1990 said:

Zinter, to me dude is a day 2 pick getting knocked for being a big boy with a bum leg at the moment. Absolute steal for whoever gets him that late. Healing time aside, I think he's a plug-and-play Guard for sure. 

Similar situation to Landon Dickerson. Big time leader and player who injured his leg, went round 2 and is not entrenched as one of the best OGs in football. Zinter is in that same mold.

[RaisinBran]

I see a lot of mocks with us trading back up into the last half of the 1st to get Penix lately. I'd like us to get the best CB at #13 and then trade up using our 2nd and 3rd to get Penix.