A Highly Unrealistic Mock With A Ton Of Trades Including Jimmy Graham Trade

[JulioisCoolio]

Jimmy Graham CAN be had, if we really want him. It would take two 1st rounders and a big contract to get him. We could theoretically trade for Graham AFTER the draft and give up 2015 and 2016 1st rounders and we'd get to keep pick #6.

10. One offer sheet may be signed, through July 15.

For a player carrying the non-exclusive tag, he can negotiate with any other team. Ultimately, one offer sheet can be signed.

Once it’s signed, the situation simplifies considerably. The player’s current team will match the offer and keep him, or the player’s team will not match the offer and collect a pair of first-round picks from the new team.

The two first-round picks given as compensation must be the team’s original picks — not any picks obtained via trade or otherwise.

And there’s a loophole which, eventually, a desperate coach or G.M. may use. The period for signing franchise players to offer sheets lingers beyond the current year’s draft. Thus, for example, a team that wants to sign quarterback Joe Flacco (if the Ravens use the non-exclusive tag) could, in theory, wait until after the draft, sign Flacco to a front-loaded offer sheet that the Ravens can’t match, and then surrender not the 2013 and 2014 first-round picks, but the first-round picks for 2014 and 2015.

There’s nothing in the labor deal that prevents this from happening until July 15, after which date the player can sign only a one-year deal with his current team.

We have a major advantage over the Saints headed into the draft with this plan in mind. For one, it's doubtful they'd trade a TE to replace him this year.

The strategy heading into the draft would be to get all of the value we can out of the #6 pick as we won't have a 1st rounder again for a few years. Knowing this the best option in this scenario is to trade down and do it a LOT. The extra picks will help make up for the lack of picks in the coming years.

A few feasible trade scenarios:

ATL trades #6 to STL for #13 and 2nd rounder. STL selects Sammy Watkins

ATL then trades #13 to MIA for #19 and 3rd+4th rounder. MIA selects OT Zack Martin

ATL then trades #19 to CLE for #26 + 3rd rounder (Derek Carr)

Now our draft is set up like this:

#26 - OT Morgan Moses - (Instant fix for the biggest hole on offense. Now we can focus on defense for the majority of the draft)

2nd - DE/DT - Stephon Tuitt (Versatility is key in this draft. Hybrid defense needs hybrid players. Tuitt instantly becomes our other 3-4 DT and can slide inside or play LDE in place of Jackson in our 4-3 sets)

2nd (STL) - DE/OLB Trent Murphy (Another tough, gritty 'tweener' that will play out of both a 2 and 3 point stance in Nolans defense. Bring back the amoeba. )

3rd (CLE) - OLB Jeremy Attaochu (We badly need pass rushers. This guy is well documented here)

3rd - ILB Chris Borland (We need a true ILB in our 3-4 sets and this guy brings the wood. Him and Worrilow would feed off of each other)

3rd (MIA) - OT Jawuan James (Lets face it, we need Baker insurance. Doubling down on OT's in an OT heavy draft is smart)

4th - RB Lache Seastrunk

4th (MIA) - OLB Adrian Hubbard

4th (comp) - DT Justin Ellis (Solali will need a back up and rotational man)

5th - OG Chris Watt (Future Blalock replacement)

6th - WR Jeff Janis (trumped Watkins combine in every single category)

7th - FB JC Copeland (Running game needs to be a focus)

A few things this draft accomplishes:

- Depth for days at many positions

- Makes a few players expendable (Osi, Biermann, Spoon)

- Those players cap savings will be important (9.3 mil between them)

- Addresses the pass rush and both lines heavily

Cap situation:

According to overthecap.com we are sitting @ 14.4 mil under the cap AFTER the Decoud cut. Roughly 1 mil of this is unavailable until after June 1st though due to Decoud being a June 1st cut.

Post draft cuts:

After the draft we release Osi, Spoon and Biermann. They're all on the last year of their deals. Osi and Spoon don't really fit what we're after and Biermann is coming off a major injury and we loaded up on hybrid players. He's outclassed now. We save roughly 9.3 mil.

After cuts we're sitting @ roughly 22 mil.

4-5 mil will be allocated to rookies

3-5 mil will be spent on remaining FAs (Chris Clemons)

This leaves us with 12-15 mil cap space. This cap space is going to be used to front load a contract to Jimmy Graham as much as possible.

This serves two purposes.

1 - Makes it so the Saints can't match the contract

2 - Makes Jimmy's cap hit reasonable throughout the rest of the contract. Paying him 10-12 mil in his first season will ensure his cap hit will never spike.

ATL trades 2015 and 2016 1st rounders to NO for TE Jimmy Graham, ATL signs Graham to a 6 yr/60 mil contract with 20 mil guaranteed. Graham cap hit year one 10 mil

Crushing blow dealt to the Saints this year.

Rosters for 2014

Offense

QB - Ryan

RB - Sjax/Seastrunk

WR - Julio/Janis

WR - Roddy/HD

TE - Graham/Toilolo

FB - Copeland

LT - Baker/Moses/Holmes

OG - Blalock/Watt

C - Hawley/Konz

OG - Asamoah/Konz

RT - Moses/James

Defense

3-4 alignment

DE - Tuitt/Babs/Peters

DT - Solali/Ellis

DE - Jackson/Maponga

OLB - Mass/Attachou

ILB - Worrilow/Dent

ILB - Borland/Dent

OLB - Murphy/Attachou

CB - Tru/Mcclain

CB - Alford/Mcclain

FS - Clemons/Ishmael

SS - Moore/Motta

4-3 Alignments

DE - Murphy/Attachou

DT - Tuitt/Babs/Peters

DT - Solali/Ellis

DE - Mass/Attachou

OLB - Worrilow/Bartu

MLB - Borland/Dent

OLB - Attachou

CB - Tru/McClain

CB - Alford/Mcclain

FS - Clemons

SS - Moore

[DonDaLuvMaker]

Why would the Falcons give 2 1st round picks to the Saints(division rivals) for a player who they also have to break the bank for as well?

Giving the Saints an additional 1st round pick for the next 2 years really gives them an advantage because they would have 2 1st round picks in 2015 and 2016. Also, what if they package some of those 1st round picks to get a high level player from another team?

I see your Graham trade as more of a win for the Saints than the Falcons.

[Dharma Initiative]

Why would the Falcons give the Saints 2 1st round picks to the Saints(division rivals) for a player who they also have to break the bank for as well?

Giving the Saints an additional 1st round pick for the next 2 years really gives them an advantage because they would have 2 1st round picks in 2015 and 2016. Also, what if they package some of those 1st round picks to get a high level player from another team.

I see your Graham trade as more of a win for the Saints than the Falcons.

Exactly. That would be dumb dumb dumb. They are in salary cap **** and keeping Graham makes it worse on them. Take Graham off their hands AND give them two cheap rookies? No thanks

[Knight of God]

love it...I just really do not like Seastrunk. This year's Gillislee

[streetenigma23]

I just took a dump that looked better than this plan.

[Guest fibonacci]

You lost me after mentioning Graham.....and that was in the title

[Str8 Bonafide777]

love it...I just really do not like Seastrunk. This year's Gillislee

I don't see that at all

[USAF HART]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I want Jimmy Graham in a Falcons uniform. I've never been the type of fan to say "Oh he played for this and this team so I would never want to see them in a Falcons uniform." No, if they have the ability to help this team win, then I don't care if they came straight from high school as long as it gets the job done.

Jimmy Graham is THE premier TE in the game. No injury concerns, and putting him in the same offense as Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Steven Jackson? Wow... Now, I realize that we'd have to give up the 2 1st round picks to get him, but if we wait until after this draft, we could honestly be set to pick in the bottom 6 for the next couple of years. The Saints would still be in cap ****, and by the time they would be able to get out of it they would no longer have Brees at the helm. Brees is to the Saints as Ryan is to the Falcons. If they go down, so does the team.

I think we'd be dumb to at least not explore it.

[Sponge]

Go for Graham's knees in the first gme and call it a year.

[GANDI]

I can't even bring my brain to entertain the thought of us aggressively trying to draft, trade or acquire a TE in the first three rounds let alone jimmy graham. Football teams CAN'T be successful with WEAK lines. Offensive or defensive. Not trying to be rude but Tony G in his prime couldn't bring this team a Championship with WEAK SUBPAR line play. I wish people would get that through their thick heads. Smdh

[JulioisCoolio]

I can't even bring my brain to entertain the thought of us aggressively trying to draft, trade or acquire a TE in the first three rounds let alone jimmy graham. Football teams CAN'T be successful with WEAK lines. Offensive or defensive. Not trying to be rude but Tony G in his prime couldn't bring this team a Championship with WEAK SUBPAR line play. I wish people would get that through their thick heads. Smdh

Did you miss where I added like 7 linemen on both sides of the ball???

[USAF HART]

I can't even bring my brain to entertain the thought of us aggressively trying to draft, trade or acquire a TE in the first three rounds let alone jimmy graham. Football teams CAN'T be successful with WEAK lines. Offensive or defensive. Not trying to be rude but Tony G in his prime couldn't bring this team a Championship with WEAK SUBPAR line play. I wish people would get that through their thick heads. Smdh

You do realize that any scenario proposed in this thread regarding trading for Graham involves draft picks for 2015 and 2016 right? This still leaves us with our 1st round pick this year to either hold on to and take Matthews/Robinson at 6, or trade down consecutively and stockpile draft picks in an EXTREMELY deep draft

[GANDI]

Yes while I like the picks in the draft doing anything like this for a TE seems ridiculous. I only want the lines corrected. If this could happen (which it won't ) I would be happy but prefer spending Jimmy Graham money on Julio or Better yet a Defensive playmaker or franchise OT. I just think his price tag is far too high to justify that kinda move at this time. I respect your opinion tho

[Guest fibonacci]

Did you miss where I added like 7 linemen on both sides of the ball???

i did. I can't get past the title with Grahams name in it

[JulioisCoolio]

It's not necessarily my opinion. Just showing that a trade for Graham is possible while still addressing the rest of our needs.

[USAF HART]

Yes while I like the picks in the draft doing anything like this for a TE seems ridiculous. I only want the lines corrected. If this could happen (which it won't ) I would be happy but prefer spending Jimmy Graham money on Julio or Better yet a Defensive playmaker or franchise OT. I just think his price tag is far too high to justify that kinda move at this time. I respect your opinion tho

Why is your **** signature like half a **** page?

[Guest fibonacci]

I just don't get why you would not want to trade your next years first and 4th for a first round pick. Then a first in 2016 and fifth for a first round pick.

And get a tight end that can block unlike Graham. And not have to worry with paying him like Graham.

Just being unrealistic but a little smarter.

Because you start paying Graham and you are not having a blocker nor cap space to do anything with this year.

[jayrockthabarber]

love it...I just really do not like Seastrunk. This year's Gillislee

Not even close to the same players. Seastrunk compares more to Giovanni Bernard imo.

[droopy1592]

The Graham rumor was just a Saints forum troll.

[TheFalconRises]

I thought last years mocks were ******** but come on man..............come on

[Knight of God]

I didn't say they were similar players...lol. I said the hype is similar. There is nothing special about the guy...you all just think he reminds you of Norwood. Norwood was way faster and quicker...that's all really. Seastrunk is this year's Gillislee. He's well liked...because he is.

[PokerSteve]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I want Jimmy Graham in a Falcons uniform. I've never been the type of fan to say "Oh he played for this and this team so I would never want to see them in a Falcons uniform." No, if they have the ability to help this team win, then I don't care if they came straight from high school as long as it gets the job done.

Jimmy Graham is THE premier TE in the game. No injury concerns, and putting him in the same offense as Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Steven Jackson? Wow... Now, I realize that we'd have to give up the 2 1st round picks to get him, but if we wait until after this draft, we could honestly be set to pick in the bottom 6 for the next couple of years. The Saints would still be in cap ****, and by the time they would be able to get out of it they would no longer have Brees at the helm. Brees is to the Saints as Ryan is to the Falcons. If they go down, so does the team.

I think we'd be dumb to at least not explore it.

I agree with you on all points. Graham would be an incredible weapon in our offense; way more impact than TG provided in his last couple of years. His signing alone could mean more than just x number of additional regular season games we might win because of him, but there's the bigger possibility we might win a huge play-off game or Super Bowl by having him as the final piece of a championship-caliber offense. Also agree we are unlikely to have any high draft picks coming our way for the next couple of years. It's not like we'd be giving the Saints two top-ten draft picks with our numer one's in such a trade. If TD & Co. were to pull this off, the Falcons power ratings would go through the roof in anticipation of Graham's expected production in this offense with Ryan, White, JJ, HD, SJax, Smith and Quizz. And then you throw in the juicy fact we would have him playing for us against the Saints twice a year and I think signing him would be an awesome move for us.

[FalconFanSince1970]

love it...I just really do not like Seastrunk. This year's Gillislee

My friend, me and you are goin sideways on this one. Give me some Seastrunk. He's like your cousin Jerious Wildwood Chicken Legged Norwood. Not as fast but just as explosive. I believe if we can open a hole or two he will flat out get er done. He would be an excellent change of pace back with SJax. Unlike Quizz. I'd snap that mofo up in the third and do whatever it takes to get Gurley next year and we're set for years at RB. Quizz can pound sand. I know you don't like it but give me Gurley and Seastrunk and I'll beat your as six outta seven days a week. Trust me on this one bro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATV13gzocN0

[Knight of God]

My friend, me and you are goin sideways on this one. Give me some Seastrunk. He's like your cousin Jerious Wildwood Chicken Legged Norwood. Not as fast but just as explosive. I believe if we can open a hole or two he will flat out get er done. He would be an excellent change of pace back with SJax. Unlike Quizz. I'd snap that mofo up in the third and do whatever it takes to get Gurley next year and we're set for years at RB. Quizz can pound sand. I know you don't like it but give me Gurley and Seastrunk and I'll beat your as six outta seven days a week. Trust me on this one bro.

I'll pass man. He's nothing like Jerry.

[kiwifalcon]

First off Julio props bro I like the thought process and the effort you put in here.

I actually like the attacking nature of it.I like the idea of making moves instead of trying to let them come to you.

Be in control at all time and you be the master of your destiny and live with the consequences.