Dream draft scenario

[k-train]

Obviously you gotta take any mock draft (especially ones done pre-combine/pro days) with a huge grain of salt & not get too hopeful that things will pan out like they do in these exercises. That said, while messing around w/ TDN's mock draft simulator, I had some results that would make me beyond ecstatic, so I thought I'd share.

NOTE: **I drafted with the thinking that we would be moving on from Hooper, Freemen, Beasley, Campbell, etc.**

R1P16 - Javon Kinlaw DT (South Carolina)
Having Kinlaw next to Grady Jarrett should make life a lot easier for the rest of our defense. I could've gone Epenesa or Chaisson here, but figured the gap between those players & what i felt should be available later in the draft wasn't large enough to warrant taking one of them over Kinlaw.

R2P47 - Cesar Ruiz OG/C (Michigan)
This one feels like a pipe dream since there are a number of mocks by people who do this for a living projecting him as a mid-late 1st rounder. But in this exercise he was still there for us w/ our first 2nd round pick & it was a no-brainer to get him. He can immediately step in to fill the LG spot & gives us one more very solid option as a potential replacement for Alex Mack sometime in the coming year or two.

R2P55 - Jonathan Greenard EDGE (Florida)
This pick made me feel great about passing on Epenesa, Chiasson, etc. in the first round since my plan to grab an edge rusher later worked out perfectly. The NFL.com player comparison for Greenard is Dante Fowler, a player I've seen several folks suggest we target in free agency. Rather than pay Fowler $10M+ per season, we get a player with similar tools & more upside for monumentally lower cap hits for several years.
 

R3P78 - Malik Harrison LB (Ohio State)
The NFL.com player comp for Harrison is KJ Wright, and they describe him as a big, rangy, physical LB who has the versatility & tools to play MLB, SLB, and WLB, but say he'd likely be best at SLB in a 4-3. This guy seems like the most ideal Devondre Campbell replacement in this draft.

R4P109 - Adam Trautman TE (Dayton)
Obviously the small school factor is potentially an issue. However, after listening to Daniel Jeremiah & Bucky Brooks discussing the Senior Bowl on their Move the Sticks podcast, I'm really warming up to this kid (and it seems like our coaching staff has as well since they spent some time with him down there). On that episode, Jeremiah mentioned that Trautman can do everything you want from a TE very well & could very well be the best in the class, and if not, he's really, really, really close behind Kmet for that title. Packaging him with Graham gives us a very capable set of athletic TEs to help ease the sting of losing Austin Hooper.
 

R5P139 - Chase Claypool WR (Notre Dame)
While we are currently pretty much set at WR, a seemingly mega-deep WR class should allow for some guys who would normally be long gone by the 2nd-4th round to still be available later in this draft. In this case, that was Claypool... a 6'4" 229lb versatile weapon with the explosiveness to challenge teams deep, the ability to serve as a big slot possession receiver, and who is a great run blocker and ST ace. He can fill the spot created by letting Hardy walk & is an absolute steal in the 5th round. NLF.com compares him to Miles Boykin, but adds that Claypool has a much larger ceiling/upside & is more pro-ready than Boykin was coming out.
 

R7P205 - DeeJay Dallas RB (Miami)
TDN didn't have DeeJay Dallas ranked particularly high compared to some of the other RBs still available at this point, but he's a guy I've been really intrigued by since watching some footage of him recently. In that same Move the Sticks podcast episode I mentioned earlier, Daniel Jeremiah said that he is hands down the best back in this class in terms of pass protection, and that while he's not a speed demon, he's a strong RB with good size who always runs hard & constantly creates extra yardage by breaking tackles. That's pretty much that exact vibe I got from him from the footage I saw. I'd happily take a flier on him in the 7th & feel he could serve well in a committee w/ Ollison, Hill, Smith, and has the potential to emerge as another late-round steal.

[ya_boi_j]

Nice. Dallas is one of those guys who people will look at his stats and say ewww. He’s a sleeper that can produce in the right environment. 

[k-train]

Would've liked to have been able to get a S or CB in there as well, but based on who was still available when I was picking there really wasn't anyone I felt would be able to make a substantial contribution immediately compared to the players I selected.

[k-train]

5 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

Nice. Dallas is one of those guys who people will look at his stats and say ewww. He’s a sleeper that can produce in the right environment. 

They talked about that a good bit on that podcast episode... specifically the way folks looks at RBs and get sooooooooo tranfixed on combine & pro day numbers, especially the 40, when that really does not matter much at all. Basically the numbers don't always tell the whole story, guys don't play the game in spandex track suits, and therefore it's how they look in games on film that matters.

They pretty much pointed to how the best rookie RB this past season ran like a 4.6, and in reality as long as a guy's not running like a 4.7 or worse, if he can actually play ball, he should still be able to find success in the NFL.

[ya_boi_j]

1 minute ago, k-train said:

They talked about that a good bit on that podcast episode... specifically the way folks looks at RBs and get sooooooooo tranfixed on combine & pro day numbers, especially the 40, when that really does not matter much at all. Basically the numbers don't always tell the whole story, guys don't play the game in spandex track suits, and therefore it's how they look in games on film that matters.

I don’t trust combine results or statistics. Never have, never will. It’s like you see people daily screaming about stats. Chase Coffman set a NCAA record, how did his career turn out. Several guys won Heisman Trophies and didn’t have an NFL career. Judging players off stats, especially in college is dumb IMO. I completely agree that how they actually play is all that matters

[k-train]

4 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

I don’t trust combine results or statistics. Never have, never will. It’s like you see people daily screaming about stats. Chase Coffman set a NCAA record, how did his career turn out. Several guys won Heisman Trophies and didn’t have an NFL career. Judging players off stats, especially in college is dumb IMO. I completely agree that how they actually play is all that matters

Amen. When I see this I see a guy who has everything I want in a back... toughness, acceleration, balance, ability to see a hole & quickly get through it, solid hands as a receiver, and plenty of speed to get the job done on the field.
 

 

[k-train]

@youngbloodz can you shed some light on DeeJay Dallas for me?

[ya_boi_j]

2 minutes ago, k-train said:

Amen. When I see this I see a guy who has everything I want in a back... toughness, acceleration, balance, ability to see a hole & quickly get through it, solid hands as a receiver, and plenty of speed to get the job done on the field.
 

 

Yup. Someone is gonna get a gem late

[youngbloodz]

35 minutes ago, k-train said:

@youngbloodz can you shed some light on DeeJay Dallas for me?

Tough runner. Vision and ability to break tackles are his two biggest strengths to me. Has hands like a WR. Would love to have him

[AllStarHandyMan]

Dang watching DeeJay Dallas highlights. That man doesnt want to get tackled he just keeps moving!

[FalconJim]

He's not even on the radar @ Walter Football, at least not in the first round. 
I think Dee Jay Dallas may be the biggest "sleeper" at RB in this years Draft! 
His highlight reel sure does look good, too (but don't they all?). 
The dude is slippery as an eel, and he has great second-effort after contact, not to mention deceptive speed when he gets in the open field! 
I hope the Falcons keep an eye on this guy, and snag him in one of the mid-to-late rounds, if he's still there!!!  Heck, give me that Miami O-line, too ---   




 

[Francis York Morgan]

I'd like the players a lot, the draft less so. No secondary (esp Safety) kinda sucks.

[k-train]

26 minutes ago, Francis York Morgan said:

I'd like the players a lot, the draft less so. No secondary (esp Safety) kinda sucks.

Yeah, like I mentioned in my second post, I would’ve loved to also snag some secondary help but it just didn’t pan out like that. I’m honestly not super stoked on the majority of the DBs in this class from what I’ve seen thus far outside of a handful of guys who went earlier than I would’ve liked in this draft.

I guess in this scenario we’d hope Neal could at least be serviceable for a year & then we could draft his replacement early next year if nevessary. We’d pretty much be forced to bring Kazee back for another year in this scenario too. I guess the hope would be that the potential upgrades on the D-line & LB corps, along w/ a year of experience for Oliver & Sheffield, would be enough to see noticeable improvements this year in the secondary... at least enough to carry us through to next offseason when we can continue to overhaul the Back end of the defense.

[k-train]

43 minutes ago, youngbloodz said:

Tough runner. Vision and ability to break tackles are his two biggest strengths to me. Has hands like a WR. Would love to have him

Thanks! Pretty much confirms a lot of my thoughts but figured you’ve probably seen him much more than anyone else on here, so I appreciate your insight.

[ya_boi_j]

2 hours ago, k-train said:

Thanks! Pretty much confirms a lot of my thoughts but figured you’ve probably seen him much more than anyone else on here, so I appreciate your insight.

Ummmmmm........do you not see my profile pic?

smh.......the disrespect is real

[octoslash]

Surely this Dallas kid is not going to last to the final round...??

[ya_boi_j]

1 minute ago, octoslash said:

Surely this Dallas kid is not going to last to the final round...??

As of right now he has a late round grade. Gotta remember mocks and projections don’t mean much

[k-train]

22 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

Ummmmmm........do you not see my profile pic?

smh.......the disrespect is real

LOL sorry bro!! Just knew he played at the U from a convo he & I had years ago, so he was my first thought to ask. The fact you both are singing Dallas's praises is music to my ears.