Call it an addiction, a jinx, a diversion from the Super Bowl anticipation, or anything else you want, but it's still here. A 3 round mock and 3 different mocks of the Colts 2010 draft class.
First up, the results of the commenter mock on Mocking the Draft. I rep'ed our Colts and netted a class of...
- (32) Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona The board was bare of value on the OL, as well as at DT and Safety. I reached a bit for a big, physical TE to replace Gijon Robinson, fully restoring the 2TE-3WR flexibility that's been slowly degrading from Marcus Pollard/Ken Dilger through Ben Utecht, down to Gijon Robinson.
- (64) Daryl Washington, MLB, TCU Gary Brackett will hit free agency this offseason and hit 30 in May, while he's likely to be back on another short term deal, Washington can get his start on learning the defense and refining his skills (possibly at OLB) for when Brackett begins to decline or decides to hang it up.
- (95) Jared Veldheer, OT, Hillsdale A massive 6'8" 321lb tackle, Veldheer dominated the DII level at left tackle. Whether he can make the jump to LT in the pros is questionable, but he should be an excellent RT after he gets adjusted to the league.
- (127) Amari Spievey, CB, Iowa Spievey comes from a cover-2 zone scheme where he was very strong in run support and an excellent special teamer. He should have no problem stepping into the dime or even the nickel right away.
- (159) T.J. Ward, S, Oregon Great value late as Ward is usually projected in 3rd round, and as high as the 2nd. Ward gives insurance in case Bullitt or Bethea exit and should be an improvement over Silva/Francisco in the defense (although maybe not on STs)
- (Traded to Philly for the pick used on Pat McAfee)
- (223) Kavell Conner, OLB, Clemson Strong against the run and should be a good STer, not ready to play coverage in the Colts D, but could get there.
We were also allowed 3 undrafted player signings
- Leigh Tiffin, K, Alabama, Strong leg (5 for 7 career on 50+ FGs, with season longs of 47, 51, 54, and 50). Adam Vinatieri is quite expensive for a kicker and is struggling to stay healthy. Stover's lack of range is kinda nice in that it forces more aggressive play calling on the edge of scoring range, but could be very costly at the end of a tight game.
- Jan Jorgensen DE, BYU, Thanks to Collie we love our Mormons around here, and I'm a fan of the name for some reason. Seriously, he's a athletic but undersized end (6'3" 260lbs) who can excel in a small 4-3 instead of having to convert to OLB in a 3-4.
- Kenny Alfred, C, Wash St. Athletic interior lineman at 6'2" 290-300lbs. With Saturday's age, Lilja's injury history and DeVan playing well, but not locking down the RG job, the more C/G's the better.
I was very happy with my draft, especially beyond the 1st round. That Gronkowski pick nagged at me enough that, while I'm still happy with it, I wish I'd have taken a different available player. The What-If? of the commenter mock after the jump
- Everson Griffen, DE, USC, The best player available in my mind, while the end of Freeney and Mathis' contracts are too far out for an edge rusher to be a need, Griffen is the one DE I'd consider in the first because he is a very stout run defender. With Griffen in the fold Robert Mathis might never have to play another obvious run down in his career. Pulling Freeney for Mathis for Griffen in running situations would actually improve the D, rather than just keep them fresh for passing downs.
-
Daryl Washington, MLB, TCU
- Jared Veldheer, OT, Hillsdale
- Amari Spievey, CB, Iowa
- Tony Moeaki, TE, Iowa Moeaki is a major talent, a fantastic blocker he dominated 270lbs, top 15 DE, Derrick Morgan in the run game during the Orange Bowl. Moeaki has legitimate speed and great hands, the problem is he missed 26 games (while playing in 37) with various injuries in his 5 year career at Iowa. Between him and Santi the Colts should be able to piece together an excellent season of in-line TE performance (and about a seasons worth of time out injured).
- (traded for McAfee pick)
-
Van Eskridge, S, East Carolina Undersized (listed 6'0" 195, though expected to be smaller), but a playmaker, very strong in run support (actually first broke into the lineup as an emergency fill in at OLB) and made lots of plays in coverage
UDFAs: Leigh Tiffin, Kavell Conner, Kenny Alfred
and I can't resist all this draft talk without running a draft-tek sim. I don't think the analysis on the site is particularly good, but the software they have set up is awesome.
- Charles Brown, OT, USC Brown is underweight, but an athletic pass blocker and solid run blocker
- Morgan Burnett, S, Georgia Tech, Burnett's speed and read-react skills were on display in the Orange Bowl on Iowa's ill fated fake FG. Burnett sniffed it out, took a great angle, quickly closed on pretty athletic kicker and knocked the ball lose.
- Roddrick Muckelroy, OLB, Texas, WILL prospect who can both cover and blitz well.
- Darryl Sharpton, ILB, Miami, undersized, but speedy MLB.
- Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia, disruptive DT having a great senior bowl week.
- (McAfee trade)
- Danny Batten, DE, South Dakota St. undersized (6'3" 250), speedy, pass rusher
Last of all, the latest edition of my 3 round mock.
| Round 1 | |||||
| 1 | St Louis | Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraksa | The Rams lost 2 QBs to injury last season. You don't take a Franchise QB if you can't protect him. They have their LT of the future in place though, so they take the best player in the draft and wait for Jason Smith to develop |
| 2 | Detroit | Gerald McCoy | DT | Oklahoma | If the Lions weren't interested in Oher in the second half of the 1st round last year, they are going to keep rolling with their current tackles. Likely to Matt Stafford's detriment. |
| 3 | Tampa Bay |
Eric Berry | S | Tennessee | The Bucs abandoned their switch away from the Tampa-2, making Berry's experience under Monte Kiffin a plus on an already great prospect. |
| 4 | Washington | Russell Okung |
OT | Ok State | A broken franchise QB is like not having one, but more expensive. |
| 5 | Kansas City | Bruce Campbell |
OT | Maryland |
The Chiefs need to protect and utilize their investment in Matt Cassel by building up the OL. |
| 6 | Seattle | Jimmy Clausen |
QB | Notre Dame | Matt Hasselbeck is nearing the end of the line and Senneca Wallace isn't stepping into his shoes. |
| 7 | Cleveland | Joe Haden | CB | Florida | Such horrid pass D is rare with a competent pass rush. The Browns need serious coverage help. |
| 8 | Oakland | Rolando McClain | ILB | Alabama | Too much sense for a Raiders pick? |
| 9 | Bills |
Sam Bradford |
QB | Oklahoma |
Ryan Fitzpatrick is not a starting QB and Trent Edwards lost his job to him. |
| 10 | Jacksonville | Derrick Morgan | DE | Georgia Tech | Pass rush lacking Jags try that whole top 10 DE thing over again. |
| 11 | Denver | Dez Bryant | WR | Ok. St. | Assuming Marshall is gone, but since McDaniels seems to have no place for Eddie Royal in his O it's not totally impossible even if Marshall is still in Denver in April. |
| 12 | Miami | Dan Williams |
NT |
Tennessee |
The Dolphins add a NT to shore up a D that had issues stopping short yardage. |
| 13 | San Fran | C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson | Niners get a massive boost in the return game (a major asset to a defense center team that'll be playing the field position game) and add a compliment to Frank Gore. |
| 14 | Seattle | Anthony Davis |
OT | Rutgers | Seahawks rebuild the line after getting a Franchise QB. |
| 15 | NY Giants | Brian Price | DT | UCLA | Perfect fit to shoot gaps in a 4-3 |
| 16 | Tennessee | Everson Griffen | DE | USC | Kyle Vanden Bosch's indefatigable motor netted just 3 sacks last year and the Titans pass defense suffered greatly as a result. |
| 17 | San Fran | Bryan Bulaga |
OT | Iowa | Bulaga was finally back to his dominating form of 2008 in the Orange Bowl and will be well rewarded for it. He'll be more than competent at RT and able to slide to LT in a pinch. |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | Earl Thomas |
S |
Texas | A bit early for a guy that couldn't get under 370 for the start of pre-draft workouts, so the Steelers get a excellent complement to Polamalu |
| 19 | Atlanta | Jerry Hughes | DE | TCU | Falcons pass D needs more pressure from the front 4 to improve. Hughes at DE should be a big help. |
| 20 | Houston | Taylor Mays | S | USC | Bernard Pollard gave the Texans some passable safety play, but there's a reason he was cut and the John Busing/Brian Russell combo at the other safety spot is horrendous. |
| 21 | Cincinnati | Jermaine Gresham | TE | Oklahoma | The Bengals have the QB and the OL to be a great passing O, but the targets are lacking. |
| 22 | New England | Sergio Kindle | OLB | Texas | The Pats are desperately in need of a pass rush. |
| 23 | Green Bay | Trent Williams | OT | Oklahoma | The Pack is desperately in need of someone to stop the pass rush. |
| 24 | Philadelphia | Brandon Graham | DE | Michigan | Eagles love to bring the heat, a great rusher to put opposite Trent Cole, or to blitz from the SAM LB spot would certainly do it. |
| 25 | Baltimore | Damian Williams |
WR | USC | Even if Derrick Mason returns the Ravens need more firepower for an effective pass O. |
| 26 | Arizona | Brandon Spikes |
ILB | Florida | Carlos Dansby may walk away which would be a hole that needs to be filled. A high flying pass attack needs a strong pass D to prevent teams from keeping pace or closing deficits. |
| 27 | Dallas | Mike Iupati | G | Idaho | The 'Boys need OL help badly. Iupati might not be a pro LT, but the only other 1st round OT option remaining, Charles Brown, is far too light for Dallas' taste. |
| 28 | San Diego | Jonathan Dwyer | RB | Georgia Tech | LDT basically told the Chargers to shove it, so they'll need a bigger back to complement the dangerous, but severely undersized Sproles. |
| 29 | NY Jets | Carlos Dunlap |
DE | Florida | Dunlap fills one of the Jets Ds few gaps |
| 30 | Minnesota | Kyle Wilson |
CB | Boise State |
Riser from the senior bowl fills one of the Vikings big needs |
| 31 | New Orleans | Jared Odrick | DT | Penn State | The only effective run D the Saints have had this year has come from the offense putting teams too far behind for opponents to grind it out on the ground. |
| 32 | Indianapolis | Charles Brown | OT | USC | The Colts have given up just 10 sacks, but that's a near miracle given the flaws Charlie Johnson and Ryan Diem have in pass protection. Brown will let them move CJ or Diem inside, making avoiding the rush easier on Peyton and improving the terrible run blocking. |
| Round 2 | |||||
| 33 | St Louis | Jason Pierre-Paul | DE | So. Florida | The Rams DL will look like Spagnolo's Giants with Long, Suh, Carriker and Pierre-Paul |
| 34 | Detroit | Sean Weatherspoon |
LB | Missouri | The Lions LB corps was the strongest part of their D, but with Foote a FA and Peterson over 30 they'll need to spend picks to maintain. |
| 35 | Tampa Bay | Arthur Jones | DT | Syracuse | After missing out on Suh/McCoy the Bucs get a quality DT in the 2nd |
| 36 | Kansas City | Terrence Cody | NT | Alabama | Cody will make some 3-4 very happy on 1st and 2nd down each Sunday, and very frustrated the vast majority of the time. |
| 37 | Washington | Colt McCoy |
QB | Texas | The new Redskins regime adds their QB of the future |
| 38 | Cleveland | Ricky Sapp |
DE/OLB | Clemson | While the pass rush was less of an issue than the coverage, it still has plenty of room for improvement |
| 39 | Oakland | Jason Fox | OT | Miami | The Raiders might get to use those speedy WRs and big armed QBs if they ever got that line fixed up. |
| 40 | Seattle | Corey Wootten | DE/DT | Northwestern | a versatile defender in a 4-3, Wootten can stop the run at DE and rush the passer at DT for the Seahawks |
| 41 | Buffalo | Jon Asamoah |
G | Illinois | Another piece for the Bills young developing OL |
| 42 | Tampa Bay | Brandon LaFell | WR | LSU | Bucs add a playmaker to compliment or replace the injury ridden Antonio Bryant |
| 43 | Miami | Greg Hardy |
DE | Mississippi |
Miami gets an edge rusher to develop behind Taylor and Porter. |
| 44 | New England | Jahvid Best | RB | Cal | Maroney is a bust. Taylor is ancient, Morris can't stay healthy and Faulk is an old 3rd down back. |
| 45 | Denver | Maurkice Pouncey | C/G | Florida | Denver's running game was generally strong, but repeatedly failed in short yardage. Shoring up the middle should fix that. |
| 46 | NY Giants | Morgan Burnett | S | Georgia Tech | The Giants don't have much back there at safety. |
| 47 | New England | Vladimir Ducasse | OL | Massachusetts | A local player that fills a major need. |
| 48 | Carolina | Golden Tate |
WR | Notre Dame | The Panthers passing O needs a target across from Steve Smith |
| 49 | San Francisco | T.J. Ward |
S | Oregon | Niners build up the back end of an impressive D |
| 50 | Kansas City | Chad Jones | S | LSU | Chiefs add a BIG physical safety to the D. |
| 51 | Houston | Patrick Robinson | CB | Florida St. |
Texans continue to shore up a sub-par secondary, making sure teams put down by the explosive O, stay down |
| 52 | Pittsburgh | Mike Johnson |
G | Alabama | While much of the Steelers sacks come from Big Ben's style, there's more they could do to protect him. |
| 53 | New England | Tyson Alualu | DE | Cal | The Pats add another piece to the ailing front 7 |
| 54 | Cincinnati | Arreilous Benn |
WR | Illinois | With a top TE and WR added to the O the Bengals should get their passing game back off the ground. |
| 55 | Philadelphia | Brandon Ghee |
CB | Wake Forest | An explosive O without a strong pass D plays shootouts every week. |
| 56 | Green Bay | Ryan Matthews |
RB | Green Bay | Ryan Grant was a very effective runner last year, but the Packers were forced to dig up Ahmad Green for a compliment to him. |
| 57 | Baltimore | Syd'Quan Thompson | CB | Cal | The CB spots are the weakest point of a very good Ravens D. |
| 58 | NY Jets | Donovan Warren |
CB | Michigan |
Revis is great, but the CBs opposite him can be exploited by the Pierre Garçons and Austin Collies of the world. |
| 59 | Arizona | Ciron Black |
OT | LSU | No matter who is at QB next year the Cards will need to protect them better for the passing game to be elite. |
| 60 | Dallas | Demaryious Thomas |
WR | Illinois | Roy Williams still isn't working out. If he doesn't turn it around Thomas can be the big target out wide |
| 61 | Minnesota | Willie Young |
DE | NC State |
Vikings add an edge rusher to insure the heat stays on, even in Ray Edwards departs. |
| 62 | San Diego | D'Anthony Smith | DT | Louisiana Tech | The Chargers reinforce a DL that struggled against the run without Jamal Williams |
| 63 | New Orleans | Navarro Bowman | OLB | Penn St. | The Saints O is balanced and prolific, with a couple more touches to the D they'll be an amazing team. |
| 64 | Indianapolis | Daryl Washington | MLB | TCU | Gary Brackett will turn 30 and hit free agency this offseason. The Colts will need an athletic cover MLB to replace him sooner rather than later. |
| Round 3 | |||||
| 65 | St. Louis | Devin McCourty | CB | Rutgers | Thomas adds a speed-size combo missing in St. Louis. |
| 66 | Detroit | John Jerry |
G | Mississippi |
Lions add a big piece on the inside of the line |
| 67 | Tampa Bay | George Selvie |
DE | So. Carolina |
The Bucs are also in need of another pass rusher, and pickup a rush DE. |
| 68 | Kansas City | Jeremy Williams |
WR | Tulane | KC picks up a target for Cassel to compliment Bowe. |
| 69 | Washington | Forfeit | X | X | Pick used in '09 Supplement Draft |
| 70 | Oakland | Perrish Cox | CB | Ok St. | Speedster who can make it a little harder to just throw away from Nnamdi |
| 71 | Philadelphia | Nate Allen |
S | Buffalo |
With a new edge rusher, CB and S the Eagles pass D should take a massive leap forward |
| 72 | Browns |
Anthony Dixon |
RB | Miss St. |
Browns add a big pounder of a back to go with the speedy Jerome Harrison. |
| 73 | Buffalo | Lamarr Houston | DT | Texas | Bills add a penetrating DT to help in both phases. |
| 74 | Miami | Micah Johnson |
ILB | Kentucky |
Two new LBs and a NT give the Dolphins an even better compliment to their pounding ground camp. |
| 75 | Jacksonville | Tim Tebow | QB | Florida | By the 3rd round, football and finance interests are close enough to justify the pick. |
| 76 | Chicago | Selvish Capers | OT | West Virginia |
The downgrade in WRs and OL really derailed Cutler, with no picks in the first 2 rounds the Bears can only address one of those problems at a time. |
| 77 | NY Giants | Matt Tennant | C | Boston College |
A team with the Giants stable of RBs, a credible passing threat and a generally good OL shouldn't rank in the 20s in power running and running between the tackles. |
| 78 | Tennessee | Javier Arenas | CB | Alabama | Fills two major needs, CB help and a competent returner. |
| 79 | Carolina | Mike Neal | DT | Purdue | An athletic DT for the Panthers Ron Meeks Tampa-2 |
| 80 | San Francisco | John Jerry | OG | Mississippi | The Niners OL gets a major boost with Bulaga and Jerry incoming |
| 81 | Broncos | Eric Norwood |
OLB | South Carolina | Broncos add a pass rusher to compliment or possibly replace Elivs Dumerville. |
| 82 | Texans | Toby Gerhart |
RB | Stanford | Texans pick up a bigger back to compliment the shifty Slaton |
| 83 | Steelers | Dominque Franks | CB | Oklahoma | |
| 84 | Atlanta | Jerome Murphy | CB | So. Florida | |
| 85 | Cincinnati | Darrell Stuckey | S | Kansas | |
| 86 | Oakland | Torrell Troup | DT | Cent. Florida |
Al Davis abandons even the method to his madness and takes a SLOW player; |
| 87 | Green Bay | Kareem Jackson | CB | Alabama | |
| 88 | Philadelphia | Akwasi Owusu-Ansah | CB | Indiana (PA) |
|
| 89 | Cleveland | Tony Pike | QB | Cincinnati | |
| 90 | Baltimore | Aaron Hernandez | TE | Florida | |
| 91 | Arizona | Jason Worilds |
DE/OLB | Virginia Tech |
|
| 92 | Dallas | Sam Young | OT | Notre Dame | |
| 93 | Minnesota | Dan LeFevour | QB | Cent Michigan | |
| 94 | San Diego | Kyle Calloway | OT | Iowa | |
| 95 | New Orleans | Zane Beadles | OT | Utah | |
| 96 | Indianapolis | Austen Lane | DE | Murray State |