This is more of a draft post then offseason, but I must include 1 free agent acquisition and I kept it in mind when I created the mock draft. Cliff Avril. Will turn 27yrs old next April. 6-3 260.I believe Detroit will let him walk. We HAVE to make a serious run at this guy. Our current 3-4 rush OLB contingent includes Bryan Thomas (probably gone after this season), Calvin Pace (with a 2013 salary of $5.81 million and $2.5 million roster bonus is probably gone), Aaron Maybin (currently on 1 year deal and didn’t really show us anything resembling a full time starter) and Garrett McIntyre (reserve material only). This FA acquisition would redeem Tanny’s status (not with me, but with some of the fans). DRAFT Round 1 - Bjoern Werner / 3-4 OLB / 6-4 255 / Florida St. This position is in such need its ridiculous. Werner is having a great season. Non-stop motor. Fighting through double-teams now that Brandon Jenkins on the other side was lost for the year. Strong, physical and blasts off the snap. Round 2 - Larry Warford / G / 6-3 340 / Kentucky. All-SEC 2nd team 2 yrs in a row and will probably be 1st team All-SEC this year. Very experienced playing top shelf competition. If we’re serious about “ground + pound”, then I can’t think of a better replacement for either upcoming free agents M. Slauson and B. Moore. Its also time to put Vlad Ducasse in the fire and start him at the other guard position since his contract is up after the 2013 season. Round 3 - Zach Ertz / TE / 6-6 252 / Stanford. Having great season & adjusted well to being focal point as receiver in Stanford offense. Solid red zone threat. But a decent blocker as well. Round 4 - Conner Vernon / WR / 6-1 200 / Duke The future is Stephen Hill, Jeremy Kerley and this kid. Excellent route runner, great hands and very deceptive speed. Round 5 - Michael Ford / RB / 5-10 215 / LSU Doesn’t have a lot of wear & tear - RB by committee at LSU. Great field vision at finding the holes between the tackles. Has sufficient burst of speed to get around the end. Round 6 - Eric Herman / G / 6-4 319 / Ohio. My “I told you so from the small school” draft pick. Falls this far because of the small school stigma, but a very hard worker and leader on a team that is run focused. Played well vs Penn St. early on in the season. If a guy like Caleb Schlauderoff doesn’t dress for 2 years, its time to move on and find another reserve who could possibly start. Round 7 - Chase Clement / TE / 6-5 265 / LSU. Relatively 1-dimensional blocking TE, but very good at it. A lot of people totally underestimated the value of an effective blocking TE --- try to remember when Ben Hartsock was here.
I'd swap either the WR or RB (or both) with safeties (and/or OLB) - other than that, I think this pick looks sensible.
A starting defense with Werner, Avril, Coples, Wilk, Harris, Davis, and Ellis/Pouha in the front seven would be deadly. Love the prospect of this although I doubt the Jets go after Avril in FA.
I dont know if chasing Avril is smart... The whole front office MO has to change (assuming Tanny isnt fired). Its always been to chase the big FA name and make a huge splash, this has fucked us over big time with paying Pace, Scott and chasing Nnamdi, and this year making a big splash with Tebow. I dont think its really a smart move... Yes we need an OLB, but I dont see this team in win now mode anymore and paying a big time passrusher a lot of money isnt what you want in rebuilding. I like Ertz and think we need to upgrade G, but I see RB as such a huge need that I dont see how we can once again try and solve the position by drafting a RB in the later rounds. IMO, we need to draft one in the 2nd or 3rd round- Gio Bernard, Leveon Bell or Jawan Jamison would be ideal in the 2nd or Stepfan Taylor or Joseph Randle in the 3rd. If we want to commit to the ground game even a little bit, we must upgrade the RB position and add talent to the offense. I preached this last year, not many agreed, and now look where this offense lies... In complete shit. Also, if Lattimore comes out (not sure what good going back to SC for him does), I would like to spend a late round flier on him. He has great instincts as a runner and I would let him just sit on the IR for a year like McGahee did. That way he would receive top notch medical treatment and plenty of time to rehab.
Mike Ford is an absolute enigma. He is grossly inconsistent, he has the most tools with the ball in his hands and yet he has never been able to capitalize the job. He looks awesome one play and horrible the next. Also is awful in pass protection. Ertz is going to be WAY gone in the third. He might be the first round, Scouts has him listed the top TE in the class
Thank you for comments. However, I feel if we dont upgrade the offensive line, it wouldnt matter if we drafted Walter Payton.
I like the picks but I feel like we need to draft a speed RB early on to run if not on the inside then the outside.
No thanks on overpaying for Avril unless a switch to the 43 comes in place. Then, okay. If Rex remains in mainly 34 fronts, no thank you. Love the Clement choice late.
I truly believe that we could trade someone to receive another first round pick. If not. Mingo is a strong player, so is Te'O. Although Te'O could possibly be drafted high, Damontre Moore is good too.
WWE, I really like Werner, even though his play has been just average of late. I really would have a difficult time drafting defense in round 1, unless their names were Jones or Te'o. I like the idea of adding a OG early. Chance Warmack may be a top 10 pick, and that's insane for a guard, but he's that good. Ertz will probably go sooner and Vernon is someone on the rise, he's almost a lock to be a solid NFL WR with the right team. I think you hit our needs fairly well.
Look I'm the biggest LSU guy on the board and I can safely say that Mingo is not having a great year. I dont know what it is but he has not dominated like you want to see an elite defensive player do
............and if you don't dominate in the College game, you aren't in the Pros. I've been saying Mingo is overrated for weeks and not many have listened. AVOID Mingo in early /mid round 1.
Thank you WW85. I've gone over many draft scenarios to get Chance Warmack at the right time. They all include trade-downs of some sort. However, you could very well be right and he could very well be worth it at the #10 spot if we end up there. I wanted DeCastro last year real bad. People dont understand that a trickle down effect for the running game & the passing game comes from the quality (or lack thereof) of the offensive line. As you can see, I am a draft by need as opposed to BPA.
Exactly, Look I'm cheering for the guy and he was awesome last year. Clearly he has the tools to be a great edge rusher.
