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NFL Draft 2013 Thread
someone suggested in the offseason thread starting a new thread, what with the current one somewhat spiralling out of control, so I thought I'd start one ahead of tonight's festivities so we can dedicate pre and post-draft chat to one manageable thread.
This draft doesn't quite match the hype of last year's, but certainly exceeds it in terms of unpredictability. Luke Joeckel has been the consensus 1st pick for months now, but Eric Fisher is emerging as a candidate now, and pretty much every other pick is a toss up. Mike Mayock's mock draft makes for interesting reading:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/mock-drafts/mike-mayock/171006
Predictions/team wants?
For the first time that I can recall, Sky are broadcasting the first night tonight from midnight, and the whole thing is free on nfl.com all weekend.
been looking forward to this for ages!
I think the Ravens might try to trade out of the first round to a team who is looking to jump back in and get a QB. It all depends on how it plays out with the QB's I think. If the first 10 go without a QB then I think we might see teams trading back in to get them at the end of the 1st.
If that happens Ravens could maybe pick up a high 2nd and 4th round pick. then go best player available with the 2nd rounder. could be any number of players; Arthur Brown, Kevin Minter, Corrdarelle Patterson, Matt Elam, Jonathan Cyprien,Kennan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins...
Like you say, I think it's going to be the most unpredicatble draft in years.
I think that's highly likely; Ozzie did the same last year by trading out
plus we know he covets picks. I'm going to make a bold prediction and say that not a single QB gets taken in the first round. I think the Ryan Nassib to Buffalo rumours are BS, and once you get past the Bills every team left in the first round is pretty much set at QB. So QB needy teams such as Jacksonville may use their first pick on the best available player, then do as you reckon and trade into the end of the 1st round and grab Smith or Barkley.
I really want Justin Hunter or Alec Ogletree, both would fill massive holes but we'd probably have to trade up to have any chance of taking them. I'm not so sure about Matt Elam, his height could prove to be a liability.
I think the Bills will go for Nassib
But not necessarily in the first round.
yeah...
i've heard people ask 'why would teams trade back in at 32 when they could come back in at 28 or 29'. That could be the sticking point when it comes to trading out as teams like the Pats might look to move down and are in a better position than us.
Conversely if there is a run on QB's it may mean one of the "elite" players fall to within our grasp and we could package up a few of our later round picks to move up. I think thats unlikely Ozzie will want to keep his picks.
great story here about Menelik Watson, a 24 year old from Manchester who's entering the draft as a tackle:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/apr/25/menelik-watson-nfl-draft-2013?CMP=twt_gu
did you see about Okoye as well?
The olympic discus thrower who got into Oxford and now it appears he will be picked in the late rounds by San Francisco as a Justin Smith protégé. Insane.
yeah, apparently Gil Brandt (the nfl.com analyst) spoke very highly of him after his pro day
but hes slated for 7th round/undrafted, so looks like practice squad fodder for the time being but definitely one to watch.
Watson is tipped for the Ravens 1st round pick by the Guardian's Paolo Bandini, and whilst I'd prefer a ILB or wideout to be taken first, it'd be great to have a Brit to cheer on.
its gonna be a case of best player available.
Is Watson better in his positon than say Kevin Minter is in his. Or Kennan Allen is in his.
May also depend on who they think is gonna be there at the bottom of round two. I know ILB and WR are two of the positions with the most depth in the draft.
Might pass on Minter and get Kiki Alonso later on if they think the oppourtunity to draft Watson is too good to miss. Tomorrow night is gonna be way more intersting that tonight
I think.
Can't decide whether to stay up for this or not
I'm not really fussed about who goes #1 (think it'll be Joeckel) and I think the Steelers 1st pick will be Jarvis Jones if he's still on the board at #17 and if he's gone already it'll be Kenny Vaccaro so unless there's some crazy trades or something there's not much I'm bothered about.
same, it's that or Heat/Bucks in NBA
probably go with draft.
I think I'll go with a good nights sleep instead
I've got my end of year ball tonight with an open bar
expect some sweary and drunk late night posts about the NYJ crushing my dreams again when I get in.
i've basically just finished my thesis about 20 minutes ago
debating sitting up and watching with a shit load of cans then wandering in zombie-like tomorrow morning to submit it.
Really deep draft class this year without many top-end players (and certainly no Andrew Lucks, RG3s etc)
Hence the teams with the highest picks trying to trade down. Some spurious, completely unfounded predictions:
- All 5 of the first picks will be linemen (if we include Dion Jordan as a defensive end rather than an OLB). Think the only question mark is whether the Raiders go for Sharif Floyd or Star Lotuleilei
- Geno Smith won't go in the top 10.
- The 49ers will trade up to get Tavon Austin. Can see the 49ers being very busy with trades, they've got about a million picks and one of the most stacked rosters in the NFL.
- No running backs will go in the first round.
As for the Bengals, looks like they'll be taking DJ Fluker at 21 seeing as Andre Smith is still in the wilderness. Shame, as I think all three elite safeties (Vaccaro, Elam and Cyprien) will go in the first round (to the Rams, 49ers and Packers probably) and that's probably the most pressing need.
Anyone got any tips for late round gems? Read a lot about Knile Davis, a ridiculously quick (4.37 40 yard dash) running back from Arkansas who's had a poor senior season due to injury. Reckon there's a big upside to taking him in the later rounds.
Re: Bengals
Can't see them taking anyone other than Cyprien. Apparently, the coaches think they can either get a good RT later, re-sign Smith or go with what they've got: Roland (Yuck) or Collins. Looking more and more likely that Fluker will be gone by 21, also.
Hope they take Matt Scott as a sleeper back-up QB. Has Russel Wilson-type upside in the 3rd/4th.
how many teams are gonna take QBs in the 3rd round
and think they've found "the next Russel Wilson!"
some talk of Ravens taking a QB late on aswell.
Joe Flaccos contract goes balastic in 3 years time. gonan cost about $27million against the cap or something. Obviously he will restructure but if he's a bit shit over the next 3 years and they have someone wating in the wings they might decide to trade him.
Dont think they think much of the back-up at present. Brad Sorensen* is abit Flacco like in terms of size and the way he plays so if he's still around in the 6th or 7th they may use a pick.
Purely a name I have plucked out of thin air based on what I have read about them maybe taking a QB.
If whatshisface slips, Glennon, he could go to the Ravens
he's basically Flacco 0.5
any chance of him slipping to the bottom of the 4th?
thats the highest I can see us taking someone if we do go that way.
...
http://tinyurl.com/cofs7z7
I'd love it if they got Cyprien or Vaccaro (although he'll be long gone by then)
But I think they'll play it safe and get a tackle. Agree about a late round QB too, Skelton and Johnson will never challenge Dalton. Matt Scott or Zac Dysert have huge potential IMO.
when do we expect the first pick BST? Around Midnight?
1am
i'll stick around until BARKEVIOUS MINGO is called.
BARKEVIOUS MINGO.
his brother's name is even better
Hughtavious!
Apparently his mother named him after her
She's called Barbara, so she just took the first syllable and then added evious to make it sound masculine.
So I guess he could've been called Barbar
which might have been worse.
Velvet Milkman>Nutritious Love>Barkevious Mingo
Can't believe he won this.
http://nameoftheyear.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/barkevious-mingo-lord-master-2009-name.html
Unbelievable.
Love it.
If the Jets take an early round QB, I will eat my own foot.
No way Idzik does it. Early round QB ties you to a head coach. He wants shot of Ryan asap, so no QB. Poor Rex :(
I imagine the Dolphins will take defensive linemen early
but we really need some WR depth.
I'm sure I won't know who any of our draft picks are for at least 2 years.
So fucking excited
I love the draft, will watch every part of the first 3 rounds.
Off to bed now so I get some sleep before work tomorrow, see you all around 12.
Ohh btw how are folk watching this, sky or gamepass?
Ohh and also if the Browns trade up to take Geno Smith I will literally cry.
http://www.nutjob.eu/nfltv.html
What time does it start?
1am Chiefs should be on the clock
Don't think anything as stupid as that girlfriend hoax has been
talked about for so long.
haha
feel bad for him, should die down after he plays a few nfl snaps.
#1 Fisher
No Joe Thomas, but solid pick.
BARVEKIOUS MINGOOOO!!!
Can sleep now
When can I buy a Mingo jersey?
happy
The best part of it all is that he went to the Browns.
Being they're associated with bulldogs and all.
Star Lotulelei!
EJ MANUEL!!
Holy shit.
Woke up sweating after dreaming
That Ravens moved up to 20 to take Teo. Glad it was a dream but would take him at 32.
Floyd, Rhodes and Patterson is an unbelievable first round haul for the Vikings.
The big 3 MLBs are still available too, if they somehow manage to land Teo then best draft ever. They'll probably have to move up again.
Lol Nassib.
This is the Sharrif Floyd who Mayock thought would go number 3 right?
Win.
Wait the Rams drafted 'tree.
And we don't have another 2nd like I thought. Goodbye Teo.
Lions plump for DE Ziggy Ansah, who as well as having a great, name, also looks like a total hipster.
Not to mention a cracking athlete who fills a hole.
Still need a wide receiver to pardner up with Megatron though.
(Am I doing this right?)
if you could land one of the top reminaing WR's then you've done well.
Allen and Hunter still available. With the Tron, Reggie Bush and one of them you would be pretty fierce.
Also that defensive line with Suh, Fairely and Ansah looks scarily atheltic. I like the Lions, they are my 2nd team so I'm happy!
I'd still like an o-lineman
Ansah was probably the best option once the top three tackles had gone (bloody Jacksonville!). Would have thought we'd be able to take Pugh or Long at the top of Round 2, never thought they'd both be gone in the top 20! Menelik Watson's still there but like Ansah, he's very raw and I would prefer someone more experienced.
Was dead set against WR in Round 2 pre-draft, but now Woods & Hunter are available I could be persuaded...
Ansah smells like bust all over, workout warrior
Watched some of his highlights and he is a long way off being ready, gets pushed around and out techniques, takes plays off etc etc.
Ravens took Matt Elam,
hard hitting safety. Basically a Bernard Pollard clone. Im Ok with that as it fills our main postion of need. Would have loved to see us trade out but obviously no-one fancies Geno smith and are happy to let the Jags take him at the top of the 2nd.
so for the 2nd round and onwards
i'd expect ravesn to do some wheeling and dealing and ty to move up a bit to take a solid ILB or WR.
At ILB - Arthur Brown or Kevin Minter (but more likely Sio Moore as we wont move too far I dont think)
At WR - Kennan Allen or Justin Hunter (but more likely Quinton Patton for the same reason as above)
Other options are OT - Terrance Armstead or Menelik Watson if they fall.
Steelers took Jarvis Jones as everyone knew they would
Probably a solid pick, I think we have bigger needs than LB but we can still get good value DBs and WRs in the later rounds
Tyler Eifert
Really wasn't expecting the Bengals to take a tight end first, but it all got a bit mental for offensive tackles there for a bit (Kyle Long? Justin Pugh? so I'm glad they didn't overdraft to replace Smith. I know next to nothing about him but Michael Schottey, whose opinions I usually trust (aside from his bizarre insistence that the Bengals would take a receiver first, good one Mike), reckons that he's the second most talented player in the draft behind Chance Warmack.
Jonathan Cyprien didn't go first either, with the Niners taking Eric Reid instead. If the Bengals take him at 37 and then a running back at 53 I'll be happy. Biggest winners so far are the Vikings, who have drafted exceptionally well. Matt Elam to the Ravens at 32 is an annoyingly good pick too. And LOL at the Lollas Lolboys for taking a centre at 31.
I think Eifert is the elite TE this year,
this years Jimmy Graham or Gronk so I think you've done well. With Dalton not throwing to Eifert and Green you should be strong. AFC North will be much tighter this year!
*throwing to*
obviously he's going to throw to them.
Panthers got Star Lotulelei
Can't believe we actually got him, thought he would be taken before it got to us.
CB Milliner and DT Richardson to the jets
I like the picks, but Richardson is an odd one- we don't have such a glaring need at DT and he doesn't have experience as an NT, maybe Rex is gonna play more 4 man fronts. I think he was way up,on their draft board best player available style and they were pretty shocked he fell to them.
Second round I hope to see a guard, pass rusher or tight end really....
Also, nice to see nfl.com has already got the hatchet out for Rex and the Jets
Definitely some briefing on this years 'storyline' they've concocted. Let it play out.
Also don't give a fuck about milliners survey/lack of ball skills
He hasn't missed a game and give me a corner who can tackle and get nasty when backs try and bounce it outside over a converted WR
So who do people want to see their team draft in the 2nd round?
This is the first draft in a while with enough depth to leave a lot of big names on the second day.
I think Pittsburgh probably go WR for #48 so Keenan Allen if he's still available. If not then they'll go for a CB or Safety unless Eddie Lacy somehow slips that far in which case they'll snap him up but the Steelers are generally hard to predict in the middle rounds, they change tactics to 'best player available' before most other teams.
It's hard to say
We need a safety and a guard and a tight end.
Know v little about guard prospects, would love to see us pick Jonathan Cyprien in the second for the safety then Travis Kelce for tight end in the third. There's talk of a WR given that Holmes sill likely be gone after next season and that Hill is an unproven commodity, but it's honestly the least of my worries given the other problems on the team.
oh, to have a 2nd round pick
mumblebountygatemumble
that said, from what i've read/seen Vaccaro looks a pretty good pick for #15 overall
Anything would be better than what you had back there before
A strong safety and a speed back
Cyprien and Gio Bernard please.
Innuendo of the night
When asked about Tom Brady, Dee Milliner responded by saying he wanted to get his hands on a couple of his balls. Oh dear.
Ziggy Ansah's such a hipster, wears 3D glasses to the Draft
http://i.imgur.com/nY7tA04.jpg
I'm hearing that when they traded up for the third pick, the Dolphins accidentally called EJ Manuel first and asked to speak to Dion Jordan
Classic Jeff Ireland.
At least he didn't quickly ask him if his mother was a hooker.
Baby steps for our valiant GM.
Amidst all the draft talk...
The packers have signed Rodgers to a long term extension. highest paid player in history with $110 mil over 5 years, which is very un-packers like. Will be interesting to see how they cope with this (and Clay Matthews' deal) eating into their cap.
Rodgers is worth every penny of that
Been a lot of talk about the Packers locking up their crown jewels this year (assume Raji will be next). Assune Jennings and Woodson freed up some space, but yeah they might be close to the limit for a few years.
Raji is such an overrated player
No one could argue he doesn't deserve it, and i'm sure he'll be quick to restructure when the team needs it.
Just needs to lock up a haribo deal now to really count himself as elite
http://russellstreetreport.com/files/2013/01/flaccogummibears.jpg
who'd be a Jets fan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8EDI9hWmo
Jets take Geno Smith.
Woah!
a penny for Mark Sanchez's thoughts now... jeez
I doubt they would be broadcastable.
That's surely it for him now. Surely?
Oh my word
Can we do anything quietly? This is going to be horrific
I mean, I'd love to be wrong but this just reeks of same old jets
We've selected a great player who isn't really a scheme fit in the first round, then gone for a QB with questions at Round 2 - I don't question the value, but does he fit with where we are right now as a team? Then of course theres the chris ivory thing which seems way too rich for my blood - traded a fourth round pick for a running back, the equivalent if whom who we could have found later in the draft, and we still don't have a safety, tight end or wide receiver. Or a proven nose tackle.
You've got to feel for Smith
He's walking into a hornet's nest here, and through no fault of his own
Really surprised the Steelers passed on Eddie Lacy
He seemed like a perfect fit but I guess they've seen something in Le'veon Bell they like better. We took WR Markus Wheaton in the 3rd too so i'm pretty happy with the needs we've addressed. Just DBs in the later rounds please
AFC North should be tighter this year.
like both the Bengals and Steelers picks. Haven't heard much about Bell so cant comment but Jones looks like a steal and a perfect replacement for James Harrison.
yeah I like what the Bengals have done too
They've drafted well so far and picking up Harrison could be pay off pretty well if he can get back to form. Tempted to bet on them to win the division next year as I think the Steelers and Ravens have both slipped a bit
yeah genuinely think Bengals can knick it
and possibly all three of us in the playoffs again, we'll all finish around 10-6.
Divisional games are going to be massive next year
The AFC North schedule is brutal next year and I can see the three bigger teams getting near identical records against the AFC East teams especially.
LET'S ALL LAUGH AT CLEVELAND, LET'S ALL LAUGH AT CLEVELAND
NA, NA, NA, NAH...
Mixed night for the Bengals
Gio Bernard - great pick, took him at the right time too as I doubt he would have made it past the Steelers if available. A quick back with good hands opens up a whole range of possibilities for Zimmer's offense.
Margus Hunt - I assume Marvin went best available here because defensive linemen are not a priority. He's a massive specimen and a great athlete but the Cincy d-line is made of pass-rushers so I can't see him making much of an impact.
Shawn Williams - Well, they drafted a safety. I don't know anything about him though and for all intents and purposes he's gone earlier than anyone expected. Swearinger and Rambo were still available too. I won't judge him without having seen him play and the GM has a good eye for mid-round gems, but this has potential bust written all over it.
Maybe they're thinking of using him as a rusher in passing situations - he's a big guy who can easily shift inside
Also potential Michael Johnson replacement. Can you explain to me why Carlos Dunlap doesn't play more snaps in place of Robert Geathers? never got that.
Possibly
Seems to be a project player at least though, and there were better options with that pick.
Geathers seeing more snaps than Dunlap is mostly due to him being better against the run than Dunlap. With Atkins and Johnson there's enough pass rushing firepower without having two downhill defensive ends. With the addition of James Harrison I don't see that changing soon either.
But Dunlap looks so good whenever he's on the field
he's all over the place making plays against run or pass. I'll defer to your better judgement on all matters tiger striped though.
Yeah, I really like Dunlap
But two defensive ends and Geno playing that aggressively would make them so vulnerable to draws and screen plays. Zimmer (who is actually the defensive coordinator, I'd only just woken up when I'd typed that post above) likes to shuffle the deck quite a lot too so Dunlap could start to see snaps instead of Johnson rather than as well as too.
Lions cement their defence with bow tie sporting Darius Slay at cornerback and man mountain Larry Warford as guard.
Solid choices, not crazy dramatic, and a swerve away from the WR everyone was expecting them to go for. Slay potentially has a dodgy knee, but who cares, look at his bow tie!
http://binaryapi.ap.org/53625f9b717444538f5d5b4f7c26a1ee/320x.jpg
It's a really deep draft for slot and X receivers though
Teams will be getting starters in the 5th and 6th rounds at wideout. Got to disagree about Darius Slay though, Jamar Taylor would have been a better option there.
It's becoming pretty clear that that Lions are drafting like the Raiders used to
You can't coach size and speed etc. Don't the Lions play press-man with Houston? Slay doesn't look like a press-man corner to these eyes, willing to be proved wrong though.
very happy with the Ravens' 2nd round pick Arthur Brown
was projected by some to go late 1st/early 2nd so could turn out to be a steal, plus he fills an obvious need.
Bit mystified by the Brandon Williams pick, we seemed to have addressed defensive line in the free agency by getting Chris Canty and Marcus Spears. Can only guess that the front office expect to get the same value for wideouts in the 4th as in the 3rd.
Would like to see us take Patton at WR.
I've seen a few drafts with us taking Chris Harper. Never saw him so can't comment. If we can address WR and OT in the 4th I will be stoked!
Apparently Andre Smith finally signed a new deal with the Bengals yesterday
I think watching 6 teams take offensive tackles in the first round might have made him realise a few harsh truths about the market for his services. $18m for three years, a lot less than what he was after. Means the team has no real needs with 4 rounds left. Reid Fragel and a big receiver please. Maybe a project QB too.
Also, the team are likely to be rolling over $20m of cap room forwards without losing any key starters, so the AJ and Geno fund should be in good shape.
Barkley to the Eagles, they traded up for him
VERY interesting.
Jacksonville picked a WR called Ace Sanders. I hope they've checked he's not actually a comic book character.
Giants trade up for Nassib
And now Tyler Wilson to Raiders
We have a QB run on our hands, fellas.
Landry Jones to Pittsburgh now
They're tumbling like a house of cards.
I'm terrified and prepared to bet that the Jets are planning to trade up for another QB. I mean 6 isn't enough, is it?
Lots of people saying that the Titans and the Rams got better centres in the 4th than Dallas in the 1st
Brian Schwenke from Cal and Barrett Jones from 'Bama, respectively.
Dallas LOLboys.
Cowboys are having an absolute disaster of a draft
4 rounds in and still no O-linemen. They're really going to make Romo earn that money.
As in, no guards or tackles
Obv.
Word is Frederick could play guard
Still, massive lolz that Jerry Jones took him in the first when he clearly would've been back there later on.
Also what is this next level bullshit he is spouting about Gavin Escobar, the tight end out of San Diego?
"You saw him coming," Jones said, via the Star-Telegram's Clarence Hill. "(Now) are we all resolved to doing it different relative to injecting that influence in this offense? Don't come in here with same old, same old.
"I took a roll call and said if we (go) this route with the tight end we are going to shake it up around here relative to what we are doing. It's going to be different. I joked we are going to pass the paper around and we are all going to sign it. We are going to be different."
read that a lot of ravens fans who wanted Barret Jones
they reckon hes a stud.
Phillip Thomas S to the Redskins
Goddammit.
Johnathan Franklin is going to make a good team much better soon
Green Bay
Are they actually planning to run the ball this year then?
Maybe they're just sick of the sight of Alex Green and James Starks
They've doubled down on linemen and RBs
Power football is coming to Wisconsin.
Packers traded up for him
So arguably the first and second best RBs in the draft are now at the team least likely to run the ball. Cool.
Tampa got Vernon Gholston's cousin, who also plays DE
No doubt in a karmic move as the higher power continue to shit on the Jets, he'll be an absolute steal and break the sack record in his first season
Quinton Patton to the 49ers
Could the good teams stop taking the best players please?
They just grabbed Lattimore too
The NFC West has become some sort of running back arms race.
Seattle - Lynch, Turbin & now Michael
San Francisco - Gore, Hunter, James & now Lattimore
Word is Lattimore might spend a year on IR while his knee heals
Must be great to have picks to burn like that.
was totally gutted when 49ers took him
was following on twitter all through the 4th and couldn't believe he slipped that far. pretty sure Ravens would have took him as they had the last 2 picks in the 4th. people had him as a 2nd round talent
Come on untrue
Nearly there.
Denard Robinson, the former QB from Michigan
Going to Jacksonville in Florida, announced as an RB. His family seems happy.
How the hell did Jesse Williams, the NT from 'Bama, slide to the 5th Rd?!
Outrageously good value for Seahawks. Ridiculously disruptive.
saw him mocked in the 2nd
cant believe he slid that far!
It's depressing seeing all these great exciting players go
and then, the Jets draft a tackle who no-one has heard of.
Stepfan Taylor
STEPFAN? First Stevan Ridley now this. NFL running backs are bastardising a great name.
holy shit
never noticed Ridley's name was spelled like that, thought he was just steven.
crazy times.
Should've changed it to Bamos
Coming up to the 6th round
Browns have drafted 2 players.
I noticed that
What's going on there? Have they just given up for tge year already?
I'm good with it
a 3rd for a 4th and a 4th for a 5th is pretty good going any time but especially with next years draft looking much stronger than this one its good business.
Might give us ammo to move up for a johnny football/clowney/bridgewater next year.
Made watching this years pretty boring though.
So glad we got Mingo.
I literally have no idea what the Jets are doing anymore
94 ^thises untrue!
what is this all about untrue?
I struggle to believe two people have made the same mistake and posted in the wrong thread
For some reason he this'd 94 posts in this thread
No idea why but it must have taken ages.
what a loser
Reid Fragel to the Bengals in the seventh round
:)
Vikings win best late round draft picks
Two great penn state linebackers, including Michael mauti who will make teo look like old news if he can get healthy. And then this guy, Travis Bond, who got hit by an SUV and did more damage to it then it did to him.
http://www.dailynorseman.com/2013/4/27/4276278/massive-travis-bond-could-show-emphasis-for-run-game
That's a big if re: Mauti.
How many people fully recover from three ACL injuries? We can hope but there's apparently still a chance they take a run at Urlacher (!).
I think the draft was excellent overall. Bit sad to see a punter drafted, which more than likely means the end of Chris Kluwe, one of my favourite NFL guys. From a football standpoint I'm hoping for a repeat of the Blair Walsh kicker upgrade from last year. Also would have liked another safety but can never complain about o-line depth.
Thomas Davis of Carolina did and he played brilliantly last year
Good to know, it was an honest question!
Just announced that the Vikings are signing Cris Carter's son. His Da says he's a first round talent who just hates school, but he would say that.
Laurence Okoye signs with the 49ers as an undrafted FA
Be interested to see if he ever sees a snap.
Lions eventually picked up a WR with Corey Fuller -
interestingly another guy who came to football late after excelling at something else, which seems to be a theme of our draft picks. Still, seems like a good bunch of lads. Big, strong, quick - up to Mayhew now to make sure they have some skill to match.
*Jim Schwartz
Mayhew's the GM.
How come you're a Lions fan btw? They're an interesting team for a neutral to choose to follow.
My girlfriend's dad grew up on 11 Mile (thus making him only three streets less tough than Eminem)
and I don't think I've ever seen him not wearing something with a Lions of Tigers logo on it. So I'm trying to use this as a way of having at least some common ground with him, though he knows I'm a dilettante.
I've still barely ever watched a game, so we'll see how committed I am to my new hobby when the season actually starts. I don't really know how I'm going to watch it - try and keep up with highlights online I guess (do Channel 4 put the games they have on catch up?) but I've been enjoying keeping tabs on news - on the Lions website, the NFL site and through the Detroit Free Press. If there are any other good sites which give good overviews that would be useful - I'm still pretty baffled by a host of technical stuff.
I class the lions as my other team
other than the Ravens. went 0 and 16 the first year i really started watching so i adopted them based on that. Im fully Raven though really.
Saints drafted really well considering we only had 5 picks.
Kenny Vaccaro, S
- Have heard good things about this guy, in coverage and the box, and with the right coaching he will become an elite safety. Means we can finally stop persisting with Roman Harper, who is woeful in coverage. Apparently we'll be using him as a nikel back too, whih should be interesting.
Terron Armstead, T- seen this guy mentioned as a 2nd rounder normally, so we got good value getting him in the 3rd as part of some Patriots-esque Inception trade involving the pick the Jets gave us and the Dolphins. Massive need since we lost Bushrod, and we've always coached linemen well so I have high hopes.
John Jenkins, DT- This guy is an absolute monster. We need a space-eater for the middle of our new 3-4, hopefully this guy will be just that. If he can perform early on, it should mean our linebackers can instantly get more pressure than last year.
Kenny Stills, WR- Standard late-round speed demon receiver for us. With Joe Morgan breaking out last year and Nick Toon off of IR, we're building another handy stable of wide-outs for Brees. Has a silly haircut.
Rufus Johnson, DE- Nobody knows who this guy is. NFL Network had nothing on him. I've no idea how we found him. We've had a knack for unearthing small school talent though, so, eh, who knows?
We also got Chase Thomas, the Stanford linebacker, in UDFA, who impressed me whenever I saw him last year. Every report I've read on him seems to suggest he can be a long term NFL starter, so we may have got a bit of a steal.
Ravens
so, rnd 1-3.
Matt Elam - Safety - Day 1 starter. good value.
Arthur Brown - ILB - Day 1 starter - good value. rated as a 1st round talent.
Brandon Williams - DT - Plays as a nose tackle. will rotate with Ngata, and Cnty ans Spears who are the other two DL we picked up in free agency.
Pretty happy with that. Build a base through the draft an all that. We've beefed up the D massively. i
Rnds 4-7
4th: Kyle Juszczyk - FB/TE - never heard of him. came out of Harvard. just watched a bit of his highlight reel on youtube and looks a bit of beast. Vonta Leach will probably get cut after this year so theyve likely targeted him as replacement FB.
4th: John Simon - DE - pass rusher. sounds alright. once again never heard of him but he will rotate with Suggs. Suggs cap number goes west next year so could be a possible replacement if he doesnt want to restructure.
5th: Ricky Wagner - OT - never heard of him. imagine him to look like Ricky off trailer park boys. decent combine stats. will challenge for a spot at tackle but more likely a guard. 6'6" 308lbs so got the physique.
6th: Kapron Lewis-Moore - DE - can never have enough pass rushers.came out of notre dame so has a good pedigree. think he might be injured.
6th: Ryan Jensen - OT - ginger guy with a bit of a mullet. never heard of him. read his draft profile and it says he has a nasty streak.
7th: Aaron Mellete - WR - finally addressed the Bolden shaped hole in the room. not really, he will challenge the other development type WR's we have on the roster. basically dennis pitta is going to get a lot more action this year.
7th: Marc Anthony - CB - rated as high as the 4th by some. went in the 7th due to a poor 40 time. bleacher report reckons he will switch to saftety by Ravens like having guys who can rotate to a number of postions so should fit nicely. kight be stashed on practice squad.
Overall assumption: added some starters and some good depth. still need a decent WR and OT but we will be as better than last year on D and probably slightly weaker on O.
to be honest I'm ok with concentrating on D
it's still largely Ray Rice and Dennis Pitta who gets the majority of our yards anyway, with a deep one to Smith or Jones who we're clearly now pushing into the lime-light.