NFL Draft Recap of Fun and Excitement (for most)

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

*deep breath*

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Man the Philly faithful did not like Roger Goodell.  Well, to be honest, no one really likes Roger Goodell.  I think even the owners basically tolerate at him at this point and once he stops making them gobs of money he will be tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.  I did smile the first few times they booed him.  Funny.  Bettman-esque even.  Then it just got kind of annoying and sad.  We get it, you don’t like him.

Before we get into my team ratings, let’s go over a few things first:

• I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan by any stretch of the imagination but good lord Drew Pearson trolled the shit out of the Eagles fans and it was glorious!  The best pick selection of the draft by far.
• I don’t know what Takkarist McKinley was drinking back in the draft waiting room but man he was on fire when he was selected by the Falcons.  First, he comes out with this HUGE picture of his grandmother.  Like something you put over a fireplace.  It was about the size of the Queen Elizabeth portrait at the old Winnipeg Arena.  Then he gets interviewed afterwards and just goes nuts.  And swore.  And dared the NFL to fine him.  It was great.  I hope he gets Defensive Rookie of the Year just for that performance alone.
• Day 3 was shit.  Except for Mike Mayock’s absolute hatred of the picks coming out of the Indianapolis Zoo.  I agree it was kind of dumb but it’s a tough thing the NFL has to do with rounds four through seven.  The first three rounds it’s actually still exciting as you wonder who goes where, who trades up, who makes a dumb pick, etc.  But the last four rounds go so fast at times that some guys get drafted and you never hear their name.  So there has to be some entertainment value along with the analysis.  Saying that, some ideas are dumb and some are just boring.  Not a whole lot you can do really.
• Charles Davis’ knowledge of wrestling was surprising and amazing all at the same time.  I’m surprised he didn’t do the Ric Flair WOOOOOOOOOOO! if a team made a great choice.

OK enough of that.  Let’s get on with the picks!  I will be honest and say I did not watch one minute of the ESPN coverage of the first round.  According to Twitter I was in the extreme minority.  I do have a question for all of those people though: If you don’t like the ESPN broadcast of the event, why watch it when there’s an alternative?  I think the NFL Network did a good job.  I do, for the most part, enjoy Mike Mayock, Daniel Jeremiah, and (later on) Charles Davis doing analysis on all the draft picks.  And Rich Eisen is as good a host as there is when it comes to the NFL nowadays.  In honour of the good job they did, I will be doing this on the MAYOCK SCALE.  So let’s get down it OK?

6 Mike Mayocks (Pretty damn fantastic!)

Arizona (First pick: Haason Reddick, Other Notable Picks: Budda Baker, Chad Williams, Dorian Johnson) – I am going to disagree with pretty much everyone and say that the Arizona Cardinals and not the San Francisco 49ers won this draft (although it was close).  Reddick was a great pick but it was their next three picks that set them apart.  Baker could end up being one of the biggest steals of the draft in the second round.  All in all, no bad picks equals good times in the desert.

San Francisco (First pick: Solomon Thomas, Other Notable Picks: Reuben Foster, George Kittle, D.J. Jones) – The trade early on with the Bears was the coup of the draft.  John Lynch has had a great start as GM with that one move.  And picking Solomon Thomas was awesome.  Saying that, they had a couple garbage picks and I can’t let a team who even had one bad pick as the winner of the draft.  Lucky for them, everyone will only remember the Trubisky trade.

Baltimore (First pick: Marlon Humphrey, Other Notable Picks: Chris Wormley, Tim Williams, Nico Siragusa, Jermaine Eluemunor) – Arguably the most consistently good draft from beginning to end.  Siragusa was a fantastic pick and almost every other pick was good and fit what they needed.

Cleveland (First pick: Myles Garrett, Other Notable Picks: Jabrill Peppers, Roderick Johnson, Caleb Brantley, Matt Dayes) – A good draft.  Or in Cleveland terms, the Draft of the Century!  Garrett was the obvious number one choice.  People are polarizing on Peppers but I think he was a decent pick.  Johnson and Dayes late are great gets for a team not known for its drafting prowess.

Tampa Bay (First pick: O.J. Howard, Other Notable Picks: Justin Evans, Chris Godwin, Jeremy McNichols) – The Bucs drafted three weapons for Famous Jameis.  That alone puts them in the top tier.

5 Mike Mayocks (That’s some good pickin!)

The NEW Los Angeles Chargers (First pick: Mike Williams, Other Notable Picks: Dan Feeney, Desmond King) – Amazingly enough, Williams may have been one of the worst picks of the bunch just for the fact they reached a bit for him.  Other than that a solid draft for a team that will be playing in a 30,000 seat stadium.

Buffalo (First pick: Tre’Davious White, Other Notable Picks: Zay Jones, Nathan Peterman) – So let me get this straight: the Bills fire most of their front office staff THE DAY AFTER THE DRAFT ENDS?  I get that new head coach Sean McDermott probably did the entire draft but still, this is a bad look for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs this century.

Tennessee (First pick: Corey Davis, Other Notable Picks: Adoree Jackson, Taywan Taylor, Jayon Brown) – So……….the real question should be what position won’t Adoree Jackson play.

Washington (First pick: Jonathan Allen, Other Notable Picks: Samaje Perine, Josh Harvey-Clemsons) – Allen is a great pickup for the Skins.  You have to wonder why he even made it to the Skins since a couple months ago he was considered a top 5 pick.  Perine was overshadowed by the Joe Mixon saga and may end up working out very well in DC.

Minnesota (First pick: Dalvin Cook, Other Notable Picks: Pat Elflein, Stacy Coley) – No, Cook won’t erase the memory of Adrian Peterson (in his glory days).  But at least the Vikings have shored up their pathetic running game with that pick.  Elflein helps in that regard as well.

4 Mike Mayocks (Give your scouts a bonus…but only a small one)

Indianapolis (First pick: Malik Hooker, Other Notable Picks: Quincy Wilson, Marlon Mack) – Hooker was easily their best pick of the draft.  Mayock himself would have pushed the Colts further down the list for their Day 3 Indianapolis Zoo shenanigans.

Philadelphia (First pick: Derek Barnett, Other Notable Picks: Mack Hollins, Donnel Pumphrey, Elijah Qualls) – The hosts did well.  They booed.  A lot.  And they cheered at most of the appropriate times.  And Santa Claus and Michael Irvin weren’t there to incite them into a fury.  Plus their first pick was a good one.  Also, they got Darren Sproles 2.0 in Pumphrey (who is NOT the NCAA rushing yards career leader no matter what the NCAA says).

Miami (First pick: Charles Harris, Other Notable Picks: Isaac Asiata, Davon Godchaux, Vincent Taylor, Isaiah Ford) – A lot of good picks.  No great picks although getting Asiata, Godchaux, and Ford where the Fins got them makes their draft class look a lot better.

Denver (First pick: Garett Bolles (and Garett Bolles’ kid), Other Notable Picks: Carlos Henderson, Jake Butt, Chad Kelly) – If it wasn’t for Takkarist McKinley going off the rails, Bolles and his son would be the highlight of the first round.  A decent pick as well.  Jake Butt is a risk considering his bowl game injury but could turn out to be an amazing pick.  I honestly think Chad Kelly will go into camp with a big chip on his shoulder.  It’s not Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch are for-sure starters so Kelly may sneak in as the backup.  Mr. Irrelevant indeed.

Dallas (First pick: Taco Charlton, Other Notable Pick: Chidobe Awuzie, Xavier Woods, Marquez White) – Drew Pearson was the clear highlight for the Cowboys.  Too bad, because the guy he announced, Awuzie, was a great pick at that time of the draft.  Other than that, a whole lot of average picks.

3 Mike Mayocks (OK now things are starting to turn for the worse)

New Orleans (First pick: Marshon Lattimore, Other Notable Pick: Alex Anzalone) – Fantastic pickup of Lattimore.  After that it really was mediocre at best with Anzalone the only decent pick afterwards.  Al-Quadin Muhammad was a pick they didn’t need to make considering his off-the-field issues.

Jacksonville (First pick: Leonard Fournette, Other Notable Picks: Dede Westbrook, Blair Brown, Jalen Myrick) – There are very polarizing views of the Jags picking Fournette.  One thing is for sure, though; they intend to contend for a playoff spot this year and they are planning much of their offense around Fournette.  Westbrook was a good pick for where he was and Brown and Myrick were decent picks as well.  Other than that, a whole lot of meh.

Green Bay (First pick: Kevin King, Other Notable Pick: Jamaal Williams) – If it wasn’t for the two picks mentioned, Green Bay would have been almost last in the rankings.  King was a superb pick considering the depth of secondary players in this draft.  Williams will be a starter very soon (perhaps Week 1) for the Packers.  The rest of their picks were pretty much shit with some pretty bad late-round drafting.

Pittsburgh (First pick: T.J. Watt, Other Notable Picks: Bryan Allen, JuJu Smith-Schuster) – I liked the Steelers’ pick of Watt.  More than many it seems.  Also liked the Smith-Schuster pick.  Yes they missed on many of their draft picks otherwise but those two, for sure, were top-rate picks.

Cincinnati (First pick: John Ross, Other Notable Picks: Joe Mixon, Jordan Willis) – I honestly don’t know what I think about the Mixon pick.  On one hand, if the Bengals hadn’t taken them, I am sure there were at least 4 or 5 other teams that would have shortly thereafter.  On the other hand this is a huge risk on Cincinnati’s part.  If this doesn’t work, there could be major changes just around the corner in southern Ohio.

2 Mike Mayocks (Yeah this isn’t good now)

New England (First pick: Derek Rivers, Other Notable Pick: Antonio Garcia) – One of these four draft picks they had will be a Pro Bowler.  Guaranteed.

NY Giants (First pick: Evan Engram, Other Notable Picks: Dalvin Tomlinson, Davis Webb) – The Giants reached for Engram.  They made have unearthed a bit of a diamond in the rough (as much as you can do that on the first two nights of the draft these days) in Davis Webb.  Kid can chuck the ball all over the field and would be a good replacement for Eli at some point (as long as OBJ is still with the team).

Houston (First pick: Deshaun Watson, Other Notable Pick: Zach Cunningham) – If they hadn’t traded that much to get Watson, I would have said it was a solid pick.  He will be the day one starter and will be counted on to get the Texans back to the playoffs again.  Talk about pressure.  Cunningham was the only good pick Houston had.

Atlanta (First pick: Takkarist McKinley, Other Notable Pick: Damontae Kazee) – Takk McKinley was awesome on draft night.  A bit of a reach on the Falcons’ part if you ask me but still, you can’t deny his passion.  Other than him and Kazee the Falcons flopped big in the draft.  Not as bad as their Super Bowl loss.  Too soon?  Yeah, probably too soon.

Detroit (First pick: Jarrad Davis, Other Notable Picks: Jeremiah Ledbetter) – The Lions missed slightly with their first pick.  Then again with their second pick (I think I had Teez Tabor too high in my mock drafts).  I say Ledbetter is a good pick but that may be stretching it.  No super bad picks and that’s the only thing keeping them out of lower territory.

1 Mike Mayock (Good lord)

Carolina (First pick: Christian McCaffrey, Other Notable Pick: Daeshon Hall) – I think McCaffrey was not a good choice at that spot.  He could prove me wrong but it feels like he picked with his almost-Heisman season two seasons ago.  If it wasn’t for the Daeshon Hall pick, the Panthers would have been close to the bottom of the rankings.

Seattle (First pick: Malik McDowell, Other Notable Picks: None) – McDowell was a great pick.  After that there is nothing notable.  Kind of sad considering they drafted like 100 guys (OK it was 11 but it felt like a lot more).

NY Jets (First pick: Jamal Adams, Other Notable Pick: Chad Hansen) – Adams was an OK pick.  Hansen was a fantastic pick (where they got him).  A lot of sub-average picks otherwise.  Pretty much forgetable.

Kansas City (First pick: Patrick Mahomes, Other Notable Picks: None) – Mahomes is a good quarterback.  What they traded to get him might not have been worth it but they needed someone.  The rest were fairly average picks.  Except for Ukeme Eligwe.  He was kicked off the Florida State team.  I would be shocked if he ever makes the Chiefs roster.  Feels like a wasted pick.

Oakland (First pick: Gareon Conley, Other Notable Picks: None) – Conley is a risky pick.  Then again it is the Las Vegas, uh, I mean, Oakland Raiders.  And what was that about making the picks from Vegas?  I fully agree with Rich Eisen, that was just another slap in the face to the fans out in Oakland.

Los Angeles Rams (First pick: Gerald Everett, Other Notable Picks: None) – If it wasn’t for the worst team in these rankings, I would have ranked this team at the bottom.  That was from the Redundancy Department of Redundancy.  Anyway…yeah the Rams and their young GM pissed away the draft.  Damn millennials.

Negative 50,000 Mike Mayocks (What in the fuck?)

Chicago (First pick: Mitchell Trubisky, Other Notable Picks: None) – Arguably the worst trade for a top 5 pick in NFL History (OK second worst after Hinton-for-Elway).  Poor Mitchell Trubisky.  The kid has to be basically a Hall of Famer or otherwise the fans and the media will shit all over the Bears for this draft and rightfully so.  It was awful.  Like seriously fucking awful.  It was a fun trainwreck to watch though.

Alright, done the draft recap.  A longer-than-usual post from yours truly but I needed to be at least somewhat thorough with some parts of the draft.  Plus it’s not like I am posting much these days.  God I miss football.

It’s almost June which means some semblance of football returns (the CFL).  It also means I can start gathering college football preview magazines soon with the mecca of magazines, the Phil Steele College Football Preview, the one that you should get if you are a huge college football fan (like myself).  Soon enough I will be putting together the most important games of the year posts along with the preliminary network previews which will be somewhat difficult with the Big Ten’s partial move to FOX (and more importantly for us Canadians, FOX Sports One).

It’s the final countdown…to the draft

See?  I waited.  I didn’t do this post until at least 4/20.  And no, I am not that kind of person (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  So here we go.  The final mock draft for 2017:

FIRST ROUND

1		Myles Garrett, DE (Texas A&M)
2		Solomon Thomas, DE (Stanford)
3		Mitch Trubisky, QB (North Carolina)
4		Jamal Adams, SS (LSU)
5		Malik Hooker, FS (Ohio State)
6		Leonard Fournette, RB (LSU)
7		Mike Williams, WR (Clemson)
8		Derek Barnett, DE (Tennessee)
9		Jonathan Allen, DE (Alabama)
10		Corey Davis, WR (Western Michigan)
11		Marshon Lattimore, CB (Ohio State)
12		Dalvin Cook, RB (Florida State)
13		Reuben Foster, LB (Alabama)
14		Taco Charlton, DE (Michigan)
15		Haason Reddick, OLB (Temple)
16		John Ross, WR (Washington)
17		Zach Cunningham, LB (Vanderbilt)
18		O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
19		Christian McCaffrey, RB (Stanford)
20		Ryan Ramczyk, T (Wisconsin)
21		Marlon Humphrey, CB (Alabama)
22		David Njoku, TE (Miami)
23		Deshaun Watson, QB (Clemson)
24		Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
25		Cam Robinson, T (Alabama)
26		Tre’Davious White, CB (LSU)
27		DeShone Kizer, QB (Notre Dame)
28		Jarrad Davis, MLB (Florida)
29		Chidobe Awuzie, CB (Colorado)
30		T.J. Watt, LB (Wisconsin)
31		Forrest Lamp, G (Western Kentucky)
32		Jabrill Peppers, S (Michigan)

SECOND ROUND

1		Patrick Mahomes, QB (Texas Tech)
2		Garett Bolles, T (Utah)
3		Malik McDowell, DT (Michigan State)
4		Kevin King, CB (Washington)
5		Quincy Wilson, CB (Florida)
6		Joshua Dobbs, QB (Tennessee)
7		Adoree Jackson, CB (USC)
8		Alvin Kamara, RB (Tennessee)
9		Charles Harris, DE (Missouri)
10		Carl Lawson, DE (Auburn)
11		Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
12		Gareon Conley, CB (Ohio State)
13		Zay Jones, WR (East Carolina)
14		Obi Melifonwu, S (UConn)
15		Tim Williams, DE (Alabama)
16		Taylor Moton, T (Western Michigan)
17		Caleb Brantley, DT (Florida)
18		Chris Wormley, DE (Michigan)
19		Evan Engram, TE (Ole Miss)
20		Ethan Pocic, C (LSU)
21		Jordan Willis, DE (Kansas State)
22		Raekwon McMillan, LB (Ohio State)
23		Dont’a Foreman, RB (Texas)
24		Carlos Watkins, DT (Clemson)
25		Davon Godchaux, DT (LSU)
26		Takkarist McKinley, DE (UCLA)
27		Jourdan Lewis, CB (Michigan)
28		Demarcus Walker, DE (Florida State)
29		Tarell Basham, DE (Ohio)
30		Bucky Hodges, TE (Virginia Tech)
31		Montravius Adams, DT (Auburn)
32		Dalvin Tomlinson, DT (Alabama)

Notes

• Late last week (before my laser eye surgery) I pretty much completed this final mock draft.  At the time, Jabrill Peppers and Gareon Conley were much higher than they are now.  Of course, with the news coming out about the two of them, they have dropped significantly but I still think they won’t be Day 3 picks.  I still have Peppers in the first round because he is a superbly skilled player.  Plus, there seems to be a bevy of teams that need a lot of defensive help, New Orleans being one of them.
• The top two picks seem to be across-the-board selections.  I haven’t seen one expert lately who doesn’t have Myles Garrett and Solomon Thomas as #1 and #2 respectively.  Now watch the Browns trade that pick and blow up everyone’s mock draft.  Would be fun, no?
• I did not include trades.  I think it is ridiculous to do so.  A single trade has a big ripple effect and I know there will be at least one in the first round so I am not going to try and predict that.  But again, the Browns trading either of their first round picks would be equal parts intriguing and hilarious.
• If I get even ten of these picks correct I should reward myself.  Seriously.  Not even Mel Kiper gets that many right I’m sure.

Tomorrow night people!  The NFL Draft begins at 8:00.  Then again on Friday night and then most of the day on Saturday.  Saturday I will not watch live.  That is absurd.  I will PVR it and then motor through it in about an hour.  Other than odd picks (like Minnesota picking German wide receiver MoBo), most of the picks are boring and the production values drop through the floor.  I will be watching NFL Network this season as I just cannot stand ESPN’s coverage.  Then again, no Chris Berman is a massive improvement.

Soon enough I will start posting some college football info.  Most important games, network looks, etc.  Slowly we are getting back into the swing of things after about three months off.  I can start to get truly excited once summer starts and the season is close to commencing.

One final thought: the layoffs at ESPN are going to be interesting for college football.  After Sean McDonough left to do Monday Night Football and Brad Nessler became Uncle Verne’s replacement at CBS, ESPN was already a little thin with play-by-play for college football games.  Who knows who will be laid off today.  Already Brendan Fitzgerald, Brett McMurphy, and Danny Kanell, to name a few, have been axed.  More will be let go throughout the day.  Not saying that this is a tragedy or a disaster but it will almost certainly change some sports being broadcast on ESPN, college football being one of them.

Mock Draft V4.something…now with TWO rounds!

I solemnly swear to not do another mock draft until no earlier than one week before the actual draft.  The NFL draft commences on April 27th so I will not do another one of these things until at least April 20th.  Let’s just get to this thing and then I can do a little discussion afterwards.  Note: this will be longer because it now features TWO rounds which I am sure I will be so ridiculously wrong on.  Here we go:

FIRST ROUND

1		Myles Garrett, DE (Texas A&M)
2		Mitch Trubisky, QB (North Carolina)
3		Marshon Lattimore, CB (Ohio State)
4		Jamal Adams, SS (LSU)
5		Mike Williams, WR (Clemson)
6		Leonard Fournette, RB (LSU)
7		Malik Hooker, FS (Ohio State)
8		Solomon Thomas, DE (Stanford)
9		Derek Barnett, DE (Tennessee)
10		John Ross, WR (Washington)
11		Jonathan Allen, DE (Alabama)
12		Dalvin Cook, RB (Florida State)
13		Marlon Humphrey, CB (Alabama)
14		Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
15		Jabrill Peppers, S (Michigan)*
16		Taco Charlton, DE (Michigan)
17		Reuben Foster, LB (Alabama)
18		Quincy Wilson, CB (Florida)
19		Corey Davis, WR (Western Michigan)
20		O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
21		Zach Cunningham, LB (Vanderbilt)
22		David Njoku, TE (Miami)
23		Haason Reddick, OLB (Temple)
24		Adoree Jackson, CB (USC)
25		Ryan Ramczyk, T (Wisconsin)
26		Garett Bolles, T (Utah)
27		Deshaun Watson, QB (Clemson)
28		Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
29		Gareon Conley, CB (Ohio State)
30		Carl Lawson, DE (Auburn)
31		Charles Harris, DE (Missouri)
32		Jarrad Davis, MLB (Florida)

SECOND ROUND

1		Forrest Lamp, G (Western Kentucky)
2		Cam Robinson, T (Alabama)
3		Malik McDowell, DT (Michigan State)
4		DeShone Kizer, QB (Notre Dame)
5		Cooper Kupp, WR (Eastern Washington)
6		Patrick Mahomes, QB (Texas Tech)
7		Tre’Davious White, CB (LSU)
8		Christian McCaffrey, RB (Stanford)
9		T.J. Watt, LB (Wisconsin)
10		Chidobe Awuzie, CB (Colorado)
11		Jourdan Lewis, CB (Michigan)
12		Kevin King, CB (Washington)
13		Zay Jones, WR (East Carolina)
14		Alvin Kamara, RB (Tennessee)
15		Amara Darboh, WR (Michigan)
16		Caleb Brantley, DT (Florida)
17		Tim Williams, DE (Alabama)
18		Obi Melifonwu, S (UConn)
19		Taylor Moton, T (Western Michigan)
20		Ethan Pocic, C (LSU)
21		Chris Wormley, DE (Michigan)
22		Dion Dawkins, G (Temple)
23		Dont’a Foreman, RB (Texas)
24		Carlos Watkins, DT (Clemson)
25		Joshua Dobbs, QB (Tennessee)
26		Davon Godchaux, DT (LSU)
27		Montravius Adams, DT (Auburn)
28		Evan Engram, TE (Ole Miss)
29		Demarcus Walker, DE (Florida State)
30		Raekwon McMillan, LB (Ohio State)
31		Jordan Willis, DE (Kansas State)
32		Bucky Hodges, TE (Virginia Tech)

Notes

• Newcomers into the first round: Haason Reddick, Gareon Conley, Charles Harris, and, the biggest move up the board, Corey Davis.  Funny that he had been a mid-first round pick in my second mock draft, I had him falling completely out in my last one, and now he’s back in the middle of the first round.  OK maybe funny isn’t the word.  More like dumb?  Yeah maybe that’s the right word.
• All signs point to Jabrill Peppers being drafted as a safety rather than a linebacker.  Who really cares at this point?  As long as the team he joins, he wants to play, and he will play wherever they put him.  Unlike a certain guy who refused to move from quarterback for any reason and is now a shitty spring training baseball jabroni who has taken up someone else’s roster spot because the New York Mets crave attention, no matter if it’s bad attention.  I believe his name rhymes with Jim Jebow.
• I have 13 of the first 18 picks being defensive players this time around.  That would be some sort of record wouldn’t it?
• I haven’t included any trades but it would not surprise me if another trade happened before now and draft night involving a team picking in the upper half of the first round.

As I said above, no more mock drafts for about another month.  Which means I have to post about something in the meantime.  I’ll figure something out.  I am not promising it will be good but I will post something DAMMIT!

The entire college football schedule is out.  Well, I should say we know what games will be played this season.  Where they land is a different story.  I am working on piecing together what I think the schedule will be so that I can do my most important games posts in a few months.  It also allows me to predict what the networks will do which is always fun and always dead wrong.  OK that’s an exaggeration.  I get some picks right.  Not many though.  I still have to do that calculation on how many I actually get correct.  If I get more than 25% I should be considered a genius.

Hey now that the combine’s over, it’s time for another Mock Draft…wait, don’t leave!

Yes the Meat Market (also knows as the NFL Draft Combine) is pretty much complete.  Now that all the GMs and coaches and scouts have ogled some of the upcoming draftees to the point of creepiness, we can all adjust our mock drafts to show if someone moved up or moved down thanks to their combine efforts…or we just feel like it.  So here we go!

1		Myles Garrett, DE (Texas A&M)
2		Mitch Trubisky, QB (North Carolina)
3		Jamal Adams, SS (LSU)
4		Jonathan Allen, DE (Alabama)
5		Marshon Lattimore, CB (Ohio State)
6		Leonard Fournette, RB (LSU)
7		Malik Hooker, FS (Ohio State)
8		Solomon Thomas, DE (Stanford)
9		Reuben Foster, LB (Alabama)
10		Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
11		Derek Barnett, DE (Tennessee)
12		DeShone Kizer, QB (Notre Dame)
13		Mike Williams, WR (Clemson)
14		Ryan Ramczyk, T (Wisconsin)
15		Dalvin Cook, RB (Florida State)
16		John Ross, WR (Washington)
17		Taco Charlton, DE (Michigan)
18		Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
19		Malik McDowell, DT (Michigan State)
20		Cam Robinson, T (Alabama)
21		Marlon Humphrey, CB (Alabama)
22		Jarrad Davis, MLB (Florida)
23		Deshaun Watson, QB (Clemson)
24		Zach Cunningham, LB (Vanderbilt)
25		Jabrill Peppers, LB (Michigan)
26		Quincy Wilson, CB (Florida)
27		Tim Williams, DE (Alabama)
28		O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
29		Carl Lawson, DE (Auburn)
30		David Njoku, TE (Miami)
31		Adoree Jackson, CB (USC)
32		Garett Bolles, T (Utah)

Notes

• Newcomers into the first round: Garett Bolles, Adoree Jackson, and, the biggest mover, John Ross.  After his record-shattering 40 run at the Combine, I can see many more teams being very interested just on his speed alone.  The special teams possibilities are endless…well kind of.  I don’t think Ross will be one of the up-men on a kickoff return.
• Other than Ross, Taco Charlton and Sidney Jones both moved ten spots up on my board.  Fournette moved up six and that’s about it.  Not many huge moves up.
• I have Cleveland getting their next victim, uh, I mean, starting quarterback with their second pick of the draft, DeShone Kizer.  He would be considered one of the biggest drops inside the first round.  Tim Williams drops eleven spots but should still stay in the first round when all is said and done.  O.J. Howard is also a decent drop (ten spots) but I honestly don’t see him dropping out of the first round since him and David Njoku seem to be the only true first round tight ends.
• Did you like the pretty logos?  I did.

Alright we are getting much closer to the draft.  College basketball conference tournaments are fully in swing.  I have been watching a bit of it but not a whole lot really.  I probably will closer to Selection Sunday.

Other than another mock draft in a couple of weeks or so, I don’t foresee any new posts.  It’s quite depressing.  As is this weather.  Yuck.

Mock Draft 2.0 + How Did I Do – NFL Edition (Spoiler alert: Poorly)

Let’s start with the mock draft since that’s the easy part (at this point).  Here’s my second version of the NFL Draft:

1	Cleveland	Myles Garrett, DE (Texas A&M)
2	San Francisco	Mitch Trubisky, QB (North Carolina)
3	Chicago	DeShone Kizer, QB (Notre Dame)
4	Jacksonville	Jonathan Allen, DE (Alabama)
5	Tennessee	Jamal Adams, SS (LSU)
6	NY Jets	Marshon Lattimore, CB (Ohio State)
7	LA Chargers	Malik Hooker, FS (Ohio State)
8	Carolina	Solomon Thomas, DE (Stanford)
9	Cincinnati	Reuben Foster, LB (Alabama)
10	Buffalo	Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
11	New Orleans	Derek Barnett, DE (Tennessee)
12	Cleveland	Leonard Fournette, RB (LSU)
13	Arizona	Mike Williams, WR (Clemson)
14	Indianapolis	Ryan Ramczyk, T (Wisconsin)
15	Philadelphia	Dalvin Cook, RB (Florida State)
16	Baltimore	Tim Williams, DE (Alabama)
17	Washington	Malik McDowell, DT (Michigan State)
18	Tennessee	O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
19	Tampa Bay	Corey Davis, WR (Western Michigan)
20	Denver	David Njoku, TE (Miami)
21	Detroit	Zach Cunningham, LB (Vanderbilt)
22	Miami	Carl Lawson, DE (Auburn)
23	NY Giants	Jabrill Peppers, LB (Michigan)
24	Oakland	Marlon Humphrey, CB (Alabama)
25	Houston	Deshaun Watson, QB (Clemson)
26	Seattle	Cam Robinson, T (Alabama)
27	Kansas City	Taco Charlton, DE (Michigan)
28	Dallas	Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
29	Green Bay	Jarrad Davis, MLB (Florida)
30	Pittsburgh	Christian McCaffrey, RB (Stanford)
31	Atlanta	Takkarist McKinley, DE (UCLA)
32	New England	Quincy Wilson, CB (Florida)

Notes

• Top 4 haven’t changed since my previous mock. A few have Watson picked before Kizer.  I don’t see it at this point but you never know with about two months left before the draft.
• Biggest move up my board goes to David Njoku. I have him moving from #30 to #20 to go to Denver.  I can’t honestly see him moving up the chain too much more than this unless he has an amazing combine.
• Biggest drop goes to Deshaun Watson dropping 13 spots. Saying that, between Cleveland at #12 and the Giants at #23 no one needs a quarterback.  So if the Browns pass on Watson to get Fournette (which I have in this mock at least) it makes no sense that he would be picked before the Giants.  And even then.
• I STILL don’t see Christian McCaffrey going to the Patriots but now at least I have him in the first round.

That’s enough analysis for now.  It’s too early for this.  So why did I do it?  Hmmm…..I should try and figure out an answer to that question.

Alright now on to my NFL predictions and how terrible they were.  And boy were they.  Let’s get a rundown of the gaffes shall we?

OK no crazy AFC East bullshit this year. Despite the fact Tommy Touchdown will be absent for the first four games, I am sure Jimmy G and the Pat-tones can hold the fort until he comes back.  Other than the opening week trip to Arizona, it’s not a tough schedule so they should be 2-2 at worst when all of Massachusetts blows its wad and Gisele’s hubby comes back to save the day.

Yeah this pretty much happened to the glee of Patriots fans everywhere (and to the bitter disappointment of pretty much everyone else).

I could see Pittsburgh and Cincinnati really being the class of the AFC so it will suck when one of them has to be the #5 seed and playing on the road the entire playoffs. I wish the division winners were only guaranteed a top-5 spot.  Keeps these 9-7, 8-8, or, dare I say it, 7-9 teams from getting a home playoff date.

I still wish this to be the case.  But Cincinnati was god-awful this season.  Why is Marvin Lewis still their coach?

The two worst divisions in football, yet again, will be the two South divisions. Houston and Indy will actually have a battle and Jacksonville will be much improved but I kind of see a 9-7 division champ there.  As for the NFC South, Carolina should clinch the division sometime around Thanksgiving…our Thanksgiving.

The NFC South was quite good this year.  The AFC South was still shit but nothing compared to the NFC West.  Good fucking lord.

Yes I have Dallas winning the NFC East. No I am not drunk or high.  Other than Philly, it should be a bit of a dogfight but I can’t see Washington repeating last season and I just don’t trust the Giants offense enough.

Holy shit I was pretty much bang on with this.

Arizona, Green Bay, Minnesota, and Seattle will be the four of the five best teams in the NFC (Carolina fits in somewhere there) which again outlines the poor NFL playoff structure. Wait until they put a third Wild-Card team in for each conference.  I’m sure Commissioner Gingerhammer will fuck that up as well.

Arizona and Carolina were not good at all.  And Minnesota, after their strong start, shit the bed.  Then again, I didn’t foresee Adrian Peterson being gone for most of the season.  So yeah, there’s my excuse.

And now the playoff outlook.  I have Pittsburgh and Arizona nabbing the top seeds in their respective conferences.  Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Baltimore will be just on the outside looking in with the rest of the AFC teams not really having much of a shot at anything.  In the NFC, the aforementioned Redskins and Giants, along with Chicago and Detroit will be close but no cigar (the NFC North should be extremely tough this season).  Finally, I am struggling to figure out where Tennessee and Cleveland will get more than two wins this season.  And they play each other week six so one of them will at least get one win unless they tie which would be hilarious, especially if one of the teams went 0-15-1.

For fuck’s sake where do I begin here?

• Arizona was garbage.
• Indianapolis was pretty bad too. So was Baltimore.
• Chicago wasn’t close at all, unless you are talking about the #1 pick in the draft.
• Tennessee was very close to a Wild Card spot. Cleveland was really the one thing I got right here.

I picked Cincinnati and Arizona to play in the Super Bowl.  Not a good start.  At least I had the actual conference championship losers correct in Pittsburgh and Green Bay.  I also had Atlanta nowhere close to the Super Bowl.  So yeah, brutal picks overall.

OK enough of this tomfoolery.  Since there is really no realignment news, I will defer from doing an entire post on that.  I will do another mock draft so I am guessing two weeks or so from now?  Looks like the next post will be the NCAA College Basketball conference tournament schedule.  Yes, March Madness is almost upon us.  Technically, conference tournaments start on February 28th with the Atlantic Sun tournament; however, us here in the Great White North (which isn’t so white right now depending on where you live) will not receive any conference tournament coverage until probably March 3rd.  Usually the OVC tournament is the first one we get to see up here so I will make the leap and assume that’s true again this season.  Then it becomes a shitload of college basketball over a ten-day span.  So gear up for that.

The-Somewhat-Too-Early NFL Mock Draft 1.0

I might as well start numbering them now since I am sure I will do at least three of these suckers.  Don’t worry, I won’t be like some experts who do a mock draft every other day from Wild Card weekend until the day of the draft.  The reasons for this are:

1. I am not an expert
2. There can’t be THAT many changes from day-to-day
3. I’m too lazy to make that many posts related to the draft

Now you know.  And knowing’s half the battle.

Alright let’s get right to my picks followed by some semi-quick analysis:

1	Cleveland	Myles Garrett, DE (Texas A&M)
2	San Francisco	Mitch Trubisky, QB (North Carolina)
3	Chicago	DeShone Kizer, QB (Notre Dame)
4	Jacksonville	Jonathan Allen, DE (Alabama)
5	Tennessee	Marshon Lattimore, CB (Ohio State)
6	NY Jets	Reuben Foster, LB (Alabama)
7	LA Chargers	Jamal Adams, SS (LSU)
8	Carolina	Solomon Thomas, DE (Stanford)
9	Cincinnati	Derek Barnett, DE (Tennessee)
10	Buffalo	Malik Hooker, FS (Ohio State)
11	New Orleans	Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
12	Cleveland	Deshaun Watson, QB (Clemson)
13	Arizona	Marlon Humphrey, CB (Alabama)
14	Indianapolis	Leonard Fournette, RB (LSU)
15	Philadelphia	Mike Williams, WR (Clemson)
16	Baltimore	Malik McDowell, DT (Michigan State)
17	Washington	Tim Williams, DE (Alabama)
18	Tennessee	Corey Davis, WR (Western Michigan)
19	Tampa Bay	John Ross, WR (Washington)
20	Denver	Ryan Ramczyk, T (Wisconsin)
21	Detroit	Taco Charlton, DE (Michigan)
22	Miami	O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
23	NY Giants	Dalvin Cook, RB (Florida State)
24	Oakland	Zach Cunningham, LB (Vanderbilt)
25	Houston	Jabrill Peppers, LB (Michigan)
26	Seattle	Sidney Jones, CB (Washington)
27	Kansas City	Jarrad Davis, MLB (Florida)
28	Dallas	Carl Lawson, DE (Auburn)
29	Green Bay	Takkarist McKinley, DE (UCLA)
30	Pittsburgh	David Njoku, TE (Miami)
31	Atlanta	Charles Harris, DE (Missouri)
32	New England	Cam Robinson, T (Alabama)

Semi-quick Analysis

• Despite the fact the Browns need a quarterback in a desperate way, I can’t see them passing on a talent like Myles Garrett. I kind of feel sorry for poor Myles…poor in the psychological sense, not the financial one.
• San Francisco, on the other hand, won’t pass on a quarterback and I am sure they will take Mitch Trubisky who has rocketed up the draft boards since mid-season.
• Oh wait, I forgot. I have Cleveland getting their quarterback with their second pick of the first round.  Poor Deshaun Watson.
• I don’t see Jabrill Peppers, despite his talent, being any higher than a lower first round pick. There are a few other defensive players that I would definitely choose above him (Jonathan Allen, Derek Barnett, and even his Michigan teammate Taco Charlton).  I will say that whoever selects him (I have Houston at this point) should be very happy with his versatility.
• I think I may be the only person, at this point, to not have New England selecting Christian McCaffrey in the first round. I say at this point because I have a feeling I might end up putting him in a future mock draft as going to the Patriots.  The thing is, the Pats don’t need a running back.  They have a good duo in Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount so why would they take McCaffrey as well?

So that was short and sweet.  Nothing much to report on at this point since it’s my first stab at this.  I know there will be changes and on draft day I will get most of it wrong but isn’t that the fun of this exercise?

This Saturday is the Senior Bowl on the NFL Network.  It starts at 2:30 and we should see at least a few of the players I have mentioned up above.  It’s the last bit of college football for seven months so cherish it.  I know I will.

Also, news from CTV that Super Bowl (Chun) LI on February 5^th will be broadcast on CTV, CTV Two, and all TSN channels (except TSN2).  This is the first time ever something like this has happened.  I will be very interested to see how this is received by the public.  Really, for most people, you are either definitely watching the Super Bowl or avoiding it like the plague.  Very few people might or might not watch it.  I sincerely hope that this game is a good once since the playoffs as a whole have been terrible….like last year’s New Year’s Six terrible.

Anyway, enjoy the game this weekend (if you wish to watch it).  I mean it’s either that or the Pro Bowl.  Ugh.