Draft talk, mocks, prospects

[jrry32]

If the Rams do decide to draft a QB somewhere in the 2014 Draft who would you like to see them consider and what round do you think the Rams will consider drafting a QB? The three I really like are A.J. McCarron, Blake Bortles and Derek Carr and if any of them are still available when the Rams pick in the 2nd round I hope the Rams at least consider them. I hope Bradford is healthy next season and keeps improving but just in case it would be nice to draft a QB that can be a quality backup to him and take over if necessary.

IMO, Bortles is off the board in the first 15 picks and Carr is off the board in the first 5 picks. Personally, I wouldn't draft McCarron in the 2nd. But that might just be me.

I know Nix is more of a traditional NT. I know he will probably get grabbed up by a 3/4 team. I think the DTs have been inconsistent for us vs the run….very inconsistant. I agree about the tackling being spotty on the second level. I dont think players are that type cast, or need to be that type cast, into specific roles. I could see Nix collasping the pocket as much if not more than Langford.
I did read up on Donald and was impressed. For sure an explosive play making DT. Results are all that matter. He would fit the D better for sure. I think a 285 lb guy is going to have issues adjusting to dealing with 330 lb Gs. Of course a big guy like Nix could have troulbe adjusting the NFL speed also.
I am not convinced that his size wont be an issue. But, if he is there later in the first round great, grab him and keep Langford on as well. His sack numbers (1.6 per game this year) are astounding.

I wasn't advocating for him in the 1st. I had him going to us in the mid 2nd in my mock.

As far as Nix, I disagree. Some players, you do type cast if they aren't good fits for your scheme.

 

[BigRamFan]

I am no talent evaluator but I agree with Jrry that if Bortles declares no way he makes it out of the top 5. Way too early for us to draft a QB in my book. I am solidly in the Bradford camp. I would, however, love to see us pick up McCarron in round 3 or Bryn Rennen, UNC, in round 5 or 6. He's a good developmental QB with good size (6'3", 225#) who will fall due to a shoulder dislocation suffered early last month.

 

[paceram]

I am no talent evaluator but I agree with Jrry that if Bortles declares no way he makes it out of the top 5. Way too early for us to draft a QB in my book. I am solidly in the Bradford camp. I would, however, love to see us pick up McCarron in round 3 or Bryn Rennen, UNC, in round 5 or 6. He's a good developmental QB with good size (6'3", 225#) who will fall due to a shoulder dislocation suffered early last month.

I am definitely on the McCarron bandwagon but I will be surprised if he is still available in the 3rd round.

 

[jrry32]

David Fales is my guy as the backup QB pick...as you guys can tell. IMO, there's not much difference between him and McCarron except where they played. Same limitations, same strengths and similar size.

 

[BigRamFan]

I am definitely on the McCarron bandwagon but I will be surprised if he is still available in the 3rd round.

In what round do you see him being drafted?

 

[duckhunter]

I like Fales also. Thought Manion was coming out. Like him also.

 

[jrry32]

I like Fales also. Thought Manion was coming out. Like him also.

I'm not a big Mannion fan. That throwing motion of his turned me away from him. But he made some big strides this year as a QB.

 

[paceram]

In what round do you see him being drafted?

As I have mentioned earlier, I am not an Alabama fan (in fact, they are my least favorite team!) but I do respect them, Saban and McCarron! And, every time I watched Alabama (to root against them!) the past few seasons McCarron has totally amazed me (I thought he even had a very good game in their loss to Auburn this past weekend)! He is smart, cool under pressure, a great game manager, has good size, has a good (not great) arm but most importantly (at least to me) he is a winner! But, to answer your question, I think he (and, I am certainly no expert on Alabama, McCarron or the Draft!) will be surprised if he does not get drafted in the later part of the 1st round or the 2nd round at the latest. Again, I am hoping that Bradford can stay healthy and end up having a great career WITH the Rams and take them to many playoffs (including the Superbowl!) but I do think it would be a wise move on the Rams part to obtain (either by the Draft, Trade or Free Agency) a QB who can be that quality backup in case Bradford does miss time again due to injuries or just in case the Rams can't or don't want to give him the salary he wants to keep him a Ram. I don't think the Rams will consider taking McCarron in the 1st round but I personally would take him in the 2nd round if he was still available.

 

[BigRamFan]

Yeah, I am fully in Sam's support and think he will excel in STL. I don't think money will be an issue for the team but agree that an upgrade to our backup QB position is prudent. I love McCarron but would not take him in the 1st. If we had to pick him in the 2nd to get him I would hope it would be in a trade back but I have no idea what the pro scouts think of him as a prospect.

 

[fearsomefour]

David Fales is my guy as the backup QB pick...as you guys can tell. IMO, there's not much difference between him and McCarron except where they played. Same limitations, same strengths and similar size.

Hey, Jrry…..something we agree on!! I have seen Fales in person twice this year and he really impresses. Really like this guy as a 6th round developmental sort of guy.

 

[fearsomefour]

IMO, Bortles is off the board in the first 15 picks and Carr is off the board in the first 5 picks. Personally, I wouldn't draft McCarron in the 2nd. But that might just be me.



I wasn't advocating for him in the 1st. I had him going to us in the mid 2nd in my mock.

As far as Nix, I disagree. Some players, you do type cast if they aren't good fits for your scheme.

Yeah, if Donald is there in the second, with the possible playmaking he brings to the table that is a steal. Thanks for the heads up on him. His numbers are fantastic.

You may be right about Nix needing that NT role to fit with a team…..but, I like him and you cant make me not like him….so there.

 

[fearsomefour]

Hageman's going to shoot up the draft boards like Dontari Poe did two years ago. There are very few defensive tackles with his athleticism, height, length, and ability to penetrate into the backfield. The closest comparison I could come up with is Richard Seymour. Add him to the rotation with Michael Brockers, and you've got yourself one of the most dominant young front fours in recent memory.

Sweet….another DT to add to the list. I want to see the Rams add a more dynamic player next to Brockers for a couple of reasons. To help Brockers, to help free up the DEs more and to keep blockers off the LBs. This front seven has the potential to be great….not just good, but really great. That UT spot next to Brockers could be upgraded.
Anyway, the more potential guys to fill that spot the better, more options and lessons the chance of reaching for a guy. Poe has turned into a good player for sure. Doesnt get a lot of press because he doesnt pile up sacks like the other guys but he is a key to their D.

 

[lasvegasrams]

I would not mind using our third pick (2nd round) on McCarron if the possibility lies that he would not be available in the 3rd. We're starting to see how important a good backup qb is in this league. No point in having a top 5 defense if you throw for 67 yards and 33% completions in the middle of the third qtr.

If Green Bay had a Kirk Cousins type backsup for example, I believe they would be coasting through the division right now.

 

[duckhunter]

I'm not a big Mannion fan. That throwing motion of his turned me away from him. But he made some big strides this year as a QB.

I never really looked at his motion, so I'll do that. I like his production and results for the most part. I like the improvement each year, it tells me he's getting it.

I'm still on the fence with Mettenberger. We'll see how that works out.

 

[12intheBox]

What do y'all think are the most difficult positions to evaluate? Where are first round misses the most prevalent? Is there one?

 

[duckhunter]

What do y'all think are the most difficult positions to evaluate? Where are first round misses the most prevalent? Is there one?

One miss that is becoming more prevalent is OLinemen in spread offenses that don't play the power football.

RBs in spread offenses are gimmickry and doesn't translate in my mind.

 

[Tron]

I'm bored, and when i get bored, i start thinking about the draft even more.
I already came out with my midseason mock last week, so decided to try something different.

A new mock with lots of trades and selecting all new players that weren't used in my original.

It's CRAZINESS!!!!!!!But it could work.......maybe.....i said maybe ok!!!! Get off my back already!!!!!!!

I am also going to include a 2nd mock, which i will explain about later as you will see.

Let's get this chaos of a draft going!!!!



TRADES!!!!!!!!!! oh boy are you in for some fun!!!!!

oh btw, in this draft, we hold the #1 overall pick!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Trade 1:

Rams trade #1 overall to the Browns

Rams Gain:

Josh Gordon!!!!!!!!!

Browns 2014 1st rounder (#25 overall)

Browns 2014 2nd rounder (#39 overall)

Browns 2015 1st rounder

*ok, i know some of you are thinking" WTF MATE"???????? Why do we not get the Browns #7 overall??????????? You are crazy!!!!! Maybe, maybe not. The reason why we take the #25 overall instead of the 7th is so we can get that future first. Brown don't want to lose both 1st rounder this yea, so we tell them, Give us Gordon and next years 1st and your 2nd this year and we will trade back to #25. 25 they ask????? Yup, thats right, that way you can draft Mike Evans at #7 to go with your shiny new QB Bridgewater. "Mariota returning to school leaves Bridgewater as the undisputed top QB in the draft" Snead tell them. They debate a little bit and say F*** it!!!!! lets do this!!!!



Trade 2:

Falcons trade up from #35 to get our #25

Gain:

Falcons 3rd rounder(#67 overall)



Trade 3:

Texans trade up from #91 to get our #79

Gain:

Texans 5th rounder(#130 overall)



Picks:

1.15 - HaHa Clinton-Dix FS, Alabama

2.35 - Darqueze Dennard CB, Michigan State

2.39 - Kelcy Quarles DT, South Carolina

2.47 - E.J. Gaines CB, Missouri / Lamarcus Joyner S/CB, Florida State(like them both, so you decide)

3.67 - Seantrel Henderson OT, Miami

3.91 - David Fales QB, San Jose State

4.103 - Jonathan Brown OLB, Illinois

5.130 - Andrew Norwell G/OT, Ohio State

5.143 - James White RB, Wisconsin

6.175 - Kerry Hyder DT, TTU

7.207 - Gabe Ikard G/C, Oklahoma

Here is what we get:
-We now have that bonafied #1 WR
-Future starters and depth across both offensive and defensive lines
-FS who will start right away and depth
-CB who will start and great depth
-LB depth
-RB depth
-Back up QB to be groomed for more
-Future 1st round pick from the Browns that could be pretty high

So there you have it!!!! I actually had even more trades but dialed it down a notch cause i was frying my brain over them all.



Ok, now for you people who don't like to project trades in mocks...blah blah blah. I think a mock with trades is more realistic then one without. Teams almost always trade at some point. But regardless.

In this non-trade mock, i am going to against my better judgement and select an OT and guard early!!!! ewwwwwwwwww!!!!!!



1.1 - Jake Mathews OT, Texas A&M

1.2 - HaHa Clinton-Dix FS, Alabama

2.1 - Cyril Richardson G, Baylor

3.1 - Antone Exum S/CB, Virginia Tech

4.1 - Daniel McCullers DT, Tennessee

5.1 - Alvin Dupree OLB, Kentucky

6.1 - Aaron Murray QB, Georgia

7.1 - Wayne Lyons CB, Stanford





Well there you have it, two mocks for the price of none!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me know what you think, or not, whatever.

*I am going a little crazy this week due to my Mother-in-law having been here since Sunday morning....Hence the craziness...

 

[jrry32]

I would not mind using our third pick (2nd round) on McCarron if the possibility lies that he would not be available in the 3rd. We're starting to see how important a good backup qb is in this league. No point in having a top 5 defense if you throw for 67 yards and 33% completions in the middle of the third qtr.

If Green Bay had a Kirk Cousins type backsup for example, I believe they would be coasting through the division right now.

Yea but the question is...could you get that same sort of value later? I think you can. There's little that separates David Fales and AJ McCarron in my mind. And the thing is that Fales has played on a team with a poor running game and an OL that gives up a lot of pressure. He's more battle tested in that regard than McCarron.

 

[jrry32]

One miss that is becoming more prevalent is OLinemen in spread offenses that don't play the power football.

RBs in spread offenses are gimmickry and doesn't translate in my mind.

HBs in spread offenses can be difficult to evaluate because they often have more wide open lanes and less traffic to run through. However, I've also found HBs from schools like Alabama difficult to evaluate as well because of how stellar their blocking is.

With HBs, the make or break trait is vision and it's not the easiest thing to discern in college. One thing that makes me shy away from a HB is if I never see him hitting the cutback lane. You can be successful in the NFL without doing that(see Steven Jackson) well but guys who have that sort of awareness and recognition to see it/anticipate it and consistently hit it typically do well.

What do y'all think are the most difficult positions to evaluate? Where are first round misses the most prevalent? Is there one?

For me, I find safeties to be a very difficult position to evaluate. QB is also tough because it's hard to evaluate the most important skills(mental acuity) unless you have coach's film and can speak with them.

I never really looked at his motion, so I'll do that. I like his production and results for the most part. I like the improvement each year, it tells me he's getting it.

I'm still on the fence with Mettenberger. We'll see how that works out.

It's extremely weird and very slow. His arm motion resembles a windmill and he doesn't really whip the ball out...it looks more like he's pushing it. It's hard to describe.

Yeah, if Donald is there in the second, with the possible playmaking he brings to the table that is a steal. Thanks for the heads up on him. His numbers are fantastic.

You may be right about Nix needing that NT role to fit with a team…..but, I like him and you cant make me not like him….so there.

Fair enough. You are more than entitled to that.

 

[jrry32]

I'm bored, and when i get bored, i start thinking about the draft even more.
I already came out with my midseason mock last week, so decided to try something different.

A new mock with lots of trades and selecting all new players that weren't used in my original.

It's CRAZINESS!!!!!!!But it could work.......maybe.....i said maybe ok!!!! Get off my back already!!!!!!!

I am also going to include a 2nd mock, which i will explain about later as you will see.

Let's get this chaos of a draft going!!!!



TRADES!!!!!!!!!! oh boy are you in for some fun!!!!!

oh btw, in this draft, we hold the #1 overall pick!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Trade 1:

Rams trade #1 overall to the Browns

Rams Gain:

Josh Gordon!!!!!!!!!

Browns 2014 1st rounder (#25 overall)

Browns 2014 2nd rounder (#39 overall)

Browns 2015 1st rounder

*ok, i know some of you are thinking" WTF MATE"???????? Why do we not get the Browns #7 overall??????????? You are crazy!!!!! Maybe, maybe not. The reason why we take the #25 overall instead of the 7th is so we can get that future first. Brown don't want to lose both 1st rounder this yea, so we tell them, Give us Gordon and next years 1st and your 2nd this year and we will trade back to #25. 25 they ask????? Yup, thats right, that way you can draft Mike Evans at #7 to go with your shiny new QB Bridgewater. "Mariota returning to school leaves Bridgewater as the undisputed top QB in the draft" Snead tell them. They debate a little bit and say F*** it!!!!! lets do this!!!!



Trade 2:

Falcons trade up from #35 to get our #25

Gain:

Falcons 3rd rounder(#67 overall)



Trade 3:

Texans trade up from #91 to get our #79

Gain:

Texans 5th rounder(#130 overall)



Picks:

1.15 - HaHa Clinton-Dix FS, Alabama

2.35 - Darqueze Dennard CB, Michigan State

2.39 - Kelcy Quarles DT, South Carolina

2.47 - E.J. Gaines CB, Missouri / Lamarcus Joyner S/CB, Florida State(like them both, so you decide)

3.67 - Seantrel Henderson OT, Miami

3.91 - David Fales QB, San Jose State

4.103 - Jonathan Brown OLB, Illinois

5.130 - Andrew Norwell G/OT, Ohio State

5.143 - James White RB, Wisconsin

6.175 - Kerry Hyder DT, TTU

7.207 - Gabe Ikard G/C, Oklahoma

Here is what we get:
-We now have that bonafied #1 WR
-Future starters and depth across both offensive and defensive lines
-FS who will start right away and depth
-CB who will start and great depth
-LB depth
-RB depth
-Back up QB to be groomed for more
-Future 1st round pick from the Browns that could be pretty high

So there you have it!!!! I actually had even more trades but dialed it down a notch cause i was frying my brain over them all.



Ok, now for you people who don't like to project trades in mocks...blah blah blah. I think a mock with trades is more realistic then one without. Teams almost always trade at some point. But regardless.

In this non-trade mock, i am going to against my better judgement and select an OT and guard early!!!! ewwwwwwwwww!!!!!!



1.1 - Jake Mathews OT, Texas A&M

1.2 - HaHa Clinton-Dix FS, Alabama

2.1 - Cyril Richardson G, Baylor

3.1 - Antone Exum S/CB, Virginia Tech

4.1 - Daniel McCullers DT, Tennessee

5.1 - Alvin Dupree OLB, Kentucky

6.1 - Aaron Murray QB, Georgia

7.1 - Wayne Lyons CB, Stanford





Well there you have it, two mocks for the price of none!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me know what you think, or not, whatever.

*I am going a little crazy this week due to my Mother-in-law having been here since Sunday morning....Hence the craziness...

That's a lot of compensation from the Browns. As far as players, it looks solid. I'm still not sure about Clinton-Dix. And Kelcy Quarles is interesting. This might be one team that fits him well because of Jim Waufle. Quarles is a freak of nature(6'4" 295 with reported 4.7 to 4.8 speed) but his technical side of his game needs a lot of refinement. I probably wouldn't take him there but he has massive amounts of upside and will be a top 60 pick for sure.