Track Guy Mock - Combine Addition

[Track Guy]

***Combine Edition. LOL

 

Alright, so I've perfected the plan that I have been working with for my off-season mock. I think I've built a Superbowl contending team that still has legs to keep improving in years to come. Sign it and get it to Mr. Grigson! 

 

 

 

 

Cut:

 

 

Samson Satele, C – An obvious cut to be made. He’s played poorly and he’s expensive.

 

Greg Toler, CB - Too much money, risk/reward ratio could be easily improved upon.

 

 

 

Re-sign:

 

 

Vontae Davis $28 mil / 4 yr

 

Pat McAfee $14 mil / 5 yr

 

Adam Vinatieri $2.0 mil / 1 yr

 

Josh Gordy $1.1 mil / 1 yr

 

Joe Reitz $1.0 mil / 1 yr

 

Lawrence Sidbury $730 K / 1 yr

 

Justin Hickman $570 K / 1 yr

 

Cam Johnson $495 K / 1 yr

 

 

 

Sign:

 

 

Arthur Jones, DE/DT, $26 mil / 4 yrs – A really good front line guy to have in the trenches. His presence would help our defense pressure the quarterback and stop the run.

 

Evan Dietrich-Smith, C, $19 mil / 4 yrs – A center who I’ve watched more of recently and I really hope we can get. He does a nice job in both the run game and in pass protection. Aaron Rodgers is hoping Green Bay re-signs him.

 

Louis Delmas, S, $9 mil / 3 yrs – A cheaper option at safety. He actually played quite well in coverage last season, which would complement Landry better than Bethea.

 

Chad Rinehart, G, $5.5 mil / 2 yrs – This signing will create depth on the O-line and competition. Rinehart could beat out Thornton for the RG spot, or not, but either way creating competition is good. Having Reitz plus either Rinehart or Thornton on the bench would be good depth. Rinehart could also play tackle in a pinch.

 

 

 

Draft:

 

 

***I've got us trading pick 90 and pick 154 to Jacksonville for picks 101, 132, and 163. They already have a collection of late round draft picks and this trade puts them a bit ahead on the draft value charts, so I think it’s a trade they’re likely to accept. I like the idea of us gaining an extra pick because we have so few.

 

 

2. Yawin Smallwood, ILB, UConn – A guy who can come in and immediately fix a big hole for us on our defense. He projects to be a balanced ILB with the ability to defend the run and cover the pass. He’s a good 6’2” and over 240 lbs, and pretty athletic. 

 

4. Pierre Desir, CB, Lindenwood – A pretty interesting cornerback who will probably go in the early 4^th.  He’s a good 6’1” and 195 lbs. He’s coming from a small school, but he played very well in college. There are also a few other cornerbacks who should be available here to choose from if someone reaches for Desir in the 3^rd.

 

5. De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon – An electrifying college running back/kick returner. At 5’9” and under 180 lbs he does not project to be an every down running back in the NFL. But with his speed, he would be the perfect change of pace back to mix in with our top 2 power running back combo of Richardson/Ballard and a really good option at kick returner.

 

6. Matt Hazel, WR, Coastal Carolina – A wide receiver I’ve been high on for a while because he has really good hands. He’s about 6’1” and just under 200 lbs, has adequate but by no means elite speed. His skill set translates well to the NFL, he can pull down catches in traffic. He’d figure to be a good depth receiver for this coming year, and it wouldn’t shock me if he winds up with significant targets by season’s end.

 

6. Jonathan Dowling, FS, Western Kentucky – A potential late round steal. He’s a tall safety with potential and could be a starter in the future. But for 2014 he would come in as a back-up and realistically wouldn’t see the field that much as a rookie.

 

7. Zack Kerr, NT, Delaware – A 334 lbs DT, he has the size to back up Chapman and hop in from time to time on the D-line. He’s reasonably athletic for a big guy.

 

 

 

2014 Projected Roster

 

 

QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck

 

HB: Vick Ballard, Trent Richardson, De'Anthony Thomas

 

FB: Stanley Havili

 

WR: T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Da’Rick Rogers, Griff Whalen, LaVonn Brazill, Matt Hazel

 

TE: Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Jack Doyle, Weslye Saunders

 

OT: Anthony Castonzo, Gosder Cherilus, Xavier Nixon

 

G: Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton, Chad Rinehart, Joe Reitz

 

C: Evan Dietrich-Smith, Khaled Holmes

 

DE: Arthur Jones, Cory Redding

 

NT: Josh Chapman, Zack Kerr

 

DT: Ricky Jean Francois, Montori Hughes, Jeris Pendleton

 

OLB: Robert Mathis, Bjeorn Werner, Eric Walden, Daniel Adongo, Cam Johnson, Lawrence Sidbury

 

ILB: Jerrell Freeman, Yawin Smallwood, Kevin Shappard, Josh Mcnary

 

CB: Vontae Davis, Pierre Desir, Darius Butler, Josh Gordy

 

S: LaRon Landry, Louis Delmas, Delano Howell, Sergio Brown, Jonathan Dowling

 

K: Adam Vinatieri

 

P: Pat McAfee

 

 

 

I think this offense will be great. The style of offense we run will benefit a lot from a bolstered O-line with Thomas and EDS and a run-blocking/pass catching threat at TE2 in getting Allen back. A mobile QB with a strong arm like Luck is hard to stop in the pass game. He doesn’t need elite weapons. The resources we have is best used for offense focusing on the O-line. I don't think we'll be what Denver was this past year, but I also think if we can stay healthy we'll actually be better suited to taking on a smothering defense like San Francisco or Seattle than Denver was (these were teams that we already beat with last year's flawed roster). Those teams have a hard time dealing with Luck because of his mobility – if we can pose a big threat in the run game we’ll be a nightmare match-up for them.

On defense, I realize that our secondary isn't elite in this mock. However, I think a good coverage safety like Delmas has abilities that compliment Landry better than Bethea's run stopping specialty did. I also believe that with an improved front 7, the secondary benefits considerably. Adding Arthur Jones to the defensive line will give us a much better push than we had last year, when we were lacking a star player on the D-line. The addition of Smallwood should give us a much needed presence at ILB. Assuming Bjeorn Werner takes the next step forward improving at OLB  and Pierre Desir is a serviceable CB2 I think this defense is pretty strong. It isn’t Seattle’s defense by any means, unfortunately I just don’t think we can pull that off next year. What I do believe it is though, is a good defense. I don’t think this line-up, if healthy, would get torched for 87 points in 2 playoff games. I think we'd be able to hold opposing offenses better because of a stronger push in the trenches. 

[Derakynn]

I actually really like this mock, it is much more realistic than some other mocks, and seems more on par with Grigson. Toler isn't going anywhere, but I have no problem with drafting the CB anyways with our depth CBs being FAs. Having only 4 CBs is a tad dangerous, I would hope that one of the safety's could fill in if needed, Not sure we would keep 6 WRs on the roster.

[pacolts56]

I like the cuts and the re-signed players.

 

I like the signing of Arthur Jones and I could live with Deitrich-Smith at that price.

 

Since Jairus Byrd is probably out of the question....we need a plan because better coverage at safety IMO, is a big concern. Some are happy going forward with Bethea, but I'd prefer we get younger and better at FS and Delmas at that price plus a drafted S is a good approach.

 

Addressing ILB early is also a good idea....but I wouldn't mind seeing us also signing an affordable veteran upgrade as well, perhaps Daryl Smith.

 

As far as De'Anthony Thomas....if we can get him in Round 5 that's cool. Him and TY on the field at the same time could cause problems and I'd love having a legit speed merchant for our returns.

 

Pretty good there, Track Guy.

[Superman]

This is a nice mock. Not sure why you're cutting Toler, since even with your projections and just averaging the FA cap hits, the team still has a good $10m+ in cap space for 2014. 

[Defjamz26]

With the first 2 picks I would change the players, but keep the positions. I think Bullough will wow people today, and he seems like a "Grigson" player. And instead of Pierre, I would take McGill who won't run fast at the combine so people will sleep on him and probably Baptiste. Also we know Grigson loves versatility, and he can play CB and S. Another Grigson player.

 

Also don't see us leaving the draft without at least one 3-4 DE. So I'd throw in Deandre Coleman or Josh Mauro somewhere.

[USAFHoosier]

Not bad, this actually makes some sense.

[OffensivelyPC]

I like everything up to the mock, but that's only because I think I'd address FA a bit differently.  And its' not that your mock is bad.  It makes a lot of sense given what you did in FA.  It's just that we have a difference in philosophy as to how we are attacking FA and the subsequent draft.  I'm on the fence about thsi year's ILB class - lot of guys with potential in there, but I think they are all projects after the Mosley - but we'll see if that changes after today.  So I think I'd look at FA for ILB.  I'd also probably address FS in FA for the same reason. 

 

Since that's the case, I'd be looking at WR, CB, DT/DE, and G/C as my primary positions to address in the draft.  I like your signing of Dietrich-Smith, and I can live with that contract, but I'm still looking for depth.  I've done plenty of mocks, and who we'd actually get in the draft addressing those needs is up in the air.  But I think that it gives us the potential to maximize the current draft class.  It is very deep in all of these positions, most notably WR and CB.

[Track Guy]

This is a nice mock. Not sure why you're cutting Toler, since even with your projections and just averaging the FA cap hits, the team still has a good $10m+ in cap space for 2014. 

 

That's a good point about Toler actually. I didn't really keep a running tabs on the financials as I was doing this so I guess I was over conservative. Keeping Toler would be best then.