Track Guy

Nice! I think he'll work well in our offense. He's a really good YAC guy.

Strong combine numbers for explosiveness. Interesting pick!

I hope he's good. I can't say I've watched him play tbh.

I would've thought perhaps we could either get more than a 2nd round pick or drop less far than 20 picks for one. But all in all, I don't mind it. I think a lot of the prospects who were the right fit for us were off the board, and next year that 2nd round pick will be very nice for us to have.

I really hope we picked up some collateral for next year. I'd love that.

Adams is a guy with a lot of upside, I wish he was in this year's draft for us to snag. His injuries were ACL in '17 and a back surgery in '18.

Few players I don't want: Jachai Polite - such a sluggish combine, not encouraging, small for our system. Jonah Williams - he's a guard at the next level imo. Top 5 realistic options: Andre Dillard, OT, Washington - perhaps the truest LT in the draft. I think it'd suit him better to wind up in a situation like ours where he wouldn't be expect to be a day 1 starter as well. Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson - guy who could upgrade on the inside of our D-line, has some versatility. Brian Burns, Edge, Florida St. - he's got great length and burst, plays a high value position. DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia - not the biggest or fastest CB in the draft, so could slide a little - he is big and fast enough, has fantastic ball skills, and plus tackling. Jeffery Simmons, DL, Mississippi St. - talented guy who will miss the season. I've heard things about his past that aren't good, but he's also got people who support him vocally.

Issue is, this is just on paper. What if TY has to miss 4 games, where do we sit? I think there's a lot to be happy about, but I would like Ballard to draft another one. After TY, between Funchess, Cain, maybe Inman coming back are pretty solid depth but none have proven capable of being a go to guy really (doesn't mean they won't moving forward).

Wilkins > Lawrence - especially with the PED test on record.

Luck didn't play well, but he was far from alone on that. The receiving group had some drops and struggled to get open all day. The O-line did so-so, not as good as usual. Luck had a down day but Eric Ebron, Braden Smith, and AV also had down days. Aside from AV (who might retire at this point) I don't think it'll be a problem for any of those guys moving forward

Kelvin Harmon and Hakeem Butler are two of my favorite projected 2nd day WRs

Re-sign: Mark Glowinski - Glowinski has been playing well as the starting RG, I’d sign him to up to a 2 year deal. Piere Desir - Desir has played decently well in our secondary which is by no means the deepest in the league. Matt Slauson - Slauson did fairly well at the start of the season at RG before injuring his back. He’s a versatile, veteran guy who would be a really nice backup for all 3 interior positions. Clayton Geathers - Geathers is an adequate starting SS, I wouldn’t go crazy on his contract but he’s not bad. Daurice Fountain - I’d like to keep this athletic receiver with a fantastic vertical leap on our roster longer to see his growth in year 2. Free Agency: Ty Nsekhe, OL, Redskins - A veteran OT who is still a pretty good player and would be an fantastic swing tackle / 6th O-lineman to have on the depth chart. He will turn 34 next season, but I’d pay him above market value to be a backup for a year. Most importantly, he’s capable at LT (his natural position) - and having a guy like that can save your season. C.J. Mosley, LB, Ravens - A new starting Mike LB. Mosley is a guy who has multiple pro-bowl selections, so adding a guy of this caliber would be breaking the mold for Ballard. Still - in our defensive scheme there’s a lot of added value to having a really good Mike linebacker. Devin Funchess, WR, Panthers - A big, young receiver who is not meshing to come back in Carolina. Could be a useful depth receiver and red zone target in our offense. David Irving, DL, Cowboys - A big, dominant pass rusher who plays at DE/DT. He’s had some injury issues, but he’s young and if he can stay healthy can be dominant. Draft: R1 - Dre’Mont Jones, DL, Ohio St. - Jones is a 3-tech prospect who is athletic, and a little bit slight for his position by NFL. He is dominant in terms of generating interior pressure and is obviously very fast on tape. Capable of generating the sort of pressure up the middle our defense needs. R2 - Kelvin Harmon, WR, N.C. St. - Harmon is a possession receiver with good size and good hands. And while he’s not likely to be the biggest combine star, he’s a decent athlete with some YAC ability. I think he’s got potential to be a nice #2 receiver in the right offense. R2 - Lavert Hill, CB, Michigan - Hill has been dominant at the college level for Michigan. If he comes out, I think he’s a second rounder. I suspect he’ll put up good but not great marks at the combine, and perhaps be a nice pickup for a team like ours who could use some secondary help. R3 - Demarcus Christmas, DL, Florida St. - Of no relation to Lloyd. A big, powerful defensive tackle with some quickness to him. Could play an Al Woods role in our defense moving forward. R4 - DaMarkus Lodge, WR, Mississippi - Lodge is a solid WR prospect with good size and speed. He wasn’t the featured guy in his offense, and might have to develop a full route tree (although he shows good route running ability for what he’s asked to do.) He does the little things well like blocking too, which I like. R4 - Malik Carney, DE/LB, North Carolina - Carney is a candidate for SAM linebacker in the 4-3 scheme. He has some pass rushing ability, but really is dominant against the run. He forced an eye-popping 5 fumbles this season. He could also stick at DE, or play there situationally. R5 - Foster Moreau, TE, LSU - A depth guy at TE who is a reliably good blocker and who has flashed some receiving ability. He’s got great size of the position as well. R6 - McKinley Whitefield, S, Tulsa - A smaller school guy who is one of these new age LB/Safety hybrid types. He’s a good size/speed prospect, and has played well for Tulsa. Could be a backup SS for us. R7 - Cole Tracy, K, LSU - When your kicker is in his mid 40s, I think you can mock a kicker. Tracy has been good this year. Approximate Line-up: Offense: QB - A. Luck, J. Brissett RB - M. Mack, N. Hynes, J. Wilkins WR - T. Hilton, K. Harmon, D. Cain, D. Funchess, D. Fountain, D. Lodge TE - E. Ebron, J. Doyle, M. Allie-Cox, F. Moreau OT - A. Castonzo, B. Smith, T. Nsekhe, J. Haeg G - Q. Nelson, M. Glowinski C - R. Kelly, M. Slauson Defense: DT - D. Jones, H. Ridgeway, G. Stewart, D. Christmas DE - J. Sheard, D. Irving, K. Turay, D. Autry, T. Lewis, A. Muhammad LB - D. Leonard, C. Mosley, A. Walker, S. Moore, M. Adams, Z. Franklin, D. Carney S - M. Hooker, C. Geathers, G. Odum, M. Whitfield CB - K. Moore, N. Hairston, P. Desir, Q. Wilson, L. Hill, J. Collins Special Teams: K: C. Tracy P: R. Sanchez LS: L. Rhodes Analysis - I've kept the offense - with the exception of the WR position - very stable. I think improvement here comes from an extra year of experience for our O-line and running back groups, as well as the moves at WR (which is our thinnest position group on offense imo). Having more depth at tackle is also key. On defense, I've prioritized making additions on the interior of the defense. Adding a first round pick as an interior rusher, as well as a free agent signing of an impact defensive lineman. I've also tried in this mock to add a dominant presence at the Mike linebacker position and some quality depth in the secondary. With good health and the young players on the roster making good progress, I think it's a hypothetical lineup that could compete amongst the top teams in the league.

It all depends which prospects are available at which pick. We do need a WR who can step in and play, but its hard to say what pick that will be because you can't force it. That's just the nature of the draft. If I had to guess, I'd say either in round 1 or 2 we may take one. But it's impossible to know. I think BPA is a better approach.

With all the posts you see from people over reacting on this forum, it gets hard to distinguish

We're pretty thin at WR and our offense is designed to use a lot of TE.