My Pre-Combine 2013 mock draft

[2413fanphins]

well, it happened. I pulled the trigger on a lineman at 12. Lane Johnson to me seems very much capable of making me forget about jake long. Living in the midwest I don't have to scour for much gamefilm on him, as he usually plays on the locals every week. It's not a sexy pick by any means, but he's a beast, and I can't argue with getting a beast at 12 overall. I liked eric reid at 12 as well. I'm probably going to take some heat for taking the ireland approach here, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on a patterson or banks here, and as a lot of you may already know I like mingo a lot, but I tried to be realistic in terms of draft order and I really think that despite it being a big fear or mine, rex ryan falls in love with mingo and he's gone before we pick.

1. Lane Johnson OT oklahoma.. (see above)

2a. Eddy Lacy RB Bama- perhaps a slight reach here, perhaps not... remains to be seen. I dont think bush is back, and lacy is a battering ram who scores. All in.

2b. Tavon Austin WR WVU- dude is versatile, puts points on the board, will put asses in seats... seems like a win win for everyone. hopefully rounds out the WR corps in addition to gregg jennings.

3a. Baccarri Rambo FS Georgia- Have liked this dudes game for awhile now. I think pairing him with jones will be a huge step forward for our last line of defense

3b. Cornelius Carradine DE FSU- If you know me and have read any of my posts, chances are you know I have a hard on or several FSU players. Banking on carradine coming back from injury even if it takes longer than expected, to pair opposite wake, and perhaps take over when wakes time is up.. LOVE this dude

4. Robert Alford CB SE Louisiana- debated hard addressing the CB spot much earlier, have always had trufant tabbed as our pick at 42.. not sure he makes it down that far, hawthorne got strong consideration in round 3, but alford is a guy who is going to catch more and more peoples eyes as this process plays out. He makes plays on the ball, and that is something this team desperately needs.

5. David Bakhtiari OL Colorado- this name was actually brought up by another poster somewhere in either the draft forum or the VIP forum. I have been watching as much youtube videos as I can on this guy, and I have a cousin in colorado who is the same age as david and he is trying to line me up with some more tape. This guy moves pretty damn good. I'd like to see what he can do with our staff, and maybe he can make a transition to OG, I think he can move really good, I always wonder what bulking up will do to these kids' speed though.. but in the fifth round... even if he only ended up as depth, I think the pick sticks.

6. A.J. Klein ILB ISU- I penciled us in here for a compensatory pick. I am really questioning whether klein will be here this late as I think he's much better than a 6th round linebacker. He's actually one of my favorite players in this years draft... he's plays in my home state and there is a lot I like about him. IMO, they don't come much smarter than AJ. He has a canny ability to read where the qb is going with the ball, and actually is pretty good in coverage. he's rarely out of position, is a sure tackler, this dude wraps... he sound fundamentally... no trying to lay the wood, he TACKLES, he's versatile in that he's played multiple LB positions. He's a high motor guy, balls to the wall in pursuit and is a gamer. he kind of reminds me of matt roth, although more the matt roth that played in iowa city and not south beach. Knocks on klein, will surely be that he's not all that fast, and he's not going to be a real tall guy. Sometimes I think his COD is adequate and other times I think it's ****ing terrible. I think with his passion for football, he'd be quite coachable, and a guy that especially for a 6th round pick, would be a steal.

7a. Abry Jones DT Georgia- if not for the season ending injury to his ankle who knows where we are talking about this guy going. I still have my doubts he will fall this far, but as is the case with each of my other picks when I do my mocks, I try to compare them to a few different websites to see if my projections somewhat match where they pencil in people. He has a knack for getting in the backfield and disrupting plays and gets the occasional sack and has some pretty good TFL numbers over the past couple of years. Hard to say what happens to our DT in the next two years with starks a FA this year and soliai and odrick coming up in the next two years.

7b. Had almost forgot about the trade with dallas. I penciled in dustin hopkins the kicker from florida state here. I have really soured on danny carpenter and his mullet, mostly because he had the inconsistency issue, and somewhat because of a classmate of mine, who ironically was named danny carpenter and had a mullet... and I despised the kid. at any rate, rookie kickers are cheap, and competition is good.

comments, suggestions, rotten tomatoes... open to dialogue. this is about the 89th rendition of a pre combine mock draft I have done, and for some reason this one just stuck with me. which is weird because there is no patterson, or mingo, no allen or hopkins, and frankly I thought I'd never get a mock in that didnt' have a WR with either the first or second round pick at 42.

on a side note, I do think that miami will go after jennings pretty hard. I fully expect him to be down here next season, and thats partially why I strayed from a WR pick inside the top 50. I think it's pretty solid... maybe I'm way off base... hahahaha... I'm off to bed, my brain hurts and I'm out of paper.

 

[MarinoEqualsGod]

Austin will go to the texans in the first round

 

[2413fanphins]

Never know i suppose.

 

[Morey161]

Eddie Lacy? As much as I think this kid is very good we have Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas already. I am for drafting a RB but not for getting one in the first 3 rounds. There is plenty of value later in the draft. Lamar Miller is going to be the starter most likely next year and really show how dynamic of a player he can be.

 

[dolfin530]

I like Tavon Austin and his speed but he is a slot guy and that's not what we need. We need outside guys. Eddy Lacy will go in the bottom of the first round. David Bakhtiari is a 2-3 rounder he will not fall to the 5th.

 

[hoops]

alford if it's true he's 25 years old i guess 4th round is possible...if he's 23 though off what i saw i wouldn't wait that long...i would jump on that in the 3rd if i didn't have a corner by then...that kids got talent and tools...i'm a big fan of that kid...if he's 23 he may come back as a 2nd round value for me...i expect him to show well at the combine...runs in the 4.4's might be a round 2 guy if 23 years old...

austin a lot of late round 1 buzz...too high for us given he's a slot and kick returner at the next level...and we have both...but swope in the 3rd i'm down with

 

[datruth55]

Would feel really bad for Tannehill if this was the draft. No outside receiver, no TE...no weapons to throw to...still.

 

[hoops]

Would feel really bad for Tannehill if this was the draft. No outside receiver, no TE...no weapons to throw to...still.

that's a good point...i don't see how ireland doesn't load up on skill position players for the o...

 

[2413fanphins]

Would feel really bad for Tannehill if this was the draft. No outside receiver, no TE...no weapons to throw to...still.

Thank god the nfl still has free agency.

 

[Roman529]

I think if Bush leaves we definitely could use a guy like Lacy.....I would give him a shot with one of our third round picks. I have seen Bahktiari play for Colorado, my alma mater, and read reports on him in the Denver Post. He was really frustrated with CU, and being on a team that only won one game, but he played hard till the end, and was probably their best overall player. He decided to make himself eligible for this year's draft rather than trying to go through another rebuilding year in Boulder. I have seen Bakhtiari projected anywhere from the late 2nd to the 5th, but I think the 4th round is where he will go, and I have us taking him....he probably would be better at the Guard spot, but he is pretty versatile....6'4, 295.

 

[datruth55]

Thank god the nfl still has free agency.

Can't sign every free agent out there and we've gone the free agent route time and time again and it's never worked. What does work is drafting your own players and developing them, that's been proven. Where do you think the Ravens got Dennis Pitta, Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Torrey Smith? The core of their offense was drafted. Where do you think the 49ers got Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis? Again it was the draft not free agency. Free agency, if done correctly, is supposed to be used to supplement the draft...sign free agents where the draft is weak and draft players to develop in your system. Free agency shouldn't be used to get the core of your team on offense or defense.

 

[2413fanphins]

Can't sign every free agent out there and we've gone the free agent route time and time again and it's never worked. What does work is drafting your own players and developing them, that's been proven. Where do you think the Ravens got Dennis Pitta, Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Torrey Smith? The core of their offense was drafted. Where do you think the 49ers got Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis? Again it was the draft not free agency. Free agency, if done correctly, is supposed to be used to supplement the draft...sign free agents where the draft is weak and draft players to develop in your system. Free agency shouldn't be used to get the core of your team on offense or defense.

Who said it was?

Id say its a pretty good chance we sign a wr or two... i.e. jennings and hartline. Add them in and i dont feel like drafting keenan allen or robert woods. Jake long walks???? Than what sign patterson over johnson or fisher??? I decided to not go that route.

I guezz i should have included some dreamed up scenario of free agency so some wouldnt have to hit the panic button.

I compared my board to other boards like draft teks and a handful of mocks, and tried to get a consensus value and picked guys based on my research.

Of course i would like a patterson over johnson. But im not sold on martin at lt. Johnson got the nod.
Eiffert is gone by 42, and im not high on ertz... so lacy gets the nod. So on and so forth...

Mingo is my preference at 12, and i have him gone before 12. To me its not all that realistic if you just peg who you want in where, without.considering other teams that pick close to our pick.

 

[datruth55]

Who said it was?

Id say its a pretty good chance we sign a wr or two... i.e. jennings and hartline. Add them in and i dont feel like drafting keenan allen or robert woods. Jake long walks???? Than what sign patterson over johnson or fisher??? I decided to not go that route.

I guezz i should have included some dreamed up scenario of free agency so some wouldnt have to hit the panic button.

I compared my board to other boards like draft teks and a handful of mocks, and tried to get a consensus value and picked guys based on my research.

Of course i would like a patterson over johnson. But im not sold on martin at lt. Johnson got the nod.
Eiffert is gone by 42, and im not high on ertz... so lacy gets the nod. So on and so forth...

Mingo is my preference at 12, and i have him gone before 12. To me its not all that realistic if you just peg who you want in where, without.considering other teams that pick close to our pick.

Hartline was here last year and didn't help us put up any points. Adding Jennings is a start but not enough and not having a seam threat TE in the WCO is bad business. What does Jennings add to our scoring...two points per game maybe so we go from 18 ppg to 20 ppg...not good enough. You're still putting too much pressure on Tannehill to be perfect and carry the team.

When the Packers took Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson in consecutive years it showed that they weren't content with just good enough, they wanted more. I hope Philbin brings that with him to this draft. Jennings would be a start but it's not good enough. IMO the entire WR corp, TEs included, needs to be redone completely...right now it's not even good enough.

 

[2413fanphins]

Hartline was here last year and didn't help us put up any points. Adding Jennings is a start but not enough and not having a seam threat TE in the WCO is bad business. What does Jennings add to our scoring...two points per game maybe so we go from 18 ppg to 20 ppg...not good enough. You're still putting too much pressure on Tannehill to be perfect and carry the team.

When the Packers took Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson in consecutive years it showed that they weren't content with just good enough, they wanted more. I hope Philbin brings that with him to this draft. Jennings would be a start but it's not good enough. IMO the entire WR corp, TEs included, needs to be redone completely...right now it's not even good enough.

Cant really disagree on hartline not putting the ball in the endzone, but I like him as a #2... hes pretty sure handed and moves the chains and tannehilll is obviously comfortable with him. I think you really discount how much impact eddy lacy would have as far as scoring points goes, but thats perhaps thats an entirely different thread.
I still am not sold on ertz as a seam busting tight end and like I said eifert is probably gone, so where do you pencil in your next tight end at? In what round, and over what prospects? I haven't heard or read anything from philbin or ireland that says we are in the market for or considering a TE in the draft, so I have to think that they have hitched their wagon to egnew and possibly fasano coming back... what else are we to think?

I realize what the packers did, and I'd be all for it... but this is one draft, I don't know how you can expect to take a jennings, nelson and jones all at one time, it took green bay three years to do what you are saying.

If you say jennings is a start adn the entire WR and TE corps need replacing, I ask, how on earth you do that all in the draft since we can't just go signing every free agent and should build through the draft...

do you draft a replacement for hartline, matthews, and bess, and a replacement for clay and fasano, and throw an entire offense full of rookies out there and hope the fanbase gets behind that?

Like I said before, I tried to make the mock coincide with talent that would be available at the spot we are pegged in correlation with who might go to other teams within 5 or so picks of us.

If they bring in a Wr and TE in free agency, I dont know how many WR's or TE's they will follow up with in the draft. So based off my assumption that they are at least targeting jennings, I thought austins playmaking ability would complement the offense well, and that mixed with an eddy lacy and lamar miller we'd be in better shape than we were last year.
I suppose you could look to woods and patton and guys like that, jordan reed was in some of my mocks... but it's just what I went with for now. I like how it shakes out I guess. to each his own.

 

[datruth55]

I realize what the packers did, and I'd be all for it... but this is one draft, I don't know how you can expect to take a jennings, nelson and jones all at one time, it took green bay three years to do what you are saying.

If you say jennings is a start adn the entire WR and TE corps need replacing, I ask, how on earth you do that all in the draft since we can't just go signing every free agent and should build through the draft...

do you draft a replacement for hartline, matthews, and bess, and a replacement for clay and fasano, and throw an entire offense full of rookies out there and hope the fanbase gets behind that?

It took the Packers three years to do that..(and they weren't done cause two years later they drafted Randall Cobb in the 2nd) but we're alway going to be three years away from doing the same if we never start...always.

You can't replace them all at once, you replace them one at a time, two if the draft falls right. Jennings is important because he would provide leadership and he's the type of veteran that would bring younger players along and show them how to be professionals...who do we have that can do that now? We haven't had that player in our receiving corp for more than a decade...Chris Chambers? Please. Hartline? Don't think so. I would say not since O.J. McDuffie probably and he had no one to teach.

Lets say Eddie Lacy scores the 6 TDs Reggie Bush scored plus the 4 TDs that we gave Daniel Thomas on his goal line runs...10 TDs...our scoring still hasn't gone up because he's essentially taken the scoring away from those two players...we added nothing. Lacy would make Thomas obsolete...I think we can agree on that. Thomas is basically used in short yardage and goal line situations and Lacy would take his place. I think maybe you overestimate what he would do for the offense.