30. San Francisco 49ers
Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
Got the player I wanted when I offered the trade to the Packers, so no big loss there. It’s not like the 49ers need a tight end, but with a team with the luxury of not having a glaring need anywhere, I can take both the best player available and a (IMHO) future star.
Jim Harbaugh loves him some multiple-tight end sets, and defenses would have to fear both Fleener and Davis as receivers, taking pressure off the wideouts.
**Patriots **are currently in negotiations regarding the #31 pick. Stay tuned.
Calvin Johnson at Georgia Tech: 76 catches, 1202 yards, 15.8 ypc, 15 tds. ACC player of the year. Biletnikoff Award Winner.
Demaryius Thomas at Georgia Tech: 46 catches, 1154 yards, 25.1 ypc, 8 td’s. 1st team ACC.
Stephen Hill at Georgia Tech: 28 catches, 820 yards, 29.3 ypc, 5 td’s.
I noticed a tad bit of difference.
I understand that Hill has a great size/speed combination and plays at a run first school, but that run first school didn’t stop Megatron or Demaryius Thomas from passing 1000 yards, or even more than 28 catches.
He’s shown himself to have unreliable hands, and, while that ypc average is astonishing, he’ll also drop an easy pass.
He’s another one who has risen up the draft board not because of how he plays football, but how he test in shorts. He may very well develop, but he’s raw, drops way too many passes, and has very little to show for all those measureables. He’s , to me, another project who will be overdrafted.
Or a DE who can pressure the QB. The Packers really missed Cullen Jenkins last year (Mike Neal could give a china doll a run for the money). Either a DE or a OLB should be their first pick. Or maybe a safety.
I’m completely lost on pass rushers this year. Price, Perry, Mercilus, David, McClellan, and the rest are all a big bunch of question marks to me at this point. Upshaw scares me (the domestic violence arrest and average production on a great team may mean he’s the beneficiary, not the causer, of a great defense), though not any more than any other guy. I’m not as convinced that he can make the move to OLB, so I’d prefer actually waiting, but I really can’t fault the pick at all.
A couple names I might have toyed with would have been Harrison Smith, Jerel Worthy/Jared Crick, or maybe even Brandon Wheedon. Unless someone drops, I’m not sure it’s a good place to be.
OK, well the Pats were unable to work out a trade, so they will continue to address the defensive front 7 with:
McClellin is a bit undersized, but definitely fits the Pats mold of being a versatile player. In college, he spent time at DE, OLB and ILB. The Pats use both 4-3 and 3-4 schemes, so that versatility is useful. While he doesn’t have superb athleticism, he’s got a great motor and never stops, and is also a natural leader.
I also considered looking at the secondary here, which is a definite need, but I think better value can be had later in the draft.
Megatron was drafted in 2007. The current coach who runs the “Triple Option” offense wasn’t hired until 2008. When you look at Thomas’ stats to Hill, they are comparable.
And we close out the first round with the selection of:
The Giants have plenty of areas of need, and OT is definitely one of those. Although the running game was fine in the playoffs, it stank most of the year. Their offensive line is in dire need of new blood. There were players they had rated higher on their board, but none in areas that had to be addressed right away. So Adams was the pick.
And Demaryius isn’t exactly tearing up the NFL.
Hill has caught 3 more passes in his entire career than Thomas did in one year. Or, to put it more in perspective, Hill, in his entire career, had under half the total of catches than Justin Blackmon had in each of the last two years.
The little game tape I’ve seen of Hill (the North Carolina game), showed a guy who can make a big play when the defense focuses on stopping the triple option and aren’t covering him. He made a very nice catch in traffic (a Wow moment), and then, later in the game, dropped an easy TD pass.
He certainly has upside, but as a crappy route runner who drops too many passes, he, to me, is a complete project who won’t be starting for another 2 or 3 years. That’s not what I’d want in a first round pick.
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
[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 2n round pick and their 2013 1st round pick.
It’s Sunday evening, I suspect most everyone is around so lets power through round 2. I’ll post the updated 2nd round draft order shortly.
Starting Round 2
1 (33). Indianapolis Colts
Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
The Colts have so many needs it’s hard to pick one guy. Offensive playmaker for Luck? Help for the horrible defense? Ultimately I picked protection for Luck and a replacement for Jeff Saturday. I really like Konz; he happens to be next BPA on my board, and I think Luck’s hand will be touching Konz’s crotch for a decade (if you know what I mean).
I wouldn’t mind the 49ers taking Konz at 30 in real life.
33. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo
34. Indianapolis Colts - garygnu
35. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet
36. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet [sup]1[/sup]
37. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef
38. Jacksonville Jaguars - furt
39. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo
40. Carolina Panthers - Jules Andre
41. Buffalo Bills - Omniscient
42. Tennessee Titans - Oakminster [sup]2[/sup]
43. Seattle Seahawks - Hamlet
44. Kansas City Chiefs - SenorBeef
45. Dallas Cowboys - kidchameleon
46. Philadelphia Eagles - Jules Andre
47. New York Jets - Gray Ghost
48. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
49. San Diego Chargers - TheBoltEater
50. Chicago Bears - Omniscient
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.
I think this is accurate but if you made a trade you might want to give it a look see to see if I made any errors. I didn’t footnote any non-Mock trades but there’s a lot of shuffling in the IRL 2nd round this year already so it is a lot different than the 1st round.
Bzzzt! Flag on the play. It’s the Rams pick at the top of the 2nd round due to tie breakers. We’ll see if the Rams selection effects this or not.
Damn, forgot about the switch.
1 (33). St. Louis Rams
Amini Silatolu, OT, Midwestern State
This addresses the Offensive Linemen that the rams desperately need (and would’ve taken Kalil had he been there) . Silatolu will have the “small-school rawness”, but could develop into a Pro-bowl OT.
I actually agree with you on everything but this part. Given the right team (one without any glaring holes, and a secure coach), he is exactly the late 1st round pick I’d like my team to pick. A team like the 49ers or Packers would be a perfect fit for Hill to develop.
I’ll stick with Konz for the Colts.
2. (34) Indianapolis Colts
Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
Regarding Silatolu, he’ll play guard in the NFL, not tackle, and since he’s gone, I guess I can stop planning on the 49ers trading up for him.
Let’s take a look at the Packers receivers. Greg Jennings was a late second round pick who was a highly productive small school receiver who is 5’11" and ran a 4.48. He’s made two pro bowls and is considered one of the top 15 WR in the league. Jordy Nelson was drafted in the early second round after being a finalist for the Biletnikoff trophey and amassing a whopping 1606 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season. He ran a 4.51 40, but is 6’3". He’s never made a Pro Bowl, but had a breakout season last year with 1263 and 15 td’s. They also have James Jones, a third round pick, who is 6’1" and ran a 4.54 40 and had 70 catches. He’s not bad for a #3 WR. And Randall Cobb, another late second round pick who is 5’10" with a 4.46 40 with 84 and 1000+ yards in his last season.
The Packers put together a pretty good crew of WR, including a multiple Pro Bowler, without using a first round pick, with only one guy over 6’2" and pretty good, but no eye boggling tested speed. And almost all of them were very productive in college.
The most productive receivers in the NFL are guys who were productive in college. Megatron, Andre Johnson, Welker, Roddy White, Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall, all had 1000+ yards. Sure there are guys like Jimmy Graham and Mike Wallace who aren’t, but they are fewer and far between.
There is a place for high upside guys to be drafted. The first round isn’t it.
Jacksonville is looking to trade down from #38. Will move back in round 2 to add a round 3 pick.
Hill is the offensive equivalent of Jason Pierre-Paul. There’s a lot of upside and a lot of risk. A safer bet would be to draft a guy like Jenkins, Randle or Toon but I don’t think any of those guys have the potential to be the best WR in the NFL. Hill has that potential.
One benefit of picking up extra picks in the draft is that it allows the GM to take more risks with their picks. So with the extra second round pick, the Vikings will be able to take a chance on a extremely talented, but extremely undisciplined , player who will hopefully fit one of their gaping needs on their defense. A guy with first round talent and a last round head, he’s got the skills to be an outstanding CB if he gets his head right. The extra pick lets the Vikings take a chance and select:
3. (35) Minnesota Vikings
Janoris Jenkins, CB/Pothead, North Alabama
At this point in the draft, I don’t have a BPA that really stands out. There are a ton of guys who could help along the D Line or at the WR position, but, to me, both those positions are pretty deep after the first 3 or 5 guys taken, and no one really jumps out at me. The Vikings need along the D line could make Jerel Worthy a worthy pick (see what I did there?), but he’s too easily washed out to make a difference.
With all the help the Vikings need in their secondary, I think the best decision (especially in light of the Jenkins pick), may be to get a guy with nice size/speed who is productive, but also a team leader kinda guy to help build that up. With that in mind, the Vikings next pick is:
Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame