Official 2014 NFL Draft Thread - Quarterbacks

Well, I made a free agent thread, so it is only natural to make a draft thread to accompany it...

Let's start with the obvious one:

Available early round QBs (bold has their 2014 intentions known), round rankings based on what I have seen from prominent websites across the board;
QB
Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville, Junior 1st round, declared to enter draft
[del]Marcus Mariota, Oregon RS Soph 1st round[/del] declared staying at Oregon (asked for draft evaluation)
[del]Brett Hundley, UCLA RS Sophomore 1st round[/del], declared staying at UCLA
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M RS Sophomore 1st round, declared to enter draft
Derek Carr, Fresno State Senior 1st round will be in the draft
Tajh Boyd, Clemson Senior 1st/3rd round will be in the draft
A.J. McCarron, Alabama Senior 1st/4th round will be in the draft
Blake Bortles, Central Florida RS Sophomore 1st/4th round, declared to enter draft
Zach Mettenberger, LSU Senior 2nd/3rd round will be in the draft
Aaron Murray, Georgia Senior 2nd/4th round will be in the draft
[del]Bryce Petty, Baylor Junior 2nd/4th round,[/del] declared staying at Baylor

Out of this list, I personally would take with the Browns picks if available (in the order given):

First round, pick #1:
Teddy Bridgewater
Possibly Blake Bortles, I need to see more

First round, pick #2:
Derek Carr
Johnny Manziel (won't be available with the 2nd pick, but too high for the 1st)

2nd round pick:
A.J. McCarron, most think this is too high for McCarron, but won't last to the 3rd round imo.

3rd round, pick #1:
Tajh Boyd (won't be available in the 3rd, but I don't think his skill set fits the NFL)
Zach Mettenberger, was a solid 2nd until his injury. He may be a nice one to look for in the 3rd if one isn't taken earlier
Aaron Murray, probably too high for the 2nd, but also probably won't be around for the 3rd

The only other late round flyers I would consider would be:
David Fales, San Jose State Junior late rounds 5+
Sean Mannion, OSU Senior late rounds 6+
Brynn Renner, UNC Senior rounds 6+
James Franklin, Mizzou Senior rounds 6+

 

Early thoughts...

I'm sure we are out of the Running for Bridgewater. IMHO. Too many teams ahead of us that will NEED a QB.

If we can get Carr at no greater cost than both 1st rd picks then take him if he is Lombatards "guy". Then use one of the extra 3 or 4 rounders to get Murray. I really think he showed a lot of maturity from last year to this before his injury.

 

Not sure we will need both 1st round picks for Carr. I think Hundley will ultimately go before Carr because of his measurables. But I see that leadership in Carr that is the rare game changer you see in guys like Brady, Manning and Luck...just not quite as high of skill level as that company...but who does?

Hundley can make a fine QB, but I don't see as much fire in him. He gets excited, but when the going is rough, I don't see him "rallying the troops" in the huddle or on the sidelines.

Carr is a natural born leader and I think he will ultimately do what his brother couldn't.

 

http://walterfootball.com/draft2014.php

Walter Football has a pretty amazing mock draft up for the Browns right now. If we could get this lucky, I would be on Cloud 9.

1-6: Brett Hundley, QB UCLA (no trading up necessary)
1-24: Marquise Lee, WR USC
2-37: Ryan Shazier, LB OSU
3-73: Deone Bucannon, S Washington State
3-76: Carlos Hyde, RB OSU

LOVE it.

 

What is wrong with you guys? I gave this a thumbs up, which means two of you gave it a thumbs down...What discernible reason would you have to disagree with this draft?

That would be one helluva start to the draft imho...

The only thing I worry about is the REAL scouts most likely have Carlos Hyde ranked higher than the 3rd round...

 

I gave that draft a thumbs up! Absolutely love it!

I know I'm a homer. lol! Don't care. Both Shazier and Hyde are going to be NFL stars. Would love to see them wreaking havoc for the orange and brown.

 

Tough honestly, i don't think there's any way that Carlos Hyde goes that late. If he's still available after the 2nd round, I'll be amazed...

I was impressed with the UCLA qb too...definately passes the eye test.

 

though*

 

What about Jimmy Garippollo from E. Illinois?

Bortels has the tools but he looked awful in the cold and snow when I last watched him. Smart money is on a bigger kid with a frame. Big Ben-like to be more specific and less like RG III. I watched Carr and saw the progression and the zip on the throws. I don't hate the browns but I hate Johnny Footbawl he is going to get the sh.it beat out of him and won't hold up JMFO.

Good luck guys except next Sunday. I'll be @ the game with steelers=sb.

 

Derek Carr had a rough outing in arguably his best opponent to date..He might have just lost some draft stock...

 

Unfortunately as I do not have cable or satellite I don?t get to watch many Bowl games anymore( Used to be they were spread out across most of the major networks and could watch 5 or 6 now ESPN has most of them, and outside of watching games I think ESPN sucks on several levels :-* ).

After watching Wisconsin and South Carolina play yesterday, I have A few thoughts on a few prospects: *WRITE*

Clowney: *CRAZY* I?ll Pass. While he is arguably extremely talented, I feel that the lack of conditioning and desire to give 100% every play showed. As a guy who is supposed to be an impact player I didn?t see it until late in the game. A beast at pass rush (when he wants to) he appears to lack any skill at pass coverage, was owned bad on that TD early in the game. Top 5 pick worthy I just didn?t see it. After reading the comparisons to Randy Moss this morning I have to agree. :!

Side note: I would love to see Houston take Brian Griese?s (came across like a dolt talking up Clowney all day *KISSING* ) advice and take the clown 1st overall. Give the Browns a better shot at getting their future QB.

Wisconsin - RB - White: Could be a good compliment D. Lewis similar size and skill set. I could see taking him in the later rounds. *THUMBSUP*

SC ? WR - Bruce Ellington (if he declares): Would not mind seeing this kid as a 3rd down back/ slot guy. I think he?s a bit small to play on the outside at WR, but has nice hands and concentration. Made some really tough catches yesterday. *YAHOO*

Wisconsin ? ILB ? Borland: May be a bit small for ILB, but guy has a motor and plays hard. Appeared to read and react extremely well. Not sure how well he can cover TE?s but does play the Run quite well. Liked what I saw.

SC ? QB ? Shaw: Good solid game for this guy. Not sure he?s going to be anything special at the next level. *TIRED*

 

Unfortunately, the fact that we have no idea who our coach will be, what our defensive scheme will be, what our offensive scheme will be... yada yada yada, it will be exceedingly difficult to accurately project our draft.

Will we need another ILB, or will we be switching back to the 4-3? I would like to assume that we will stay with the 3-4 seeing as the brilliant tacticians running the show spent all last offseason stocking for it..... I mean, they would never start over would they? Would they?

 

After yesterday Bortles may be gone . Has Hundley crapped or got off the pot Bortles might need acclimation to Cleveland weather if he's there@ 6 . As far as the mock, Hyde doesn't WOW me like Shazier does. If you want the next Antonio Brown to compliment Josh Gordon. Brandin Cooks is your guy.

 

See the MNC article: "Pass on the Clown" on the contributor pages. Also see how I nailed Griese to a cross with his moronic man-crush on Clowney! (Steelers draft and Mel Kiper Sucks a Thread)

 

Read them both bites...Clowney will still go too ten, but it sure would be tough for me to use a top ten on a guy that takes as many plays off as he does. He needs the right leader in the locker room to reach him early in his career.

That was the first game I had seen of Bortles...I am starting to see what all the hype is about. I would still take Bridgewater, but he would make a nice consolation prize.

 

Hey Bites Crooks is the little big man from Oregon ST right ? he is super shifty .isn't he more of a slot receiver than a # 2 ?

I do like Crooks a lot

 

as long as the Browns don't draft Johnny Fluke ..AKA Johnny Beanstalk with the frat boy attitude all will be good .

Johnny Fluke = Ryan Leaf

Just say NO !

 

If you believe the reports, one of the reasons for the Chudzinski *firing is that our F/O is "enamored" with Johnny Manziel and knew the offensive style doesn't fit the player.

 

Who's offense does he fit? Don't you need to build an offense around his skills?

I would be happy with Manziel if we can't get Bridgewater.

 

A lot of ground left to travel between now and April/May when we actually draft, but I don't think we can rule out Manziel for a number of reasons. First being that he actually is undeniably talented.

Per the reports, Haslam & Co. want Josh McDaniels and that timing, west-coast style offense that New England runs. It's part of the reason Chud was let go. It's also being reported (as I mentioned above) that Jimmy Haslam loves him some Johnny Football.

So the stage is set from a needs and buy-in perspective.

From the talent perspective, there's not much to argue about. Manziel has been one of, if not the best, QB in college these past two seasons. Even more impressive was his development as a passer in 2013 -- improving every metric -- and relying on his mobility less as a run-first and more of an improvisational tool.

He competes in the toughest collegiate division and even given his small size, has yet to miss a game due to injury. He's going to stack up size-wise with Drew Brees and possesses a similar arm. He adds a nasty dimension of mobility and more impressive, field vision.

The maturity concerns are legitimate, but they technically exist with any 20-year old suddenly coming into tens of millions of dollars. The one good news is that his family is loaded, so the money may not change that aspect of him.

My top choice right now is still Brett Hundley, but Manziel is far more polished than Hundley and has been flat out better. I won't cringe if we announce his name as our first pick -- especially if we don't have to leap-frog the Jags to get him.

Stay tuned!