A quick, post-Combine mock draft...

[silverbear]

In this exercise, I have the Boys trading down a bit in the first, into the 22-24 range... in that range, the other team's first and second round picks work out to a nearly even exchange points-wise with the Cowboys' 14th pick...



1st Round-- Whitney Mercilus, Illinois... 6-4, 260 pounds, 4.65 second 40 at the Combine... in the last few days, I've come to the belief that Jerry wants to emulate what the Giants have done, and that means he's set on creating some fierce pass rush pressure... he'll need to bring in some help to get that done, and I see him targeting Courtney Upshaw, Nick Perry and Whitney for this pick (tip of the hat to SDogo for the nudge in this direction)... I prefer Whitney because of his production as in 2011, he led the nation in sacks and also led the nation in forced fumbles... that's what I call a "playmaker", though I am aware that prior to last season, he hadn't done much of anything in college... I just think the light went on for him last year...


2nd round, first pick-- Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia... 5-10, 186 pounds, 4.45 second 40 (unconfirmed)... I know y'all have heard me talk about Chase before, I think he's the most fundamentally sound DB in this draft... his draft stock dropped when he measured in some two inches shorter than he was listed at, from around the 55th rated prospect to the 90th rated, but I think that stock will go back up after Virginia has its Pro Day and teams conduct private workouts... I'm convinced a few teams will fall in love with his cover skills...


2nd round, 2nd pick-- Brandon Brooks, OG/OT, Miami (Ohio)... 6-5, 346 pounds, just ran a 5.0 second 40 at his Pro Day... that 40 time will bump him up from the 4th round prospect that he's currently projected to be... Garrett likes his offensive linemen to be able to run, but I'm betting he's not opposed to big and fast too...


3rd round-- Philip Blake, C/OG, Baylor... 6-2, 310 pounds, ran a 5.25 second 40 at the Combine... the Boys have already shown some interest in him...


4th round-- James-Michael Johnson, ILB/OLB, Nevada... 6-1, 240 pounds, 4.65 second 40 at the Combine... another players the Boys showed some interest in, and there's not a lot of talent available at inside linebacker this year...


5th round-- Akiem Hicks, DE/DT, Regina... 6-5, 320 pounds, 5.2 second 40... I'd like to see a better 40 time out of him if he gets a chance to work out at some school's Pro Day, but he reminds me a little of Cullen Jenkins...


6th round, 1st pick-- Matt Daniels, S, Duke... 6-0, 215 pounds, 4.5 second 40 (unconfirmed)... a pet cat of mine, he's similar to Bill Bates in that he's a special teams standout... he'd contribute most in that role early on, I think...


6th round, 2nd pick (compensatory pick for losing Stephen Bowen)-- Chad Diehl, FB, Clemson... 6-2, 255 pounds, 4.7 second 40... the best lead blocking fullback in this draft, injury insurance for Tony Fiammetta...


7th round-- Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, NT, Baylor... 6-2, 335 pounds, 5.05 second 40 (unconfirmed)... the search for a stumpy widebody to clog up the middle continues... there are lots of ways you could go here, from OLB Donte Paige-Moss of North Carolina (who would go much higher than this but for injury issues) to OT Levy Adcock from Oklahoma State (the Boys could use a little depth at OT), to ultrafast TE James Hanna from Oklahoma (yuck)...

Your opinions are welcome...

 

[Woods]

Great job, Bear.

I am having a heck of a problem trying to differentiate between

Hightower
Perry
Upshaw
Ingram
Mercillus

for RR's defense. If we are going for a pure OLB, it seems Perry and Mercillus may be best.

On the other hand, Hightower, Ingram, and possibly Upshaw can also give you versatility at other positions. Hightower can play some ILB and OLB, Ingram can play multiple spots as well, etc.

The key, of course, is to avoid the bust. I don't know if all the above will necessarily pan out.

I didn't know that Brooks ran a 5.0 40 at this Pro Day. That's pretty impressive given his size.

 

[burmafrd]

what do you hve the boys doing in FA? obviously that would impact our draft.

Caveat on the O line. I seriously wonder if we are going to go after large linemen anymore- 320+ due to Red Balls enthusiasm for quick guys.

 

[DBOY3141]

Would love to add Blake, but I think by the time the draft rolls around he will be a late 2nd round pick. Good centers are hard to come by.

Would rather have Cox in the 1st over Whitney.

 

[VACowboy]

Good stuff, Bear. I've kind of become a Whitney Mercilus convert over the past week. Woods, you ask what separates those guys? To me it's Mercilus' amazing production.

If Minnifield is there at #45, he has to be the pick. IMHO, his 40 will be determine whether or not he's still there. I don't know where it came from, but the myth that he's a "zone corner" is BS. He played man all year, and no one threw his way.

Blake and Hicks will be tremendous selections if they're still around in the third and fifth. I like Wolfe in the fifth too, if Hicks is gone.

And, of course, Daniels is the man. I think he'll be more than a teams player. The kid is gonna be a HUGE steal for somebody. I just hope it's us.

 

[NeonDeion21]

Great job, Bear.

I am having a heck of a problem trying to differentiate between

Hightower
Perry
Upshaw
Ingram
Mercillus

for RR's defense. If we are going for a pure OLB, it seems Perry and Mercillus may be best.

On the other hand, Hightower, Ingram, and possibly Upshaw can also give you versatility at other positions. Hightower can play some ILB and OLB, Ingram can play multiple spots as well, etc.

The key, of course, is to avoid the bust. I don't know if all the above will necessarily pan out.

I have the same problem and so do many other teams. I really am starting to like Hightower at #14.

 

[TheCount]

Nice job. I don't know much about Brooks personally... he's heavy dude though, scares me a little. Nearly 350 lbs is no joke.

 

[RS12]

I am leary about your first pick. Looks good beyond that.

 

[supercowboy8]

After sizzling during the testing portion of his workout, Brandon Brooks continued to impress during a 10-minute segment of position drills. According to scouts Brooks moved well around the field, looking fluid and smooth. At one point during bag drills he knocked over a coach from the Pittsburgh Steelers after violently striking the bag with his powerful hand punch.
Brooks is slated for a second workout next Thursday, March 8, where he will solely participate in offensive line drills. The expectations from NFL decision makers at the workout is Brooks will be the first non-combine participant drafted in April.

 

[jnday]

what do you hve the boys doing in FA? obviously that would impact our draft.

Caveat on the O line. I seriously wonder if we are going to go after large linemen anymore- 320+ due to Red Balls enthusiasm for quick guys.

I really think Garrett likes the big linemen . He just wants them to be able to move . When Garrett said he wanted more athletic lineman , I really don't think size was a factor . He just wanted guys that could move better than Davis , Gurode and Columbo , which wasn't asking for much .

 

[silverbear]

what do you hve the boys doing in FA? obviously that would impact our draft.

Cornerback, maybe two of 'em... backup quarterback... center... see what your cap situation looks like after that...

Caveat on the O line. I seriously wonder if we are going to go after large linemen anymore- 320+ due to Red Balls enthusiasm for quick guys.

Yeah, we've discussed this before... I don't think that Garrett would turn his nose up at big, quick guys...

 

[silverbear]

If Minnifield is there at #45, he has to be the pick. IMHO, his 40 will be determine whether or not he's still there. I don't know where it came from, but the myth that he's a "zone corner" is BS. He played man all year, and no one threw his way.

AW, you're just a Cavs homer... wait a sec, so am I...

Blake and Hicks will be tremendous selections if they're still around in the third and fifth. I like Wolfe in the fifth too, if Hicks is gone.

Wolfe apparently weighed in at 280 at his recent Pro Day, 15 pounds lighter than he was at the combine... this bothers me... that's a lot of weight to lose in so short a time...

 

[VACowboy]

AW, you're just a Cavs homer... wait a sec, so am I...

Hoo, me?

Wolfe apparently weighed in at 280 at his recent Pro Day, 15 pounds lighter than he was at the combine... this bothers me... that's a lot of weight to lose in so short a time...

I hadn't heard that. Wonder what his college playing weight was.

 

[SDogo]

Nice job Bear, I'm seeing a lot of moves in this draft that are looking like real possibilities.

 

[silverbear]

Nice job Bear, I'm seeing a lot of moves in this draft that are looking like real possibilities.

Given how much you shape my draft philosophy, I'd be worried if you didn't like it...

Seriously, a lot of this comes from what I'm reading as the process goes along... you got me thinking about drafting a passrusher in the first after one of your PMs, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense... picking Blake in the fourth is a combination of you saying that you think the Boys will draft a center prospect in the middle rounds, and Mosley saying that they've shown some serious interest in Blake... putting Brooks in there was a bit of serendipity, at that time I didn't know that Callahan had gone up and watched him work out...

I'm trying real hard to figure out what the Boys might actually do, rather than telling everybody what I'd do... I mean, who am I??