Funk's Pre-Combine Mock Off-Season

[funktacious2]

** FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THROUGH ALL OF THE BULK I ADDED THE CHANGES IN SHORT-FORM AT THE END OF THE POST**

 

Cuts

Arthur Jones

 

Re-Sign

Butler (DB)-  Butler put together a pretty solid season and graded out well. He's great to have for his versatility. He can play nickel or compete for the free safety spot. He can play outside in a pinch. I think this would be the 3rd different contract we've had him under and the slightly most expensive. He's been solid, but still shouldn't command much money lest we let him walk.

Swoope (TE)- Signs Tender; I just don't see the Doyle thing happening for the right price. Swoope's time is now or never. I showed flashes late last year, and I think it's time we give him a better shot and see what we really have.

Kerr (DE)- Sign Tender; Barely average, but for a cheap price, he's worth keeping around for depth.

 

Sign

Brandon Williams (DT)- Our big free agent signing. I'm not convinced we'll have one at all, but if we did, I feel like an interior defensive lineman makes a lot of sense. Perry may no longer have a future in Indy after his arrest and I'm not much of a fan of many DTs in the first couple rounds of the draft, so I'd be pleased with doling out cash for this guy. 

Ronald Leary(OG)-  There are a lot of guards who i'd like, and my favorite, Zeitler, is probably gonna get locked up, but my next favorite is Leary and he'll come cheaper. I'm assuming the Cowboys give the job back to Landon Collins and let Leary walk. They can't keep hording all of the O-linemen forever. xD  Really I'd be happy with many different guards here. I think there will be at least a few available who would instantly improve our o-line.

John Simmon (EDGE)- Of the pass rushers in this FA year that won't make us have to sell the farm, I feel like Simon has the most potential. A guy who has been good in run defense for a while and came into his own in the pass rush last year, he seems like a prime candidate to replace Walden since I don't think he's worth keeping.

Zach Brown (ILB)- My concern is that he played rather average for the last half of the season last year, but He's still above average overall and grades out fairly well in pass coverage, something we need at the position.

 

 

I like the idea of using FAs to fill some gaps and give us some more breathing room for the draft. I think if David Perry is gone, then DT all of a sudden becomes a huge need on this team, so getting Williams might seem justifiable. I really like Calais Campbell, but while I'm sure we want to win this year, Campbell doesn't make sense for a defensive rebuild since he is over 30 years old. Better to pay for younger guys. We're spending a lot here, but should still have some left for look to extending Mewhort and Moncrief.

 

Draft

 

1. Taco Charlton (OLB)- In the lead up to the combine Taco probably saw his stock rise higher than any player on my board. This was partly due to me having just not really scouted him enough yet. A lot of pundits seems to see Charlton as a guy who is a bit raw in skill but has the physical traits to be great in the NFL. Naturally, this scares me because I don't like the idea of risking a first rounder when we need an immediate impact on defense. I can see what pundits are getting at as I watch him, but when I finished looking at the guy I saw no reason he won't have an impact early in his NFL career. I was expecting him to seem more lost, but I came away instead surprised about how well he would shed blocks sometimes or how well he could sometimes play the run. No doubt his biggest question mark will be "consistency" coming into the NFL, but I think he's plenty good enough as is. As he improves in the next level, he can blossom into a star. 

 

2. Alvin Kamara (RB)- I know, you probably don't want a RB this early. But guys, it is a need (we have replace Gore and Kamara can not only do that, he is a heck of a pass catcher too, something I know we all want) and, I definitely think Kamara is better than Hunt, Williams, or Perine. Getting a RB in the second fills a need and is a nice middle ground between those who don't want Cook or Fournette in the 1st round and those who do. Lastly, I'm just not sold on the 2nd round defensive talent. There might be some more OLBs available and some CBs, but they none of the guys I looked at seemed like a sure thing or had some sort of concern that deterred me (I.E. I really like Jourdan Lewis, but he's 5'10"). I also really like Jarrad Davis, and I've seen plenty of mocks that say he'll still be there, but I just personally don't think he will be.

 

3. Howard Wilson (CB)- Really like this guy's ball-skills and has better size and talent than some other guys who could still available at this pick. With his skill I'd like to say he could rise higher in the draft, but there are just so many promising DBs this year that he'll probably still be here. He's the perfect example of how deep this secondary class is this year.

 

4a. Vincent Taylor (DE/DT)- A later round guy I really like so far this off season. Brandon Williams should help our line, but we can always use more depth and competition, and I think the athletic Vincent Taylor has the talent to possibly earn a starting role. I've seen him go as early as the 3rd, though, but for now he tends to come off the board in the 4th round quite a bit.

 

4b. John Jonson- (S)- I won't lie that I probably wouldn't have learned much about this guy yet, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw we met with him at the Senior Bowl. He seems very solid with plenty of reason to make me think he can be more than solid. I think we needed to either add safety help in FA or the draft so I did it here.

 

5. Elijah Lee (ILB)- In the 5th it's always nice to get a starter, but it's not really that easy. I added Zach Brown, but I think we can definitely stand to add a guy to compete with Morrison and Jackson for the other spot. Lee is athletic, tackles well, and pursues well. His athleticism will allow him to have the traits to cover well, but he'll need time to develop his skills. He's really the only late round ILB I like anyways, but I think he's a good value here.

 

6. Will Holden (OT)- He's one of those guys who has sort of quietly been having a decent off-season. He did well at the east-west shrine game practices, showing some potential. I like him for added depth and for future starting potential obtained dirt cheap.

 

 

How our biggest needs got addressed:

1. Pass Rush- Added a FA replacement for Walden in Simmon and a 1st round rookie with both major upside for the future and the talent to have an early impact. Charlton can be our top pass rusher of the future.

2. Secondary- Added safety help and have a little more depth there. I added a rookie CB who can compete with Robinson. If he's not ready to start this year, then I'm okay with Davis and Robinson again this year for the start.

3. D-Line- I added Williams to finally give us a true NT. I also added Vincent Taylor to offer solid depth to start, with the potential to start eventually.

3. O-Line- Added a great guard to vastly improve our running game and help our pass protection. I added an OT late who I think has enough skills to help add depth and eventually compete for the RT spot.

4. Run Game- Added a young, versatile back who can start his career as a change of pace back with Gore, but possibly become a workhorse back in year two.

 

Breakdown for those who don't want to read much:

FA:

Brandon Williams (NT)

Ronald Leary (OG)

Zach Brown (ILB)

John Simmon (OLB)

Draft:

1. Taco Charlton (OLB)

2. Alvin Kamara (RB)

3. Howard Wilson (CB)

4a. Vincent Taylor (DE/DT)

4b. John Johnson (S)

5. Elijah Lee (ILB)

6. WIll Holden (OT)

[funktacious2]

Lol thanks, Defjamz!

[twfish]

Lol I usually try not to criticize others mocks but since your looking for some feed back  I'm not huge on your first 2 picks. I could live with taco but I'm not big on Kamara almost not at all

[Track Guy]

Kamara is a terrific player. 

[funktacious2]

21 hours ago, twfish said:

Lol I usually try not to criticize others mocks but since your looking for some feed back  I'm not huge on your first 2 picks. I could live with taco but I'm not big on Kamara almost not at all

Just curious, is it more of a talent issue with Kamara or is it the issue of not wanting a RB that early. My thinking is simply that I surveyed the guys I thought was there in the second I feel he might offer the best value. He, IMO, looks like a terrific talent who is going to probably last to the second round because he wasn't used heavily between the tackles in college, so he's a tad bit of an unknown there. I like guys like Jarrad Davis and some cornerbacks, but I feel the CB class is a little deeper than RB's so Howard (CB), who I'd get in the 3rd, IMO, has more value than say Kareem Hunt in the 3rd (which is where I think we would have to draft him). Similarly l think Vincent Taylor would have more value than Jamaal Williams in the 4th. These are my opinions, but I'm curious to know what it is about Kamara that someone would not like. Thanks!

[twfish]

30 minutes ago, funktacious2 said:

Just curious, is it more of a talent issue with Kamara or is it the issue of not wanting a RB that early. My thinking is simply that I surveyed the guys I thought was there in the second I feel he might offer the best value. He, IMO, looks like a terrific talent who is going to probably last to the second round because he wasn't used heavily between the tackles in college, so he's a tad bit of an unknown there. I like guys like Jarrad Davis and some cornerbacks, but I feel the CB class is a little deeper than RB's so Howard (CB), who I'd get in the 3rd, IMO, has more value than say Kareem Hunt in the 3rd (which is where I think we would have to draft him). Similarly l think Vincent Taylor would have more value than Jamaal Williams in the 4th. These are my opinions, but I'm curious to know what it is about Kamara that someone would not like. Thanks!

For me personally he has a the same skill set and more questions the McCaffery (my favorite player in the draft). So you'd think I'd be in love with Kamara right? Well I think Mcaffrey ceiling is much higher and his floor is much higher than Kamara. Plus McCaffery has the production to back up everything that is said about him. While I can't blame Kamara for leaving Bama especially how loaded bamas stable of backs are I think if he would have played 1 more year of college ball I'd have a better feel for him. I'm not opposed to taking a running back one bit at all actually. I wouldn't even be mad at not risking him falling and taking mixon in the second but hey that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions

[funktacious2]

1 hour ago, twfish said:

For me personally he has a the same skill set and more questions the McCaffery (my favorite player in the draft). So you'd think I'd be in love with Kamara right? Well I think Mcaffrey ceiling is much higher and his floor is much higher than Kamara. Plus McCaffery has the production to back up everything that is said about him. While I can't blame Kamara for leaving Bama especially how loaded bamas stable of backs are I think if he would have played 1 more year of college ball I'd have a better feel for him. I'm not opposed to taking a running back one bit at all actually. I wouldn't even be mad at not risking him falling and taking mixon in the second but hey that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions

Fair points. On McCaffrey, I do like him a tad more than Kamara, but I wouldn't include him since I don't think he'll be anywhere near as likely to be there as Kamara. I do feel the production issue is a legit thing to take into consideration, but it's important to note that Kamara's production isn't all his fault, they just didn't give him a boat load of touches. He averaged a very good 5.8 ypc, which isn't as good as the guys you would expect to go before him, it is better than everyone else after him (excluding Mixon because who knows where he'said going and) except Foreman who would be a reasonable substitute, but I value Kamara more because of his usefulnessin the passing game. 

[twfish]

7 minutes ago, funktacious2 said:

Fair points. On McCaffrey, I do like him a tad more than Kamara, but I wouldn't include him since I don't think he'll be anywhere near as likely to be there as Kamara. I do feel the production issue is a legit thing to take into consideration, but it's important to note that Kamara's production isn't all his fault, they just didn't give him a boat load of touches. He averaged a very good 5.8 ypc, which isn't as good as the guys you would expect to go before him, it is better than everyone else after him (excluding Mixon because who knows where he'said going and) except Foreman who would be a reasonable substitute, but I value Kamara more because of his usefulnessin the passing game. 

No doubt do I think McCaffery will be gone by our second pick, let alone the second round possibly. As for the Kamara vs Foreman I think that's going to be a good discussion point. They are the polar opposites of eachother. One is a pass catching zone RB and the other is a bruiser PowerBack ideal for a man scheme imo. I think if things were played and schemed exactly like last year Foreman would without a doubt have my success. If we continue the conversion to much more of a zone and screen scheme then Kamara would have more success. So what does the FO want to do? It could be very telling. As far as the top guys the only 2 I see that would play good in either scheme is Fournette and mixon (there is probably other backs but I've watched so many players and positions others aren't really coming to mind). Foreman has more production but is a back I could see "aging" faster in the nfl then Kamara. I'm gunna have to think long and hard about the 2 and possibly have to make a while thread developed to it because it's a possibility in the second

[Tmoney]

Letting Doyle walk would be a mistake. I'd cut DA before I let Jack walk.