Jordanv78 :

Do you have any out of left field picks to watch for?

I myself think this year looks... weak in terms of surprises. I feel like we know what we are getting... then again... that's why it is called surprise

legacyme3 : I don't really have any out of left field picks for this year, I'm still trying to familiarize myself with the possible picks in the later rounds. I'm also very interested in seeing who the Bears will pick at #19. It sounds like they are targeting a DE

Am I the only one who thinks that the top 3 needs of the Broncos for this draft are DT, CB, and QB? I don't think they have a back-up QB anymore, Champ Bailey is getting old, and they haven't had a good front 4 for a while now. Does anyone have any hypothetical picks for these positions? The draft is a week away: does anyone have a wild guess or two at how the draft will surprise us this year?

I haven't been able to put in on this discussion for awhile, and I still want to address the Luck/RG3 question. Luck is the 1st pick, he's working on a deal with the Colts now so we have to assume that RG3 is going to be in discussions with the Redskins soon. I still see people questioning whether his talents translate into the NFL, his athletic ability is beyond any standards set for the position aside from Cam Newton/Michael Vick whom I think are better pure scramblers. His throwing form and pocket presence is actually better than both of them coming out of the draft in my opinion. The only thing that is in question is his work ethic, is he going to want to come out day in and day out and put in 120% and sit down with the coaches and the stay those extra hours in the film room. If he puts in the effort that other QB busts didn't then he has no problems cause his body of work shows that he is already leaps and bounds ahead of some of the great QB's that have come out of the draft in the past.

Jordanv78 : The Bears are kind of in a rebuilding faze on defense, they're offense is almost set if they can convince Forte to stay and Cutler can get back to his old ways like he did with the Broncos. With Brandon Marshall now signed he's got his go-to guy again, but again like you said their aren't that many surprises with the draft this year. They could go either way and if someone with value falls they will probably just take a go at them. They could grab a WR to pair up on the other side, Malcolm Floyd can go anywhere from 8-20 which is where I see his value in the lower end of that bracket. If he slips I can't see how they would pass him up since their won't be a premier DE at that spot. Quinton Coples won't go past 12, but there is a guy that fits the Bears defense well. Whitney Mercilus is one of those 4-3, push the edge kind of guys that can really get after the QB. The Bears have Julius Peppers who basically accounted for the majority of their sacks last year, pair Mercilus up on the other side with the Bears LB's and I can see them with a strong front 7 like they had 5-6 years ago.

WarpStarFerret : I think you hit the nail on the head right there, they need to upgrade their defense from what it was last year starting with their front seven. All the mock boards I've seen have Jerel Worthy at this spot but it really depends on each GM's opinion when it comes to picking a big man this year. Dontari Poe is the only real stand-out DT and Michael Brockers usually comes in second place on most draft boards. I like Fletcher Cox because of his athletic ability at the 5-point stance but in a 3-4 scheme you got to go with the big man. Jerel Worthy is a beefy guy with a lot of raw strength, game tape shows he's strong off the snap and can push the pile back making him a guy that can fill in right away. But again if there is value at the spot the Broncos should probably take it, guys like Stephon Gilmore and Dre Kirpatrick could be going around in the Bronco's war room right now, and another name that everyone shy's away from, Jenoris Jenkins who's got a bit of a "Pacman" Jones buzz going around. His raw talent alone makes him a high to mid-round prospect but he's slipping into the second round due to some off the field issues in college. I don't know if the Bronco's organization will be too thrilled to bring him on the roster after dealing with Cutler a few years ago and now Tebow, just more media after another but its nice to discuss.

I don't think that the Bronco's will worry about a QB until late in the draft maybe the 4th round where they can get a guy like Kirk Cousins or Nick Foles who I think might still be around that late if they don't decide to jump ahead and take them in the 3rd round. I think the safer option would actually be to just go out and pick someone up in free agency who can back-up Manning for a year or two and look ahead to draft another franchise QB in the next two years while Manning is still on the roster.

mikedavike28 : It'll be interesting to see where Jenkins falls. The off the field issues are huge, but he DID shut down some top-tier talent, like A.J. Green, before the mess happened. Talent wise he's probably the best CB in the draft, it's just the character questions that are destroying his stock.

Speaking of character concerns... Anyone have opinions on all the hot air that anonymous scouts are spewing around right around now about a lot of the top talents?

Well I'm hoping (and praying) that Jenkins falls out of the first round and lands right into the Vikings lap at pick 35 (34? without the saints pick?). Character issues aside you are right, he has top tier talent, I would still put Claiborne above him because he's more polished, but Jenkins could be a good replacement for an aging defensive core that the Vikings are suffering from...

You know how the offseason goes, its dead media, there is nothing to talk about. Favre's retirement is a good example, it happened like what... 4 times? Yet every offseason we went out there and brought the issue back up. I think the most outrageous one out there right now is RG3, they need something bad to say about the kid just like they did with Cam Newton. There really is nothing their to say, he may or may not be selfish or he just could be a plain bad leader, its up to the kid to prove it. I'm sure it might make a few guys slip but the main ones aren't going anywhere.

So today was the TV presentation of the NFL Draft... and oh boy was it big.

Luck and RG3 went 1 and 2 as expected... but what followed was pure madness.

My team, the Cowboys, actually traded up and got themselves MORRIS f***ING CLAIBORNE!

That's a great pick given our piss poor NFL draft history.

legacyme3 : Yeah, the top ten picks were chaos. Even the 9th and 10th picks were a bit of a surprise to me, honestly. The Browns and Vikings got their guys, although the trade was weird at first glance. (It made sense when I thought about it though; the Browns wanted to be sure that the Buccaneers wouldn't leapfrog them) Then Jax leapfrogged the Rams and the rest is madness.

mikedavike28 : What are your thoughts on round one? And you might get your wish, Jenkins is on the board still.

tj4bigred : You too. Opinions?

Jordanv78 : Do you have any specific opinions on round one? Personally, I don't know why the Browns picked a guy with their second pick that would have probably been there with their third, but w/e. There were still top-tier linemen on the board, even if the receivers were gone. (The only other team that might have grabbed him in round one as I see it would have been the Broncos, and I don't really see that. I don't think even the 49ers would have picked him in round one, since they have both Kaepernick and Smith.) I mean, they have what the 4th pick in round 2? Maybe if they had the 30th pick in round 2, but not when they have one of the first five picks in the round. :/ I get the Richardson deal... That makes some sense. But this?

Upon further inspection... The Browns had their 2nd round pick forfeited due to someone squawking like a canary about breaking the lockout. :/ So, I guess if they wanted Weeden they WOULD have to have picked him where they did, since he's supposed to go in the second round. Meh, w/e. I still think they should have gotten a receiver or traded down... Or better yet both. :|

WarpStarFerret :

The biggest surprise though HAS to be Trent Richardson.

With Running Backs having a short shelf life in this league, I have to question their trading up just to get a guy who is going to flame out in a few years.

It made literally no sense to me... but good on the Vikings. They still got their guy and got extra.

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Not to take away from the Cowboys though, they got one of the true premium blue chips in this draft, and didn't give up all that much to get him. He may not protect the QB, but a stronger defense is ALWAYS a good thing.

legacyme3 : I'll agree that the Cowboys got a steal, with that trade up. They needed Claiborne. However, I disagree with you saying that the Browns getting Richardson made no sense... Seeing the trade up made me raise my eyebrows, but as I said it was trade first or lose Richardson to the Buccaneers because they wanted him too, as evidenced by their trade down when the Browns traded up.

And as far as the runner goes, even in this pass-happy league good runners are worth more than you think. Players like MJD and AP get 8 defenders stacked in the box to stuff the run. That means only three guys start the play in coverage. That is HUGE for an inexperienced QB. It means he has less coverage to pass through, and is therefore able to get more yards through the air much more easily on quick outs. Also, Richardson knows how to catch too. He can be a receiver, so he's probably worth the pick(s) the Browns spent at this point. Not to mention he can apparently pass block... He's like a 3 in 1. That's why they got him.

I'm more critical of there 2nd pick. McCoy is probably not the long term solution, but he's at least serviceable. Fix the team itself first and give McCoy a shot first, THEN draft a QB is what I would have done. He's only 2 years pro, give him one year with competent teammates is what I would have done. Oh well, the pick is made. We'll see how it pans out for them.

WarpStarFerret :

To me it made less sense, mostly because they actually traded up to get someone. I expected them to trade down to get more picks so they could get more pieces. The Browns are a train wreck and need every body they can get. They don't need a really good Running Back. They need vrtually everything else.

legacyme3 : Do you realize that the Browns came into the draft with 13 picks this year? THIRTEEN FREAKING PICKS???? I don't think pick totals were a problem for them. They have more than enough picks. They just need to use them to get the right people, even if it means using some of those picks as bargaining chips.

Besides, if you were a pro team how many rookies would you want to start anyways? I doubt the Browns want more than 8-9 rookies on their roster come training camp.

WarpStarFerret :

Aren't most of those low end picks though? Like LATE LATE round picks?

I would imagine they would trade their top pick for two seconds or something. They could use two good prospects over one really good prospect, which is my point.

Quality is important, as is quantity, and I feel they'd get the best mix with two picks in the second round as opposed to one big one at the VERY start.

If I were the Browns I'd scrap most of that team and start over honestly. That team is a total train wreck.

legacyme3 : They should have done that with the second pick though, where they couldn't make the pick meet value and need at the same time. The Richardson pick had value (#4 rated overall player in the draft regardless of position I believe) and need (They had a black hole at running back since Hillis left). At the second pick, all the wideouts worthy of that slot were gone. They could have grabbed a lineman possibly (DeCastro and Reiff were still on the board), but they could have traded that pick--they don't need a QB yet, they have bigger needs. That's why I say I have more beef with the 2nd pick than the first. At least the first one filled a glaring need.

While it's true that this is a passing league, as I said you need a competent runner to be able to pass effectively if you don't have a franchise QB. Which the Browns don't. They had neither a run game nor a passing game; the run game will give the passing game a little bit more breathing room now with Richardson in the mix, and it will probably be a better run game than 2 years ago when it was good too. They do still need lineman though. And receivers. I'll give you that. They just had to go and get their 2nd round pick forfeited, the fools...

WarpStarFerret :
legacyme3 :

I think RG3 will last 5 years max, if he does not get hurt. If he can stay healthy and win games, that will be one heck of a versatile quarterback. My question is why the heck the Ravens traded their first round pick for a fourth and second round. I know what they are thinking: another 2nd and 4th round pick will give us an extra pick overall. But in actuality, was is such a good move? I am not sure. I think they are at about the same as what they would have been if they would have kept the first round pick. The Ravens need to draft a Strong Safety to take over for Ed Reed when he retires, and they also need to draft a Middle Line Backer to take over Ray Lewis's position when he finally retires as well. I personally think they should have drafted in those positions last year, that why the rookies could get mentoring and training from Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, that's all.

GetGot18 :

It depends what they do with that draft pick. I see the biggest weakness on that team honestly being the Quarterback. What are they really missing? Their line does an ok job I suppose, and their defense is pretty amazing... they even have Ray Rice!

The weakness, and reason they won't win a super bowl is because of a lackluster QB.

legacyme3 : Hey. Don't diss Flacco because your CowGIRLS quarterback Tony Romo is washed up.   But seriously, we had this conversation before, I think. I agree that Flacco could use some improvements still. But he has gotten us to the playoffs every single year. Yeah... I guess we could use one of our 2nd rounds to get a decent back-up for the time being, and then eventually trade him if Joe Flacco gets stupid with the ball. The other 2nd rounder should be that Free Safety or Middle Line Backer I mentioned earlier. I believe that Ray Lewis has an extra year on Reed, and Reed has a decent back-up at Strong Safety, that can play Free Safety just as well. So get that Middle Line Backer, and then grab a Free Safety right after that.  That is what the Ravens should be thinking right now. Maybe even grab A DARN KICKER!!!! Like the Steelers did a few years back

GetGot18 :

I'm not dissing him, I'm merely stating a fact.

What is the problem with the Ravens? If they are such a complete team, why can they never win when it matters?

The defense is definitely not the fault.

The receiving core is actually pretty decent.

The ground game is complete.

The Offensive Line is not poor.

The problem has to be the Quarterback. You can diss Romo all you want, but there's a legitimate excuse as to why they don't win. Poor offensive lines will not win any games for you. That's the one thing the Cowboys REALLY need at this point. Claiborne may not be on the OL, but defense is always something you can improve on with the hopes of winning.

Going back to the Ravens though. They could use help in the special teams, although you should never waste a top pick on a player for that. Replacement level players are rather easy to come by in the NFL.

legacyme3 : I understand. I just like messing with Romo.

Honestly, he is a decent quarterback when he has that Offensive Line. I will give you that. Heck, I HAVE to give that: the fact that he has NO Offensive Line. If he did, they might actually be able to go 10-6 and get that wild card, or 11-5 and get their division.

However, I have to beg to differ on your argument about Flacco. He must be doing something right if we went 13-3 the past two years? Something like that. The few games that we did lost? Jacksonville just had our number, and Seattle was one a short but great hot streak. Our other loss: by a few points and a few missed field goals. We could have gotten the job done, but out Kicker is the problem when it comes down to when it matters. Think about it: every time we go to the playoffs, Flacco has some of his best games. Last year we lost because of being shut down on the last drive, and Billy Cundiff choking like a big arse meat ball got stuck in his throat.
I never said that the Ravens should draft a kicker in the early rounds. Maybe 6th or 7th, like the Steelers did. 
Honestly, it is not Flacco that is the problem when it matters... it is the young, inexperienced guys that are not used to those situations. Granted, Flacco is still one of them in my book, and probably yours, but still, we are just a young team with huge demands from our fans. We need to step up our game. If we treated every game like it mattered, and not just plat for stats like we tend to in non-division games during the season, then maybe we could get that extra humph we need in the playoffs. I do not know if we will make it to the Super Bowl this year (too early for that), but we are definitely a play off threat. You have to give us that much, and surely you see my side of the argument dealing with Flacco. Romo is good.. Just needs an Offensive Line... then maybe he could get to the playoffs, and get to where he needs to go, to get back on the map again. And then, he is getting old. That factors in too. I think if he were a little younger, and he had that much needed Offensive Line... buddy, watch out for the Cowboys, because they would be on a steam ship like it was 1965.
Point is: Flacco= not much of the overall problem... just young. It's the other young guys fault too. Romo= getting a bit old, and definitely needs an offensive line.

GetGot18 :

A wise man once said 16-0 don't mean a thing without a ring.

You can be undefeated in the regular season, and it doesn't mean anything unless you win in the playoffs. I'm trying to wrap my head around why the Ravens would lose to the best teams in the NFL. The only conclusion I arrived to is there has to be a weakness. For me, the biggest weakness IS the QB. You put a top tier QB there, and I think the Ravens are unstoppable. Hell, give them a very good QB and they'll threaten in the Super Bowl every year.

While youth is something you could see as a problem on the Ravens, I think that youth is also a big part of why they managed to go 13-3. Youth = athleticism. They may be inexperienced, but I hate when people see it as a problem. Everyone is inexperienced. They all figured out after a short while. The Ravens are no strangers to this inexperience. When will they STOP being inexperienced?

I'm not saying the Ravens are a bad team, they are a great team, but they are too good with the other positions to not have won a super bowl. If the Ravens take note, then they will probably have no choice but to find a better QB.

I don't know WHO, but I'm sure they'll figure something out. The Ravens FO is NOT stupid by any stretch.