College Football / NFL Draft Discussion

[Mind Character]

WEEK 3 Mock--The Mock to End all Mocks

Assuming we start with the 4th overall pick and the 9th overall pick.

.**TRADE** down twice. First from 4 to 8 with a team going for 3rd or 4th QB off the board---gain a 2nd and 4th in '18 and a future 2nd).

Then trade down from 8 to 12 gaining an additional 2nd and 3rd in '18 and a 3rd in 2019

Therefore, we pick up 2 additional 2nd rounders this year (Making 5 2nds in total). We also accumulate future 2nds, 3rds, & 4ths from the trade.

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1(9) Saquon Barkley RB Penn State: Elite balance, elite power, and an urgent runner. Needs to work on open field elusiveness and more importantly his vision to the hole, as well as his pass protection skills. Tremendous running instincts and plays with a force and decisiveness. A truly special running talent on par with Ezekial Elliot in terms of possessing a great overall game for a runner. Major upgrade on Crowell and likely a yearly 1200yds Run: 600yds Rec, 10 TD RB in the nfl. Underrated tracking skills in the passing game.

1(12). James Washington WR OkSt: Now that I've seen 8 games of his in full, he's clearly the WR1 coming into the draft as he just has the natural receiver knack to get open, uncover early, runs urgent routes, has nice head movement fakes and setups, and burst away from the CB. Good in jump ball situations and fights for the ball every time. Has some hand and vision issues. Sometimes is inconsistent tracking the ball down the field. Not a true burner but can stack the DB and separate rather easily due to nice power and fake setups off the line. Classic WR1 possession receiver with some deep ball ability. Will be interesting to see if his deep ball skills transfer to the pros. Needs to be exposed to a more diverse route tree; not sure he has the knowledge to beat double coverage. Sometimes gets jammed easy off the line in press; needs to be more aggressive and dominant against the press in order to get into his route sooner

 

1(24)**TRADE** 2(36)(Texans pick) for 1(24) (give up combo of present and future assets) Courtland Sutton WR SMU: Elite body control for a 6'4" receiver. Has some hands and route running consistency issues that will push him down the board. If he continues to show willingness to attack the ball in the air and high point, he could be just what we need.

2(40)(**Gained via trade from 4 overall to 8) Hayden Hurst TE South Carolina // Mark Andrews TE Oklahoma: Hurst is a class above Andrews imo, but both offer a serious down the field and underneath route threat against the defense. Hurst has special jump ball skills and down the field route running ability not seen since Tyler Eifert came out of college. Needs to improve run blocking. Mark Andrews is the better run blocker and overall player but is not elite in pass catching. However, Andrews makes big time catches and has surprisingly great YAC ability. Both these players would be upgrades on Devalve and Telfer and could change our passing game into a multidimensional dynamic juggernaut if Njoku continues to develop. I'm hoping for a Njoku & Hurst 1,2 combo that could give Hue the elite chess pieces he's always desired. In that scenario, Hurst would be used for the underneath work he's so good at while Njoku would be used as the 3rd down, vertical seam route specialist, and redzone jump ball specialist. Ultimately, the two would be interchangeable at times and provide a dynamic similar to Gronk and Hernandez when they were at the height of their powers.

2(41)(Our own Pick) Orlando Brown OT Oklahoma: Strong athlete with the length to stuff pass rushers in their tracks. Will be a lot of question marks regarding whether he can handle elite nfl speed rush given his size and sometimes clumsy feet. This will drop him to the second round; however, this is an athlete where the knowledge of the game (i.e., how to use angles in pass sets to win) provided by Coach Wylie will help masks his limitations and allow him to some day be a top 10 quality RT. Moves guys off the line with ease in the run. Waist bends too much at times and loses his power and leverage. Would be an upgraded over Shon Coleman immediately allowing Coleman to be a good depth player with starter upside.

2(44)(**Gained via trade from 8 to 12 overall) Armani Watts FS/SS TAMU: All things have to align for a S to go top-15. Most importantly, is injury concerns at that position. Watts has his, and like Keanu Neal, Karl Joseph and Landon Collins it can drop a safety to late 1st or early second especially one that won't run in the 4.4s to the late 1st. Due to some medical issues that may be flagged at the combine just like TJ Ward coming out of college, Watts falls to the top half of the second round. Watts and Peppers become the best Safety tandem in the league in 2 years.

2(49)(Eagles Pick). Ronald Jones II RB USC: The Browns surprise and take a second RB signaling that the FO ultimately doesn't believe Isaiah Crowell isn't worth the big RB1 contract. Jones has elite elusiveness, decisive feet through the hole, burst in the second level, passing game ability, and runs with an urgency. Pairing him with Barkley as a young 1-2 punch that compliments a Duke Johnson in the passing game.

3(66)(**Gained via trade from 8 to 12 overall) Michael Gallup WR CSU: Speed concerns and the depth at the WR position (not elite talent but a lot of quality depth; will be a run in the 2nd round of WRs) will be the only reasons why Gallup drops in the draft. Like Cooper Kupp, Gallup goes at to the top of the 3rd round. Gallup has great/advanced route running skills, sure hands, and knows how to use route running techniques to gain separation at the top of his route. Has the ability to high point the ball, but often does not. Needs to work on his down the field tracking. I'm betting when it's all said and done that Gallup will be one of the steals in the draft and a year in and year out 60catch;800yard; 6TD receiver at the next level. The three of Washington, Sutton, and Gallup make lesser talents like Higgins, Leslie, Coates, and Ricardo Louis irrelevant. Next year we go into the year with James Washington and Courtland Sutton as our Boundary WRs when in 3-wide; Corey Coleman as the primary Slot WR but boundary WR1 in 2-wide alignments with James Washington. Gallup, Ricardo Louis, and Kasen Williams fight for WR4. I'd think Kasen Williams wins that match up but as time goes on Gallup elevates. Next years depth: 1. Corey Coleman, 2. James Washington, 3. Courtland Sutton, 4. Kasen Williams, 5. Michael Gallup, and 6. Ricardo Louis. Now that's what a WR room is suppose to look like.

3(70). Chukwuma Okorafor OT Western Michigan: Tremendous length and foot quickness. Great ability to anchor against power and athleticism to get to the edge and seal it off against the speed rush.Joe Thomas' eventual replacement

4. Isaiah Oliver CB Colorado: Long athlete with good ball instincts. Gets beat due to poor eye discipline, but is fluid and quick enough to recover and make a play on the ball. Has big time developmental starter upside and might surprise and be a starter on the Browns due to a big camp.

4. Jamarcus King CB South Carolina: Big and instinctual corner that plays with competitive fire and urgency. Loves to mix it up and tackle. Does not have good technique or a fluid back peddle due to the off technique taught at South Carolina. Has to do a lot of development but due to his natural football talent and athleticism could end up being one of the top corners in the league by his 3rd year.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

@Mind Character Washington is nice, noticed him every time I watched Rudolph.

[candyman93]

Last time Barkley played Iowa he had 211 total yards.

[candyman93]

Iowa is a bipolar team though. They either suck or play our of their minds.

[Mind Character]

3 hours ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

@Mind Character Washington is nice, noticed him every time I watched Rudolph.

It was hard to get a sense of his game from the TV copy. So, you know what I did.....

Now, I agree with you on Washington. Very good player. Hope we can get him.

[brownie man]

To me at least

whoever says they wouldn't take Saquon Barkley in the first round is a fool

hes the best player in college football and a fantastic pro prospect 

[Mind Character]

1 hour ago, brownie man said:

To me at least

whoever says they wouldn't take Saquon Barkley in the first round is a fool

hes the best player in college football and a fantastic pro prospect 

There's not a serious person alive that says that Barkley shouldn't go in the 1st.

The argument is if he's worthy of the mythic top 5 draft pick for a RB given the nature of that position at the next level.

It's hard to rank players across position.

But I'd say the top 3 players in CFB are: 1. Lamar Jackson, 2a/2b. Saquon Barkley/Sam Darnold

Lamar Jackson does everything and is every bit of a dynamic runner but with more speed and elusiveness than Barkley, with the added dimension of passing due to his position.

 

 

[candyman93]

I'd kill to have Lamar at OSU, but he's a twig.

[candyman93]

Wadley is a little beast for Iowa.

[candyman93]

12 minutes ago, candyman93 said:

Wadley is a little beast for Iowa.

But Barkley is a deity.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/sluggahjells/status/911782632761053185/video/1

[Mind Character]

Barkley with the monster stat line:     358 total yards from scrimmage

Penn State Kick Returns

	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Saquon Barkley	3	53	17.7	24	0

 

 

Penn State Receiving

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Saquon Barkley	12	94	7.8	0	15

Penn State Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Saquon Barkley	28	211	7.5	1	44

[candyman93]

1. Fills a need.

2. High character.

3. High level production.

4. Freakish athleticism.

5. Best pound for pound player in college football.

 

He fits the FO's criteria. Especially the athleticism part. He's 225 pounds of compact muscle and runs a 4.3

[H2ThaIzzo]

1 hour ago, candyman93 said:

1. Fills a need.

2. High character.

3. High level production.

4. Freakish athleticism.

5. Best pound for pound player in college football.

 

He fits the FO's criteria. Especially the athleticism part. He's 225 pounds of compact muscle and runs a 4.3

He's the #1 guy for sure. QB's aside, which hopefully Kizer ends up showing us we don't need to go QB. He gives effort every play. He set some key blocks, including one on the final play of the game. The best player on the field wasn't getting the ball on the game's last play, yet he blocked effectively and played his role. I want that guy playing for my team. 

[Mind Character]

30 minutes ago, H2ThaIzzo said:

He's the #1 guy for sure. QB's aside, which hopefully Kizer ends up showing us we don't need to go QB. He gives effort every play. He set some key blocks, including one on the final play of the game. The best player on the field wasn't getting the ball on the game's last play, yet he blocked effectively and played his role. I want that guy playing for my team. 

That part "the best player on the field wasn't getting the ball on the game's last play," is why the QB always will outshine the RB position and why Lamar Jackson is the #1 guy in CFB.

And probably ultimately why Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson go ahead of Saquon who is absolutely a top 3 CFB player although it can be argued that he is the #1 guy as well.

[pnies20]

Barkleeeeeeeey.

 

that is all.