Ruff's Pre-Draft Mock Draft

[Ruff]

THE SITUATION

Off the board:

The usual suspects.

OBJ

Cooks

Martin

 

 

THE DRAFT

 

FIRST ROUND

KONY EALY, DE, MISSOURI

I know you're probably going to rage, and I'm okay with that. To me, the best situation here would be to hope that one of the best QBs available falls, whether it be Bridgewater, Carr, or Manziel (which isn't likely for Bridgewater or Carr) or that a team desperately falls in love with Jimmy Grappolo (which, by all reports, teams are starting to do) and picking up possibly another 2nd round pick this year and next year. However, I don't like to mock trades, because of how unpredictable they are and how hard it is to gauge value in return.

 

But, as Gettleman has said all along, he really wants to go with BPA. This move would be viewed as similar to when the Giants (where Gettleman was) took JPP even with competent pass rush on the outside (including Pro Bowlers). Next season, either Hardy or CJ aren't going to be on our team, so we need to have a piece in place to immediately replace them, letting us also draft BPA in next year's Draft. What better way to do that then by drafting the second-best DE in this entire Draft in Kony Ealy.

 

Dominating. That is the word that describes Ealy's game. He's athletic, he's fast, he comes off the corner like a madman, ready to wreak havoc in the backfield. His game, however, is still a tad raw. He needs to develop into the player than he can be, and he can do that rotating behind CJ and/or Hardy for a season, while we make a strong push to the playoffs. Also, Ealy gives us something we don't have in CJ, a flexible player. He can work from the two-point stance rushing the passer or the three-point stance, hand-in-the-ground bullrush. He's a natural talent, the likes of which we would be happy to get at the end of the first round/

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Future Star DE/First Year Rotational Player/Cap Relief

 

SECOND ROUND

BILLY TURNER, LT, NDSU

A guy who has become my favorite prospect in the Draft (barely beating out Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews). He may come from a small school, but the guy has as much talent as I've seen in the 2nd round in a long, long time. A lean, mean, blocking machine (measuring in at 6'5 / 315lbs), Turner put up really nice numbers at the Combine, including 25 reps and a shuttle time of 4.71 (to put that into perspective, Luke Joeckel, considered one of the most athletic LTs in a few years ran a shuttle of 4.68). Turner is built to be an athletic offensive tackle, suiting him more naturally at the left tackle position. He has flaws, including technique, but those are things that can easily be worked out with our offensive coaching and experience at the position. I've also heard concern about him being from North Dakota State, but, Turner is a winner. Helping NDSU win three championships is an amazing feat, at any level of play.

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Day One Starter

 

THIRD ROUND

DAKOTA DOZIER, OG, FURMAN

I live very close to Furman, so I watch most, if not all, of their football games every season, especially considering they are broadcast locally on regional networks. I've seen Dozier play, and I have to say, he's the real deal. Whenever a small school player is drafted, he needs to have shown that he dominated the competition at the level he was at. Dozier has done that and then some. I can't emphasize enough how athletic he is to be a big man. We're talking Johnathon Cooper level of athleticism for an offensive guard. He can move, shift, bend, change direction... He can do it all. He played tackle at Furman, but he doesn't have the ability to play there at the next level. I think that placing him on the right side for his rookie year, and then moving him to the left side in future years, could shore up our offensive line.

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: First Year Starter.

 

FOURTH ROUND

JUSTIN ELLIS, DT, LSU

I know you're probably wondering why we're going to draft a DT when we just took two last year. Well, the answer is simple. First, Gettleman has always said that big men allow you to compete (and Ellis is a big man, measuring in at 6'2 / 334lbs) and two, Dwan and Cole are both old and their contracts are getting ready to expire. Ellis lets us shore up the depth of the DT position, taking a year to really learn the position, and come in in the future and play lights out in a rotational role with Star. With Ellis, along with the starters Star and Short, we're going to be set at DT for years to come.

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Future Rotational Player/Cap-Relief

 

FIFTH ROUND

WALT AIKENS, CB, LIBERTY

If big men let you win football games, we could be in good shape with Aikens. Measuring in at 6'1 / 203lbs, with 32 1/4" arms, he is not a small cornerback. Not only that, but Aikens played as a press corner in his role at college, meaning that he is ready to step into the NFL game and be as physical as possible with the receivers in the NFL. His aggressiveness, in fact, is part of his weaknesses. He tends to get a tad too aggressive, instead of trying to play in a zone, getting into the receiver and grabbing. There's also some character concerns. Aikens spent a couple of weeks in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of theft of a laptop. But, if he checks out, I think he could be a massive steal in the late rounds.

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Potential Star CB/Future Starter

 

SIXTH ROUND

AUSTIN FRANKLIN, WR, NEW MEXICO STATE

Fast and shifty. Franklin is a guy who is a legitimate threat to score every time he gets the ball, whether it be in short yard slants or down the field vertical passes. He is small, which holds him back in some aspects, but he could be the perfect fit into our veteran-laden offense of precise route runners and possession receivers. Not only that, but Franklin was the kick returner for New Mexico State, meaning he could see the field immediately in a special teams role and work his way into the offensive playbook with trust gained on that side of the ball (sound familiar?).

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Kick Returner/Potential Future Slot Receiver

 

SEVENTH ROUND

GARRETT GILBERT, QB, SMU

I think there's something to us working out various late round QBs. I'm not sure that Derek Anderson will be on the team by the time this season, or next, rolls around, becoming a cap causality. Investing a late round pick into Gilbert would be a very wise choice, and could pay huge dividends in the long run. He's big (6'3 / 223lbs) with room to grow. He only ran a spread offense, but did so very well and with efficiency.

PROSPECT OUTLOOK: Practice Squad/Future Back-Up QB/Cap Relief

 

UDFAs

WILLIE SNEAD, WR, BALL ST. (Special Teams Player/WR Depth/Camp Body)

DAVID FLUELLEN, RB, TOLEDO (Power back with patience and decent footwork. Could replace JStew)

MARQUIS FLOWERS, OLB, ARIZONA (4-3, run stopping OLB)

MATT HALL, RT, BELHAVEN (A massive run-blocking RT from a small school)

ZACK KERR, DT, DELAWARE (Flexible DT, hard worker, a leader)

 

DEPTH CHART

QB: Newton/Anderson/Gilbert[r]

RB: Williams/Stewart/Barner/Fluellen[udr]

FB: Tolbert

WR: Cotchery/Avant/Underwood/McNutt/King/Franklin[r]

TE: Olsen/Dickson/McNeil

LT: Turner[r]/Bond

LG: Silatolu/Kugbila

C: Kalil/Folkerts

RG: Dozier[r]/Chandler

RT: Bell/Hall[udr]

 

DE: Johnson/Ealy[r]

DT: Lotulelei/Short/Edwards/Cole/Ellis[r]/Kerr[udr]

DE: Hardy/Alexander

OLB: Davis/Flowers[udr]

MLB: Kuechly

OLB: Klein/Blackburn

CB: White/Aikens[r]/Cason/Thomas

SS: Harper/Lester/Jones

FS: DeCoud/Lester

 

P: Nortman

K: Gano

LS: Jansen

KR: Franklin[r]

PR: Barner/Franklin[r]

[davos]

I like it except for the Ellis pick.  It's nice you went in a new direction but WR will be addressed way earlier bpa or not.   

[uscgamecocks]

To walk away without a great WR prospect in the deepest WR drafts in recent memory - with our legion of middling one and two-year rentals - would be disappointing.

I like the top three guys in your draft but I think we've got to get a WR in one of those slots.

[carolina-chuck]

Looks good but GAH DAMMIT, where the hell is the WR?????? Esp, when Ricky is all over the places looking at WRs.

[Its The Milk]

Id be shocked if the 4th rolls around and we haven't picked some sort of receiving threat WR/TE

[MrBubba]

NFL NETWORK guys were all over Ealy tonight. Pretty much said he sucked. Looked poor against good NFL quality competition.

[Ruff]

Looks good but GAH DAMMIT, where the hell is the WR?????? Esp, when Ricky is all over the places looking at WRs.

 

I really wanted to find a space for a WR. I mean, you know how much I love Jordan Matthews. But, every time I think we're going to go to the podium, there is going to be a BPA that isn't a WR. If Cooks or OBJ is there in the first, I think it's a no-brainer, we definitely go WR. Then I really thought hard about Davante Adams. I think he would be the second choice, in this situation, for #1 overall pick.

 

Like I said in the Ealy breakdown, I think the prime situation for us to be in is one of the QBs fall, or someone LOVES Garppolo, and we get a phone-call at 28 from someone like the Jags or maybe even another team we don't expect (the Cowboys?), and they say, "hey, we'll give you this year's 2nd and 4th, and next year's 3rd and we'll move up" I think that would be the time for us to get someone like Davante Adams/Jordan Matthews AND Billy Turner.

[davos]

I really wanted to find a space for a WR. I mean, you know how much I love Jordan Matthews. But, every time I think we're going to go to the podium, there is going to be a BPA that isn't a WR. If Cooks or OBJ is there in the first, I think it's a no-brainer, we definitely go WR. Then I really thought hard about Davante Adams. I think he would be the second choice, in this situation, for #1 overall pick.

 

Like I said in the Ealy breakdown, I think the prime situation for us to be in is one of the QBs fall, or someone LOVES Garppolo, and we get a phone-call at 28 from someone like the Jags or maybe even another team we don't expect (the Cowboys?), and they say, "hey, we'll give you this year's 2nd and 4th, and next year's 3rd and we'll move up" I think that would be the time for us to get someone like Davante Adams/Jordan Matthews AND Billy Turner.

 

Davante Adams and Billy Turner would be great.  Tag on Pierre Desir in the 3rd.  

[Ken]

Good mock. I see our draft being unsexy like this. Only difference is I see a WR in the 3rd, hopefully Abbrederis.

Have 0 problems with the guys selected tho.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

I think there is a lot of value in this draft. Like others I would like to sneak in a WR in the first 3 rounds but I like the contrast OP put on this as it seems everybody wants to go WR/OT no matter what. I think when the draft is over we will get the C/D grade from the "experts". But I think we will have a lot of good players heading to Spartanburg come July.

[uscgamecocks]

I really wanted to find a space for a WR. I mean, you know how much I love Jordan Matthews. But, every time I think we're going to go to the podium, there is going to be a BPA that isn't a WR. If Cooks or OBJ is there in the first, I think it's a no-brainer, we definitely go WR. Then I really thought hard about Davante Adams. I think he would be the second choice, in this situation, for #1 overall pick.

Like I said in the Ealy breakdown, I think the prime situation for us to be in is one of the QBs fall, or someone LOVES Garppolo, and we get a phone-call at 28 from someone like the Jags or maybe even another team we don't expect (the Cowboys?), and they say, "hey, we'll give you this year's 2nd and 4th, and next year's 3rd and we'll move up" I think that would be the time for us to get someone like Davante Adams/Jordan Matthews AND Billy Turner.

I like that it is a different spin on the draft. Would love a trade down scenario but I'm not certain that Lee or Matthews wouldn't be BPA in your scenario where Ealy is on the board. Lee had a disappointing senior season due to injuries but was viewed as being equal in talent to Watkins coming into the year. And Matthews was as dominant at his position (over several years) in the SEC as Ealy was last year. I think Ealy will be a good player but I think there will be another guy like Ealy in next year's draft.

If we end up going Ealy/Turner, I'd really like to see us trade a '15 pick to move that #3 pick up into the early 3rd to grab a WR that has fallen - there could be a few guys in that range that could develop into #1 receivers. Maybe a guy like Moncrief?

[Panthers8969]

I hate the ealy pick. Seems like lots of people want him now. You can give me all the reasons you want, but I will never be in favor of wasting a first rounder on a guy that will have sch a small impact this year he would practically be worthless. U can say he's so great yada yada but he's not better than cj or hardy and he will only play when one of them is too tired. First rounders are chosen to start now a days. Not to be backups.

[Ruff]

I hate the ealy pick. Seems like lots of people want him now. You can give me all the reasons you want, but I will never be in favor of wasting a first rounder on a guy that will have sch a small impact this year he would practically be worthless. U can say he's so great yada yada but he's not better than cj or hardy and he will only play when one of them is too tired. First rounders are chosen to start now a days. Not to be backups.

Do you know how BPA works?

[Kuech the Sneak]

Alotta small school guys