My Dream Draft

[Hypothesis]

First and foremost, I am a defensive guy. I played LB in high school, i've coached LB's at the high school level, and nothing excites me more than an aggressive, fearsome and physical defense. So I might be a little biased here, but honestly, I feel our defense needs a MAJOR overhaul. Our offense can and will be fine tuned and custom fitted for whoever our QB may be, and we have some talented offensive linemen waiting in the wings.

So here goes...(of course the combine will affect were people get selected)...and yes, I am assuming that Anquan will be traded for AT LEAST a second round pick, I won't speculate much beyond the second round pick simply because there are too many possible scenarios.

My dream draft:

Round 1: Terrance Cody

Running a 3-4 defense, having a stud NT is essential, finding a stud NT is rare. He is huge, extremely strong and very athletic for his size. People will question his work ethic, but he has shown that he is willing and able to drop weight each and every season while still maintaining his strength and 2 down dominance. He is currently listed at 354 pounds. It's been rumored he can dunk a basketball and do a standing backflip too

Others will say that picking a guy that can only play 2 downs is not worth it either. Casey Hampton, Kris Jenkins, Shaun Rogers for the better part of their careers have been only 2 down NT's and each have made significant impacts on their teams.

I believe this is one guy we cannot afford to pass up if he is on the board. Having a dominate

NT makes everyone on our defense better and after watching Bryan Robinson try admirably to fill the position of NT for us the past season, and after re-watching tape of most of our games, he does not command the double team or push the pocket like a dominating NT should. I rarely if ever saw him double teamed, allowing the guards to get to the second level on our LB's. Having a NT that requires a double team also frees up others to get pressure on the QB without having to blitz. That is one reason some teams can generate a pass rush with only 4 men.

Round 2: Brandon Graham

I would have loved to get Jerry Hughes in the first, but I believe he will be gone. Brandon Graham is a very suitable replacement. He is big, listed at 6'2 263 pounds on most listings. He plays very physical and always arrives at the ball in a bad mood. This guy has some serious speed for someone his size and looks to be pretty fluid in his movement. Sometimes gets a little over aggressive, but that can be coached out of him. He has more than 1 move to get to the quarterback and could be something very special.

Round 2b: Eric Norwood

A short, but very aggressive 6'1 252 LB pass rushing demon. He's a Tasmanian devil in football pads. Will need alot of work in learning to turn and drop for pass coverage, but again, a player that plays with attitude and is a natural at pass rushing. He is also regarded as a great team player, a locker room leader and one of high character. Would be a good situational pass rusher this upcoming season while he learns the pro game.

Round 3: A.J. Edds

I've gotten the chance to watch alot of Iowa football this season...my roommate is an alum...After watching this kid play, I walked away very impressed with his range of skills. He's not great at any one thing, and he won't wow you with his play, but he is very solid and nearly mistake free. He has shown that he is very good at recognizing and coming up to make the tackle against the run, and has shown that he is also a very capable coverage LB.

He's generally a good all round person as well. He is intelligent, speaks well and knows the game of football. I think he is going to be one of the surprises of this years draft, and also should be able to fill Danby's spot at ILB. He certainly possesses the skill set to do so.

Round 4: Micah Johnson

I have a feeling this guy takes a tumble. His MCL injury, other durability and consistency concerns will be the cause of this. If this should happen, I think this would be an incredible steal. Good body and frame, 6'2 258 pounds, and is another aggressive yet athletic guy for our LBing corps. Also known to bring the thunder with bone jarring hits.

Round 5: Boo Robinson

I love this kid...6'2 300 LB DT from Wake Forest. He's DOWN to 295-300LBS but has the frame and ability to add another 20-25 pounds. Very stout guy that is very athletic, sound in technique and durable. To start his career he could be a valuable D-Line rotation guy that can spell Cody at NT...and D-Dock and Campbell at DE. Very high character kid with a tremendous work ethic but is still very raw/unrefined.

Round 6: Crezdon Butler

A 6'0 185 CB from Clemson. A little inconsistent in his 40 yard dash times over his collegiate career, running 4.3's and 4.5's, but has had a pretty solid collegiate career. I think Greg Toler will surprise alot of us and may end up starting with McFadden as our main Nickleback. Butler will have time to develop and could take over as our nickel corner the following year.

Either way, I believe our pass defense will vastly improve if we can start getting better pressure on the pass rush. I believe our 40+ sacks this season was a little misleading.

Round 7: Best Offensive Lineman Available

I haven't looked much into the offensive side of the ball so I am unsure here, but if we lose Gandy, and it turns out to be true what some have speculated, that Brown gets moved to LT and Keith comes in as RT, we'll have to use at least one pick on O-Line and probably sign a journeyman as well.

As for losing Anquan via trade, it'll hurt, I don't think it would be catastrophic, but if he is one of the keys to obtaining the talent needed to improve our defense, I'm all for it. I think having a stout defense is more important than having 1 great wide receiver. Larry, Breaston and Doucet are still a formidable corps of wideouts, and I was pretty impressed with Onrea Jones, who should Urban get released, I think has an outstanding shot at finally making an NFL roster.

Again, this is just my DREAM DRAFT...and is surely going to be much different than what is going to happen, I just felt like getting it out there.

 

[CardLogic]

Round 1: Terrance Cody

It's been rumored he can dunk a basketball and do a standing backflip too

I think I would pay just to see that!


Btw, nice mock picks! Very good post!

 

[Duckjake]

AJ Edds. If this guy is as good as some of our posters think he probably won't last to the late third round will he?

 

[Doug]

I'd do a backflip myself if we obtained these great athletes.I think Cody goes almost 10 picks before our #26.You yourself explained what a big goose type player cando to upgrade a total defense.

Love your picks and the effort in going deep to predict them.They're as good or better than kipers nonsense of the weakling OK qb. in round #1.I'd just add a 7th round comp pick and another lucky stab in round seven on a very fast WR. that will need developing.The colts found 2.

 

[Shogun]

AJ Edds. If this guy is as good as some of our posters think he probably won't last to the late third round will he?

I fully expect him to be an early second round pick by the time the whole process is over.

 

[Hypothesis]

AJ Edds. If this guy is as good as some of our posters think he probably won't last to the late third round will he?

One can hope right lol. But you're right, he probably won't be there.

As far as using a late round pick or picking up an undrafted free agent QB, I meant to mention a kid that is kind of flying under the radar a bit, but he did receive an invite to the combine.

John Skelton

A young senior from Fordham college. He's a 6'5 258 pound qb who is in the mold of Ben Roethlisberger. Surprisingly agile for his size and possesses a howitzer for an arm. Good competitor and leader though he lacks any real experience against superior talent. He has a good head on his shoulders and could develop into a quality QB. Could be worth a late pick or a post draft signing.

 

[Doug]

Just change your Iowa lb to Angerer and we'll all be happy.I'd take Iowa's big OT too.

 

[cardpa]

Sean Lee of Penn St is of the same mold as Edds. Will not wow you in any phase of the game but is solid in everything and smart. I am willing to bet he scores in the high 20s to 30 in the wonderlick test

 

[joeshmo]

Just change your Iowa lb to Angerer and we'll all be happy.I'd take Iowa's big OT too.

I like him as a college player but he is the type of LB that 9 times out of 10 does not work in the NFL.

Guys who are under 6 foot and barely over 230 just don't work at LB in the NFL, especially at 3-4 LB. If he has any shot of being succesful in the NFL he needs to go to a 4-3 defense.

Looks like a lot of people are getting on the Edds-Micah combo bandwagon.

 

[joeshmo]

AJ Edds. If this guy is as good as some of our posters think he probably won't last to the late third round will he?

He wont blow you away with speed numbers thats why. Plus he is a jack of all trades master of none type guy, which ends up being great in the NFL but it seems like teams look for a guy that does one thing really awesome (speed, pass rush, hard hitter), then tries to coach them to do the other stuff.

 

[Russ Smith]

One can hope right lol. But you're right, he probably won't be there.

As far as using a late round pick or picking up an undrafted free agent QB, I meant to mention a kid that is kind of flying under the radar a bit, but he did receive an invite to the combine.

John Skelton

A young senior from Fordham college. He's a 6'5 258 pound qb who is in the mold of Ben Roethlisberger. Surprisingly agile for his size and possesses a howitzer for an arm. Good competitor and leader though he lacks any real experience against superior talent. He has a good head on his shoulders and could develop into a quality QB. Could be worth a late pick or a post draft signing.

The question on him is what does he have in his closet that hasn't come out yet?

 

[Hypothesis]

Looks like a lot of people are getting on the Edds-Micah combo bandwagon.

I think that would be a very formidable combo at ILB in our 3-4. Both are pretty well rounded and capable in both the run and the pass, at least at the collegiate level. Both have pretty solid fundamentals. Micah just seems to lack a little field and play awareness at times, Edds seems to lack the natural athleticism of some of the higher end LB's. I think both can be developed.

Sean Lee of Penn St is of the same mold as Edds. Will not wow you in any phase of the game but is solid in everything and smart. I am willing to bet he scores in the high 20s to 30 in the wonderlick test

Penn State is my favorite collegiate program, Joe Paterno is a legend in my book, but sadly have not been able to keep up with them much this year. I'm hoping a buddy of mine can get me some film on them as Sean Lee is one of the players I've been wanting to look at.

The question on him is what does he have in his closet that hasn't come out yet?

Great pun!!!

 

[lauraw]

Great read Hypothesis!! We should go for Skelton in my book if he's healthy, he's smart if he's at Fordham College so he could learn the pro game. How mobile is he? A year with John Lott would probably drop him to 242-3 of solid QB..

 

[chickenhead]

I'll have to check this Skelton guy out. I have to admit I love the idea of stealing a guy with the tools and the smarts for the NFL who wasn't at a top NCAA program. Maybe I'm just envious of the Flaccos and Roethlisbergers. But there's something about the composure of having been a leader mixed with making the most of an opporunity not taken for granted that is appealing.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Shows you what I know about NT. I thought Ngata would never make it in the NFL. I watched a few Oregon games and he was too fat and lazy for me. Not the first time I was wrong.