FanPost

Mock Draft 2.0

I decided to run another mock, this time on fanspeak.com, where I signed up for the "On the Clock Premium" mock draft simulator, which allows for trades and lets you choose which "big board" you'd like to use (either a big board from Fanspeak, Walter Football, or Optimum Scouting). They also have a really cool option where you can customize and use your own "big board" for your mock draft. There are 500+ players listed that you can rank. I went with ESPN's "big board" for the purposes of this mock. I highly recommend this site.

Just like in the first mock I posted, I will list the entire 1st round to show how it played out.

Entire 1st Round:

#1 - Texans - Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
#2 - Vikings (from Rams) - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
#3 - Jaguars - Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo
#4 - Buccaneers (from Browns ) - Jadaveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
#5 - Raiders - Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
#6 - Falcons - Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri
#7 - Browns (from Buccaneers) - Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
#8 - Rams (from Vikings) - Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
#9 - Bills - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama
#10 - Lions - Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma St
#11 - Titans - Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
#12 - Giants - Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
#13 - Cowboys (from Rams) - Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
#14 - Bears - Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota
#15 - Steelers - Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
#16 - Rams (from Cowboys) - Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
#17 - Ravens - CJ Mosley, LB, Alabama
#18 - Jets - Dee Ford, OLB, Auburn
#19 - Dolphins - Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan St
#20 - Cardinals - Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
#21 - Packers - Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
#22 - Eagles - Marquise Lee, WR, USC
#23 - Chiefs - Odell Beckham Jr, WR, LSU
#24 - Bengals - Lamarcus Joyner, DB, Florida St
#25 - Chargers - Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
#26 - Browns - Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
#27 - Saints - Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio St
#28 - Panthers - Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia
#29 - Patriots - Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame
#30 - 49ers - Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon St
#31 - Broncos - Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
#32 - Seahawks - Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt

Before I list my picks for the Rams in their entirety, I'll explain the two trades I made:

At pick #2, the Vikings offered pick #8, #40 (2nd round), #72 (3rd round), and #96 (3rd round) to move up. I accepted, and thus gained another 2nd round pick, plus two extra 3rd round picks in this draft. With Bortles off the board, the Vikings jumped to get Bridgewater in this simulation. The Falcons did offer to move up to #2, but their offer wasn't as good as the Vikings, so I went with the better offer.

At pick #13, The Cowboys offered pick #16 and #119 (4th round) to move up. With Dix and Pryor gone, I accepted, and thus gained another 4th round pick in this draft. The Cowboys jumped to get Aaron Donald, the consensus best DT in the draft, which seems pretty realistic in that they really, really need help along their D-line and so do the Bears who are picking at #14 - So the Cowboys moved in front of the Bears to get Donald.

OK, now on to my picks:

Rd 1, pick #8 - Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn. He was still there, so I just had to take him. He'll play LG or RT to begin with, but he'll be coached up to take over for the dwindling Jake Long at LT by 2015.

Rd 1, pick #16 - Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M. Brings to the Rams what Brian Quick is/was supposed to bring. Better hands than Quick will ever have. Doesn't play as fast as his 40 time would indicate, but the Rams have plenty of little fast guys - that role is well-stocked on the roster. He provides the big, sure-handed downfield target the Rams have been sorely lacking.

Rd 2, pick #40 - Deone Bucannon, S, Washington St. He's long and fast enough to match up with TE's, has the range to play a centerfielder type role, has really good ball skills, and is excellent in run support. Good match with TJ McDonald.

Rd 2, pick #44 - Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, TE, Washington. Yes, I know we have Cook and Kendricks, and the coaches really like Harkey. But ASJ is a vastly superior blocker to Cook, and a better receiving option than Kendricks, who probably won't be back in 2015 anyway. Fluid athlete with good hands. Killer combo with him and Cook on the field.

Rd 3, pick #72 - Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington. I think he's the top all-purpose RB in the draft. Has great vision, burst, agility, and power. Perfect compliment to Stacy and Cunningham and will be the back Pead was supposed to become.

Rd 3, pick #75 - David Yankey, OG, Stanford. A good fit for the Rams power running scheme. Tough guy that finishes his blocks with nasty intentions. Great football IQ. Better run blocker than pass blocker. At worst he's quality depth, at best he's a long-term starter. Either way the O-line gets a much-needed infusion of young talent.

Rd 3, pick #96 - Phillip Gaines, CB, Rice. Depth is still needed in the secondary. Bigger corner at just over 6' tall, and has speed to burn (4.38 40 yd dash). Allowed only 13 receptions last year in 40 targeted throws, which translates to just under a 33% completion rate allowed. Set school record for pass break-ups with 38 over his collegiate career.

Rd 4, pick #110 - Caraun Reid, DT, Princeton. The Rams play in a tough division that calls for depth along the interior D-line. With his solid pass-rush technique, Reid is another youngster the Rams can throw into the mix to bolster their pass rush from the interior and provide rotational relief for Langford and Brockers.

Rd 4, pick #119 - Tom Savage, QB, Pittsburgh. He has the strongest arm of all the QB's in this draft class and can make all the throws at the NFL level. Shows good pocket awareness, especially when you consider his limited amount of playing time. Big, strong kid that has lots of upside.

Rd 5, pick #153 - Brandon Linder, OG, Miami. He has the length and size to play OT, and can play anywhere along the O-line, but will earn his keep as a OG in the NFL in my opinion. He's not athletic enough or sound enough in his technique to get drafted higher, but he can be a nice back-up with the potential to be a solid starter in the future.

Rd 6, pick #188 - Travis Swanson, C, Arkansas. Average as both a run blocker and in pass protection, with proper coaching to clean up his technique he can be a really good player. If Jones can't take over at C, and with Barnes moving toward a higher pay scale next year, a solid option at C at this point in the draft sounds good to me.

Rd 6, pick #214 - Ryan Carrethers, DT, Arkansas St. Huge kid who dominated the Sun Belt. Surprisingly nimble for his size, he could be an intriguing addition to the D-line. Notice a trend here? Playing in the NFC West you just can't have enough linemen on either side of the ball.

Rd 7, pick #226 -Aaron Lynch, DE, USF. Questionable attitude, hustle, motivation, and dedication causes him to fall this far. Multiple NFL scouts have voiced their concerns regarding his mental makeup, football character, true commitment to the game, self-discipline and maturity level. He was actually thrown out of one teams' interview for lying! But he has prototypical size for the position, and tons of natural talent (for what it's worth he ran a 4.65 at USF's pro day) that could make him a star if he ever puts it all together. Definitely worth the low risk here.

Rd 7, pick #249 - Trey Millard, FB, Oklahoma. You know where I'm going with this one, right? Good old fashioned smash-mouth football in the NFC West. Can't hurt to have a FB that can both block and also catch the ball as well as Millard.

Rd 7, pick #250 - Andrew Jackson, LB, Western Kentucky. A star in the Sun Belt, he was a tackling machine in his college career. Built like a brick sh*thouse at 6' and 255 lbs., he's both a big-hitter and a solid tackler (two things that oddly don't go hand in hand as much as you'd think). Stout dude that can hold his ground and shed blockers. Not great in space but takes good angles and knows how to play the position. Looking for depth behind JL.

Well, there it is. Some of the same players as my first mock. Some of the guys that were there in my first mock weren't available in this one.

Thanks for reading and I'm curious to see what you guys think about this draft scenario.