FanPost

End of season Mock Draft

Happy New Years BBV!!!

So now that the season is over, and we know where we are picking, we can start focusing on prospects for the draft, among other stuff. Now between now and then, we have quite a few events that will change stuff, and it will change mocks, for example when we get our new HC, whatever scheme he wants to run, might dictate a certain player over another. Or FA may determine what we may be looking to target more or less in respect to our board. With that said, I think the best option is to trade back and stack assets, and I will be taking mock drafts and doing what I think we should do, eventually moving into what I think Getty will do as we get closer to the draft. I used Firstpick.com to set up my trades, but did my actual mocks with the Draftnetwork. I prefer the Draft Networks board to Firstpick's since it's more up to date, but with Firstpick I can actually do trades, so I'll make a few trades for us that I think will do, and then select the teams on draft network so that I can use the picks.

So I will begin this draft with a trade down with Miami. Miami gave my pick 25 to swap the 4th and the 5th pick so that they could secure their QB. Then I moved back again with Jacksonville in a big trade in which I give them both the 5th and 25th pick, and then turn it into the 9th pick, the 20th pick, their second round pick, and their 3rd round pick. So now that the trades have been handled, let us now move on to the actual drafting.

Side note, I realize more trades could happen, but to keep things simple, I just wanted to handle them ahead of time.

1) Isaiah Simmons, ILB, Clemson- I was extremely tempted by both Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb here to make a set of offensive triplets that would give teams cold sweats. But this defense deserves an impact player on defense to build around, and Simmons was right there. So I opted to grab the top ILB in the draft and plug him in, giving us our most naturally talented ILB since Antonio Pierce, and hopefully someone we'd mention in the same breath as Harry Carson. The top 3 OTs in Thomas, Wirfs, and Wells were taken by the time I was up in case anyone wondered what happened there.

1) Henry Ruggs, WR, Alabama- So one part of why I decided to go Simmons or the WRs was because of depth. There were more good WRs than ILBs. For example, with the 20th pick, a player who reminds me of Tyreek Hill but more developed out of college was sitting right there waiting for me. He suffered a concussion today, but should be good to go by the time it matters. Ruggs has been one of my favorite prospects from the word go, and he gives the unit a true WR1. I know people will cringe at WR and say we need pass rushers, OL, and that we have enough WRs. But here's my counterpoint, there were no OLs at this point worth taking, Leatherwood went ahead of me, Ruggs imo was the BPA by far and WR is a position of need for us as well. I like our top 3 of Shepard, Tate, and Slayton. I think Slayton can develop into a star, and Shepard when healthy is a very high quality WR. Here is the thing, Shepard is always hurt, and Tate is getting up there. That just leaves Slayton. We need more then one guy, and Ruggs and Slayton? Ok have fun dealing with that 1-2 punch, and Barkley in the backfield, and our TEs. BTW, Ruggs has true sub 4.3 speed. I did say my comp for him was Tyreek Hill right? So stacking boxes for Barkley can lead to some issues for defenses.

2) Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama- I was looking at the board, and tbh I'm not sure how FA will go. There were a couple of EDGE guys I liked here that got taken, and the ones available, I just didn't like the value. So I opted to add another talented youngster to our DBs, and McKinney is like Fitzpatrick lite. Not as good for sure, but he can develop into a player in our defense, putting him, Love, and Simmons in the middle of our defense for the next few years, along with Jabrill Peppers, and that is a lot of resources into our coverage in the middle of the field. I would have loved to have gotten Humphrey or Biadasz also, but both got taken ahead of me.

2) Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville- With my additional second round pick, I get to the OL and just in time for the next run on OL players, and I get one with some of the most upside in the draft. Becton has insane power at the POA, and has all the physical traits you could desire from an OT, and has the upside to be a really good one. He has some technical refinement he needs cleaned up, but he has the right mindset, that with time and coaching, it will be overcome. Becton has the talent of a 1st rounder, so at this point, he'd be a steal.

3) Alton Robinson, EDGE, Syracuse- So while I imagine in FA we sign a pass rusher, and hopefully a high end one, and keep Golden, I would like to draft another. Value never lined up earlier, but here a guy with Robinson's upside made too much sense for me.

4) Khalid Kareem, EDGE, Notre Dame- I opt to double dip in the pass rushing pool for depth and pick up Kareem, who while doesn't possess the upside of most of the pass rushers in the draft, he should still be a solid player for us.

On a side note, if we were awarded the 3rd round comp pick, Kareem would basically fill that spot for us, and with our actual 4th round pick, I'd draft Najee Harris out of Alabama, he'd provide depth at RB behind Barkley which is always welcome.

5) Jake Hanson, IOL, Oregon- A little bit of love for the interior, and given what Getty found with two 5s last year, let's hope a 3rd time is the charm in that regard if this happens. Hanson is technically sound, yet lacks athleticism. I can live with that in the interior, and he can serve as competition at OC.

6) Shaq Quarterman, ILB, Miami- A little more depth for the ILB position. Not a 3 down guy, but he can serve on running downs and ST.

7) Tyler Clark, DT, Georgia- some depth for the interior, and Clark provides pass rushing pop. He does need to develop, but as a back up, not terrible.

7) Jon Runyan, OT, Michigan- Experienced starter, more depth for the OL.

So this is my draft. Realistically speaking, I would have loved for the board to have given me a pass rusher or interior OL earlier, but that's how it plays out sometimes. Some of the guys I picked up can do some real work for us, make us faster, and add/eliminate elements that have been missing/issues for us on the field.

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