LAOJoe & RTTRUTH's 11th Annual Collaborative Mock Draft

I texted Joe, so if he’s up he might be able to text @YoungHawk03 or his brother @jd0313

If not, the good news is there’s one name left on his last list he sent for 4.35. So if he doesn’t make It that’s going to be the selection

 

My top 5 OTs:

1) Jedrick Wills: I think he’s the cleanest pass blocker in the draft, and believe he could make the transition to the left side smoothly enough if required. While not as dominant as a couple others run blocking, he’s technically quite sound and has room to grow.

2) Andrew Thomas: Has SEC experience protecting the left side and shows minimal weakness. A run game stud with the power and technique to help anchor a top 10 running game. Quite polished as a pass protector also. Just needs to refine footwork a bit to guard against counters.

3) Tristan Wirfs: Might have the highest ceiling thus far. But he’s got the most polishing to do of these three. The power he shows in the run game is elite when his feet and upper body match up. He occasionally struggles to get the right angle on the second level or pulling. But when he does the defenders might as well fold. His hand strength and leg drive is elite. Pass pro likewise. When he gets the angle it’s over, but I think he needs to work on tempo of his kickslide to guard against over pursuing his man and opening a lane inside. Occasionally gets tricked into slowing down for the counter and giving up a bit of leverage outside. Rarely got beat full on, but you can see room for improvement. I think he probably could move to LT, but might be a Zach Martin type at Guard. Ideally I like him to remain at RT.

4) Mekhi Becton: I’m likely a bit lower than most of you on him. I think unless he improves his technique noticeably he’s going to struggle in pass pro. His movement skills are elite for his size, but not overall in terms of handling counters. I found he could be beat outside or inside on tape and his QBs legs hid a few beats on tape. Why he’s 4th, there’s no denying the upside he could bring to a run game if NFL coaching can get him even close to his ceiling. The biggest issue, and I read this first, but there’s no denying it on tape, is that rather than grabbing and driving his man he prefers to just use his powerful punch to jolt him back, leaving the defender immediately ready to try getting an angle on the ball carrier again. That should be an easy fix with coaching but frustrating nonetheless. In counter to my criticisms, his crazy long arms and surprising athleticism do give him the ability to flash superiority in pass protection, he’s just far from a finished product in that regard in my opinion. Same problem with punching instead of controlling there too.

5) Austin Jackson/Prince Tega-Wanogho/Lucas Niang: I know, it’s a complete copout. I used to hate when Mayock would do this. But the truth is I don’t know who is winning the fifth spot outright. There are things to love about all three of these prospects, although none flash quite as much upside as the previous four. For now, I will give it to Jackson. He’s a great example of why I prefer to watch tape on these guys and form my own opinion as opposed to buying what I read. A well-syndicated analyst said that his strength was the pass game, and his run blocking needed a lot of work, mostly building strength. On tape, I felt I saw almost the opposite. For me strength did not appear to be an issue whatsoever. Every time he got his hands on a guy, much like Wirfs, he owned that player. I thought his problems were created much more in matching up his footwork to the oncoming rusher so he could get the right angle and get hands on him. His kickslide needs to speed up. And he could also fire his hands into his opponent sooner to buy his feet an extra 1/2 second. But I also noted I loved him on the move, so I have high hopes for screens and traps. His story about helping his sister fight cancer was also very cool and makes you want to cheer for him. He’s got starter potential.

 

Via PM, Dolphins select John Penisini
Defensive Tackle
Utah

 

@RicoL8

Titans OTC

 

I personally like Josh Jones in the 5th spot. Athletic, damn good in pass protection, and capable in run blocking. A little bit more raw than the guys you mentioned but probably has higher upside than those 3.

 

I hope Rico makes it. I forgot to give him a quality heads up. Still waking up and I got caught up writing that OT article

 

The easy way to avoid the "copout" is to label and rank your Top Four and then call these the Next Three and list them alphabetically rather than ranking them. Then it's a bonus rather than a bad thing.

 

On this note:

Titans 12-12:30
Packers 12:30-1
Niners 12:45-1:30

I have a pm for GB so I’ll give Rico an extra 10 minutes before I autopick them. Then immediately post GB. So Niners will be OTC @ 12:45

@jd0313

 

Heck, might wait longer if I don’t hear from @jd0313

 

Still lurking...

 

Tennessee Titans select: Nate Stanley, QB, Iowa

 

Glad you made it. I was going to f**k that autopick up

 

Via text,
Packers select:
Jared Pinkney
Tight End
Vanderbilt

 

@jd0313

Niners OTC

 

lol! Great porn name.

 

Think he got some grief growing up with THAT name?!?

 

Especially since the suffix -ini means "little".

 

My bad I just woke up. If the person behind me is ready he can pick

 

49ers select Trey Adams, OT, Washington

 

@munoz1987
On deck.