AtlantaFanatic Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 G-Dawg has had difficulty logging on so he asked me to post this on his behalf: Alright, we all know we need a lot this offseason – as usual. I see needs as follows: Interior Offensive Line (C, RG, LG) Passrush (DE/OLB) Inside Linebacker (MLB) Wide Receiver (WR) Tight End (TE) Safety (SS/FS) We also need DT for the future but we have lots of players at that position now w/ the old (Babineaux, Soliai, Jackson) to go with the young (Hageman, Jarrett). So now it is just a matter of breaking down what you target in free agency and then the draft. I think the obvious need in free agency must be a Center. The responsibilities of a Center for being the anchor of the offensive line and making the line calls has been underestimated by me and Falcons have suffered ever since they let McClure go – I always thought McClure should have been upgraded but Konz nor Person were up to the job and Falcons have shown ZERO proficiency to draft a Center. Therefore I believe this is priority #1 in free agency. Our offensive guards are Levitre and Chester and clearly both of these need to be upgraded as well – I doubt we upgrade both this offseason but probably at least one. Since we gave up a draft pick for Levitre and his contract continues to run, I predict we will leave him at LG for one more season before meeting the turk. Chester is old and a free agent and I see us replacing him this year. More than likely this will come from free agency as well. Clearly the Shanahan offense and Matt Ryan cannot perform w/o it. Here is how I see free agency going: Danny Trevathan,MLB/WLB 6’1”, 231lbs – 25yrs old – TACKLING MACHINE - MAKES PLAYS – 4yrs, $24mm Consistently produces game-changing plays Sideline-to-sideline speed Quickness to the hole Instincts Tackling technique Blitzing ability Physical play Hitting ability Motor Attitude Stefen Wisniewski, C – 6’3”, 305lbs – 26yrs old – tough as nails – 2yrs, $7mm has started every game he has ever played in in his 5 year career and only missed a total of 3 games in those 5 years – played w/ Jacksonville last year and did well but was coming off a torn labrum and so his free agency market out of Raiders/free agent was soft. Did have a few snap issues late in year – which would be cause for concern after Mike Person debacle – but not common to his overall career. Wis may not be a long-term answer but he is a good short-term answer. Jeff Allen, LG – Chiefs 6’4”, 305lbs 26yrs old – natural pass protector and another tough guy – Andy Reid loves him – 5yrs, $30mm I would probably kick out Mike Person to right guard and cut Levitre. Remaining Free Agency: I see those being our biggest free agent positions – of course the players could be different but like getting a linebacker and two offensive linemen to shore up our biggest weaknesses. This will upgrade the QB position as well if Matt gets better protection. NFL Draft: This 2016 draft is especially loaded with defensive players and – more specifically – front 7 talent. The Falcons need to draft defense early and often here. Shoring up the offensive line in free agency – which we have already shown we don’t draft well – will help. #1-17) Noah Spence, OLB/DE – Eastern Kentucky 6’2”, 255lbs STRENGTHS Plays with a big motor and tremendous endurance. Had eight-sack season as a sophomore at Ohio State. Plays at same speed throughout the game. Good upfield burst. Has played with hand in the ground and standing. Won't give away leverage by engaging too early in pass rush. Has solid speed to the edge with a strong rip move at the top of his rush to turn the corner. Takes good angles around the rush arc. Quick lateral slide down the line to restrict running lanes. Plays with a sense of desperation when the ball is in his area. Eludes lead blockers and cut blocks. Pursues around the field looking to scoop up tackles. Dominated his level of competition with 11.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and 63 tackles over 11 games. Scouts call him an intelligent person and player. Has had success fighting through adversity and has renewed sense of urgency on and off the field as well as a sense of accountability. Former head coach Urban Meyer helped get Spence a second chance because he believes Spence is high character but made mistakes. WEAKNESSES Not as long or tall as teams like at defensive end. Needs to develop more strength at point of attack. Can be bumped of his grass and widened out against run. Average hand usage against the run. Doesn't play with violent punch and control at point of attack. Didn't vary pass rush approach much and just average with speed to power. Ability to win on high side will be countered by NFL tackles. Will have to develop a counter underneath. Good athlete, but not great twitch for sudden change of direction. At times is too easy to find for blockers. Treated for drug addiction and banned for life from Big Ten after failed drug tests in 2013 and 2014. Arrested in May of 2015 for alcohol intoxication and second-degree disorderly conduct, but incident was expunged from record after community service. NFL COMPARISON Whitney Mercilus BOTTOM LINE His issues are well-documented, but his recovery and turnaround is what has NFL teams excited. Spence has been accountable for his actions and worked just as hard off the field as he has on the field to change his life and attack his problems. His inability to hold the point of attack combined with his ability to rush the passer make him a logical choice as a 3-4 rush linebacker. The speed of the game make take a year or two to get used to, but Spence should become a starter early in his career. #2-50) Su’a Cravens, OLB/SS – USC 6’1”, 225lbs STRENGTHS: With his long limbs, tapered frame and impressive fluidity, Cravens looks the part of a traditional NFL strong safety. He's at his best attacking the run, showing excellent recognition and terrific closing speed on outside runs to slice past pulling linemen and lasso ballcarriers for big losses. Cravens shows little regard for his own welfare, taking out the knees of oncoming blockers when necessary to create a pile and allow other Trojans' defenders to get the credit. His awareness shows up in pass defense, as Cravens displays impressive route recognition, easing up and accelerating with would-be pass-catchers and showing natural hands for the interception when passers dare test him. STRENGTHS: Like former USC All-American (and Pittsburgh Steelers great) Troy Polamalu, Cravens can get a little out of control, at times, committing to a lane and lunging for the tackle while leaving cut-back opportunities for savvy runners to exploit. Further, Cravens can get caught peeking back at the quarterback in pass defense. #3-82) Chris Jones, DT-Miss. State 6’6”, 308lbs STRENGTHS: Looks good on the hoof with a big-boned frame and core strength. Quick initial step with an efficient spin move. Agile lower body to sidestep blocks and operate in small spaces, redirecting himself without losing momentum in pursuit. Quick hands and attacks the shoulder of blockers to wedge himself through gaps. Understands how to split double-teams, using his body to gain leverage. Determined chaser away from the line of scrimmage. Uses his long arms to press blockers off his frame. Commended by the coaches for his improved practice habits and attention to detail, working hard in the weight room to shed bad weight. Experienced lining up at multiple spots inside and outside on the defensive line. WEAKNESSES: High-hipped and doesn't consistently bend at his knees. Plays flat-footed and struggles to control his momentum in his rush. Inconsistent pad level off the snap, rushing upright and struggling to get underneath blockers. Narrow-based and offenses can run at him. Digests what he sees, but doesn't anticipate due to marginal instincts. Lacks a sense of urgency and wears down easily, forcing him to go half-speed too often. Needs to keep his emotions in check on the field. Pass rush lacks variety, lacking move-to-move transition. Only one season as a full-time starter with underwhelming career production. IN OUR VIEW: Jones offers a terrific blend of size, body control and strength, but is not yet the sum of his parts with inconsistent ball awareness and effort ? he has plenty in the toolbox, but is still figuring out how to use them all. Jones is still raw in several areas, but it's easy to see the potential due to his foot quickness and body type. Although he shows first-round flashes, it comes in spurts and the impact of his body of work doesn't warrant that high of a selection. #4-114) Max Tuerk, C – USC 6’5, 285lbs STRENGTHS: Though Tuerk looks more like a left tackle (or even a tight end) with his relatively svelte and athletic frame, he holds up incredibly well in the pit due to a combination of balance and leverage. He plays with excellent knee bend and flexibility, allowing him to absorb bull rushes by stouter defensive tackles. His initial quickness and agility is rare among centers. Prior to the knee injury, Tuerk was frequently asked to pull and attack defenders at the second level. Tuerk has flexible joints to handle changing directions smoothly and attacks linebackers with a strong pop on contact. WEAKNESSES: Suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 10 and must prove that he has overcome the injury. Has a relatively spindly frame and may struggled with the physicality in the close quarters of the NFL. Relies more on his agility and technique to turn and seal defenders, rather than simply drive opponents off the ball. One area in which scouts may find pause with Tuerk is the peculiar way in which he snaps the ball, with the nose pointing down rather than up as most centers hold it. The method may not draw the ire of offensive line coaches too much if Tuerk shows improved accuracy during pre-draft workouts. IN OUR VIEW: Tuerk's unique frame and experience makes a potential wildcard of this year's talented center class with some clubs projecting him back at guard or even tackle. He played his best at center and comes with experience in a pro-style offense, which should make his transition to the NFL a relatively seamless one, assuming he's fully recovered from the knee injury. Tuerk's athleticism fits best in a zone-blocking scheme. Compares To: Max Unger, New Orleans Saints: Like the 6-5, 309-pound Unger, Tuerk has a relatively lean, athletic build which leaves him vulnerable to shorter, more powerful run-stuffers. He's smart, athletic and tough, however, projecting as a future starter. 7th round) DeMarcus Robinson – Florida, WR – 6’1”, 205lbs STRENGTHS: The long-limbed Robinson sports an athletic frame with broad shoulders, a tapered middle and good overall musculature for the position. He accelerates smoothly off the snap, showing the burst to challenge deep as well as the body control to make sharp cuts to create separation. The most compelling aspect of Robinson's game is his ability after the catch. Robinson isn't satisfied with just making the reception, showing the strength to break free from arm tackles and impressive stop-start quickness and agility to hamper defenders' pursuit angles. Further, though occasionally his feet will slip out from under him, Robinson shows intriguing balance to run through swipes at his legs. It isn't surprising that he led the Gators with 10 catches of 20-plus yards a year ago and this is an area that he could improve significantly in 2015 with Jim McElwain designing more plays to take advantage of Robinson's talent. WEAKNESSES: Remains a bit raw as a route-runner, too often rounding off rather than exploding out of his cuts, relying more on his natural athletic ability than technique. While Robinson possesses soft hands to pluck the ball outside of his frame, he can improve tracking the ball over his shoulder. He remains a work in progress as a downfield blocker, as well, too often missing opportunities to help teammates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaFanatic Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 G-Dawg If you're reading this, I was having trouble with the formatting obviously so the pictures kind of got cut. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hashbrown3 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Good job. Would like to see a second & third option in the first round just as precaution in the likely even that Spence is unavailable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngbloodz Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Absolutely love the first two picks. Su'a Cravens will be an All Pro in the nfl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leggggggo Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 If you can get in touch with him, I sent him a message looking to see if he was a donor to UGA (I'm going to be finishing up my degree finally at UGA) and just donated so I might be able to get season tickets. Was going to see if he donated so he could get the few points a referral gets. Need his name / patron # if he is by today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold4425 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 G Dawgs watch a few Dawgs and this is not homing it. Just like C. Andrews went from being a UDFA to starting for the Patriots , don't just look at last year's production when they didn’t have a QB and OC was suspect, the Dawgs have some talent! Check out WR Mitchell, great athlete, may even be the FS we are looking for. The biggest sleeper over there is T E J. Rome, 6:6, 255, he was rated the #1 H.S. T E in the COUNTRY. He got in MR'S doghouse for playing college basketball instead of focusing on FB year round, then had an injury but he is a playa and just scored 2 long TD's in a minor ALL STAR GAME. FB, TE Q. Hicks is a stud and can also be that thumper RB when we need 3rd and 2. RB Marshall got injured but is definitely worth a look as a UDFA, coming out of H S he was rated as high as Gurley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lornoth Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 It would be hard to be upset with any of this. I wonder if he is expecting Cravens to be our Will in this situation, though. I'd prefer him to be our SS, personally, but we'd certainly need to sign somebody to replace Durant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaFanatic Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 I absolutely love this mock! My biggest wants for FA is a C and a MLB. Trevathan and Wiesnewski would be perfect! Then he went and got a new OLB/DE in the first and I too am a big fan of Cravens. I'm just worried he won't make it to our pick in the second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotemokc Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 We would have to pay Trevathan a bit more than that imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monolith2001 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Best mock yet IMO...not sure how realistic it is and not as sold on Spence as some are but still very nice...especially FA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby.Digital Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I like it. But I don't see Spence or Cravens being avaliable when we're picking in those respective rounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySG Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Perhaps a little optimistic with the first three picks being there, but I guess you have to be at this stage of the offseason. I would be ecstatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Very optimistic draft. Don't see Spence making it too #17. He's now being considered a top-3 DE along with Bosa and Ogbah. I think Lawson could very well be there at #17 though. Also, it's already been said, but I just don't see Cravens dropping all the way down to the 50th pick. If he doesn't go first round I'm sure a team at the top of the 2nd will scoop him up. and finally only 24M for Danny?? No way. He's going to bank this FA. At least 8-9M/year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwifalcon Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I like it for the most part. Instead of C in the 4th I'd go TE Ryan needs a serious upgrade in this position. FA is Money if we walked away with these guys it would set us up nicely for the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moist Words Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 G-dawg, let me know through KOG or Atlantafanatic what trouble you're having. I can reset your password or edit your login name if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rise Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 If The Falcons are squeezing Soliai's paycheck, and he refuses a paycut and is released, they will seek to draft a NT who isn't as raw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAN_O_THE_ATL Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I like it a lot. Big fan of Chris Jones. Does Cravens profile as a safety or a linebacker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Was locked out of TATF for THREE WEEKS when I tried to change my e-mail address of record - never gave me a confirmation e-mail - so, don't change your e-mail address on here! hope you liked the latest mock offseason. I still like it. might tweak a few things later. How many G.O.A.T threads has gazoo started praising the genius of Dimitroff while I have been gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Jpowers said: G-dawg, let me know through KOG or Atlantafanatic what trouble you're having. I can reset your password or edit your login name if need be. thanks for bringing me back from the dead - sure some on here wish I would have stayed buried - but I'm back - - g-dawg zombie!!! you cannot kill me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I like getting a stop-gap mid-tier center like a Wisneski, Ben Jones or Tony Bergestrom and then drafting a future Center like a Tuerk, Jack Allen, etc. that won't have the pressure to come in and start day#1. Just feel like paying Alex Mack that we would be paying for past production and it would be a tremendous overpay situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Would be nice to see Atlanta spend some money in FA on good reliable players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g-dawg Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 3 minutes ago, Falcons_Frenzy said: Would be nice to see Atlanta spend some money in FA on good reliable players. you just cannot chase past production: Osi Umenyiora Steven Jackson enough with the 30-somethings in decline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBXFalcon Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I like it; but I think Trevathan will want more money, EVERYONE has Cravens mocked as their second rd pick and I just don't think he makes it out of the late first/early second rounds. Personally I would look at a wideout a little higher than the 7th-but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaFanatic Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Welcome back G-Dawg. The offseason wouldnt be the same without a weekly mock draft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam25 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Nice job G-Dwag, I like you're thinking. I also think we add a couple of other LB's but yes, this is how I want it to go ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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