2015 NFL Draft thread

[iowajerms]

April 30 - May 2

ESPN and NFL Network

Expectations? Needs? Sleepers? High draft picks that will flop?

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Mariota will flop.

I still think Winston goes #1 overall. Best QB prospect in a while outside of his attitude problems. Sadly I don't think Tampa is the right place for him lol.

 

[cdumler7]

Mariota if given a chance to sit for a year or two I think could be successful but he won't be given that chance. I agree that of the two I think Winston stands the better chance of actually succeeding.

High draft pick that I think will bust is that of Randy Gregory. I know he was banged up this last year so that hurt his numbers but I just am not impressed. Against the run game he will be a huge liability in my opinion and I just don't trust him to mentally make the switch to the pros.

A few sleepers that I like (remember been looking at guys that fit the Broncos so most of these guys would be positions of need for the Broncos). Jaquiski Tartt of Samford played safety. Very good against the run and has shown some ability in coverage as well. Has the speed/height/weight ratio you are looking for in a quality safety.

A guy that I think will go up draft boards (not so much a sleeper as he is a 3rd round pick right now by most mock drafts but I think he will work his way into the late 1st-middle of the 2nd round) Laken Tomlinson of Duke. At the Senior Bowl this kid dominated with both physicality and speed for the guard position. Heck a player that is supposed to go top-10 Danny Shelton couldn't even get him to budge much.

I'll give more later on.

 

[elijah]

Randy Gregory I see as extremely overrated. I don't know if I'd necessarily say he'd flop, but he looks more like a top 15 pick than a top 5. He has defined pass rushing moves, and that's about all. He's poor against the rush.

Brandon Scherff is another guy that I'm not completely sold on. He's awful in pass protection, he'd make a good guard in the NFL, but he'll get destroyed as a tackle.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

If the Cowboys go with anything other than D line it's a mistake. If I'm them I go d line with the first 2 picks.

 

[Clayton]

My guess is that Winston will go 1 and Mariota will go 2.

I think Winston's career arc will resemble Josh Freeman where he'll be underrated for a year or two, inconsistent for a year or two and then he'll do something stupid and he'll be a backup somewhere.

I think Mariota is going to have a dink and dunk rookie year like Bradford did but he'll probably have a better career than Bradford because he throws a better deep ball.

 

[RaidaDave]

Danny Shelton with the 4th pick.

 

[cdumler7]

Randy Gregory I see as extremely overrated. I don't know if I'd necessarily say he'd flop, but he looks more like a top 15 pick than a top 5. He has defined pass rushing moves, and that's about all. He's poor against the rush.

Brandon Scherff is another guy that I'm not completely sold on. He's awful in pass protection, he'd make a good guard in the NFL, but he'll get destroyed as a tackle.

Pretty much my thought on Gregory. I didn't mean that he would flop in the sense that he wouldn't be able to find himself on an NFL roster but more to his value compared to where he will be drafted.

Haven't looked at Scherff yet so can't comment but I think for the most part a big chunk of these OL players you could say the same. There just are not many that I have looked at that I think will do well at least at the OT position. I do think there is a big group that could do well at the Guard and Center position.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I think the trademark of this draft is pretty much the same as the last one at this point in time- WR's, and more WR depth. Great news if you are in need of WR's, but there are some solid prospects across the OL in the first three rounds as well.

The draft is pretty bad when it comes to TE's not named Maxx Williams as well as the QB's. No standouts, and I would say Winston has a better chance to succeed in the NFL due to the system he played in. Mariota could be a good QB, but he is going to have to have an Aaron Rodgersesque drop in the draft for such a situation where he could learn for a year or two develops.

The Chiefs needs probably go OL, WR, ILB, and Safety, imo. If the past few years with John Dorsey are any indication, they will pick a year ahead of a hole, and I think with Derrick Johnson being fresh off an achilles and past 30, it would not at all be a surprise for me to see us go with Erik Kendricks from UCLA with the 18th pick in the draft. For context, the Chiefs gave up 4.7 YPC on the ground; some of that is a result from playing a lot of nickel, but it's not acceptable for ILB to be as poor as it was between the 20's.

The reason I think the Chiefs pass on a WR in the 1st is none of the current projected 1st rounders are really ideal for the WCO, unlike say Lockett, Hardy, and a few others. Not to say Kevin White couldn't play in an Andy Reid WCO, but I'd like an upgrade at RT or ILB just as much if it isn't a reach. The WR depth is pretty good in this draft, so there's no rush for a WR here in a draft board with 11 projected picks.

I do think Scherff falls as he is more of a RT/G prospect for me than a true LT; I don't see him going in the top 10 like many mocks have him, but I am not sure he falls to 18 either. It'd be interesting if he was, however. I'd be pretty tempted to take him there, personally. His pass blocking absolutely needs work, but his run blocking looks NFL ready to me. Another note here is John Dorsey comes from a philosophy where they draft OT's not just to play tackle, but convert them to guard as well- so I don't see a Tomlinson being in the cards for us.

I think an underrated prospect is actually Tyler Lockett as much as I despised him, and I would go so far to say he is the best pure route runner in the draft. Would be a great mid round pick, and if his small size drops him in the draft, good for the team that actually snags him, eventually. Small size may be a problem, but such a clean route runner is really useful nowadays with some smaller receivers like Antonio Brown, Golden Tate, among others making big impacts on their team. Don't have to be Megatron to cause damage at WR. A lot of people will predict Lockett will fall in the draft, but I think they'll be surprised with how productive he actually will be in a NFL offense.

Biggest bust, imo, is probably going to be Randy Gregory. If Mariota starts day one however, I think he might be the biggest bust, instead. Should be interesting.

 

[Davis_Mike]

This is a weak QB draft. I can see Mariota dropping if Winston goes #1. He needs a tailored offense for him to get the most out of his potential. I don't see the Titans bailing on the Berger project yet & with Jax, Oak, & Wash seemingly set at the position, I can see him sliding to NYJ at #6. Then the question becomes: Will there be more than 1 QB selected after that by the end of the 2nd round?

 

[geezer]

Seattle needs O linemen. And a big body receiver. And more defensive backs. And a tight end, and defensive linemen, who did I forget?

 

[#1BostonFan]

I'd like the Pats to go after a WR or OG in the first round. I think we need another WR who can play outside the numbers. Brady will be here another few years and we need all the weapons we can possibility put around him. I wouldn't mind a Guard or anther offensive linemen, that may or may not start. I don't think we go after DT again or anything on the defense in the first round. I think BB most likely...trades down.

 

[elijah]

Watching Green-Beckham for the first time, this guy is insane.

If it weren't for the character issues, he may have been the top prospect in this draft. He's insanely talented.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Watching Green-Beckham for the first time, this guy is insane.

If it weren't for the character issues, he may have been the top prospect in this draft. He's insanely talented.

Yep, the million dollar question is where does he go? Could be almost anywhere in this draft, imo.

 

[elijah]

Yep, the million dollar question is where does he go? Could be almost anywhere in this draft, imo.

The way I'm seeing it, he could literally go as high as #4 to the Raiders, or as low as #32 to the Patriots. His talent is insane, and his size just makes it that much better.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The way I'm seeing it, he could literally go as high as #4 to the Raiders, or as low as #32 to the Patriots. His talent is insane, and his size just makes it that much better.

Definitely a huge fan of his reported measurables, he's going to be a pretty good litmus test for how the NFL handles domestic violence + weed from a talent like DGB. Should be very interesting to see where he goes.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Seattle needs O linemen. And a big body receiver. And more defensive backs. And a tight end, and defensive linemen, who did I forget?

Seattle needs D-Line. It's primarily the reason they lost the Super Bowl. As soon as Avril went down Brady had all day to throw back there. He was getting a little pressure early on which showed with the picks. He was pressured on the first one to Lane.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Seattle needs D-Line. It's primarily the reason they lost the Super Bowl. As soon as Avril went down Brady had all day to throw back there. He was getting a little pressure early on which showed with the picks. He was pressured on the first one to Lane.

Yeah, watching a few Seattle games myself, I was kind of shocked how underwhelming that passrush was at times. Left me with a lot more respect for the secondary than I already had realizing what was going on. Seattle's D would be on a whole 'nother level with a truly elite passrusher.

 

[elijah]

How do you guys rank the pass rushers in this class? I have both Ray and Fowler Jr. both over Gregory, and I haven't seen that among any 'professional' scouts and analysts yet.

Ray and Fowler both looked loads more talented than Gregory.

 

[Clayton]

How do you guys rank the pass rushers in this class?

Raw. This draft is weird.

You have 2 QBs with lots of ??? and lots of upside.
You have a bunch of great pass rushers who are too light to do much against the run.
You have a very talented space eaters who probably won't rush the passer much.
You have a couple of great run blocking oline prospects that probably can't play LT.
You have 2 good running backs with no one looking for running backs

The best player in the draft will be Williams, Gurley, DGB, Winston or Mariota. The safest player in the draft is Cooper. Thats all I got.