With just three weeks left before the NFL draft opens for business, I grabbed my four favorite “draft gurus” from the draft Twitter community, and ran down a two-round mock draft on eDraft’s podcast “The Draft Rap”. With elite football minds like Ian Whatron, Ben Natan, Chris Doughtery, and Vincent Frank, its safe to say there was plenty of outside the box thinking.
The first wild-card selection of the night came from Doughrety picking for the Browns, when he drafted Greg Robinson, offensive tackle from Auburn. Now, while no one argued Robinson’s talent, there was questions raised about the need for a tackle with the Brown Joe Thomas still in his prime. On top of the fact the Browns had the pick of the litter for a quarterback of their choosing, with none off the board at that point.
The Raiders quickly changed that theme by rushing to the stage and selecting Teddy Bridgewater. Johnny Manziel was the next signal caller off the board to the Minnesota Vikings, who flipped a coin (tails-never-fails) between him and Derek Carr. However, after those two, the giant plummet started as teams 9-19 have no need for a quarterback. As the eighth overall prospect on “eDraft’s Big Board”, Frank thought Carr had fallen far enough and scooped him up with the Cardinals as Carson Palmer’s eventual replacement. The Browns thought one shocker wasn’t enough, and with their second pick in the first round decided to pass up on Blake Bortles, and instead take a shot on Eastern Illinois Jimmy Garrappolo (please, send your comments to @insiderfilm). The pick was quite fitting for a franchise stuck in a half-century winless black hole, and shows no signs of improving anytime soon.
With the inability to predict trades, mock drafts like this are very difficult to assume they will be more accurate than not, on draft day. However, they are a great tool to use to show us a strong basis, and idea, of the different scenarios of how the draft may actually play out. The more scenarios that we look at, combined with the patterns of teams and general managers picks history, we are able to break down and analyze this information, ultimately forming an educated guess.
With my GM cap still fastened tight, here are the biggest takeaways I took from Thursday Evenings “Draft Rap Mock Draft”.
Who’s Taking a Quarterback
The latest buzz says the Texans are passing on a quarterback with the first pick, and numerous teams could follow suit, and can you blame them? Go grab a blue-chip player first, and then see what quarterbacks fall in your lap later on, with a pile of “potential starters” to choose from. Just two quarterbacks were taken in the first eight picks, followed by Carr and Garrappolo to wrap up the first round. Mean while Blake Bortles fell all the way to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round, an dream scenario for them, although highly unrealistic. How many signal callers go in those first eight picks, will have a huge factor on how the rest of the draft plays out.
Second Round Goldmine
The Draft community is agreed on one thing, and thats that this is one of the deepest drafts we’ve seen in years. That was certainly shown in our mock draft, as I watched some big names on the rise, sneak their way into the first round, and in turn watched some even bigger names fall into the second. I was stunned to see Cornerback Justin Gilbert still on the board when I picked for the Vikings with the 40th selection.
Along with Gilbert and Bortles, guys like Timmy Jernigan, Stephen Tuitt, Kelvin Benjamin, Calvin Pryor, Jimmie Ward, and Dee Ford, who have all been projected on day-one, were available in the second round. Proving, if a team is willing to be patient and wait, or trade down, there will be a jackpot of big name prospect waiting to reward you.
Biggest Reach: David Fales, Pick 33, Texans
Ben Natan certainly does his homework, and thats why when he makes a curveball pick, like linebacker Shaq Barrett to the Cowboys at pick 47, you listen. However, no matter how you slice it or dice it, picking Fales that high is something that will be questioned, as many have a day three grade on the San Jose product. More so, with Blake Bortles still on the board, you have to wonder just how big the Fales poster Natan keeps above his bed really is?
Biggest Steal: Blake Bortles, Pick 39, Jaguars
After already ruining two franchises, Doughrety comes back with this pick, and totally redeems himself! Again, an unrealistic scenario on draft day, especially with Garrappolo and Fales going ahead of him, but other teams loss is the Jaguars gain. Justin Gilbert (40), Calvin Pryor (51), Timmy Jernigan (57), Stephen Tuitt (58), and Kelvin Benjamin (61) were all big drops, compared to their consensus rankings, as well.
Biggest Winners
Jacksonville Jaguars: Khalil Mack (3), Blake Bortles (39)
Green Bay Packers: Anthony Barr (21), Jace Amrao (53)
Detroit Lions: Sammy Watkins (10), Jimmie Ward (45)
San Francisco 49ers: Brandin Cooks (30), Lamarcus Joyner (56), Kelvin Benjamin (61)
Biggest Losers
Cleveland Browns: Greg Robinson (4), Jimmy Garrappolo (26), Davante Adams (35)
Cincinnati Bengals: Xavier Sua-Filo (24), Carlos Hyde (55)
Carolina Panthers: Morgan Moses (29), Josh Huff (60)
Washington Redskins: Dee Ford (34)
Best Players Available
5. Phillip Gaines, Cornerback, Rice
4. Telvin Smith, Outside Linebacker, FSU
3. Jarvis Landry, Wide Receiver, LSU
2. Chris Borland, Inside Linebacker, Wisconsin
1. Trent Murphy, Defensive End, Stanford
Follow Luke on Twitter @Luke_Spinman