Potential top 10 pick

[Superman]

7 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

If I'm Irsay, I'm on the phone with Eric DeCosta as we speak.

 

DeCosta is everyone's first choice, has been for four years. And he continually tells owners to kick rocks.

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/02/01/taunton-decosta-driving-from-shadows-for-ravens/awjki2v5nvaJ0404NeZV5L/story.html

Quote

I’ve seen enough people go other places and not have good situations. I’m cautious. If I could spend the rest of my time working in Baltimore, it would be fantastic. Quite honestly, the truth of the matter is, if I have to spend the rest of my time in Baltimore working with Ozzie Newsome, if he stays to be GM the next 20 years, I’m blessed.

 

Now, just for the sake of context, that was January 2013, and they were on their way to the SB, and everything looked great for him. Could have just been the elation of being part of a winning program. But they missed the playoffs the next year, and multiple teams came knocking, and he turned them down again. And did the same last year. Ozzie was 56 when that article was written, nowhere near quitting age, and DeCosta was talking about never leaving. 

 

So if you were Irsay, you probably would make the call; you'd be dumb not to at least take his temperature. But I sincerely doubt Eric DeCosta goes anywhere.

 

Next on the list is probably Marc Ross, and I think he was runner-up to Grigson in 2012. 

[Track Guy]

8 hours ago, IowaHawkeyeColt said:

I might be a wee-bit biased, but the Colts need to take a HARD look at Austin Blythe (C) out of Iowa in this year's draft. Would be a hell of a steal for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Dude is an absolute mauler and a workhorse. Iowa lineman, especially one as highly regarded as Austin, typically do VERY well transitioning to the NFL.

 

Check out his highlight video. https://twitter.com/ChrisRuthIOWA/status/666773079620620288

 

Blythe is a guy who's been on my radar for a little while now. I think he's a really good run blocker. The entire center class is shaping up to be pretty deep, and Blythe is one of the better prospects there for sure.

[loudnproudcolt]

3 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Are you sure that's correct? How are there that many teams with 6 wins or less? 18 teams seems very high.

 

I'm only counting 10 teams that currently have worse records than the Colts. And I'm not including teams that have the same amount of losses as Indy since Indy's strength of schedule is very weak. They had one of the easiest schedules this year so they should be picking earlier than the other teams with the same record when the draft position is set.

 

With that said here is my latest mock...

 

Round 1 Pick 13: Jaylon Smith, OLB/ILB, Notre Dame (A+)
Round 2 Pick 22 (IND): Jordan Jenkins, OLB, Georgia (A)
Round 3 Pick 13: Vonn Bell, SS, Ohio State (A+)
Round 3 Pick 22 (IND): Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville (A+)
Round 4 Pick 1 (TENN): Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State (A-)
Round 4 Pick 13: Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech (A)
Round 5 Pick 12: D.J. White, CB, Georgia Tech (A)

Not sure if we can get Jaylon Smith, depends on where he falls and where we draft, but I would make him our priority. We can build around him and Vontae, and puts a central piece, hopefully stud, to build around.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

WoW !!! A top 10 pick would be Great!!!

That's 2 picks in top 42.

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Are you sure that's correct? How are there that many teams with 6 wins or less? 18 teams seems very high.

 

I'm only counting 10 teams that currently have worse records than the Colts. And I'm not including teams that have the same amount of losses as Indy since Indy's strength of schedule is very weak. They had one of the easiest schedules this year so they should be picking earlier than the other teams with the same record when the draft position is set.

 

With that said here is my latest mock...

 

Round 1 Pick 13: Jaylon Smith, OLB/ILB, Notre Dame (A+)
Round 2 Pick 22 (IND): Jordan Jenkins, OLB, Georgia (A)
Round 3 Pick 13: Vonn Bell, SS, Ohio State (A+)
Round 3 Pick 22 (IND): Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville (A+)
Round 4 Pick 1 (TENN): Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State (A-)
Round 4 Pick 13: Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech (A)
Round 5 Pick 12: D.J. White, CB, Georgia Tech (A)

 

18 teams with 6 or FEWER wins.

 

11 of THOSE teams have 5 or fewer wins.

 

3 win teams as of today:   Cleve, Tenn        (2)

 

4 win teams as of today:   SD,  Balt,  SF,  Det (playing tonight)   Dallas      (5)

 

5 win teams as of today:   J'Ville,  Mia,   Chic,    NO  (playing tonight)       (4)

 

6 win teams as of today:    Indy,  Oak,    Buff,    St.L,   Tampa,    Philly,   NYG    (7)

 

So, as I said,  18 teams with 6 wins or less currently.     That number will be the SAME tomorrow after the Monday night game.

 

Odds are pretty strong we're going to be picking in the teens.     There's a short at pick 11 or 12.    It's not likely we'll reach 10 or lower.    It's possible.    But likely NOT lower.

 

Hope this clarifies.

 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

3 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Are you sure that's correct? How are there that many teams with 6 wins or less? 18 teams seems very high.

 

I'm only counting 10 teams that currently have worse records than the Colts. And I'm not including teams that have the same amount of losses as Indy since Indy's strength of schedule is very weak. They had one of the easiest schedules this year so they should be picking earlier than the other teams with the same record when the draft position is set.

 

With that said here is my latest mock...

 

Round 1 Pick 13: Jaylon Smith, OLB/ILB, Notre Dame (A+)
Round 2 Pick 22 (IND): Jordan Jenkins, OLB, Georgia (A)
Round 3 Pick 13: Vonn Bell, SS, Ohio State (A+)
Round 3 Pick 22 (IND): Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville (A+)
Round 4 Pick 1 (TENN): Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State (A-)
Round 4 Pick 13: Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech (A)
Round 5 Pick 12: D.J. White, CB, Georgia Tech (A)

What, No WR's ?

[BProland85]

33 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher said:

What, No WR's ?

Ah I knew my draft was incomplete! 

 

And NewColtsFan, can you clarify the strength of schedule. That was my main argument. If Indy and let's say Chicago, Tampa bay, and Buffalo all have the same record wouldn't the Colts pick ahead of all them due to weak strength of schedule? I believe that's how it works. The rest of the draft those teams would alternate draft position. 

[Malakai432]

12 hours ago, IowaHawkeyeColt said:

I might be a wee-bit biased, but the Colts need to take a HARD look at Austin Blythe (C) out of Iowa in this year's draft. Would be a hell of a steal for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Dude is an absolute mauler and a workhorse. Iowa lineman, especially one as highly regarded as Austin, typically do VERY well transitioning to the NFL.

 

Check out his highlight video. https://twitter.com/ChrisRuthIOWA/status/666773079620620288

He is indeed a rolling bowling ball of flaming assault rifles laced with acid spitting volcano spiders! 

[Defjamz26]

9 hours ago, Superman said:

 

DeCosta is everyone's first choice, has been for four years. And he continually tells owners to kick rocks.

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/02/01/taunton-decosta-driving-from-shadows-for-ravens/awjki2v5nvaJ0404NeZV5L/story.html

 

Now, just for the sake of context, that was January 2013, and they were on their way to the SB, and everything looked great for him. Could have just been the elation of being part of a winning program. But they missed the playoffs the next year, and multiple teams came knocking, and he turned them down again. And did the same last year. Ozzie was 56 when that article was written, nowhere near quitting age, and DeCosta was talking about never leaving. 

 

So if you were Irsay, you probably would make the call; you'd be dumb not to at least take his temperature. But I sincerely doubt Eric DeCosta goes anywhere.

 

Next on the list is probably Marc Ross, and I think he was runner-up to Grigson in 2012. 

 

Good point. But there is more temptation here than when that article was written. You have Luck in his 4th year, a solid young WR duo/trio, a LT and LG, and emerging players in Henry Anderson and Geathers. Might be enough to finally lure DeCosta out. Plus the Ravens aren't looking good.

 

I'd be okay with Ross, I've heard his name tossed around here before.The Giants have made some questionable draft moves as of late but I don't think he's been wrong with his talent evaluation. He was the director of college scouting for 6 years before being the VP of player evaluation. Giants have made some really nice selections aside from Collins. Pugh in the first round. Seems scouting was able to figure out which LSU was the star in 2014, Weston Richburg in the 2nd, Erick Flowers, Jonathan Hankins,etc...

 

They've gotten good guys for great value in each round. He'd be my top choice after DeCosta.

 

I think maybe Scott Pioli as well. His biggest blunder might have been the Matt Cassel/Brady Quinn experiment. But the QB situation is good here. Plus from 08-12 the Chiefs had a very young and promising defense, full of guys he drafted. Some of those guys are still on the team, but are a little older but better know. Off the bat he drafted Eric Berry, Dontari Poe, and Justin Houston. The only thing is that it's hard for fired GMs to get another shot as GMs.

[chrisfarley]

why not blow the team up now, DO NOT WAIT FOR FAILURE, seize the day.  We can be performing so much at this juncture as far as draft prep, free agency admissions (admitting that we screwed up and getting rid of people now !!!).  Who's got the sack to do it?  no one.

[mikey287]

Would much rather try to make the playoffs, which is plenty reasonable given how close we are...

[dgambill]

We have a lot of needs...I could see us moving back and acquiring more picks. There would have to be a pretty special player falling for us to move up I believe. The right side of our OL needs desperate help...we have some old safety's and rbs, a corner to replace, and very very unathletic lbs/olb. We have some good pieces to work with so the incoming GM/Coaching staff aren't walking into a disaster.. a team with a talented qb and skilled players and a couple nice pieces on defense. Hopefully we look at coaches that will make the most of what we have on the roster and develop players. I know we rarely pick this low but I still think we would like to add another pick in the middle rounds to move back a few spots if we can still get a good RT or pass rusher. Its a long way off and this offseason is going to be even harder because of all the changes we need to make.  

[Superman]

15 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

 

Good point. But there is more temptation here than when that article was written. You have Luck in his 4th year, a solid young WR duo/trio, a LT and LG, and emerging players in Henry Anderson and Geathers. Might be enough to finally lure DeCosta out. Plus the Ravens aren't looking good.

 

I'd be okay with Ross, I've heard his name tossed around here before.The Giants have made some questionable draft moves as of late but I don't think he's been wrong with his talent evaluation. He was the director of college scouting for 6 years before being the VP of player evaluation. Giants have made some really nice selections aside from Collins. Pugh in the first round. Seems scouting was able to figure out which LSU was the star in 2014, Weston Richburg in the 2nd, Erick Flowers, Jonathan Hankins,etc...

 

They've gotten good guys for great value in each round. He'd be my top choice after DeCosta.

 

I think maybe Scott Pioli as well. His biggest blunder might have been the Matt Cassel/Brady Quinn experiment. But the QB situation is good here. Plus from 08-12 the Chiefs had a very young and promising defense, full of guys he drafted. Some of those guys are still on the team, but are a little older but better know. Off the bat he drafted Eric Berry, Dontari Poe, and Justin Houston. The only thing is that it's hard for fired GMs to get another shot as GMs.

 

Scott Pioli just started with the Falcons in 2015. He's probably not available. If he were, I'd be hesitant, but he did grab some good players in KC. I have to demerit him for Justin Houston; first round talent, troubled prior to the draft, and he slipped to the third round. Everyone knew how good he could be, he just did some stupid stuff during draft season. Very good pick, though.

 

The Giants had a couple bad drafts in a row, but I think they're back on track lately. Marc Ross is a good candidate, IMO.

 

I don't think DeCosta would be more likely to leave Baltimore because of them slipping. If anything, that puts Ozzie on more slippery ground, or more likely to hang it up at some point in the near future. Being the Ravens GM is basically his dream job. His second dream job is working with Ozzie Newsome for the Ravens. I think everyone has their price, but so far, no one has been able to entice DeCosta to even interview. At least the last four years in a row.