BOLDpredicions: NFL Draft 2014
Trevor McCue
@UTIOSports
So the NFL Draft is finally approaching. Normally it would be occurring this week, but they pushed it back this year, those bastards. I posted my mock draft of the top 10 earlier, or at least what selections I would make. That was not predictions in any sense so I have decided to post some draft related predictions. I still think making mock predictions by pick is nearly impossible, and kind of futile and cheesy, and I love it. Also, cheesy but incredibly fun is making bold predictions. Not just predictions, but BOLD predictions. You have all seen the experts throw the term around so keeping with consistency, I will once again rip off them and make it my own. I, however will be looking back on these to see how I did, and acknowledge my likely obvious mistakes after the draft, so please check back for that post in the next few weeks. So now here are some of my general predictions related to the draft. Well not just general, but BOLD predictions. Feel free to leave some of your own predictions, or make comments on mine. Thanks again for reading!
JADEVEON CLOWNEY, KHALIL MACK, AND SAMMY WATKINS WILL BE THE TOP 3 PICKS IN SOME ORDER
As we get closer and closer to the draft, a lot of fluff begins to fade away and the true elite talent finds it's way to the top. There is a lot of talk about quarterbacks, which is expected, but the fact is this draft is deep at QB, but the talent at the top may not be elite. However, there are 7 elite prospects in this draft who don't play behind center, and in any other draft any of them could be a lock for the #1 pick. The top 3 have started to separate themselves, and will be the top 3 selections in the draft. I am still not sold on which order, mostly because I believe there is serious potential for trades at all 3 spots. Either way, I believe Clowney, Mack, and Watkins will be the first 3 off the board, as they should be. Clowney is a once in a generation type talent, despite his critics, his potential is off the charts. Khalil Mack may have come from a small school, but that doesn't mean anything. He has insane potential as well, without the question marks, and could end up better than Clowney. I've reached full on player crush over Sammy Watkins. The guy can literally do everything, and I think he is going to be a blast to watch.THE LIONS WILL TRADE SUH TO GET INTO THE TOP 5, KEEP THEIR #10 PICK, AND SELECT AARON DONALD TO REPLACE HIM.
This is a fun little rumor, that I think would be one of the best draft moves ever pulled off. Detroit fans love Suh, and the rest of the league hates him. He is force at DT, and has been great for the community, and like I said he is a fan favorite, and the Lions need to trade him immediately. Suh embodies the attitude that has brought the Lions down the past few seasons. His selfish play, and stupid penalties cost the Lions games. He has talked about being a leader, but his actions have not followed. After broken down contract negotiations this offseason, Suh has not shown up for any of the OTA's this spring. Yes, the "O" stands for optional, but a team leader would be there, especially with a new coaching staff. The facts are Suh will likely go into free agency next season and demand a huge contract, and the Lions would need to have nearly 40% of their salary locked up in three players. It would be tricky, but if Detroit could convince Suh to sign an extension with the Lions trade partner, they could move into the top 5 without forfeiting their #10 selection. The Lions now in the top 5 will select either Clowney, Mack or Watkins. All three have made visits to Detroit, and all three are the clear targets for Martin Mayhew and the front office. Then, at the #10 pick, they select DT Aaron Donald to replace the recently traded Suh. Behind Clowney, Mack, and Watkins, Aaron Donald had the best highlights during all my mock draft research. Imagine, the Lions could come away with two of these players!! I think this is so crazy, no BOLD, it will happen, and for Detroit it needs to happen.TEXAS A&M WILL HAVE THREE TOP 8 PICKS
This may be the least bold prediction. Some people think there is a good chance Manziel will slip, and trust me I think he should, but I don't think he will. Cleveland makes a lot of sense, and they may not want to risk seeing if he is still there at #26. I just can't see some of the teams who need to fill seats passing on him, or a team not trading up to get him. I find Manziel so overrated, and his main target last year Mike Evans underrated. Although everyone seems to be on board now, all the clips I watched of Manziel's toss up throws had amazing catches by Evans. The guy is an absolute beast with speed and soft hands. He is not the best route runner, but his skill set will make him an immediate impact player while he improves. I can't imagine him slipping past Tampa at #7. The other guy who made Manziel look better was his left tackle, Jake Matthews. Jake comes from an incredible bloodline of football players including his Hall of Fame father, OT Bruce Matthews, and cousin Clay Matthews. Teams are split on him and Greg Robinson on who is the best blind side protector in this draft. I think both of them will go in the top 8, and if the Rams trade down to #6 I think Matthews will be their target. Jeff Fisher got to see his dad play first hand for years, and has to be on him. Again, no idea when or where the trio of Manziel, Evans, and Matthews will go, but it will be in the top 8.DEREK CARR WILL BE THE SECOND QUARTERBACK SELECTED, IF NOT THE FIRST
As I said in my mock draft, I think Derek Carr is the second best QB in this draft, behind Blake Bortles. I do think there is potential for Manziel to be the first QB selected, but regardless of who goes first, I think Carr will be the second QB taken. I am still not sure why he isn't getting more attention, unless teams want it that way, but I think it's pretty clear Carr is the most pro ready, and could start right away. He doesn't bring any of the Tebow level drama that will follow Johnny Football, and he doesn't have the question marks of Teddy Bridgewater. Other than the bust level of his brother, I have no idea why a team would take any of the other quarterbacks before Carr, if Bortles is off the board. He has tons of starts at the college level, the stats, and prototype tangibles for a QB. I think Carr will be the second QB taken by the Raiders, Buccaneers, or Vikings. Otherwise, of course via trade.THERE WILL BE THREE TRADES IN THE TOP 10
Speaking of trades, I think there will be a lot of movement on the draft's first night, and specifically at least three trades in the first ten picks. Literally all of the first 5 teams have shown interest in moving down and gaining picks, while all of the teams picking 6-10 have their eyes on some of the elite talent that they will need to move up to select. I think move ups from the Falcons, Vikings, and Lions are the most likely. Atlanta is obviously in love with Clowney. If QB's do get past the first few picks, Minnesota will see an opportunity to jump up and get their guy, instead of having to reach a la Christian Ponder. The Lions have their eyes on the top 3 guys I mentioned before, and want to move up to take one of them. There is always the chance for the unexpected team to make a jump as well. I think the Giants, Bears, Cardinals, Panthers, and 49ers are serious contenders to jump from outside and into the top 10.AT LEAST 7 WIDE RECEIVERS WILL BE SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND
NO RB WILL BE TAKEN IN THE FIRST ROUND, 8 WILL GO IN ROUNDS 2 & 3
The running back position has been somewhat downgraded recently in the NFL. Not because you don't need a good one, the best teams have a great running game. More and more teams seem to be going with RBBC systems, and the shelf life of a RB seems to be getting shorter and shorter. Ben Tate and Chris Johnson were the highest paid free agent RB's this offseason, and both got smaller contracts than the top two kickers. Throw in the incredible bust that Trent Richardson has become, and teams may never take an RB in the first round again. Until next season, next season has some serious studs in the backfield and I think the trend will change. This year however, no RB will go in the first round, but there are actually a lot of good backs in this draft, and that's why I think there will be in run in rounds two and three. Tre Mason, Carlos Hyde, Bishop Sankey, and Jeremy Hill likely would have been first round selections in years past. Lache Seastrunk in the right system is going to be an awesome back, and will go in the top 3 rounds. Names Ka'Deem Carey, Andre Williams, Terrance West, Devonta Freeman, Charles Sims, James White, Tyler Gaffney, Isaiah Crowell (remember him), or many others could all go on day 2.KIRK COUSINS AND/OR RYAN MALLET WILL BE TRADED BEFORE/DURING THE DRAFT
This draft is crazy full of talk about quarterbacks. It may not be the best at the top, but it is very deep, which is why some teams may not want to reach on a guy early in the draft. The problem is, the later you take a guy in the draft, the less time you can have him under team control. So, if you do catch lightning in a bottle there's a chance you won't be able to keep him. Or, even worse, he doesn't work out and you are back where you started. There are going to be teams who want a QB, but don't want to take a rookie. This free agent class was not exactly stacked for QB's, and I think some teams could be very interested in a young QB, with some experience. Kirk Cousins is a solid quarterback, and an amazing leader. He doesn't get enough credit for bringing MSU to the status it is at now. I don't think they get the Rose Bowl, without Cousins three years as starter. He is stuck behind RGIII, and probably shouldn't be. The Redskins are going to be desperate for picks in this deep draft since they are still light from that trade for, yep, RGIII. Some one will make them an offer they can't refuse. Ryan Mallet was drafted out of Arkansas and has spent the past few seasons behind Tom Brady. Not a bad guy to be learning from, and many are starting to make comparisons to Aaron Rodgers. Not that he could be that good, but that he has been fine tuning his skills, while learning from one of the best. That's the way it use to be before QB's were thrown out to lead a franchise from day one. Again, in a deep draft I think New England will take advantage and gain picks. Brady seems to have a few more years left, and the Pats could pick a new QB in this draft and start the mentor program over.THE BEARS, GIANTS, COWBOYS, RAMS, STEELERS, AND BENGALS WILL ALL SELECT A QB OVER DRAFT WEEKEND
More quarterback talk, but this one is pretty interesting. All of the teams mentioned currently are committed to a guy as their franchise guy. Whether through high draft picks, big trades, or just a massive contract, they all technically already have their guy, and I think all of them will draft a QB with the potential to replace their respective "guy". The Bears gave a significant contract to Jay Cutler, but it really only pays him the first three seasons, and has team opt outs the rest of the way. They have concerns about him, but didn't want to just let him walk. They need a backup, and potential replacement for Cutler. The Giants have to be having conversations about Eli Manning's potential fall. He is coming off his worst pro season, and is into the double digit seasons. Ben Roethlisberger was drafted in the same year as Manning, and is facing a lot of the same criticisms. Injuries are mounting up for the once super durable star, and his time in the steel city may coming to an end. Tony Romo is a better QB than he gets credit for, but the fact is he's had his chance to lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs, and he has been the reason they haven't a few times. He also recently got a huge contract, but Jerry Jones will draft someone to possibly challenge Romo. Sam Bradford is entering his last season of his massive rookie contract, and this likely will be his last chance as a starter in the NFL. The Rams are obviously hoping Bradford has a breakout season, but will draft his possible replacement if he doesn't. Finally, the Bengals thought they had a steal taking Andy Dalton in the second round a few drafts back, and are now doubting whether they have their guy. Cinci was a very talented team last year, and Dalton seemed to cave under pressure in the playoffs. He is also in his last year of his rookie contract, and the Bengals will draft a QB in case he doesn't progress.LOGAN THOMAS WILL BE DRAFTED BY A TEAM GIVING HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO START
Something about a QB, no way?!? I'll keep this one short. Logan Thomas may be the most underrated QB in this draft. Not that he doesn't deserve some criticism, but he is crazy athletic for his size, and has a cannon arm. He also has size. He reminds me a lot of Cam Newton, and Thomas has a similar skill set without some of those issues, plus size. I think a team will draft him on the last two days of the draft, but it will be a team where he has a chance to earn the starting job on day 1. A similar situation to Russell Wilson in Seattle, except the guy is massive and makes other quarterbacks look like JV players, I think Thomas may end up being one the top quarterbacks to come out of this draft when we look back years from now. Did I mention he has size? Just ignore that previous picture of him running scared from Aaron Donald, I mean who wouldn't?
Comments
Post a Comment