Where’s the Beef?
I sent him a PM. Presumably he’s tied up at work, with luck he’ll be in soon and we can finish out the round this evening.
Sorry - usually I get at least 2-3 pauses a day at work where I can get a little personal time in, but I was absolutely swamped from 9 to 5 today. That’s rare, or I’d have sent a pre-selected list. I traded the pick to Omni for the Bears 2nd and 4th.
If Omn isn’t back within an hour or so, I’ll make the pick (sans trade) to keep things moving.
The Bears are trading up to get what looks to be the best pass rusher left on the board. A guy with a first round grade who should provide the speed and explosiveness on the edge that Idonije lacks.
44. Chicago Bears
Andre Branch
DE, Clemson
Can we trade future draft picks in this mock?
Yup, be realistic though.
45. Dallas Cowboys
Jerel Worthy
DT, Michigan State
kidchameleon sent me this proxy pick before I made the trade with Beef. He said he’d be around to offer his rationale at some point, hopefully that’ll be forthcoming.
First Round
1. Indianapolis Colts - garygnu
Andrew Luck QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins - DCnDC
Robert Griffin III QB, Baylor
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Oakminster (from Minnesota) [sup]1[/sup]
Trent Richardson RB, Alabama
4. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef
Morris Claiborne CB, LSU
5. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet (from Tampa Bay) [sup]1[/sup]
Matt Kalil OT, USC
6. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo
Justin Blackmon WR, Oklahoma State
7. Jacksonville Jaguars - furt
Michael Floyd WR, Notre Dame
8. Miami Dolphins - Omniscient
Melvin Ingram OLB, South Carolina
9. Carolina Panthers - Jules Andre
Fletcher Cox DT, Mississippi St.
10. Buffalo Bills - Omniscient
Riley Reiff OT, Iowa
11. Kansas City Chiefs - SenorBeef
Dontari Poe DT, Memphis
12. Seattle Seahawks - Hamlet
Quinton Coples DE, North Carolina
13. Arizona Cardinals - RetroVertigo
Kendall Wright WR, Baylor
14. Dallas Cowboys - kidchameleon
Mark Barron S, Alabama
15. Philadelphia Eagles - Jules Andre
Luke Kuechly LB, Boston College
16. New York Jets - Gray Ghost
Bobby Massie OT, Ole Miss
17. Cincinnati Bengals - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
David DeCastro, G, Stanford
18. San Diego Chargers - TheBoltEater
Nick Perry DE/OLB, USC
19. Chicago Bears - Omniscient
Stephon Gilmore CB, South Carolina
20. Miami Dolphins - Omniscient (from Tennessee) [sup]2[/sup]
Ryan Tannehill QB, Texas A&M
21. Cincinnati Bengals - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
Dre Kirkpatrick CB, Alabama
22. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef
Cordy Glenn G/T, Georgia
23. Detroit Lions - Gangster Octopus
Jonathan Martin, OT Stanford
24. Pittsburgh Steelers - furt
Michael Brockers DT, LSU
25. Denver Broncos - TheBoltEater
Devon Still DT, Penn State
26. Houston Texans - Gray Ghost
Stephen Hill WR, Georgia Tech
27. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
Whitney Mercilus DE/OLB, Illinois
28. Green Bay Packers - Gangster Octopus
Courtney Upshaw, DE, Alabama
29. Baltimore Ravens - DCnDC
Dont’a Hightower ILB, Alabama
30. San Francisco 49ers - garygnu
Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
31. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
Shea McCLellin OLB/DE Boise St.
32. New York Giants - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
Mike Adams T, Ohio State
Second Round
33. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo
Amini Silatolu, OT, Midwestern State
34. Indianapolis Colts - garygnu
Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
35. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet
Janoris Jenkins, CB/Pothead, North Alabama
36. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet (from Tampa Bay) [sup]1[/sup]
Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame
37. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef
Doug Martin, RB, Boise State
38. Jacksonville Jaguars - furt
Chandler Jones, DE, Illinois
39. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo
David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech
40. Carolina Panthers - Jules Andre
Levonte David, OLB, Nebraska
41. Buffalo Bills - Omniscient
A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois
42. Tennessee Titans - Oakminster (from Miami) [sup]2[/sup]
Reuben Randle, WR, LSU
43. Seattle Seahawks - Hamlet
Kendall Reyes, DT, University of Connecticut
44. Chicago Bears - Omniscient (from Kansas City) [sup]3[/sup]
Andre Branch, DE, Clemson
45. Dallas Cowboys - kidchameleon
Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State
46. Philadelphia Eagles - Jules Andre
47. New York Jets - Gray Ghost
48. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
49. San Diego Chargers - TheBoltEater
50. Kansas City Chiefs - SenorBeef (from Chicago) [sup]3[/sup]
51. Philadelphia Eagles - Jules Andre
52. Tennessee Titans - Oakminster
53. Cincinnati Bengals - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
54. Detroit Lions - Gangster Octopus
55. Atlanta Falcons - garygnu
56. Pittsburgh Steelers - furt
57. Denver Broncos - TheBoltEater
58. Houston Texans - Gray Ghost
59. Green Bay Packers - Gangster Octopus
60. Baltimore Ravens - DCnDC
61. San Francisco 49ers - garygnu
62. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
63. New York Giants - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
Additional Team Assignments
89. New Orleans Saints - Oakminster
95. Oakland Raiders - garygnu
[sup]1[/sup] Tampa trades their 2012 1st and 2nd round picks to Minnesota, in exchange for the Vikings 2012 1st and 6th round picks.
[sup]2[/sup] Tennessee trades their 2012 1st round pick to Miami, in exchange for the Dolphins 2012 2nd round pick and their 2013 1st round pick.
[sup]3[/sup] Chicago trades their 2012 2nd round and 4th round picks to Kansas City, in exchange for the Chiefs 2012 2nd round pick.
Forthcoming indeed!
The Cowboys’ problem last year wasn’t offense. Certainly the offense isn’t perfect. The line was young and shakey at times. Key skill players were injured or out of shape. They put up just over 23 points a game, good enough for a middle of the road. A quick look at their points allowed actually has them ranked slightly higher in the league (13th vs. 14th), but they were repeatedly killed by the inability to shut down teams on long drives, especially toward the end of games, was particularly problematic, especially in the three losses to the Superbowl participants. Free agency has filled most of the ‘holes’ that the team had from free agency, but some of these signings just brought in a servicable player, such as inside linebacker Dan Conner (in case Bruce Carter isn’t ready) and safety Brodney Pool (beacuse Danny McCray isn’t ready now and is a long shot to ever be even an average starter).
Mark Barron is the consensus best safety in the draft, capable of coverage and run support. A truly great safety is something the Cowboys have been lacking since Darren Woodson retired. Roy Williams briefly starred, but his deficiencies in coverage were quickly discovered and exploited. Gerald Sensebaugh is servicable at either spot and hopes that free agency prize Brandon Carr can join the existing corners to upgrade the secondary. Even if the corners shine, there is a lack of personality and confidence. Barron will give them that, forcing opposing quarterbacks to hold the ball longer and preventing running backs from ripping off big plays.
An upgraded secondary can only go so far. Too many plays saw opposing quarterbacks holding the ball for four or five seconds. Short yardage defense was generally a failure and the inability of the line to hold their ground was a big part of that. If Demarcus Ware or Jay Ratliff wasn’t getting pressure, generally no one was. A lot of Dallas fans have pointed the blame at Anthony Spencer. Lining up across from Demarcus Ware should make getting sacks a lot easier. But Ware was moved around a lot to take advantage of weak spots in the protecting. In addition, someone had to drop back into coverage if it wasn’t a blitz, so frequently that was Spencer, who did a good job against the run. Jerel Worthy will provide some more power up front, where the ends outside of occasional bursts from Jason Hatcher, didn’t put pressure on the other team often enough. A bit raw, a part of the defensive line rotation is the perfect place to learn. At 310 pounds, he might even be able to put on enough muscle to get a look at nose tackle, where Ratliff is looking for a replacement before he breaks down under constant double teams.
Having the late-first round Worthy fall into the middle second is a pick I couldn’t pass up, despite thinking about falling back to get an extra fourth. There is some concern about his attitude and effort, but falling this far should motivate him, both emotionally and economically. The draft is anything but a sure thing.
Not that it looks like we’ll get through round 3 at this point, but Jacksonville traded their 4 to Tampa for LeGarette Blount.
Checking in to say i’m here. I know i’m on the clock, but still at work. I’ll be able to make a pick within the hour, just takes time to pull up my resources.
We can probably get through round 3 if we don’t get too many delays.
Does anyone do draft parties anymore, given the awkward Thursday night start? I usually set up my own little war room in my own living room… for no reason at all.
I can recommend a good punter…
46. Philadelphia Eagles
Zach Brown
LB, North Carolina
So far, you could have drawn my picks from any of the Eagles fan blogs or mocks. But the Eagles are in a good spot here. Strangely, for an 8-8 team and probably the most disappointing team in 2011, they have few holes. So they’ll go BPA here, even if taking a LB, let alone two, is almost impossible.
More thoughts later!
Real busy tonight, so it’ll just be the pick for right now. (Texans too, if we make it that far tonight.)
- New York Jets
Ronnell Lewis
OLB/DE, Oklahoma
The Titans trade the 52nd overall pick to the Eagles, in exchange for Asante Samuel, and the Eagles’ 3rd and 5th round picks this year.
I sent a trade offer as the 49ers GM to the Patriots (Jules).
(I also managed to send the same offer to the Eagles, who had already made their pick. And yes, I’m apparently not paying close enough attention. :D)
Just got home, and there’s a lot going on!
On the Zach Brown pick: Firstly, there’s no chance this ends up happening in the real draft. The Eagles, and specifically Andy Reid, hate drafting LBs early. I think by now most people know that Andy Reid has never drafted a LB in the first round. But here’s the rundown of every LB the Eagles have drafted in the first three rounds under Reid (round in parentheses). Try not to get too excited.
1999 Barry Gardner (2), 2001 Quinton Caver (2), 2005 Matt McCoy (2), 2007 Stewart Bradley (3), and 2008 Bryan Smith (3). Only one ever started a full season (Stewart), and they all combine for 57 starts for Philly. Awful. Worse than awful.
The defensive line is fine (with Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, and Jason Babin, I’d say it’s the best in the NFL). The secondary stunk, but it was as much scheme as it was the players. The gaping hole was in the linebacker group. With Ryans coming in, Kuechly taken in round one, and now Brown, they have an entirely new LB group to work with. And if Ryans isn’t healthy, Kuechly can slide over and man the middle (hopefully better than Casey Matthews did last season). But at least there’s promise there.
On the trade: Samuel is gone. If the Eagles don’t get something for him after openly putting him on the market for two seasons in a row, he could damage the locker room and undermine the season.
His value is as low as you could imagine because it appears as if the Eagles have no leverage. But he’s still a top 3 corner in the league and the Titans could really use a replacement for Cortland Finnegan. I think I got the best possible deal I could have gotten, but I’d have also taken the trade in the reverse, too.
I like the flexibility I have with a total of three picks in the second round, though the strategy and timing is a bit silly. Because the Eagles don’t have a lot of holes on their starting units, they really shouldn’t be a buyer in the draft. We’ll see how it plays out.
I can see it happening more than the commonly-predicted and eminently-sensible Keuchly pick.
Dollars to donuts they either trade up to the first round, or trade out to get a #1 next year.