FalconBlood's 2016 NFL Mock Draft

[FalconBlood]

FalconBlood's 2016 NFL Mock Draft:

The 2016 NFL Draft Begins...

"The Tennessee Titans are on the clock..."

ROUND 1

1. Tennessee - OT Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
   • The Titans love their new QB, Mariota, and they show him how much by ensuring he will have the protection he needs to flourish into one of the league's very best. 
2. Cleveland - QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
   • A no brainer. How long can the QB carousel in Cleveland last? The new coach and regime is betting on this young QB, in a classic first year head coach move. Find your guy, and Wentz certainly has the makings of a great quarterback. 
3. San Diego - S Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
   • With the departure of Weddle, the Chargers are looking for a new defensive general for the next decade. Ramsey is an A-list talent and is one of the surest things in this draft at a position they deemed upgradeable. 
4. Dallas - DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State
   • The Cowboys know that their immediate success depends on Romo's health and an improved defense. Jones bets on Romo and decides to improve their defense in a much needed way, with one of the best talents. 
5. Jacksonville - LB Myles Jack, UCLA
   • The Jacksonville offense is taking shape behind Bortles. Their defense could use a life and their defensive minded coach is salivating at the thought of adding Jack to the mix, after a defensive overhaul in free agency. 
6. Baltimore - DL DeForest Buckner, Oregon
   • Baltimore is ecstatic to get Buckner at 6 to bolster their fading defensive line. The choice is a no brainer for the team that has classically been all about tough-nosed defense. 
7. San Francisco - QB Jared Goff, California
   • Another new regime that opts to bring in a wonderfully gifted field general. Kelly has offense on his mind and after a summer of watching tape, he determines his job and his team's success are better off in Goff's hands than Gabbert's. 
8. Philadelphia - from Miami - RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
   • Philadelphia wants to run the ball. They just jettisoned their recent big name runningback in Murray, and they couldn't pass up a top flight runner like Elliott that fans should quickly fall in love with. It's a copy cat league, and after Gurley's success, Zeke made sense her to the Eagles. 
9. Tampa Bay - DE Shaq Lawson, Clemson
   • Obvious pick is obvious. In a division of Cam Newton, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, the Buccaneers need to hit on a pass rush prospect. Lawson lit up the combine and he is considered one of the top pass rushing prospects in the draft. They are excited to pair him with McCoy. 
10. New York Giants - OT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
    • The Giants know that in order to give Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. the time they need to wreck defenses, their offensive line needs to improve along the edges. Stanley is very talented and gives them an excellent chance to do just that. 
11. Chicago - DT A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama
    • All Robinson did in college was wreck the interior of opposing offensive lines and wreak havoc. The Bears look to infuse their defensive line with a much needed presence of grit and tenacity. 
12. New Orleans - OT Jack Conklin, Michigan State
    • Not really much of an explanation is needed. Drew Brees is an excellent, albeit aging quarterback. Any magic that he has left in the tank is best displayed when he gets the protection he needs. After seeing the Superbowl and what Von Miller accomplished and exposed along the Panthers offensive line, the Saints opt to improve Brees front line. 
13. Miami - from Philadelphia - CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
    • Miami looks to infuse their secondary with some fresh young talent. With a much improved defensive front in recent seasons, they look to fortify their backend. With a strong defense, Tannehil and company may make some noise in the playoffs this year. 
14. Oakland - LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama
    • Oakland continues to build a classy defense with young piece after young piece. There is not many more sound talents and tacklers in this draft than Ragland. He is an obvious upgrade over Lofton and he should fit in very nicely next to Mack in their LB core. 
15. Los Angeles - WR Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
    • The LA Rams want to make a BIG impact in their first year in California. Gurley was a huge hit for them last year. They are pleased with a lot of their defensive pieces, but their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They opt to pair the best wide receiver in the draft with what they think is the best young runningback in the draft. But what about the QB position?
16. Detroit - OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State
    • Not every team was high on Decker, but with an offensive line like Detroit, beggars can't be choosers. The Lions need to protect Stafford better if ANY receiver is going to replace Calvin in the future. Unfortunately the Rams snagged Treadwell just ahead of the Lions, which felt like a natural fit and was their likely plan A. But Decker is a must for the Lions blocking woes. 
17. Atlanta - DT Sheldon Rankins, Louisville
    • The Falcons NEED pass rush. They added a very talented pass rusher in Beasley last year. Although he had a decent rookie year, their pass rush still faltered. Now they look to add a player to disrupt the interior and force quarterbacks either out of the pocket or to the ground. Rankins has made a college career out of doing just that and Quinn can't wait to add him to his other pass rush pieces in Beasley, Clayborn, Shelby, Jarrett, and Babineaux to right Atlanta's ship. Rankins is one of those situations where a nice player fell to a spot where the Falcons thought he probably wouldn't, but they aren't complaining. 

ROUND 2

50. Atlanta - SS/OLB Su'a Cravens, USC

• Speed, playmaking ability, instincts and toughness are things that Dan Quinn wants to be synonymous with Falcons football. Cravens will add all of that and more to the Falcons LB or S core that is sorely lacking in all of those traits currently. He is an ideal fit on the weak side or in the box at safety for what Dan Quinn is trying to build in Atlanta. Underneath and check-down routes have killed the Falcons and adding a safety/linebacker hybrid will be just what the doctor ordered in Atlanta. I see Atlanta placing this instinctive playmaker at strong safety initially and hopefully for good. But I wouldn't completely rule out a Deone Buccanon-type impact like the former safety has had at linebacker for the Cardinals. Atlanta will grab him and work out those specifics later.

ROUND 3

81. Atlanta - G Christian Westerman, Arizona State

• Atlanta has a real weakness inside on their offensive line. Westerman has shown to have terrific measurables and ability, with comparisons to Alex Mack when he was coming out of college. Mack and the coaches should be able to help Westerman develop into a fine starting guard for the Atlanta Falcons, plausibly even as soon as year one. Westerman is a great prospect for a zone blocking offense and could become a mainstay on the Falcons offensive line for years to come. 

ROUND 4

115. Atlanta - OLB/SS Jatavis Brown, Akron

• The Falcons are thrilled to be able to add a hard working and talented LB/S hybrid like Brown to the mix. He is very good in coverage, which the Falcons badly need. He also was also very solid against the pass AND the run, when graded at the Senior Bowl. He has really shined in all workouts and interviews since the end of the college football season, and showed excellent blitz ability during his college career. Quinn loves his grit and tenacity. The Falcons will look to work Brown in at the weak side of their defense initially, but eventually he may be seen as a better fit at strong safety. He will look to battle for and plug one of those 2 holes on the Falcons defense with incumbents, new signees and Su'a Cravens. If the Falcons can improve his tackling, they may have a early contributor out of the 4th round in Brown. 

ROUND 7

238. Atlanta - WR Moritz Boehringer, Germany

• This is a flier and the 7th round is the place for such risks. Despite all of the media hype, Moritz almost found himself going undrafted. Thanks to an excellent meeting with the Falcons, however, who felt they should do something to improve their wide receiver depth, the Falcons felt he was a worthy risk here in the seventh round. He is very raw and in the early stages of learning the game. He is very comparable to Jeff Janis when he came out, and he was taken in the 7th round as well. His measurables, specifically size and speed are excellent. He could make early waves in the kick return and punt return games, if the anticipated release of Hester comes to fruition. 

THIS CONCLUDES THIS YEARS NFL DRAFT...

 

UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT OF NOTE

1. C/G Mike Matthews, Texas

• The Falcons opt to kick the tires on the brother of one of their brightest young offensive lineman, Jake. Mike Matthews has the ability to enhance the Falcons overall offensive line depth and that is invaluable to a team who has endured many injuries in recent years. 

 

IMMEDIATE DRAFT ANALYSIS

The Falcons likely added 3 day 1 starters in Rankins, Cravens and Westerman. The speedy Brown will also be in direct competition to start at whatever spot Cravens doesn't lock down in the defense (SS or OLB). Boehringer should finally make Hester expendable, adding some more funds to the team as well, while improving the talent and upside of the wide receiver unit; certainly he should compete as a returner right away. The Falcons added pass rush (Rankins), defensive speed/playmaking/coverage x 2 (Cravens/Brown), improved offensive line competition and talent (Westerman), and they added more upside to the wide receiver and kick/punt return core (Boehringer). This is the type of draft impact the Atlanta Falcons needed.

 

Grade? = [ TATF, You Decide. ]

 

Have a great day everyone! GO FALCONS!

 

 

[MD-FalconFan13]

I was initially upset when I saw we went Rankins in the first, til I saw we scooped Cravens, Westerman and Brown. This would be an unbelievable draft. I like all the players we selected. 

Doubt Cravens lasts that long but if he did then that's going to be a very short wait for us to turn that card in. 

[BleedBlack&Red]

If this happens I'll down two ghost peppers

[Matt_The Iceman_Ryan]

While I like the pick...my vote is based on the fact that the Falcons have not scouted Rankins as all this draft season....sorry to burst your bubble, but we aren't picking a DT until the 7th round

[FalconOdense]

I like it... Maybe because it looks like mine :-)

 

[caver50]

10 minutes ago, Matt_The Iceman_Ryan said:

While I like the pick...my vote is based on the fact that the Falcons have not scouted Rankins as all this draft season....sorry to burst your bubble, but we aren't picking a DT until the 7th round

I say within the first 3 rounds.

[Matt_The Iceman_Ryan]

Enlighten me as to the DTs we haved scouted with a 3rd round grade or better....I will wait...

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

Like the first 3 picks quite a bit. 

[mumblesjr,jr]

This mock has to be redone with rams trade. Hate rankins pick. F

[Sponge]

1 hour ago, mumblesjr,jr said:

This mock has to be redone with rams trade. Hate rankins pick. F

So his whole draft gets an F  because you don't like Rankins? 

[FalconBlood]

1 hour ago, mumblesjr,jr said:

This mock has to be redone with rams trade. Hate rankins pick. F

For the first time in a long time i opted to go no trade to avoid that criticism. And then there is this one. Can't please them all.

[FalconBlood]

5 hours ago, Matt_The Iceman_Ryan said:

While I like the pick...my vote is based on the fact that the Falcons have not scouted Rankins as all this draft season....sorry to burst your bubble, but we aren't picking a DT until the 7th round

Bubble intact. Ha. This is MY mock draft on what I think could realistically benefit the team greatly. Teams take players they haven't personally scouted, but I GUARANTEE you they have done their homework and truly scouted a 1st round pick graded player.

[Romfal]

I'd be ok with this

[Sponge]

Rankins has slowly been climbing up my Etch-A-Sketch draft board. At the moment, I'm torn between him and Lawson @ 17.

[FalconBlood]

2 hours ago, mumblesjr,jr said:

This mock has to be redone with rams trade. Hate rankins pick. F

Not to mention you'd have to call it a Titans trade now. 

[mumblesjr,jr]

1 hour ago, SpongeDad said:

So his whole draft gets an F  because you don't like Rankins? 

lol, i gave it an F-!

naw don't care about cravens or the G pick. i think brown goes a row earlier also. plus the german WR won't pan out in the nfl.

[mumblesjr,jr]

1 hour ago, FalconBlood said:

For the first time in a long time i opted to go no trade to avoid that criticism. And then there is this one. Can't please them all.

hard knock life on TATF

[FalconBlood]

6 hours ago, mumblesjr,jr said:

hard knock life on TATF

If one is touchy, thats true