LAOJoe & RTTRUTH's 9th Annual "Official" Mock Draft

The Draft Challenge is gonna be like taking candy from a baby this year...

 

Yeah. Good luck with that. The grade discrepancies are wider than ever.
It’s going to be more like throwing darts blindfolded

 

Wait. nobody told me there was gonna be grades.

 

You know what I mean.
Grades = Round Projections

 

Tribe and Twins in Puerto Rico might NEVER end...this is unreal. 16th inning...

 

CHARGERS
1(17) Da'Ron Payne, DL - Alabama
2(16) James Daniels, C/OG - Iowa
3(12) Jamarco Jones, OT - Ohio State
4(21) Tarvarious Moore, DB - Southern Miss
6(13) Martez Carter, RB - Grambling State
7(33) Jermaine Carter, LB - Maryland
UDFA Alex McGough, QB - FIU
UDFA Taron Johnson, CB - Weber State

Da'Ron Payne was arguably BPA and the Chargers need a stud nose to shore up the run game.
James Daniels was my clear BPA and he will push Mike Pouncey for his job these next 2 years. He can also jump into guard.
Jamarco Jones will immediately push Joseph Barksdale at right tackle. Ideally he wins the starting job by the start of next season and the team cuts Barksdale before his final contract year.
Tarvarious Moore is one of my favourite DBs in this draft. Look for him to probably go on Day 2 of the draft.
Martez Carter is a change of pace running back that can hopefully take on the Sproles or Woodhead role in the backfield that the Chargers have been missing for years.
Jermaine Carter is a tackling machine and has the ability to be a situational pass rusher. He really improved this past year and has developed into a solid under-the-radar signing.
Alex McGough can battle for 3rd string. The Chargers have shown interest.
Taron Johnson is an intriguing CB prospect that can try to gain a spot in camp.

 

PACKERS
1(15) Marcus Davenport, OLB - UTSA
2(13) Isaiah Oliver, CB - Colorado
3(6) DeShon Elliott, FS - Texas
3(24) Braden Smith, OG - Auburn
4(1) Michael Gallup, WR - Colorado State
5(6) Oren Burks, LB - Vanderbilt
5(11) Dalton Schultz, TE - Stanford
6(34) Brandon Facyson, CB - Virginia Tech
7(26) Nick Gates, OT - Nebraska
7(38) Tanner Carew, LS - Oregon
UDFA Nico Falah, C - USC
UDFA Justin Watson, WR - Penn


The first pick was a tough choice. I didn't want to go WR quite yet and there wasn't a safety worth grabbing so BPA was between a guard or edge rusher. I decided to go with Davenport over Landry because I see a higher ceiling in him. He is a bit raw so he might take an extra season to get into gear.
In the second round it was a tough decision between Isaiah Oliver, James Daniels or Courtland Sutton. I decided to address the big need at corner.
DeShon Elliott felt like great value here so I grabbed him to hopefully immediately step in for Morgan Burnett.
I made a frantic push to trade up in the 3rd round to grab Braden Smith who could be a day 1 plug for the departed Jahri Evans.
With Michael Gallup I finally address receiver. Good thing I didn't wait any more as he wasn't going to last another pick.
Burks is one of my favourite LBs in this draft. He has a great work ethic that studied up before converting from safety.
Schultz felt like great value at that spot so I traded up for him and he will push to see reps behind or alongside Jimmy Graham,
I dip into corner again with a sliding talent in Facyson.
Gates was my 15th rated OT, which in this shallow draft isn't saying much since the drop is pretty big from 14 to 15 and a few spots before then as well. Still, I give him a 6th round grade and he is some solid depth and can be coached up to improve his technique since he has the strength, the athleticism and the nasty.
Carew may be a relevant Mr. Irrelevant because the team is looking for a new longsnapper.
The team has shown interest in Falah and Watson is a very intriguing late WR prospect who will get a chance to impress in camp and at least try to gain experience on the practice roster.

 

EAGLES
2(9) Justin Reid, S - Stanford
3(3) Rashaad Penny, RB - San Diego State
4(9) Alex Cappa, OT - Humboldt State
5(12) Chris Herndon, TE - Miami
5(32) Jaleel Scott, WR - New Mexico State
7(36) Christian Campbell, CB - Penn State
UDFA Johnny Townsend, P - Florida
UDFA Matthew Gono, OG - Wesley

Traded Ronald Darby for S Derrick Kindred, 5(12) & 2019 Browns 3rd.

My goal in this draft was to trade down in the first and get at least one solid DB and find a RB and TE.
Thanks to a lack of GMs that were "available" to trade at the end of the 1st I was able to get some good action for the 32nd pick. I traded for a mid 2nd, mid 3rd and late 4th. I then used my 5th to move up a few spots in the 2nd to get Justin Reid. There were still a few options available but I'm really warming up to Reid, even ahead of some players I had rated higher at other positions.
I then traded up with that mid 3rd and late 4th to select Rashaad Penny. Back to back drafts taking the NCAA leading rusher from San Diego State.
Alex Cappa may be my favourite developmental tackle. I don't know if he'd be available for much in his first season but he could become a solid swing tackle.
I got an offer for Ronald Darby at this point and I felt a likely early 3rd next year, a pick about to be on the clock and a DB that could immediately start in the slot in Derrick Kindred was a solid offer so I took it.
With that pick I took Chris Herndon who could be a great complement for Ertz at TE.
Jaleel Scott is my sleeper WR. He is an athlete and can make impossible catches.
I felt lucky to get Christian Campbell at the end of the draft. He was the last player I had with a 6th round grade. Another athletic freak and he has very long arms.
Johnny Townsend will compete with Cameron Johnston for punting duties while Matthew Gono seems like a perfect practice squad candidate on the O-line.

 

Bengals Draft
1(18) LB: Harold Landry - Boston College
2(14) CB: Carlton Davis - Auburn
3(13) OT: Joseph Noteboom - TCU
4(12) C: Mason Cole - Michigan
4(20) WR: Tre'Quan Smith - UCF
5(14) ILB: Jack Cichy - Wisconsin
5(21) QB: Mike White - Western Kentucky
5(33) OT: Jaryd Jones-Smith - Pittsburgh
6(39) S: Tracy Walker - Louisiana-Lafayette
7(35) DE: Marcell Frazier - Missouri
UDFA OT: Timon Parris - Stony Brook
UDFA TE/WR: Jake Wieneke - SDSU

 

Vikings sign - James Looney, DL - Cal
Vikings sign - Jester Weah, WR - Pitt

 

By the way - Thank you, RT & Joe for doing this. I had fun. I'm glad to have been a part of it.

 

Yes, I second this! Even dealing with the pain in the Assery of myself.

 

Kyzir White ran a 4.69 40 at his pro day and people are jumping off his bandwagon.

Tony Jefferson ran a 4.75.

I think he turned out OK...

Style of play in safeties determines how dependent they are on straight line speed. Kyzir's type of play is not dependent upon it, so I don't see his dash as some kind of huge red flag.

 

The Buccaneers sign Nick Shimonek.

The 49ers sign Stephen Roberts.

 

I expected Kyzir to be a MoneyBacker in Bettchers system when I drafted him. Sort of security since Collins needs another procedure since his forearm didn't heal properly from the break suffered last season. While I would of preferred a true free safety the Giants don't really have much quality depth at the safety spots anyhow so he made sense to me there. So I can't say that speed is too much of a problem based on the way I envisioned him being used but still slower than I would have expected. In retrospect I should have probably gone Tavares Moore there -- but I feel like I did ok for half this draft being from my phone...

 

Giants late to the UDFA game this year.

The Giants sign:

Jalen Davis, CB, Utah State

and

Jeremy Reaves, FS South Alabama.

 

Reaves was one of the other 2 guys I was considering.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars have invited (2) UDFAs to the team:
WR - Steve Ishmael - Syracuse
LB - David Bellamy - Georgia

 

Well, I certainly hope they hold their pinkys up whilst taking afternoon tea.

 

With Special Guest...
Queen Elizabeth II
SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAAAAAAAYYY!