2015 NFL Draft - lead up thread

The Game Room
1

It’s this week, finally. Who’s your 1st Round guy? Who’ll be a bust? Who will be that sleeper steal?

Winston or Mariotta?

I’ll try to finalize my big board in the next day or two. I know I have wildly different views on the top cornerbacks, preferring Kevin Johnson, Byron Jones and Marcus Peters over Trae Wayens. I also have my top three receivers in opposite order than most: Parker, White, Cooper.

Dante Fowler Jr is a bust waiting to happen. Randy Gregory and Bud Dupree ate my top Edge Rushers. I hate seeing Arik Armstead mocked to my 49ers. He and CB Jalen Coins and NOT 1st Round mayerial.

Stanford’s Henry Anderson may be better than Leonard Williams.

I like sleeper picks Lynden Trail, EDGE, Norfolk St., and Dezmin Lewis, WR, Central Arkansas.

2

This is a weak draft. Bad year to need a QB. I don’t like Winston or Mariotta. Winston will to go to TB, but I would not be surprised to see Mariotta fall dramatically. Nobody is consistently winning in the NFL with that type of QB.

Lots of love for Todd Gurley lately, but last I saw the dude wrecked his knee. None of the WRs blow me away. Cooper, White and Parker are good, but can they be #1 NFL WRs?

3

I completely blew off NCAA football this year, so I have no idea who anyone is outside of the two QBs. I still can’t wait for the draft. Does that say something about me? I am legitimately excited to see how much Belichick gets back this year when he trades down.

4

Thanks for starting the thread.

5

I was okay with some of the early mock drafts having Gurley fall to the Cowboys, but I really hope they don’t use a first rounder on any other running back. I need to see some more defense!

6

I haven’t had enough time to really get into this year’s draft outside of a couple teams, but I do have my traditional lists to add to the discussion:

MY GUYS:

1st Round

Leonard Williams, DT, USC
Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

2nd Round

Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
Stephone Anthony, ILB, Clemson

3rd Round

David Cobb, RB, Minnesota
Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (OH)

4th Round

Henry Anderson, DE, Stanford
Corey Robinson, OT, S. Carolina

5th Round

Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan

6th Round

Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina

7th Round

JJ Nelson, WR/KR, UAB
Kendall Lamm, OT, App. State

YOUR GUYS
Jameis Winston, QB, FSU
Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
Dorial Green Beckham, WR
Trae Waynes, CB, MSU
Carl Davis, OT, Iowa
Jesse James, TE, PSU

My Favorite Names in this years Draft:

Maxx Ford
Forrest Hill
La 'El Collins
Xzavier Dickson
Connor Neighbors
Eric Frohnapfel
Jeremiah Johnson
Thurston Armbrister
Shadow Stokes
Norkeithus Otis
Imoan Claiborne
Nordly Capi
Skye PoVey

7

Shadow Stokes!!!

:smiley:

8

Man, I feel the opposite on pretty much every point.

  • Weak draft at the top maybe, no superstars like Andrew Luck, but it’s still solid. More than usual guys with late 1st round/low 2nd round grades.

  • No one is winning with a Mariota type QB? How about Russell Wilson? Or Steve Young, if you want to go back further? He can run, but running isn’t the primary part of Mariota’s game like Vick or Kaepernick (and arguably, Kaepernick’s problem is just that he’s dumb, unlike Mariota).

  • ACL surgeries have come a long way. Gurley should be fine. Not all knee injuries are the same… we’re not talking Marcus Lattimore here, who tore every ligament in his knee (ACL, MCL, and PCL) and damaged the nerve. Guys who just tore their ACL and came back just fine? Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, Frank Gore…

  • I do think this is a very good WR draft. Cooper obviously has the tools to be a #1 in this league for a long time. White, Parker and Green-Beckham ooze ability. And behind them you still have guys like Jaelen Strong, Nelson Agholor, Devin Smith…

9

I’m sure he’ll straighten up once he finds out the league penalties for train robbery.

10

Wow! A little bit Hannibal Lector, but that is one way to boost your draft ranking! :smiley:

11

Rumor is that Browns offered the Titans the #12 and #19 for for #2 pick. Lane Adkins says that hasn’t happened, and he’s usually right, but everyone else is running with it. Rumor is also that Tenessee wants 3 #1s for it.

NFL GMs are so afraid to look like they didn’t get “full value” to their fans that they refuse to take mutually beneficial deals because it doesn’t match up to that trade chart (which the fans treat as some sort of official document) or the previous similar deal. People say “starting price for moving up is the RG3 price” as if every team is bound by ever-escalating trades. And the fact that the fanbase thinks this and will criticize the GM for not following it means the GMs get gunshy and refuse to make deals that are actually good for his team, because he’s worried stupid fans will criticize them.

The way the talent in this draft, the Titans should never expect 3 #1s, and should be pretty happy to get two mid-round picks where there’s very little talent drop off from the top 10. Maybe 2 #1s and a #4 or something, if it’s not quite enough. Maybe even a second next year. But it’s dumb to hold out because of the RG3 deal. For one thing, the team on the wrong end of that deal isn’t happy about it, and for two the talent situation is entirely different this year.

12

How do you guys feel about Mariota, anyway? I keep hearing “system QB”, but I’m also hearing “smart, student of the game, puts in the work” which alone, at this point, almost sells me on him.

13

It would be best for Mariota to sit for a couple years. He’s improved each year at Oregon, and he has the makeup to keep doing that. He should be allowed to use his legs. My only concern is if he has the trigger instinct to throw to guys who aren’t wide open.

14

GMs should know not to use the RG3 trade as a basis for anything. Washington got robbed blind in that trade and got nowhere near the value of the picks they traded to St. Louis.

Worked out great for St. Louis, though! :smiley:

15

At least when the Lions fuck up this years 1st rounder it will be in the 20s so nobody will notice.

16

I don’t want him. If the 12 and 19 would be enough for the Brown to get him, then fine I can live with it. But I can’t reconcile 3 first round picks or even 2 first rounders and a second rounder. I think Mariota has average arm strength and who knows if he can read a defense or not? On the field, I think he’s Johnny Manziel v2.0, he’s just a more likeable guy.

17

Manziel? He just just hurled the ball at his giant receiver and it worked. Mariota might be a system guy, but the system he ran was fairly complicated and he ran it with aplomb.

18

Regarding Mariota, the FiveThirtyEight guys have something to say:

Marcus Mariota is projected to be better than Jameis Winston

19

Personally I’m not sold on either Jameis Winston OR Marcus Mariota. Jameis lacks maturity (specifically, the level of maturity needed to make it in a professional sports league) and M.M.? I just don’t think he’s all that great a passer. Sure, he put up some impressive numbers while playing for the University of Nike Yucks, but during the (admittedly) few times I actually saw him in PRESSURE situations he never looked like all that “polished” a passer to me! Honestly, I’ll be surprised if either one of those clowns is even in the league in a few years. I give J.W. about three years and I give M.M. about 5. MAX.

20

I was hoping someone started this thread.

My opinions (which are worthless… Until I get that GM job I should have!)

I wouldn’t touch Winston with a 10 foot pole. No way I’d waste the overall number one on him if I am TB.

The kid is too immature… But beyond that, he doesn’t make good decisions on the field either.

He had 18 ints this year against 25 TDs That is a ton of ints for a guy that is supposed to be the cream of the NCAA QB crop.

Honestly, I see Jamarcus Russell 2.0 here. Especially if Winston stays in Florida, which is what looks like is going to happen. From what I’ve read, his hangers on and “posse” are all there, and those people are just enablers… this is a kid who has made mistake after mistake in his personal decision-making, and he’s never been held accountable. Seriously, didn’t we just see this act with Johnny Football just a year ago?

I think he will be out of the NFL within 5-6 years. He will be a bust, gain weight, and be done. Honestly, I hope I am wrong, but he has never failed or been told “no” his entire life. When kids like that get to the NFL and don’t make the grade, they implode. Just look at the list the past 10 years at QB… Russell, Vince Young, Manzeil (i know he’s not done, but the Browns are talking of moving up to take Mariotta, so it would seem they have given up on him already), RGIII… The list is long and ugly.

There are so many flags around Winston, he could be a used car dealership.

As for Mariotta… I keep hearing “system QB”, but to be honest, isn’t every QB a system QB? I like what I’ve seen at the college level. The kid has a heisman, and from all accounts, he is a great kid. He’s a guy I’d take in the 1st round if I was in desperate need for a QB. If I am TB, i take him or trade out of he pick, but I stay away from Winston.

As for other players, well… As a Steeler fan, I am looking at CBs, and the guys I think I’d love to see the Steelers take will be long gone.

I have heard about this kid Jones out of UConn that has been mocked to the Steelers, and I don’t like the pick at all for the 1st round. He had a great combine workout, and every time he’s mentioned, the first thing I hear is his phenomenal standing broad jump. That’s nice, but no one was talking about him as a 1st round talent until his combine. I hate those guys that are flying up draft boards because of a good workout. I want a great player in the 1st round.

I also don’t want to see the Steelers take a kid like Shane Ray, who two days before the biggest day of his life was dumb enough to not only get pulled over for speeding, but had pot in his car. I just don’t understand what these kids are thinking.

If I could take anyone, I’d take Leonard Williams out of USC. The Steelers need a pass rusher in a big way.

I’d also like Danny Sheldon out of Washington, because he is a big body and takes two guys out of the way.

As for CBs? I have major concerns about all of the big names. I am not a draft expert by any stretch, but I’ve seen some tape on Waynes that makes me worry that he can’t tackle and that’s not good. I think if Kevin Johnson (if he’s the kid from WF) is available, I’d be ok if they took him.

The Steelers have so many holes on defense. They whiffed big time on Jarvis Jones, so they have a huge need at OLB too. But I haven’t considered that position in round 1, because they have neglected CB for so long. I refuse to believe they will not take a CB in the first round.