Make Your Own Draft 2017

[wab]

He was the reason, or at least in part a LARGE part of the reason, that the team was a trainwreck.

Nothing about the defense, huh? Or the line?

This is an inexact metric, but I still still think it makes a pretty solid statement:


Number of Notre Dame players forecast to be drafted*, besides Kizer: 1
Number of Clemson players forecast to be drafted, besides Watson: 7



* CBS board, top 256 picks

There are also more draft-eligible prospects at Clemson.

[Moriarty]

He was the reason, or at least in part a LARGE part of the reason, that the team was a trainwreck.

Nothing about the defense, huh? Or the line?

This is an inexact metric, but I still still think it makes a pretty solid statement:


Number of Notre Dame players forecast to be drafted*, besides Kizer: 1
Number of Clemson players forecast to be drafted, besides Watson: 7



* CBS board, top 256 picks

There are also more draft-eligible prospects at Clemson.

I think that helps the point I'm trying to make.

At any rate, you surely don't intend to argue with the premise that Watson had an enormous amount of good players around him and Kizer not so much?

[G08]

He was the reason, or at least in part a LARGE part of the reason, that the team was a trainwreck.

Nothing about the defense, huh? Or the line?

This is an inexact metric, but I still still think it makes a pretty solid statement:


Number of Notre Dame players forecast to be drafted*, besides Kizer: 1
Number of Clemson players forecast to be drafted, besides Watson: 7



* CBS board, top 256 picks

There are also more draft-eligible prospects at Clemson.

I think that helps the point I'm trying to make.

At any rate, you surely don't intend to argue with the premise that Watson had an enormous amount of good players around him and Kizer not so much?

On offense?

I'd argue he played better in 2015 without Mike Williams...

[karhu]

Just did a soup-to-nuts offseason, too.

Cut: Cutler, Royal, Porter
Restructured: McPhee
Franchised: Jeffery
Re-signed: Barkley @ 3.5m/3, Washington @ 1.25m/4

FA Signings
AJ Bouye @ 5.5m/5
Thanks for spending all that money on Brock Osweiler, Texans!

Ricky Wagner @ 4.5m/5
The anti-Massie; should be terrific in our scheme.

A few queries:

Will McPhee restructure? Don't see that myself.

Are you franchising Jeffery because you don't think he'll sign long term?

Is $5.5m per correct for Bouye or a typo? I see no way he takes less than $12.5m per.

Similarly for Wagner, he isn't taking $4.5m. That'd make him the 16th highest paid RT in the league, in a year with few tackles in free agency I don't think he'll get less than Massie's $6m.

The plan is fine, the costs are super optimistic!

McPhee: I just did it because I could, really. The site lets you restructure one contract, and his was the obvious one.

Jeffery: Yes. Also, I don't want him to sign long-term unless he has a healthy, productive 2017.

Bouye/Wagner: I know, Bouye was silly. That was my opening bid for a few CBs, and I'd meant to chase them up, figuring it'd take a few rounds of offers for anyone to sign. And then Bouye accepted my first offer. I was expecting to start thinking hard at around $10m.

Wagner's not nearly the player Bouye is IMSO, but he's worth Vollmer money, that's for sure. The problem I see there is that if he really does cost $4.5m - $5m, Baltimore almost certainly finds a way to keep him.

I just recorded how things happened, but for what it's worth I did budget for reality. I was left with $28.5m, so take another $8m-$10m and add it to Bouye's and Wagner's contracts. That still leaves us with more cap space than all but four other teams had at the end of this past season.

[malk]

Just did a soup-to-nuts offseason, too.

Cut: Cutler, Royal, Porter
Restructured: McPhee
Franchised: Jeffery
Re-signed: Barkley @ 3.5m/3, Washington @ 1.25m/4

FA Signings
AJ Bouye @ 5.5m/5
Thanks for spending all that money on Brock Osweiler, Texans!

Ricky Wagner @ 4.5m/5
The anti-Massie; should be terrific in our scheme.

A few queries:

Will McPhee restructure? Don't see that myself.

Are you franchising Jeffery because you don't think he'll sign long term?

Is $5.5m per correct for Bouye or a typo? I see no way he takes less than $12.5m per.

Similarly for Wagner, he isn't taking $4.5m. That'd make him the 16th highest paid RT in the league, in a year with few tackles in free agency I don't think he'll get less than Massie's $6m.

The plan is fine, the costs are super optimistic!

McPhee: I just did it because I could, really. The site lets you restructure one contract, and his was the obvious one.

Jeffery: Yes. Also, I don't want him to sign long-term unless he has a healthy, productive 2017.

Bouye/Wagner: I know, Bouye was silly. That was my opening bid for a few CBs, and I'd meant to chase them up, figuring it'd take a few rounds of offers for anyone to sign. And then Bouye accepted my first offer. I was expecting to start thinking hard at around $10m.

Wagner's not nearly the player Bouye is IMSO, but he's worth Vollmer money, that's for sure. The problem I see there is that if he really does cost $4.5m - $5m, Baltimore almost certainly finds a way to keep him.

I just recorded how things happened, but for what it's worth I did budget for reality. I was left with $28.5m, so take another $8m-$10m and add it to Bouye's and Wagner's contracts. That still leaves us with more cap space than all but four other teams had at the end of this past season.

Fair enough, I think they need to check some of their algorithms though! Still we've got the space to make those moves, we'd just have a bit less space at the end of it.

[wab]

Is there something I'm not seeing with Bouye? I mean...I know he was #2 in the NFL in pass breakups, but he only came away with one INT during the regular season. He's only had 6 in 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like him enough. He fast, has decent instincts, plays tough. But I don't see 12mil per. Plus he doesn't sound like he wants to go anywhere.

[BamaBear09]

Just did a soup-to-nuts offseason, too.

Cut: Cutler, Royal, Porter
Restructured: McPhee
Franchised: Jeffery
Re-signed: Barkley @ 3.5m/3, Washington @ 1.25m/4

FA Signings
AJ Bouye @ 5.5m/5
Thanks for spending all that money on Brock Osweiler, Texans!

Ricky Wagner @ 4.5m/5
The anti-Massie; should be terrific in our scheme.

A few queries:

Will McPhee restructure? Don't see that myself.

Are you franchising Jeffery because you don't think he'll sign long term?

Is $5.5m per correct for Bouye or a typo? I see no way he takes less than $12.5m per.

Similarly for Wagner, he isn't taking $4.5m. That'd make him the 16th highest paid RT in the league, in a year with few tackles in free agency I don't think he'll get less than Massie's $6m.

The plan is fine, the costs are super optimistic!

McPhee: I just did it because I could, really. The site lets you restructure one contract, and his was the obvious one.

Jeffery: Yes. Also, I don't want him to sign long-term unless he has a healthy, productive 2017.

Bouye/Wagner: I know, Bouye was silly. That was my opening bid for a few CBs, and I'd meant to chase them up, figuring it'd take a few rounds of offers for anyone to sign. And then Bouye accepted my first offer. I was expecting to start thinking hard at around $10m.

Wagner's not nearly the player Bouye is IMSO, but he's worth Vollmer money, that's for sure. The problem I see there is that if he really does cost $4.5m - $5m, Baltimore almost certainly finds a way to keep him.

I just recorded how things happened, but for what it's worth I did budget for reality. I was left with $28.5m, so take another $8m-$10m and add it to Bouye's and Wagner's contracts. That still leaves us with more cap space than all but four other teams had at the end of this past season.

Fair enough, I think they need to check some of their algorithms though! Still we've got the space to make those moves, we'd just have a bit less space at the end of it.

They definitely need to check their algorithms about the trades, the AI can go a bit crazy, the first mock I did, I had 16 picks when it was all said and done and normally if I just accept the trades I could end up with 20+ picks at the end of the draft. I highly doubt that teams are that active with trades.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Is there something I'm not seeing with Bouye? I mean...I know he was #2 in the NFL in pass breakups, but he only came away with one INT during the regular season. He's only had 6 in 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like him enough. He fast, has decent instincts, plays tough. But I don't see 12mil per. Plus he doesn't sound like he wants to go anywhere.

Bouye was graded at #7 overall for CB's this past season. He's the highest graded FA. If Vic and Pace believe he's the best CB available we have to make a run at him given our cap space.

[malk]

Is there something I'm not seeing with Bouye? I mean...I know he was #2 in the NFL in pass breakups, but he only came away with one INT during the regular season. He's only had 6 in 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like him enough. He fast, has decent instincts, plays tough. But I don't see 12mil per. Plus he doesn't sound like he wants to go anywhere.

It'll come down to how much other teams are willing to pony up to see if he goes. The market for not shit corners is crazy right now, hence me thinking $12m or more per.

[karhu]

Is there something I'm not seeing with Bouye? I mean...I know he was #2 in the NFL in pass breakups, but he only came away with one INT during the regular season. He's only had 6 in 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like him enough. He fast, has decent instincts, plays tough. But I don't see 12mil per. Plus he doesn't sound like he wants to go anywhere.

From what I've seen, that sounds about right. Not much of a playmaker, but a very, very good play-stopper. Tier below the 12m-per guys, maybe; the sort of FA you sign if he really wants to join your team, but who you don't necessarily want to out-bid the league for.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Is there something I'm not seeing with Bouye? I mean...I know he was #2 in the NFL in pass breakups, but he only came away with one INT during the regular season. He's only had 6 in 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I like him enough. He fast, has decent instincts, plays tough. But I don't see 12mil per. Plus he doesn't sound like he wants to go anywhere.

From what I've seen, that sounds about right. Not much of a playmaker, but a very, very good play-stopper. Tier below the 12m-per guys, maybe; the sort of FA you sign if he really wants to join your team, but who you don't necessarily want to out-bid the league for.

Houston's base defense is Quarters. The CB has zone until a guy enters, then converts to deepest man. Houston trusted it's LB's to play the flats and underneath routes. Hard defense to be the playmaker on the outside, but he excelled at not letting guys score or make big plays over him.

[karhu]

Toying around with a new strategy. This ticks all the boxes for me.

Fanspeak vs. random, Fanspeak needs.

3: R1P3
Traded for 1.8, 2.8, 3.8, 3.35

8: R1P8
Traded for Jimmy Garoppolo
This is the only way a trade for Garoppolo works for me.

36: R2P4
EDGE CARL LAWSON
AUBURN
I'm not quite as high on him as some, so this feels about right. In any case, terrific upside if he can translate his game, and another beat-'em-up pass-rusher to go with McPhee.

40: R2P8
OT GARETT BOLLES
UTAH
I'm not sure that he's a pick-your-side tackle in what should again be a ZBS, but he sure ought to be an improvement over Bobby Massie by the end of the year.

67: R3P3
S HENRY MELIFONWU
CONNECTICUT
Leonard Floyd showed signs of being one of those guys you just can't prepare for with your practice squad. Melifonwu is that guy right out of the box: a 210-pound taller-than-Kam-Chancellor safety who can run all day with TEs or RBs. If we make him a single-high, he might need some time to adjust to a new role, but he looks for all the world like an excellent cover/deep safety right now. Or make him a demon in the flats paired with an even better coverage guy at FS; he's not a big hitter, but he's a remarkably good tackler with a phenomenal sense of when to attack the LOS.

72: R3P8
EDGE TANOH KPASSAGNON
VILLANOVA
Unlikely, but this could happen. His competition wasn't great, and no matter what position teams imagine he'll play, he'll have a lot of company. For us, he's a DE who can pull some tricky zone stuff, especially with a McPhee or Lawson lined up next to him.

99: R3P35
CB CAMERON SUTTON
TENNESSEE
In any other draft, this would be stupid. But plenty of good CBs this year are bigger than Sutton, others are better open-field tacklers and blitzers, and so on. He's just a damned good #1 CB prospect with terrific ball skills. That'll do.

109: R4P4
WR CHRIS GODWIN
PENN STATE
Dangit, now everybody likes Zay Jones and Cooper Kupp. I'd made a habit of drafting at least one of those guys in the mid-rounds, and now they're going alongside guys I have rated a shade higher. So here's a biggish, polished, surehanded WR: many of the same things I like about those other guys, without the insane production.

115: R4P10
TE COLE HIKUTINI
LOUISVILLE
I really like TEs who can block. Hikutini's not one of those, but he's another hard-to-prepare-for threat, and a guy who can worry safeties all game long.

148: R5P3
CB FABIAN MOREAU
UCLA
Well, now *this* is silly. Make it Jeremy Cutrer and I'd be almost as happy. In any case, overdrafting at CB invites some nice problems.

224: R7P3
S DAVID JONES
RICHMOND
Sure, it's concering that he's broken the same arm twice in three years. So use that as an excuse to redshirt him. He's another big, tall FS type, maybe not quite as CB-fluid as Melifonwu but might be even more effective near the line (against much lesser competition, Jones seemed to be tasked more often with run support; Melifonwu reads plays beautifully and attacks the line awfully well, but Jones keeps everything in front of him superbly, and has a knack for beating RBs to the hole). Against pass-happy teams, Melifonwu - Jones could be our best safety combination by the end of the year, redshirt notwithstanding. Also an excellent return man, like Sutton.

[Adipost]

Bolles and Lawson in the 2nd round are a steal!

[Rusty Trombagent]

sooooooo, the panthers give up literally their entire draft to move up 5 spots when they dont even need a qb.

[karhu]

They got Garrett, so yeah. Didn't raise an eyebrow.

[karhu]

And heck, make it their second and original third to move up five places to #3 overall. Historically, that's a huge bargain; history having been unkind to most teams who moved up like that for non-QBs, I'd call it fair.

[Nanky]

I just completed a 5 round mock draft using Fanspeak, with User Needs. Overall I'm pretty happy with the results, but I do regret not jumping on a TE before all the quality ones were picked.


3: R1P3 EDGE MYLES GARRETT TEXAS A&M

36: R2P4 QB DESHONE KIZER NOTRE DAME

67: R3P3 S JUSTIN EVANS TEXAS A&M

109: R4P4 CB KEVIN KING WASHINGTON

115: R4P10 WR ARDARIUS STEWART ALABAMA

148: R5P3 OT DAN SKIPPER ARKANSAS

[staleystarch]

FansSpeak

3: R1P3 S MALIK HOOKER OHIO STATE

36: R2P4 QB PATRICK MAHOMES II TEXAS TECH

67: R3P3 OT RODERICK JOHNSON FLORIDA STATE

109: R4P4 TE JAKE BUTT MICHIGAN

115: R4P10 WR ARDARIUS STEWART ALABAMA

148: R5P3 CB MARQUEZ WHITE FLORIDA STATE

224: R7P3 DL JEREMIAH LEDBETTER ARKANSAS

Edit: I did not know about the Hooker injury when I did my mock. Looks like I am a regular Jerry Angelo

[malk]

3: R1P3
EDGE SOLOMON THOMAS
STANFORD
36: R2P4
QB PATRICK MAHOMES II
TEXAS TECH
67: R3P3
WR CURTIS SAMUEL
OHIO STATE

I think we're going to sort safety and QB in free agency so I've gone for Thomas with #3. His length is a tiny worry but his tape makes me drool.

Mahomes was around in the second even though I don't think he'll be.

Curtis Samuel in the 3rd gives us a great change of pace at running back and receiver.

[bearsfaninaz]

12: R1P12
CB MARSHON LATTIMORE
OHIO STATE
33: R2P1
EDGE TACO CHARLTON
MICHIGAN
36: R2P4
CB CORDREA TANKERSLEY
CLEMSON
52: R2P20
QB PATRICK MAHOMES II
TEXAS TECH
65: R3P1
S OBI MELIFONWU
CONNECTICUT
67: R3P3
TE JORDAN LEGGETT
CLEMSON
109: R4P4
OT AVERY GENNESY
TEXAS A&M
115: R4P10
DL VINCENT TAYLOR
OKLAHOMA STATE
148: R5P3
WR JOSH MALONE
TENNESSEE
224: R7P3
RB I'TAVIUS MATHERS
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
TEAM DRAFT ASSESMENT
QB
PATRICK MAHOMES II
TEXAS TECH
S
OBI MELIFONWU
CONNECTICUT
EDGE
TACO CHARLTON
MICHIGAN
OT
AVERY GENNESY
TEXAS A&M
CB
MARSHON LATTIMORE
OHIO STATE
TE
JORDAN LEGGETT
CLEMSON
DL
VINCENT TAYLOR
OKLAHOMA STATE
TRADES
TRADE PARTNER:
CLEVELAND BROWNS
SENT:
ROUND: 1 PICK: 3
RECEIVED:
ROUND: 1 PICK: 12
ROUND: 2 PICK: 1
ROUND: 2 PICK: 20
ROUND: 3 PICK: 1

This is my fix the secondary draft and still get QB I want. I believe 5 of first 6 would start or at minimum sub in immediately. Took late round flyer on guy in Malone who probably progressed under our new wr coach.