Brandon Thorn's 2014 NFL Mock Draft (2 Rounds, In-Depth)

[jrry32]

So, does Jeffrey set he precedent for all South Carolina players? I dont think so. And yes Jeffrey deserved the criticism. Everyone saw how out of shape he was. Even when it didn't mean anything in the end he raised questions about his character. To top it off he cost himself a lot of money. He probably goes round 1 if he was chiseled instead of sloppy. His talent was undeniable. If he was in great shape at the very least he could have been the Rams pick.

Clowney has raised character issues about selfishness. That could scare a team away that already has some good DEs.

What banned substance are talking about btw?

Nope, Jeffery sets the precedent for players that dominate as sophomores, have a down year as juniors but still show supreme talent and are nitpicked relentlessly by the media and their "anonymous sources".

Marijuana. Although a lot of South Carolina(and college players as a whole) smoke it.

 

[BonifayRam]

Here it is, completed revamped mock draft: St. Louis addresses the offensive line big-time!

http://sportsagentblog.com/2013/12/11/the-sports-agent-blog-2014-nfl-mock-draft/

I would be very happy if the Rams selected an OT & OG with their Mid First round & Mid second round selections, however I do not like neither of these two picks myself and would be highly miffed with them.

OLT would not be on my top five OT list in this upcoming draft. Taylor Lewan IMO will have much to work on when he arrives in the NFL. I see him much like a project that Joe Barksdale was much polishing and technique building required. Not what you want in first round pick.

Zack Martin is no Rodger Saffold but his college career is so similar to Rodger its strange. Martin is a OLT and always been a left side guy...& very healthy starter all like Saffold his holes in his game is also similar to what was said about Saffold. Martin frame is much more like Tim Barnes than anything close to a Long or Barksdale. I consider Martin a good early 3rd rd pick but not a mid second rounder myself.

If I were selecting in this mock & were to replicate the 2 OL'ers selected I would have picked OT Cyrus Kouandjio & OT Cedric Ogbuehi in place of Lewan & Martin. Both these (Cyrus & Cedric) OT's have played OG & can slide inside if need be! But I would never picked OT Cyrus over CB Dennard who was still there with the 2nd first rd pick. Dennard IMO is a much better prospect & fills a serious need too.

 

[ramfidelis]

Why are we limited to Clowney with the first pick? Would Barr be a better selection... given the fact that we do need another linebacker?

 

[BigRamFan]

Not in my opinion. Whoever fills that "need" at OLB, be it Dunba, one of this year's UDFA or a new draft selection will only be on the field about 40% of the time due to our playing the nickel package so much. I would not spend a #2 overall on a part time player.

 

[BThorn86]

Good point about Barr, Clowney would be a better pick for playing time purposes let alone Clowney being as dominant of a physical specimen that we've seen since probably Mario Williams. But yeah, all good points here by everyone, I appreciate the different point of views. However, the Clowney pick I projected I'm sticking with for now (even though the Jake Matthews pick makes more sense everyday to me) because Clowney simply has the most potential of anyone in the draft and has proven he can dominate unlike any other player in the class. That alone qualifies him to only be passed on if his red flags are major and frankly I don't think they are (from what I know).

I still also love the atmosphere in St. Louis for Clowney - excellent mentors from his teammates (Long, Quinn) and coaches (Fisher especially). I think he would thrive with you guys..I'd be pretty excited and I'm not even a Rams fan.