Mock Draft Simulater
 

I thought I share this with y'all. It's a neat for those who like mock drafts. http://fanspeak.com/ontheclock/

Thanks. This is fun. I decided first to see what happens if I start with Clowney:

1. Jadaveon Clowney, DE, S. Carolina

As you might expect, the big name QBs fell off the board leaving Zach Mettenberger, A.J. McCarron, Tahj Boyd and Aaron Murray. But I figure they can wait. OG-OC Cyril Richardson and DB Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix are available but I fall back on getting help in the middle:

2. Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford

At the start of Round 3, all the QBs are still available so I take the one I think O'Brien would like even though I'm not a big fan.

3. Zach Mettenberg, QB, LSU

Now back to helping the defense (I'd love to help the OL but I'm too unfamiliar with the OT candidates at this level of the draft board).

4. Dominique Easley, DT, Florida

A very talented guy in the middle who has had some injury issues. Florida's defemse was stout even though their offense was crappy. And here's another big-play guy who I'm shocked is still there:

5. Chris Davis, CB, Auburn

You can see I probably saw more SEC than other parts of the country this year. I really have no idea who O'Brien or Crennel wants or whether Rick Smith or Bob McNair will have some influence. I'd also love it if you could do trade downs.

I gotta get ready for work so I'll try my hand at a Bridgewater draft later.


5.

Odd... When I chose Clowney first, Mettenberger went late first round to another team. I didn't pay attention to which team it was. Pretty fickle computer. :)

I see what you mean. I just started with Jake Matthews and Derek Carr goes off the board before Clowney who fell to #6.

Sounds like this needs more tweaking.:rolleyes:

1. Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
2. Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio St.
3. Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford
4. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE-OLB, Texas
5. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson

Mettenberg was still there in the third again.

I'm toying with the idea of O'Brien trading our second to the Patriots for QB Ryan Mallett. It's probably too high a pick to give up but he's not just a backup QB. He's knows O'Brien's system from New England days so he should have a quick learning curve to his system.

And Belichick *loves* having a pick at that point in the draft because he can package this and his low first to move up or he can start trading down to acquire more picks so he can start building back depth.

After I took Bridgewater, entirely different options started opening up.

1. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2. Kyle Van Noy, DE-OLB, BYU
3. Juwaun James, OT, Tennessee
4. Dominique Easley, DT, Florida
5. Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio St.

Other than taking a RT 1-1 this would be a home run draft. Trade back, grab another second, throw the best OG on the table into the mix and now we're talking.

1-30-2014
 

This site updates every Tuesday so it weighed in the risers and fallers from the Senior Bowl and my Clowney draft had some big surprises. Without trading up or back, this might be a dream draft:

1. Jadaveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
3. Cyril Richardson, G, Baylor
4. Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State
5. Max Bullough, ILB, Michigan St.
6. Chris Davis, CB-KR, Auburn
7. Carrington Byndum, CB, Texas

Picks 2-3 were in the "too good to pass up" category. Hyde and Bullough fill needs while the two corners at the bottom are both solid guys who held up well against top competition.

While I'm skittish about Manzeil, he's less of a risk at 2-1 and should at least have a longer honeymoon than some other QBs we could bring in.

I like Manziel but I think no way he lasts till 2.1.

So (somebody had to do it):


1 (1) QB JOHNNY MANZIEL TEXAS A&M

2 (33) TE JACE AMARO TEXAS TECH

3 (65) ILB CHRIS BORLAND WISCONSIN

4 (97) DT DOMINIQUE EASLEY FLORIDA

5 (129) CB ROSS COCKRELL DUKE

I think whomever gets Manziel really ought to bring him along slower than what has become the norm lately (i.e., being thrown to the wolves). He's still practically a teenager. Perhaps, at least, splitting time with a vet during his first year.....

Arky, you're fired. You can go be the Ravens' strength and conditioning coordinator.

lol

Since I don't want to fire every poster here, thought I'd put up instead of shut up with my own run at this feature.

1 (1) QB Teddy Bridgewater Louisville
2 (33) DT Timmy Jernigan Florida State
3 (65) ILB Chris Borland Wisconsin
4 (97) DE Marcus Smith Louisville

...would probably look really hard at DBs and TEs the rest of the way. Probably means going to free agency pre-draft to find a little vet depth for the OL. Picking front 7 is a little tough since I still need to sit down with RAC on what he wants up there, but these three have caught my eye.

I would also like to know more about the OL that the team carried on the IR last year, the rookies. Do they have any promise? That would certainly affect my perception of need one way or the other.

Eheh, actually Eric Winston had the best quote I heard so far on Manziel: "He's (Manziel) going to get someone fired. Either the guy that picks him or the guy that *doesn't* pick him." Nick Wright (610 morning guy) has used the same quote....

I'm not really listening to any talk about Bortles, Carr or Manzeil at 1-1. If we're going that route, it really has to be Bridgewater because he's the guy who has played in a pro-style offense and is the most ready to start the season as "the guy" under center. I can see drafting Clowney or trading down as the two other viable options.

Using the Mock Simulator, here's my latest "Bridgewater Draft". I expected to go heavy on defense but never found the RT I wanted. This draft, however, should vastly improve our pass rush and interior defense:

1. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2. Kyle Van Noy, DE-OLB, BYU
3. Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford
4. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE-OLB, Texas
5. Charles Sims, RB, West Virginia
6. Shaquille Richardson, CB, Arizona
7. Walt Aikens, CB, Liberty

Several of these were the top of the draft board at their point.

If you think Bridgewater is the best prospect, that's fine. But to suggest we should use the No. 1 pick on a guy because he's the best equipped to start day 1 is laughable. You take the guy you think has the best chance of developing into an elite QB. Who you think has the best chance to win games September 2014 is a ridiculous reason to draft someone No. 1.

Here's a "trenchy" draft:


1. (1) DE JADEVEON CLOWNEY - SOUTH CAROLINA
2. (33) G DAVID YANKEY - STANFORD
3. (65) OT MORGAN MOSES - VIRGINIA
4. (97) DT KELCY QUARLES - SOUTH CAROLINA
5. (129) QB A.J. MCCARRON - ALABAMA

Murray (Georgia), Smith (Wyoming), Fales (San Jose State) and Boyd (Clemson) were all still available at the QB position in the 5th round according to the simulator. I went with McCarron....

Eh, it's going to be a long off season....

That depends on what becomes of Schaub. If he's cut (or traded), then you're asking Keenum to take over as your starter in an entirely new offense until your "best prospect" quarterback is developed. Now, if he can't beat out Keenum for the job, why the hell did you draft him 1-1? :confused:

You draft a QB at 1-1 because he'll be ready to start on Day One and the only guy of the four that looks like he has all of that is Bridgewater. He has the experience and the maturity to be that sort of player who can assume that mantle.

What's laughable is to draft a QB 1-1 then sit him behind Case Keenum while he learns the job. If Schaub is still around, I could see learning at his feet for a few months if you can stomach the interceptions. But I think Schaub is going to be a June cut if he isn't traded before then.

I think in a good draft, Bridgewater is probably a mid-first QB and Bortles might go ahead of him because of size and athleticism but the Texans won't have that situation unless they trade down so a 1-1 "franchise" QB needs to be ready to walk into camp and take over. Of the four QB hopefuls, Bridgewater is the only one who I think could pull that off.

My "Clowney Draft" has a surprise fall into the second round that changed my whole approach. Unfortunately, I kept waiting another round for a QB until all the best ones were gone.

1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
3. Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
4. Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor
5. Lamin Barrow, ILB, LSU
6. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
7. Walt Aikens, CB, Liberty

I'd walk away pretty happy with this. Kouandjio can be the new RT until Duane Brown is done. Seastrunk should be great insurance if Foster struggles and Boyd, in the sixth, is a low risk who might still turn into something outstanding someday.

My latest "Clowney" draft:

1. Jadaveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. Jace Amaro, TE Texas Tech - Amaro (6-6, 260) is supposed to be this draft's Rob Gronkowski and, let me see, isn't the new head coach the guy who made a star out of the last Rob Gronkowski?
3. Chris Borland, ILB, Wisconsin - Help and insurance for Brian Cushing.
4. Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois - ranked in the low first round in some mocks. A steal this late.
5. A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama. All he does is win championships. A caretaker QB who seems to give you just enough to win. Rarely makes mistakes.
6. Chris Davis, CB-KR, Auburn. Depth at two positions and can make big plays.
7. Trai Turner, G, LSU. Another OL candidate.

My latest "Bridgewater" draft:

1. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2. David Yankey, G, Stanford - He might convert to tackle but he'll solve one problem on the right side of the line. One Yankey who will be proud to be a Texan.
3. Christian Jones, ILB, Florida St. - Help and insurance for Brian Cushing.
4. DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State - You knew O'Brien would get this one.
5. Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington - Slightly undersized but great one-cut back in the mold of Arian Foster.
6. Chris Davis, CB/KR, Auburn - Depth for two positions.
7. Aaron Lynch, DE, South Florida - position depth.

I guess you haven't seen his tattoo.

No, but Brent Musburger and I have seen his girlfriend. ;)

I thought we were talking about mistakes.

If it fell this way, I would be pretty happy also.

The Texans have some inside information from former coaches of Clowney's on staff here now, and they would know about his desire and real work ethic.

2-26-14 The first post-combine mock
 

My "Clowney" draft:

1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE-OLB, S.Carolina
2. David Yankey, G-T, Stanford
3. Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio St. - Not sure why the drop. But if he's still there in the 3rd, I'll take him.
4. A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
5. Max Bullough, ILB, Michigan St.
6. Chris Davis, CB-KR, Auburn
7. Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford

My "Bridgewater" draft:

1. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2. Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio St.
3. Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford
4. Anthony Steen, OG, Alabama
5. Bruce Ellington, WR, S. Carolina
6. Chris Davis, CB-KR, Auburn
7. Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford

03-14-14 mocks
 

Fanspeak now has three big boards to choose from - Fanspeak, Walter Football and Optimum Scouting.

Here's the latest Clowney draft with the Fanspeak big board. Again, opportunity alters the projections:

1. DE-OLB Jadeveon Clowney, S. Carolina
2. DT Louis Nix III, Notre Dame (a big body to replace Earl Mitchell that amazingly falls to us).
3. OT Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama (a massive tackle who can be RT now and LT later)
4. QB Jimmy Garoppolo, E. Illinois (he's up to #5 on numerous QB draft rankings - similar to Tony Romo)
5. ILB Max Bullough, Michigan State (help for Cushing)
6. CB/KR Chris Davis, Jr., Auburn (still like what I saw of him late in year)
7. CB Andre Hal, Vanderbilt (another corner with SEC experience)

Now the latest Bridgewater draft:

1. QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville
2. OLB Dee Ford, Auburn (trash-talking speed rusher off the edge)
3. OT Joel Bitonio, Nevada (OLs flew off the board this time. He was the best left)
4. DT Daquan Jones, Penn St. (O'Brien gets his pick)
5. ILB Max Bullough, Michigan State
6. CB/KR Chris Davis, Jr., Auburn
7. CB Andre Hal, Vanderbilt

If you took those together and gave me ANYBODY (Watkins, Mosely, Gilbert, Ebron) in the first round I'd be happy with this:

2. OLB Dee Ford, Auburn (trash-talking speed rusher off the edge)
3. OT Joel Bitonio, Nevada (OLs flew off the board this time. He was the best left)
4. QB Jimmy Garoppolo

03-19-2014 Mock
 

Well, Fanspeak is getting even more creative. You can now choose between three different big boards and, for $4.95 charge to PayPal, you can have trades proposed and create your own plus access other resources.

So I tried the Walter Football Big Board and made two trades:

I traded our 1-1 to the Browns for their 1-4, 2-3 and next year's first (which ought to be first-half so you'd have two top-half #1s to go after a great player next year) then, when I saw so much available at 2-1, decided to trade it to the Rams for 2-12 and an added 4th-rounder.

I figured I would then have to pick between Clowney and the three QBs with one or two options off the table. Instead, the choices were 2 WRs and Jake Matthews so I still had the same decision. I decided to go with Clowney at 1-4. The remainder were:

1-4: Jadeveon Clowney, OLB-DE, S. Carolina
2-3: Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
2-12: David Yankey, G-T, Stanford
3-1: Jimmy Garrapolo, QB, Eastern Illinois
4-1: Christian Jones, ILB, Florida St.
4-10: DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn St.
5-1: Storm Johnson, RB, Central Florida
6-1: Lamin Barrow, ILB, LSU
7-1: Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma

Now, let's try with Optimum Scouting big board:

Son of a duck, the same trade with the Browns happens and the Browns take Bortles but, at 1-4, the same choice of Clowney or Bridgewater is there. I guess I'll take Clowney again.

Amaro, Yankey and Garrapolo were all taken in the first round but there are a pair of well-known Aggies available and several other good choices. I traded down twice more to give me three picks in the 4th but no 7th.
I came out with:

1-4: Jadaveon Clowney, OLB-DE, S. Carolina
2-3: Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
2-9: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M (too good to pass up here)
3-7: Joel Bitonio, OT, Nevada
4-1: DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn St.
4-9: A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
4-27:Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor
5-1: Jackson Jeffcoat, OLB-DE, Texas (too good to pass up here)
6-1: Max Bulloch, ILB, Michigan St.

In both cases, I also have next year's #1 from Cleveland.

Good work. They have no quarterback and their running back will be injured most of the year so that should result in a great pick for us in 2015.

Not bad, Bob. Just curious about how you would utilize Clowney though. Do you see him as a Two-gap DE in the 3-4 like Richard Seymour or an OLB like Willie McGinnist in Romeo's defense?

I know your question was directed to Bob, but I'm going to take a shot at it here. Notwithstanding any reported non-football issues, Clowney is a tremendous football play, not just a tremendous athlete. And he's not one-dimensional because he's strong against the run beside being a truly elite pass-rusher: he's the consensous #1 talent in this very talented Draft.
Now to your question about how would O'Brien/Crennel play him in Crennel's defense ? If O'Brien and his DC would be incapable of knowing how to figure out how to employ/apply this most talented football player in this the 2014 NFL Draft in their defense, then Bob McNair made a major mistake when he hired O'Brien to be his new HC.

The short answer is "like McGinnest". A talent like Clowney is all about creating mismatches and getting him upfield quickly to disrupt plays. Therefore, I would want him and Watt to line up all over the place - sometimes together and sometimes on opposite sides so defenses have to read both before reacting. He would be what Wade Phillips tried to do with Mario Williams but I think Clowney is better suited for it. I think Clowney and Watt will make the other even better and if a third guy (Mercilous, Reed, Cushing or a Jackson Jeffcoat I drafted in one mock) becomes a consistent rusher you've made the defense really tough for opponents.

OK, I can go with that, but I like Barr in that role. He seems as if he could also not be a fish out of water when asked on those rare occasions to drop into coverage. That's why I'm so hoping that we can trade down and pick up extra picks. If Clowney didn't have the 'work ethic' baggage, we might be able to easily find someone to trade up for him.

Guys like Barr and Mack are fine but they could also be liabilities against the run where a guy like Clowney can hold up at the point of attack in goalline packages because he has DE size to go with his OLB quickness. That's why he's a matchup headache which would give us a second one to go with Watt. Put those two on a front seven and everyone else, even Cushing, gets single coverage which means you just have to beat your man to make the play. Next you start mixing in some blitzers and you are giving the opposing team a lot of different stuff they don't have answers for.

If we pass that up for Bortles, he better be at least a Phil Simms-caliber QB or we have really screwed ourselves.

I only saw a couple of Texas Tech games last year but Jace Amaro looked dominant in both..... a man among boys.... Someone is going to get a good TE...

I doubt Amaro gets past the Patriots but I've said elsewhere that he is the next Gronkowski - big dude with good hands and downfield speed. And guess what? We now have the guy who developed the first Gronkowski. I doubt Amaro is there at 2-1 but, if he is, you have to put your other plans on hold and take him - especially now that we've released Owen Daniels.

On again, today's NFL is about creating mismatches and this guy is too fast for most LBs and too big for most safeties to cover. You can take an average QB (ie Fitzpatrick) and put a security blanket like Amaro around him and he will get instantly better.

Clowney is such an obvious choice here especially when O'Brien can get the equivalent if not superior prospect in the second round to any of the "big 3" for his QB to groom for the future. Hey folks, just because you use a first round pick on a QB doesn't necessarily mean you get a first round QB.

The Fitzpatrick signing convinces me about 85% sure we are taking Bortles at 1-1 so, using the Fanspeak big board and adding the 6-5 pick from Oakland, I stay at 1-1 and draft this way:

1-1 Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
2-1 Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
I trade down from 3-1 and 4-1 to add extra picks in the 4th and 5th rounds:
3-7 Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford
4-10 Jack Mewhort, OT, Ohio St.
4-27 Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor
5-1 Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech
5-13 Taylor Hart, DE, Oregon
6-1 Chris Davis, CB-KR, Auburn
6-5 Storm Johnson, RB, UCF
7-1 Jay Bromley, DT, Syracuse

Didn't do as much with the pass rush as I'd like but I'm pretty happy with my top 3 if Bortles is my decision at 1-1.

I'm trying to figure out if I think the signing means they're taking Bortles or if it means they're taking Clowney. You could certainly argue it either way.

I am thinking a tall CB similar to Seattle might be helpful on defense.
These two might be available in second to fourth round.

87 Stanley Jean-Baptiste CB 11 NebraskaSr 6-3 218 3
94 Keith McGill. CB 12 UtahrSr. 6-3 211 S

03-23-2014
 

Tried the Walter Football Big Board and was set to draft Bortles 1-1 but the Falcons stepped up and said they wanted it to draft Clowney. They offered the Texans their first (#6), second (#5), third (#4) and fourth (#3) to move up. I swallowed hard and said yes. Adding the Raiders 6th for Schaub, it gave us two picks near the top of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th.

The Falcons took Clowney. The Jags took Manziel. The Browns took Bridgewater and left me, at #6 with a choice of Bortles or Matthews. Observe:

1-6: Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
2-1: Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
2-5: Dee Ford, DE-OLB, Auburn
3-1: Cyrus Kouandijo, OT, Alabama
3-4: Tre Mason, RB, Auburn

Having re-tooled the offense, the third day was all about defense:

4-1: Christian Jones, ILB, Florida St.
4-3: Jackson Jeffcoat, DE-OLB, Texas
5-1: Calvin Barnett, DT, Oklahoma St.
6-1: Walt Aikens, CB, Liberty (talented but kicked off two programs)
6-5: Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech
7-1: Preston Brown, ILB, Louisville

The secondary might still be a bit weak but the front seven is stacked. You've got Ford, Jeffcoat and Mercilous edge rushing, You've got Watt, Crick and some anchors in the d-line and ILBs like Cushing, Jones and Brown to clean up the middle. Then there's Brooks Reed to fit inside or outside as needed. That front seven will have depth and bring pressure.

Offensively, the problem spot is the guards but you have a lot of candidates and the guards can be hidden with good surrounding players. Bortles/Fitzpatrick will have Foster and Mason sharing carries, Graham and Amaro to work the short passing game and AJ, DeAndre, Posey and Martin available out wide.

So, there are some holes left but that's really a lot of talent and a lot of weapons for O'Brien and Crennel to sculpt.

I'm starting to see that the Texans are going to have a lot of good choices at 2-1 and if they could add another high second, you could get three guys who can make an instant impact on the ballclub.