Post Marcus Peters/Pre- Combine/ Post Buttheaded Grouch past the WC Loss Mock draft!

[Corbin]

What's up gents! This Marcus Peters trade just got me back into the fold with the off season and with the loss in the Wild Card round I was being a grinch (still) lol. I have a pretty good idea to not only get us to that dominant window now but to keep our SB window open for years to come. Here we go!


Mission #1:
I have very little doubt with our FO recent year(s) of pure beast mode they have any doubt of restructuring the amounts of Tavon Austin's and Robert Quinns contracts. Both have very good roles and talents to play on this team and I'm not convinced cutting or trading them is the answer to be honest.

Restructure:
Just gives us an extra just shy of 14 m. from these two contracts alone. Quinns is putting a bit off to next year and Tavon's is a pay cut etc. No doubt Snead and mostly Demoff get this accomplished. They seem driven and motivated to get us to the promised land.

Resign:
Tender:
Malcolm Brown
Troy Hill
Matt Longacre 2nd round
It's obvious these 3 players are trending up and have a ton of potential for a few years at the least.

Extend:
Jake McQuide - 2 years 915k
NRC- 2 Years 850 k
John Sullivan- 1 year 1 mill.
Connor Barwin - 1 year 1.5 mill
D Easley - 1 yr. 1.8 mill
Cody Davis - 2 years 1.5 mill
Sammy Watkins - 3 years 11.5 mill
These players either add depth or continue the firepower we need to continue to dominate for years to come. The DL always needs fresh rotation where when the startes come out there isn't a huge drop off of production.

Franchise:
Lamarcus Joyner - 11.1 mill
I was so wrong about these guy, a pleasure to use the franchise tag on him. Love watching him come across the middle and delivering a shot.

Free Agency:
Andrew Norwell - 5 years 12.5 mill/yr
Mr Norwell is one of the best if not THE best RG in the game. This gives another All Pro, young (26), proven, and talented O linemen that will be around for Gurley and Goff for years to come. ( Imagine him kicking out to Whits side to clear the way with Whit!!) Will need to give him slightly more to pry him away from Carolina.

Trade:
Trade down Day 1 with Jaguars 1st rd. (29) and 3rd rd. (93) for Rams 1st rd. (23).
Adds value of a 3rd rounder without getting out of the first round and not at back of the bus of the first day.

Trade up with Jets 2nd rd. (49) for Jamon Brown, 3rd rd. (93), 3rd rd. (87).
Why would the Jets do this? They are rebuilding and regardless of the QB (actually think they land Cousins) they pick they need a starting quality G, and value of two 3rd picks to help them add quality to their roster.

Draft:
I absolutely love Joshua Jackson from Iowa but no way he falls to #23 not to mention #29. Thinking Hughes gets taken in the mid 20's so our pick is....?

1st Rd. Pick #29 Isaiah Oliver CB Colorado

View: https://youtu.be/D3-DpLfnicc


Dude seems like he would be a dominant 2nd CB on the opposite side of Marcus Peters who will be fighting for 1-3 years for a top money contract. This guy just strikes me as a Ram not even thinking of us drafting him. Also, it's smart to take a cheap option at CB #2 and maybe our future CB#1 if Marcus Peters doesn't work out and acts out. At least we aren't left with our pants down with no #1 or #2 CB and he's already had a few years to develop under his belt, and did I mention he'll still be cheap?

2nd Rd. Pick #49 Time Settle NT V. Tech

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt8RjWeQNzw

View: https://youtu.be/T8njDqLA3q0


If you have not heard or seen this guy, seriously watch this video and picture him in between Brockers and AD. Now I love you my man @jrry32 and we are like minded in almost everything but I do differ on our Run D and the way to fix it. Maybe not? Seems you want a thumper at ILB? and I read a lot of others who want a bigger run D guy at the other ILB spot. Me? I don't need anything flashy, keep an athletic Barron and IMO the main reason our Run D sucked last year ( at least in the first half of the year) was we didn't have a true NT. When you have Brockers, Settle, and AD lined up next to eachother, I'm sorry but that DL rush and pass D becomes a f'n unstoppable force. Also enhances our secondary effectiveness.

5th Rd. Pick #151 Marcus Allen S PSU

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiLfDsCevvc


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THFgzvy3S10&pbjreload=10


I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, did I say LOVE this guy as a 5th round prospect!!? I see him as another John Johnson but better TBH. This guy can play and is a damn good tackler and makes big time plays. Listen to him the beginning of the second video, he sounds like he has his head and attitude right and he can play. Hoping he drops down and we snag him! lol
6th Rd. Pick #180 Greg Senat OT Wagner U.


View: https://youtu.be/bNKogPzy0Yg


View: https://youtu.be/aoL_W3Sre38?t=3m18s


We need a developmental OT preferrably one for the LT spot and it doesn't hurt looking for one in the 6th with a year to maybe the 3 to develop. Now not the hugest fan of Walter Football but here's a review from that site,
"Some sources felt that Senat was the best of the offensive linemen at the East-West Shrine. Senat has strength and surprising movement skills. As one scout described him, "Senat is a fire hydrant that can move." After playing at Wagner, Senat has shown the skill to make the jump in competition from his time in St. Petersburg, and those tests will continue with an NFL team after the 2018 NFL Draft."


Definitely needs to add some strength and weight and work on technique more, but with our current OL coach think he can do wonders with him.

6th Rd. Pick#181
UCF LB Shaquem Griffin ILB/OLB

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6jFL3W1Z7E


I'm sorry even though it's amazing what he did with no left hand
without considering that feel good story the guy can flat out play. He'll be a great situational pass rusher/winded player speller at the least. Guys has a knack for making turnovers and being around the ball and is always around the damn ball. Did I mention he likes the football? Seems like he's going to be a day 3 pick upon review, and I never heard until seeing Jerr's mock.

The goal In this draft was to match the Defense with the Offense to help dominate to be a top 3 unit. If we get a another similar output from the offense and improve the defense I don't see anyway we aren't in the NfC Championship. Looking forward to your thoughts, all the trades equal quite a bit with the draft trade chart and we still have like 10.5 mill left for FA/draft signings. They key however is restructuring Tavon's and Quinn's contract, and I think Tavon's will be easier to negotiate than Quinn's since his value has went waaaay down but still holds enough value to keep on the roster due to keeping at least one guy that Gurley doesn't have to worry about to do his thing.

 

[jrry32]

I'd rather keep Jamon on his rookie deal and use cap space elsewhere. JMO. As for our run defense, I'd like for us to get a thumper AND get a big NT. I think both are needed. We'll see what happens at the Combine, but if Shaquem Griffin is as athletic as I think, I don't see him being around after Round 4. I like the Senat pick. I like the Settle pick (but after the Combine, he likely moves up into the top 40 picks). I'm not a huge Isaiah Oliver guy based on what I saw in 2016. I haven't reviewed his 2017 film yet.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Damn, ... stealing my thunder on Norwell & trading Brown, surprised you didn't take Tremaine Edmunds for the hat trick.

 

[Corbin]

I'd rather keep Jamon on his rookie deal and use cap space elsewhere. JMO. As for our run defense, I'd like for us to get a thumper AND get a big NT. I think both are needed. We'll see what happens at the Combine, but if Shaquem Griffin is as athletic as I think, I don't see him being around after Round 4. I like the Senat pick. I like the Settle pick (but after the Combine, he likely moves up into the top 40 picks). I'm not a huge Isaiah Oliver guy based on what I saw in 2016. I haven't reviewed his 2017 film yet.

I liked your idea of bringing in our old SF rival to add some thumpage on the cheap! lol I thought about keeping Jamon but his deal is about to expire (yes he still has 5th year). True on the after combine position move ups. Going to be interesting to see how everything works out, you really think settle goes in Top 40? :O( Kinda getting a man crush on him now... @jrry32

Damn, ... stealing my thunder on Norwell & trading Brown, surprised you didn't take Tremaine Edmunds for the hat trick.

LMAO F me... let me go look at your mock, I haven't looked at a few yet!! lol That's f'n amazing we thought to trade Brown and pick up Norwell! rotfl! F Edmunds! See I'm not stealing your thunder just your lightning! hahaha Nice thinking bruh! I As I said, I been all butt hurt still from our playoff loss. Anyways, I don't ( and apparently you don't either) see us being done adding intriguing pieces to this team. Snead has a lot of play even though we don't have a 2nd.

 

[OldSchool]

Nice work on this! A couple thoughts from me starting with I'm not a fan of restructuring those 2 especially Tavon, just my preference. Most people don't want Quinn back this year so not sure why we'd extend him so that he'd be around longer.

Not sure why we're drafting another SS like Johnson when we have Johnson who did great last year. I'm sure he's a great player but seems redundant with other spots that could use an upgrade.

We didn't upgrade ILB here and IMO that's one of our biggest needs.

 

[jrry32]

I liked your idea of bringing in our old SF rival to add some thumpage on the cheap! lol I thought about keeping Jamon but his deal is about to expire (yes he still has 5th year). True on the after combine position move ups. Going to be interesting to see how everything works out, you really think settle goes in Top 40? :O( Kinda getting a man crush on him now... @jrry32

I won't be surprised if Settle moves into the first round with a good showing at the Combine (right now, I think he's an early-second round pick). He's 6'3" 330+ and only 20 years old, but he moves like he's 295 pounds. With him only being a sophomore, I think a lot of the rating sites are lower on him because he hasn't had the exposure yet. I've seen people comparing him to Vince Wilfork. The big question with him is whether he'll be able to control his weight and stay in shape. I think he dropped down from something like 365 pounds to 335 pounds this year. Virginia Tech moved him around a bunch this year. Here's what an AFC DL Coach said about him:
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/tim-settle?id=2560190
"I need to watch him more but Bud (Foster) moved him around and I saw a guy who can play both nose spots, 3 (technique), 4i, and maybe 5. Reminds me of when (Dontari) Poe came out. He ain't Poe, but he can play all over the line like Poe could."

The guy is a super rare athlete. Not many guys his size have his athletic traits. He's a tad raw, but he's also very young. He reminds me of:
http://www.nfl.com/player/jamalwilliams/2503690/profile

And Jamal Williams was named to the All Pro team in two of his three seasons with Wade (2004-06). Settle is the perfect Wade Phillips NT. He has the size, anchor, and strength to keep blockers from obliterating our ILBs, and he has the athleticism to penetrate into the back-field and disrupt plays behind the LOS. Settle, Donald, and Brockers on the same DL would be absolutely unfair.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Well, obviously i'm good with the Norwell/Brown exchange. I didn't see a cut list or a 53 roster list, so i'm guessing Barron stays as well as Austin. Keeping Watkins and adding Norwell is like giving the keys to the Ferrari to Goff, that would be a beautiful thing to watch. He'd be the best pass protector we've had on the right side in many a year. jmo.

 

[jrry32]

Damn, ... stealing my thunder on Norwell & trading Brown, surprised you didn't take Tremaine Edmunds for the hat trick.

Edmunds isn't an option for us at this point. The consensus on him is that he's a top 10 pick.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Edmunds isn't an option for us at this point. The consensus on him is that he's a top 10 pick.

Yeah, that's mostly true now, but back on Jan. 23, when I first mocked him he was late first, early 2'nd pretty much everywhere. It wasn't until Daniel Jeremiah's list first came out when he started flying up the charts.

 

[Corbin]

Nice work on this! A couple thoughts from me starting with I'm not a fan of restructuring those 2 especially Tavon, just my preference. Most people don't want Quinn back this year so not sure why we'd extend him so that he'd be around longer.

Not sure why we're drafting another SS like Johnson when we have Johnson who did great last year. I'm sure he's a great player but seems redundant with other spots that could use an upgrade.

We didn't upgrade ILB here and IMO that's one of our biggest needs.

Restructuring generally doesn't mean 'extending' the contract. It usually means taking some of the cap it for a given year and transferring to the following year and/or cutting the contract down in $ amount etc. I don't think anybody will likely disagree Quinn doesn't have value for us on the field but his cap hit is to big and needs to be readjusted some, as for Tavon's contract there isn't a dispute on the cap hit needs to come down but the stats show when he is on the field our offense works, particularly when Gurley doesn't have to worry about 1-2 guys extra on a run. That alone for me is worth keeping him on the roster at a reduced salary.

What happens if Johnson goes down in training camp or pre season with an ACL? What then? Championship teams ALWAYS have quality depth to step up hence the reason I selected him. IMO after a off season program/ % of the year he would start stealing if not totally take away playing time from JJ. Even if JJ doesn't get hurt competition breeds success. As much as I like JJ coming out I like this guy even more in our D.

 

[Corbin]

I won't be surprised if Settle moves into the first round with a good showing at the Combine (right now, I think he's an early-second round pick). He's 6'3" 330+ and only 20 years old, but he moves like he's 295 pounds. With him only being a sophomore, I think a lot of the rating sites are lower on him because he hasn't had the exposure yet. I've seen people comparing him to Vince Wilfork. The big question with him is whether he'll be able to control his weight and stay in shape. I think he dropped down from something like 365 pounds to 335 pounds this year. Virginia Tech moved him around a bunch this year. Here's what an AFC DL Coach said about him:
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/tim-settle?id=2560190
"I need to watch him more but Bud (Foster) moved him around and I saw a guy who can play both nose spots, 3 (technique), 4i, and maybe 5. Reminds me of when (Dontari) Poe came out. He ain't Poe, but he can play all over the line like Poe could."

The guy is a super rare athlete. Not many guys his size have his athletic traits. He's a tad raw, but he's also very young. He reminds me of:
http://www.nfl.com/player/jamalwilliams/2503690/profile

And Jamal Williams was named to the All Pro team in two of his three seasons with Wade (2004-06). Settle is the perfect Wade Phillips NT. He has the size, anchor, and strength to keep blockers from obliterating our ILBs, and he has the athleticism to penetrate into the back-field and disrupt plays behind the LOS. Settle, Donald, and Brockers on the same DL would be absolutely unfair.

Damnit man! You just made my man crush even more epic while making me worry that we aren't even going to be able to be close to get him on a trade up! :banghead: Our current coaches and FO isn't stupid, I think they see what we see and I !00% they know they need to find a game changing NT either in FA or the draft. Thank you for posting that info about Settle, makes me want him even more and provides greater insight on him. You can tell he could struggle weight/healthwise. But your !10% right, Brockers, Settle, AD wouldn't even fair, and I'D LOVE EVER MINUTE OF IT!! LMAO:mrburnsevil:

 

[Corbin]

Well, obviously i'm good with the Norwell/Brown exchange. I didn't see a cut list or a 53 roster list, so i'm guessing Barron stays as well as Austin. Keeping Watkins and adding Norwell is like giving the keys to the Ferrari to Goff, that would be a beautiful thing to watch. He'd be the best pass protector we've had on the right side in many a year. jmo.

Hahahaha That's 100% the point my bro! I'm praying Snead is thinking somewhere around the lines we are, obviously he knows how the Norwell sweepstakes is going to shake out better than we do right now but it would be unfair to put Norwell into our lineup! IMO RG is our greatest weakness last year.

p.s. Yes Barron would stay in this scenario and Tavon is listed under the restructure part on a reduced salary.

 

[OldSchool]

Restructuring generally doesn't mean 'extending' the contract. It usually means taking some of the cap it for a given year and transferring to the following year and/or cutting the contract down in $ amount etc. I don't think anybody will likely disagree Quinn doesn't have value for us on the field but his cap hit is to big and needs to be readjusted some, as for Tavon's contract there isn't a dispute on the cap hit needs to come down but the stats show when he is on the field our offense works, particularly when Gurley doesn't have to worry about 1-2 guys extra on a run. That alone for me is worth keeping him on the roster at a reduced salary.

What happens if Johnson goes down in training camp or pre season with an ACL? What then? Championship teams ALWAYS have quality depth to step up hence the reason I selected him. IMO after a off season program/ % of the year he would start stealing if not totally take away playing time from JJ. Even if JJ doesn't get hurt competition breeds success. As much as I like JJ coming out I like this guy even more in our D.

Restructuring is either extending to lower the 1st year cap hit and giving the player more years or it's lowing the cap hit in the 1st year by giving the player guaranteed money. Simply making his year 1 hit cheaper and putting it all on the 2nd year without giving him guaranteed money doesn't help the player and they have no reason to do the extension.

Yes it would be nice to have somebody backing up Johnson other than Isaiah Johnson but at the cost of somebody that can improve our run defense at ILB? I understand wanting depth but we do have needs to improve the team. Improving the run defense is what we need to make this defense elite and a backup SS doesn't really do that IMO.

 

[Corbin]

Edmunds isn't an option for us at this point. The consensus on him is that he's a top 10 pick.

Yeah, that's mostly true now, but back on Jan. 23, when I first mocked him he was late first, early 2'nd pretty much everywhere. It wasn't until Daniel Jeremiah's list first came out when he started flying up the charts.

You know what guys it's so weird for me getting used to mocking the rams picking in the lower 20's etc...lol So used to being top 13 and usually top 6! haha It's defiantly a different train of thought. Hopefully in years to come it will be common place we are drafting in the 30's!

 

[Corbin]

Restructuring is either extending to lower the 1st year cap hit and giving the player more years or it's lowing the cap hit in the 1st year by giving the player guaranteed money. Simply making his year 1 hit cheaper and putting it all on the 2nd year without giving him guaranteed money doesn't help the player and they have no reason to do the extension.

Yes it would be nice to have somebody backing up Johnson other than Isaiah Johnson but at the cost of somebody that can improve our run defense at ILB? I understand wanting depth but we do have needs to improve the team. Improving the run defense is what we need to make this defense elite and a backup SS doesn't really do that IMO.

Guess we are just going to disagree on what's causing our run defense to suffer. We didn't have a legitimate NT last year and had 4-3 DT's playing NT and that is the biggest reason our ILB's got washed out and had issues. Of course it took a while for everybody to adjust, I like Barron at ILB and the stats generally prove he pretty good as a run stuffer. Whereas if we had a legitimate NT in Settle it would get dynamically better. Case in point-

View: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/924331729267159046


Barron was effective last year to the point of being the best in the league as of week 7 when that tweet was produced.

Also as far as Quinn and Tavon I go by analytics not hearsay or guys don't want him. I care about stats, and what they show was Quinn once his health and understanding of the scheme showed up he was a hell of a player the last half of the season. And while Tavon statistically doesn't have the number that warrant his contract, the stats show when he is on the field our YPP is a lot better than when he isn't. Case in point, Go watch our losses last year, 4 or 5 of them statistically when we didn't have Tavon being used on plays and Gurley wasn't utilized anymore our YPP, 1st downs, and efficiency plummeted.
edit:

View: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/864046717829861377/photo/1

 

[Riverumbbq]

You know what guys it's so weird for me getting used to mocking the rams picking in the lower 20's etc...lol So used to being top 13 and usually top 6! haha It's defiantly a different train of thought. Hopefully in years to come it will be common place we are drafting in the 30's!

It is a different game picking early and having needs all across your roster compared to picking late and fine tuning a select area. Demoff has done a fine job with our CAP which allows us to fill holes in free agency, so we can be more selective in the draft with BPA and depth. In a year or two, if all continues well, we may be able to trade off lower draft picks and aging players while accumulating higher draft picks for our rainy day fund. Once we dreamt of a winning season, now we dream bigger. jmo.

 

[jrry32]

Guess we are just going to disagree on what's causing our run defense to suffer. We didn't have a legitimate NT last year and had 4-3 DT's playing NT and that is the biggest reason our ILB's got washed out and had issues. Of course it took a while for everybody to adjust, I like Barron at ILB and the stats generally prove he pretty good as a run stuffer. Whereas if we had a legitimate NT in Settle it would get dynamically better. Case in point-

View: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/924331729267159046


Barron was effective last year to the point of being the best in the league as of week 7 when that tweet was produced.

Also as far as Quinn and Tavon I go by analytics not hearsay or guys don't want him. I care about stats, and what they show was Quinn once his health and understanding of the scheme showed up he was a hell of a player the last half of the season. And while Tavon statistically doesn't have the number that warrant his contract, the stats show when he is on the field our YPP is a lot better than when he isn't. Case in point, Go watch our losses last year, 4 or 5 of them statistically when we didn't have Tavon being used on plays and Gurley wasn't utilized anymore our YPP, 1st downs, and efficiency plummeted.
edit:

View: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/864046717829861377/photo/1

My issue is that stats don't tell the full story. Barron makes splash plays. I like Barron. I think he's going to be a good LB elsewhere. However, defensive success often comes down to how guys fit together. It's like a puzzle. Barron is a puzzle piece that doesn't fit this defense. He'd be a great fit in a defense that needs a rangy chase LB. However, we need someone who can stack and shed blocks. Ogletree can't do it. Barron can't do it. And it showed in the running game this year. We'd have a handful of plays each game where both guys would get obliterated by blockers getting to the second level, and we'd get gashed on an inside run for big yardage.

 

[Corbin]

It is a different game picking early and having needs all across your roster compared to picking late and fine tuning a select area. Demoff has done a fine job with our CAP which allows us to fill holes in free agency, so we can be more selective in the draft with BPA and depth. In a year or two, if all continues well, we may be able to trade off lower draft picks and aging players while accumulating higher draft picks for our rainy day fund. Once we dreamt of a winning season, now we dream bigger. jmo.

I hope I live to see that day! Honestly I'm thinking the next 5 years we are going to be in the SB at least twice. We aren't to far away at all and bad play/experience costs us vs. the Vikings and Eagles. They aren't that far ahead of us if they even are anymore.

And it showed in the running game this year. We'd have a handful of plays each game where both guys would get obliterated by blockers getting to the second level, and we'd get gashed on an inside run for big yardage.

You just argued my point in why we need DUN DA DA DAAAAAAA

LOL!!

 

[jrry32]

I hope I live to see that day! Honestly I'm thinking the next 5 years we are going to be in the SB at least twice. We aren't to far away at all and bad play/experience costs us vs. the Vikings and Eagles. They aren't that far ahead of us if they even are anymore.


You just argued my point in why we need DUN DA DA DAAAAAAA

LOL!!

Agreed. But Settle doesn't solve that problem by himself. I think we need a big NT and a ILB who can get off blocks.

 

[PressureD41]

If we keep Baron, and I'm okay w/ that, I say he needs to me on a snap count to keep him fresh at the end of the season. Littleton (sp) has earned more snaps anyways