Mock Draft 2.0

[Power I]

I wanted to do a pre-Free Agency mock like the hundreds of other posters on the board. This mock is not necessarily how I would do it. It's a predictive mock, trying to predict how Dimitroff will work free agency before heading into the draft. Dimitroff has stated he wants to add girth to the lines and that's precisely what I'm trying to predict.

Re-Sign

Jonathan Babineaux

Joe Hawley

Robert McClain

Mike Johnson

Chase Coffman

Free Agency

Jairus Byrd

This is the big money signing of the year. Before I started the mock I didn't want to sign a big money free agent, but Byrd makes too much sense. We will solidify our secondary for the next four years easily with the addition of Byrd. A true ballhawk that will allow all the rest of our secondary to play loosely, Byrd will have an enormous impact on our entire defense.

Paul Soliai

I think Soliai will and should be the number one target in free agency. Nolan's defenses only work with a two gap defensive tackle in three and four man fronts. Soliai has knowledge of his system and is the best on the market.

Jon Asamoah

I think it's a foregone conclusion that we're going to sign a veteran starter on the line. Our choices are right guard and right tackle, but I feel we elect to solidify the worst problem spot with a veteran. Asamoah was drafted by Pioli and will be an easy signing.

Terrence Cody

In my first mock I had us selecting one of the big guys in the mid to late rounds. However, I elect to double dip in free agency for the big guys because Cody is as good as anyone we can draft later and won't break the bank. He's only good in spurts, but that's why he's going to spell Soliai. A wall of Soliai and Cody on the goal line will be an immovable object.

Champ Bailey

This signing only makes sense if it's cheap. That's the only reason I have it here, but if he costs too much then it's easy to pass this one by. I view him as nothing more than veteran depth at corner and free safety and as a mentor to Trufant and Alford. He got roasted when he was relied on, but that's not what we're asking him to do.

Brandon Pettigrew

Pettigrew is a former first round pick that hasn't exactly lit up the stat sheet in Detroit. However, he's an excellent blocker and has a bit of a mean streak in him. With a hopeful return to establishing a power football team, Pettigrew will fit what we're trying to do perfectly. He and Toilolo will work well in two tight end sets.

Tyson Jackson

Last and not least, we bring in another Pioli draft pick in Tyson Jackson. He's perfect for multiple fronts that Nolan likes to use and although never made a large impact, he's a valuable player with his ability to set the edge and let others roam free.

I think that sets us up pretty well for the draft, filling most needs and allowing us to go after the BPA on Dimitroff's board...

NFL Draft

Round 1 (Trade): Jedeveon Clowney

Again, this is a predictive mock. I predict we trade our third and fifth round picks this year along with a second next year to move up to number two to select Clowney. At minimum, the second Clowney steps on the field he'll be accounted for by the offense. With the addition of two big bodies like Soliai and Cody, if they choose to double team Clowney and the NT, Babineaux, Osi/Massaquoi will be able to feast. It's up to Bryan Cox to make sure Clowney reaches his potential, but if he does, we will have one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the game.

Round 2: Kyle Van Noy

I think coming away with Clowney and Van Noy to bolster our defense in the first two rounds would be a coup. I see Van Noy starting at SLB in a Von Miller role allowing Bartu to be a primary backup to both outside spots. In my opinion, Van Noy is not a significant drop off from Mack and Barr. I see this selection allowing Bartu to take over for Spoon next year, unless he finally reaches his All-Pro potential. A future linebacking corp of Bartu, Worrilow, and Van Noy looks good to me.

Round 4: Lache Seastrunk

Seastrunk seems to be a board favorite among some posters. It's easy to see why. Seastrunk is explosive with a vertical to leap tall buildings to prove it. Seastrunk will prove to be what we thought Quizz was; a dynamic change of pace back to a primary ball carrier. This pick allows Quizz to spell Jackson, which is more of the type of running back he is.

Round 5 (comp): Dri Archer

We need to get back to winning the field position game and Jacquizz simply is not explosive enough to return kicks. Archer steps in immediately as a kick and punt returner with dynamic ability. Adding Seastrunk and Archer to an offense that already features Julio and Roddy will add more dimensions to our offense and allow us to contend with the Broncos as the most explosive offense in the league as we imagined last season.

Round 6: J.C. Copeland

Our reliance on Ewing as our starting fullback has gone wrong two years in a row. At this point, I don't expect much of anything from him. A massive fullback to pave the way for Jackson, Seastrunk, and Quizz is just what we need. In my opinion, our power run game left when Ovie did. We need to get back to this style of football and use playaction off of it. Matt Ryan is an excellent playaction quarterback. We need to let him do what he does best.

Round 7: Aaron Colvin

Dimitroff doesn't mind taking flyers on injured players and Colvin will replace Dominique Franks. A combination of Trufant, Alford, McClain, Champ, and Colvin will look really good on Sundays.

Round 7 (Comp): Boseko Lokombo

It's impossible to predict the 7th round of a draft, so I decided to bring in a rookie to add more depth to the linebacking unit.

A LOT of you are going to criticize this mock for not selecting an offensive tackle in the draft. In my opinion, Dimitroff isn't going to give up on Baker/Holmes/Carimi/Johnson. He coveted Carimi in the draft before we traded up for Julio. Of those four guys, two of them are bound to be starter quality, especially with a stalwart at right guard. The competition at center and both tackle spots should be a fun one to watch during camp.

QB: Matt Ryan, Dominique Davis, Sean Renfree

RB: Steven Jackson, Lache Seastrunk, Jacquizz Rodgers, Antone Smith

FB: J.C. Copeland, Patrick DiMarco

WR: Julio Jones, Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Darius Johnson, Dri Archer

TE: Brandon Pettigrew, Levine Toilolo, Chase Coffman

OT: Sam Baker, Lamar Holmes, Mike Johnson, Gabe Carimi

OG: Justin Blalock, Jon Asamoah, Peter Konz, Gabe Carimi

C: Joe Hawley, Peter Konz

DE: Jedeveon Clowney, Osi Umenyiora, Jonathan Massaquoi, Tyson Jackson, Stansly Maponga, Malliciah Goodman

DT: Paul Soliai, Jonathan Babineaux, Terrence Cody, Cory Peters, Travian Robertson

OLB: Sean Weatherspoon, Kyle Van Noy, Kroy Biermann, Joplo Bartu,

MLB: Paul Worrilow, Akeem Dent

CB: Desmond Trufant, Robert Alford, Robert McClain, Champ Bailey, Aaron Colvin

FS: Jairus Byrd, Kemal Ishmael

SS: William Moore, Zeke Motta

K: Matt Bryant

P: Matt Bosher

Bring on the criticism.

[Ghost of Truth]

And then you woke up...that Free Agency plan, I mean that's the stuff dreams are made of, not reality.

[Power I]

And then you woke up...that Free Agency plan, I mean that's the stuff dreams are made of, not reality.

With close to $30M in cap space, it's definitely possible. Who besides Byrd is going to command top dollar?

[didz]

People really LOVE Joe Hawley don't they? Hawley must of been an all pro last year that I missed out on.

[AtlantaFanatic]

30 million is assuming we cut decoud and you still have to re-sign some of your own plus sign your draft picks so you don't have a true $30M to spend.

Also, there are other teams with even more cap space than us with the same needs as us who will likely snatch up some of those players.

Also, you have to keep in mind that the cap has to look good for years down the road. If you backload a lot of these contracts for new guys then what happens when you have to re-sign Julio, Spoon, Tru, Alford, etc.

However, if this was a possible scenario, it would be amazing!

Edited March 8, 2014 by AtlantaFanatic