Damn, tracking cookies work fast. I was just reading a press release about an upcoming Lord Jones marketing campaign on their parent company's investor relations page, and one screen refresh later I'm already getting banner ads for their CBD gumdrops.
Falcons select Christian Uphoff, DB, Illinois State (PR/KR, gunner, all around monster on special teams)
Jesus, already lol? I take it we're running ahead of schedule here. Just need a few minutes, have to put some more names on my board and get a dart.
In training camp, I would be cross-training Uphoff as a corner, in particular seeing if he can play a physical, aggressive bump-and-run style so that he could provide depth at multiple positions in the secondary. He's going to need development time in a big way at any position, because he missed his entire senior season by default. (The conference postponed their schedule until spring.) But frankly, he might never see the field on defense. I'm betting that drafts him will be taking him for special teams and might not even give a damn whether he fits in somewhere on defense. In my case, he's instantly my top candidate to take over the KR/PR role in 2022.
The Bears have a need at slot receiver. And with Patterson now in Atl there is a need for a returner/STer too. But the real clincher tho was that i can now refer to him as The Wop and no one can accuse me of racism. Or if they do, well i dont give a do whop what you think
Well that concludes my involvement in this year's comp. As always thanks to RTTRUTH and LAOJoe for running this thing, and anyone else who was doing it that i missed. Good fun and all you guys making picks really know your stuff. I'm off to get loaded and dream of the Bears draft turning out something like this and not the inevitable abomination Ryan Pace has in store. PS @xinik I never got to reply to your post way back when on like page 47, but my teams GM drives me every bit as crazy as it sounds Gettlemen drives you. Our GM has become so legendary(not in a good way) for spraying his shorts early and trading up that Bears drafts now boil down to nothing more than how long will Ryan Pace be able to control his trade boner. Answer: usually not long. Goodnight all
Carolina Panthers Picks: 1(8) Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern The #5 guy on my board overall. It was a big need Ana’s the only guy I was taking ahead of him was Pitts who went at 1(7). Super versatile who can arguably play all 5 spots at a high level. 2(7) Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida St. the NFL pedigree mixed with collegiate production made this selection a no-brainer. A CB I have in my top-5 will help solidify the secondary in Carolina. 3(9) Dyami Brown, WR, UNC This kid screams AB and for the right reasons. His route running is crisp, quickness off his breaks and speed that can pull away in space. 4(8) Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma CMC finally broke down last year after insane usage in the prior 2 seasons. Stevenson is the hammer that will compliment him nicely and be able to give him a breather as well as go and get those yards between the tackles. 5(7) Bobby Brown III, DT, Texas A&M Big body with high end potential who will get a chance to play early. Athletic guy for 330 lbs who could see an opportunity to feast with Brown in the middle as well. 6(9) Jamien Sherwood, S, Auburn A hammer of a safety who will be a movable piece like Chinn was last year. Does have the size to potentially play at LB as well. 6(38) Tony Poljan, TE, Virginia A 6’7” giant who has shown improvements in the passing game. Solid run blocker and likely replacement for Ian Thomas. Needs: OT, CB, TE, DT, DB, WR, RB
Titans draft recap 1(24) Greg Newsome II, CB, NW I did a small trade down from 22 to 24 picking up 4(35) from Pittsburg. I was confident in the players left on my board and ended up getting the guy I would've taken anyways. Newsome has good size, measurables, and production which the Titans could desperately use after releasing both their top two CBs from last season. Newsome should be a day 1 starter at corner and has the potential to hold down that spot for years. Projection: Year one starter with pro bowl upside down the road. 2 (17) Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue After trading back in the first I traded up from 2(21) to 2 (17) here giving up 5 (22) and 7(4) in the process. I might've been able to stay where I was and get Moore but I didn't want to take that chance. While only being 5'7" may scare some people off I'm not worried about it. He's short but thick at 181 lbs and he has the strength to back it up, incase you missed it he set the Purdue squat record as a freshman and routinely plays with strength and speed on his tape. Tennessee might not have the tallest WR room but their RAC ability with Moore and Brown will be hard to stop. Projection: Heavily used year one even if not officially a starter. Long term starting weapon with a variety of uses. 3 (21) Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh Twyman is a personal favorite of mine and represents a great value here in the third, being available partial because he opted out of this season. He always gets compared to a certain other undersized Pitt alum and while I highly doubt he gets to that level I think he will be a highly disruptive interior pass rusher for years. To back this up he performed pretty well in his pro day activities and measurements. 6'1" 301 lbs, 40 bench reps, 32.5" vert, 8'8" broad, 7.98s 3 cone, and a slow 5.4s 40 (not that that matters much for DL). The Titans defensive front quickly goes from toothless to fearsome with Landry, Simmons, Autry, Twyman, and Dupree all rotating through. Projection: Year one rotational pass rushing DT/3-4 DE. Could one day hold down a starting role but equally possibly will remain a passing down specialist. 3.36 Tennessee Titans - Hamsah Nasirildeen - S – FSU More of a long-term project than an immediate impact player, his physical traits are great and he led FSU in tackles at one point. He needs some work on his angles and open field work, but has a lot of tools to work with. If we coach him up right he can be our starting SS sooner rather than later, or at least push Hooker and make a special teams impact. By all accounts he's a great leader and team player too which should fit in well on this team. Projection: Year one special teams player and rotational safety. Long term could become a starting safety or could end up a permanent depth piece/STer. 4.21 Tennessee Titans - James Hudson - OT – Cincinnati He's super raw as a late switch to the position (was a 4 star DT when he committed to Michigan) but we can afford to sit on him and wait for him to be ready. He has a lot to like but would do well with an OT like Lewan taking him under his wing for a bit. Projection: Year one reserve tackle. The hope is he can be a long term solution at our RT hole and barring that a good swing tackle depth piece. 4.35 Tennessee Titans - David Moore Jr - G - Grambling St. Once again grabbing an upside offensive lineman here in the later rounds. The most common comp I’ve seen is Nate Davis and that’s worked out pretty well for us so far. He’s also been working out with former Oilers/Titans HOFer Bruce Matthews. This match was just meant to be. Projection: Year one backup iOL. Long term hopefully he’s eventually a replacement for Saffold when he moves on and barring that a quality depth piece. 5.8 Tennessee Titans - Benjamin St. Juste - CB – Minnesota I really like the upside here and this draft is deeper than most IMO so I gave up a 2021 4th rounder to get this pick. Give me a 6’3” 205 lb DB who runs a 4.51 40, 6.63 3 cone, and 3.96(!!) shuttle and I’ll find something to do with him. His medicals have to check out but since that’s not something I have access to I’m perfectly comfortable taking a freak like him here. Projection: Year one STer barring injuries in front of him. Long term there’s starting upside there but whether that gets unlocked is yet to be seen. Worst case should be a useful STer. 6.21 Tennessee Titans - Simi Fehoko - WR – Stanford I touched on it a few picks ago, while I like our talent at WR we need more size. So I'll add a size/speed freak who ended his college career with a 16 catch, 230 yard, and 3 TD game. His size should give us some help in the redzone and his speed can make him a problem in coverage in the rest of the field. There are a lot of vacated targets in Tennessee so he may see more action than his draft capital would suggest. Projection: Year one rotational redzone WR who could play more snaps based on need. Long term there’s always a chance you can unlock one of these guys and turn him into a starter, but I’m hoping for a solid rotational WR who has some splash plays each season. 6.31 Tennessee Titans - Zach Davidson, TE, Central Missouri A nice trait heavy small school TE who will also double as our back up punter now. He popped off in his last season with 40 catches for 894 yards (22.4 YPC) and 15 touchdowns. He’s super raw but if you look at most of the top TEs in the league he at least has the physical ability to match. Projection: Year one reserve player and backup punter, his versatility could keep him active on game day. Long term the sky is the limit but hitting that is certainly not guaranteed. Could just as easily be out of the league in year one or two as be useful, just have to wait and see