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MarinoEqualsGod Initial Mock Draft (offseason plan)

MarinoEqualsGod

MarinoEqualsGod

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Bored at work, so just thought I'd put together a quick look at who I'd take in the upcoming draft. Let me know what you think!

First of all, I would address most of our OL concerns via free agency, so that we can address other needs in the draft. Not sure how much cap space we have, so if someone could tell me, I'd appreciate it.

Sign Brandon Albert on the left side and Alex Mack at Center (then move Pouncey to one of the guard spots where he would be tremendous using his athleticism on pulling blocks).

Re-Sign: Grimes
Keller (if healthy)
Starks
Carroll
Clemons
Marlon Moore (as depth and special teams)
Spitler (as depth and special teams)
Danny Watkins
Will Yeatman
R.J. Stanford (as depth and special teams)

Do not re-sign: Clabo
McKinnie
Incognito
Solia (I would love to have him, but it's not realistic to re-sign both him and Starks)
Jerry
Justin Rogers

Cut: Wheeler and Daniel Thomas. Not really sure if this would make sense salary cap-wise, I just want those two knuckleheads off my team. lol. Oh and cut Jonathan Martin. HE'S A SNAKE.

Draft:
Rd 1: Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville: Dude is a flat out playmaker and lays the hammer down on people. Could slot in the starting lineup from Day 1. Clemons can stay or go. If he stays, great...gives us depth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDEEAUMJ0oo and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO6FQr1Y9zY

Rd 2: Tre Mason, RB, Auburn: Compares favorably to Ray Rice. One cut runner, assuming we're sticking with the ZBS, would be an ideal fit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_jaPIrNPfQ

Rd 3: Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia: Coach Lazor is likely familiar with him, as I believe he would have been OC when this kid was recruited to Virginia. Mammouth body with nimble feet, just needs to keep his weight in check. I would play him on the right side. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOpHQtK1bHI

Rd 4: Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State: Third Team All-American, but his stock may be hurt by the fact that he was suspended for the Rose Bowl. The leading tackler on a Michigan State squad that was one of the best defenses in the country. Two-time team captain, called the defensive signals at MSU and was dubbed the quarterback of the defense by coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who took it a step further, saying, "He is a computer on the field." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU-U7rseGU

Rd 5: Brandon Thomas, G, Clemson: Thomas is an athletic offensive lineman that shows good mobility. He is a tall and lean football player that is impressive looking. Comes out of his stance quickly and immediately gets into the defender; gives good initial punch. Plays too high sometimes... No highlight video available.

Rd 6: Assuming this is the pick that was traded for McKinnie

Rd 7: Garrison Smith, DT, Georgia: As much as I'd like, we can't afford to keep Solia and Starks, so we need to draft a replacement there. I'd keep Starks as he is more versatile. Garrison Smith is mainly a run stuffer, which is the big thing we'd lose if Solia leaves. No highlight video available.
 
That's not bad on the draft. Don't agree with your free agency moves especially Marlon Moore. He offers no upside and with Brandon Gibson back as well as Binns bringing back Moore is not needed. I would get rid of Watkins and Stanford as well...time for the rookies to sink or swim. Watkins showed nothing last year, I don't think he cares for football and we need to find out if Taylor and Davis were worth their draft picks. Stanford needs to go.

I'm undecided on Starks or Soliai.
 
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Our cap space currently sits at 19 million, with an additional 19 million we can roll over. So we have about 38 million available (minus probably 5 million for draft picks). So $33 mil for FA etc, plus we can cut Moore and save 4 million, as well as Patterson and save 5.5 million. So max we have about $48 million in space for FA and the draft. I'll dip into the rest of your post in a bit. Right off the bat tho the Browns are highly unlikely to let Mack get away, what would be your back up plan? I also hate overpaying for a tackle, not an Albert fan as he never gets through a full 16 game season. For that price tag he's too injury prone.
 
FearTheBeard said:
Our cap space currently sits at 19 million, with an additional 19 million we can roll over. So we have about 38 million available (minus probably 5 million for draft picks). So $33 mil for FA etc, plus we can cut Moore and save 4 million, as well as Patterson and save 5.5 million. So max we have about $48 million in space for FA and the draft. I'll dip into the rest of your post in a bit. Right off the bat tho the Browns are highly unlikely to let Mack get away, what would be your back up plan? I also hate overpaying for a tackle, not an Albert fan as he never gets through a full 16 game season. For that price tag he's too injury prone.
Click to expand...

I definately hear your concerns on Albert, but I would love to sign him because 1. He has proven to be really good when healthy and 2. This would mean we wouldn't be forced to take a Lineman with our first round pick. I really want Pryor with that first round pick. He's a playmaker...just what our defense needs.

The backup plan to Mack would be to sign Zane Beadles (DEN) at guard and leave Pouney at Center or sign the Center from the Saints (La Puente?) and move Pouncey to Guard. Probably the most realistic plan is just to sign Beadles and he would be more reasonably priced as well.

Thanks for the info. on the cap. Knowing that, I would cut Patterson, but I don't think I'd cut Matt Moore, unless I'm convinced that Devlin can fill that back up role or if I take a QB later in the draft like a Jimmy Garrappolo (Eastern Illinois).

Thinking about the receivers on our team, I forgot that Binns is coming back, so yes, Marlon Moore can be shown the door, although, he is one of our top 2 or 3 special teams players.
 
MarinoEqualsGod said:
I definately hear your concerns on Albert, but I would love to sign him because 1. He has proven to be really good when healthy and 2. This would mean we wouldn't be forced to take a Lineman with our first round pick. I really want Pryor with that first round pick. He's a playmaker...just what our defense needs.

The backup plan to Mack would be to sign Zane Beadles (DEN) at guard and leave Pouney at Center or sign the Center from the Saints (La Puente?) and move Pouncey to Guard. Probably the most realistic plan is just to sign Beadles and he would be more reasonably priced as well.

Thanks for the info. on the cap. Knowing that, I would cut Patterson, but I don't think I'd cut Matt Moore, unless I'm convinced that Devlin can fill that back up role or if I take a QB later in the draft like a Jimmy Garrappolo (Eastern Illinois).

Thinking about the receivers on our team, I forgot that Binns is coming back, so yes, Marlon Moore can be shown the door, although, he is one of our top 2 or 3 special teams players.
Click to expand...

I made a post in VIP about the guys worth looking at. If I have to pay top dollar (which isn't my philosophy) Monroe and Veldheer are higher on the totem pole without a doubt. I'd prefer to go the cheap route (5 mil range) for a guy like Anthony Collins or Roger Saffold. At interior line I don't even consider Mack because he's not going anywhere. Beadles is a good option, once again Saffold is a great option because he gives us the flexibility to play both tackle spots and guard, I like Asamoah from KC too, and far down the list Rinehart. Our musts in FA are re-signing Grimes, retaining one DT and finding a LT. Those 3 are absolute necessities. Right now, as I've said in other threads I want to bring in 2 guys, my top 2 would be Collins or Saffold which would likely cost us 12 million. I would retain Clabo because he came on strong at the end of the year and has a great track record. I'd give him the nod as a stop gap. This way we have LT and RT covered and a guard spot. If Clabo falters we can kick Saffold out to RT, if Clabo holds up and our guards falter you can keep Saffold inside. I agree with most of your returnees, I'd add Clabo tho and there's a number of low end guys that could go either way. I wouldn't cut Wheeler, no matter how bad he was if we can use him situationally as a blitzer fine, doesn't help us with the cap. I'd also keep Soliai over Starks because he is more of a plugger and I think Odrick can fill Starks role. Keller depends on the deal, I'd rather a guy who can block and make plays in the redzone, I'd pass with the emergence of Clay.

My o-line looks like this:

LT: Collins
LG: Martin/Yankey (draft rnd 1/2)
C: Pouncey
RG: Saffold
RT: Clabo

That's a solid line, gives us some flexibility. Like your draft, LOVE Pryor, he's a stud, same goes for Mason. Both would be a homerun. Moses would be a great get there, tho I doubt he'll be sitting there that late. Good point about the Lazor connection. Haven't looked at the mid-late rounders yet. With your plan we still have holes on the OL. We have to rely on Moses to start day 1 and we have to rely on Brenner/Garner. I think if we allocate our money better, go cheaper we can afford more on the offensive line. I rather have 2 guys for 12 than 1 for 10. I'm also starting to feel like we could also restructure Patterson, with the contract he has right now I think it'd be an easier one to restructer since nothing is guaranteed year to year in his contract, he's essentially a lame duck every year. I'd also cut/trade Moore to free up that extra space. Other things to consider are cheap FA LB'ers for depth or going the FA route at RB (Blount, Brown, Gerhart) and maybe TE (Pettigrew).
 
Here's a good reference, I used the overthecap calculator for your scenario:

Re-Sign:
Grimes: 3 years @ 16.5 (compared to Dunta Robinson's 3/13.8, best reference from last year)
Keller (if healthy): 1 @ 2.5 (compared to Fred Davis last year, both coming off injury, same terms)
Starks: 5 @ 35 (compared to Desmond Bryant last year, biggest DT contract last offseason)
Carroll: 2 @ 4 (compared to Darius Butler last year, CB market isn't that pricey, tough guy to peg)
Clemons: 3 @ 10 (compared to Patrick Chung, another tough guy to peg but moderate raise)
Marlon Moore (as depth and special teams): 1 @ 730K (minimum for him)
Spitler (as depth and special teams): 1 @ 730K (same deal)
Danny Watkins: 1 @ 645K (minimum)
Will Yeatman: 1 @ 645K (minimum)
R.J. Stanford (as depth and special teams): 1 @ 645K (you guessed it, minimum)
Devlin (added cause you missed him): 1 @ 645K

Cut Patterson saves us $5 million, which leaves us with $20,852,788. I made all the contracts flat for the most part, so that's as low as it would be, based on last year they'd move money around. Also cut Martin and Arkin.

Then sign: (for realism no Mack)
Albert: 4 @ 34 (compared to Jake Long, biggest contract handed out)
Beadles: 4 @ 16 (somewhere between Lichtensteiner and Vasquez, coming off a down year)

= Leaves us with $20,852,788 - 6.5 + 4 = 10.5
= $10,352,788, more than enough space for draft picks.

Mine right now would be more (very much a work in progress):

Grimes: 3 @ 16.5
Soliai: 3 @ 15 (tick up from Sopoaga got last year)
Carroll: 2 @ 4
Clemons: 3 @ 10
Clabo: 1 @ 1.5 (incentive laden, similar to Pashos)
Spitler: 1 @ 730 K
Yeatman: 1 @ 645 K
Watkins: 1 @ 645 K
Devlin: 1 @ 645K
Binns: 1 @ 600K (a little over the minimum to keep him around)

I'd restructure Patterson, 3 @ 9. Trade Moore for a middle rounder
= $25,142,854

Sign OT Anthony Collins: 5 @ 27.5 (unique case, small sample size, should be in the ballpark)
Sign OL Roger Saffold: 4 @ 24 (premium guard rate, like Vasquez last year)
Sign RB Andre Brown: 2 @ 4 (not gonna be that high in demand, still not sure if I'd include him)
Sign FB John Kuhn: 2 @ 2
= $25,142,854 -13.5m
= $10,142,854

Leaves us with no visible holes except RG going into the draft. We'd need depth at LBer and another TE.

1. Calvin Pryor/Zack Martin/Jace Amaro/Taylor Lewan/CJ Mosley

Most importantly our OL would look like:
LT: Collins | Yeatman
LG: (Draft Pick) | Brenner
C: Pouncey | Garner
RG: Saffold | Thomas | Watkins
RT: Clabo |
 
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FearTheBeard said:
Leaves us with no visible holes except RG going into the draft. We'd need depth at LBer and another TE.

1. Calvin Pryor/Zack Martin/Jace Amaro/Taylor Lewan/CJ Mosley

Most importantly our OL would look like:
LT: Collins | Yeatman
LG: (Draft Pick) | Brenner
C: Pouncey | Garner
RG: Saffold | Thomas | Watkins
RT: Clabo |
Click to expand...

If this were the case, wouldn't you at least have to entertain the idea of trading Dion Jordan for Philly's 1st rounder (#22) and their 3rd this year (and possibly a pick next year). DL is our deepest position and that way, we could fill that RG hole with Martin and still pick up a difference maker/playmaker in the first round (Pryor, Amaro, Ebron, Mosley, etc.), at the same time.

Not saying I'd do it, just that I'd have to think long and hard about it.
 
MarinoEqualsGod said:
If this were the case, wouldn't you at least have to entertain the idea of trading Dion Jordan for Philly's 1st rounder (#22) and their 3rd this year (and possibly a pick next year). DL is our deepest position and that way, we could fill that RG hole with Martin and still pick up a difference maker/playmaker in the first round (Pryor, Amaro, Ebron, Mosley, etc.), at the same time.

Not saying I'd do it, just that I'd have to think long and hard about it.
Click to expand...

Of course I'd entertain it to stockpile picks. I'd entertain getting Lane Johnson mixed in there too. But I like Dion, it's hard to get a guy with that much length and explosion, but giving up an unproven high pick for a handful of picks with a new GM? Think it's a great option.
 
mrbunglez said:
I'd rather keep Soliai over Starks.
Click to expand...

Not me. I'd rather keep Starks over Soliai. Starks is the better interior pass rusher. Big Paul, imo, is more of a 3-4 NT/ space eater. Plus from what i saw, Starks aint no slouch against the run either, jmo though.
 
so you are cutting 4 offensive linemen and only drafting 2?

math not working out my friend...
 
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