JoeyFlex5's final mock draft.

[JoeyFlex5]

i dont know if you guys have heard but theres been a trade recently, it might make things a tad bit different for a few teams, figured id make some minor adjustments to my last mock to compensate(sarcasm over, this trade is huge for the ravens...) 

 

let me preface this mock by saying this, I wont project a trade, its too impractical, but i dont think we sit stationary in rounds 1 and 2, i am almost sure there will b a trade somewhere, and my PERSONAL preference is this... trade back with the titans for one of their shiny new 2nd round picks, take kevin dodd as i think he is the 2nd highest ceiling player in this draft and has that prototype motor and mean streak that the ravens love, he has more physical tools than any edge rusher this team has ever had, he can be a very special player, at 6'5" 280 and built like a brick poo-house with arms so long he can almost hit a 3 point stance without bending over(loljk) he is very imposing, but this isnt everything... no man his size should move like he does, he flies off the ball, stays low, and shocks blockers with a strong punch and bends the corner as if he was 30 lbs lighter. a wrecking ball against the run, doesnt look as lost as you would expect when dropping into zone, and can play very well standing up or in a 3point. he needs work on his hands, but hes a smart kid and very passionate about the game, i think he has a desire to be great, i wouldnt ignore his final year at clemson and call him a one year wonder, i think it was just the start of something great. where ever he goes i predict that he hits double digit sacks by year 2 and hits all pro status before his rookie deal expires. 

 

now that thats out of the way, lets get on with the mock as the ravens are slotted right now.. 

1. LA Rams - Jared Goff, QB. 

i think the rams want to compete right now, and i think the fanfare of Goff is too tempting for them. i personally prefer wentz, but i think the Rams may see a more pro ready product here when looking at the level of competition. 

2. Cleveland Browns - Carson Wentz, QB. 

not buying that they prefer goff, i feel that hue jackson, being a former AFCN guy, knows you need a prototype of a qb for this division, and wentz is that prototype. hue was a qb whisperer for us, he brought joe along very quickly and we threw him into the fire with success, i think hue believes he can do the same with the very cerebral and big armed qb from NDSU. 

3. San Diego Chargers - Laremy Tunsil, OT. 

i just cant see them passing on tunsil as bad as their OL is. they LOVE ramsey and jack, but i just cant see it. Rivers would burn their team headquarters to the ground before goodell could finish naming the players position and college if they picked a defender over tunsil here. 

4. Dallas Cowboys - Jalen Ramsey, DB. 

jerry gets his guy, and our guy... again.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars - Myles Jack, LB. 

very popular projection here and i dont see why it wont happen, he is exactly what gus bradley wants from his MIKE. he gets his new bobby wagner if bobby wagner was also derrick brooks. Jack, health willing, will be the greatest LB of this generation, i believe. 

6. Baltimore Ravens - 

Joey Bosa, DE. 

we get the guy that we very well may have wanted all along. its been a roller coaster ride through the pre-draft, and it looked like there was very little chance of this happening, but if 2 qb's go before 6 then it very well could. Bosa is not some pure 4-3DE, the kid is a football player. i also dont buy any of the talk about character concerns, after his suspension, long ago, he moved completely away from the party scene to focus on football and school, obviously hes not looking for trouble and hes committed. he has the respect of his coaches and teammates, plays unselfish, gladly takes on double and triple teams to free up others, and still makes splash plays. will he ever become a true OLB who drops into coverage and all that? its possible he doesnt, but i know what he WILL be, a terror in the backfield, whether hes coming off the edge as a OLB, or if he plays a 3/5tech hybrid and gets to bully guards into the backfield and let the edge rushers run free. i know for sure that our nickel package will be feared and he will play in his most natural role there and be let loose. he dominates against the run, he does very well getting into the pocket, and he makes splash plays and he plays very smart and is team oriented with a high motor. i think hes a pretty ideal pick here. 

Round 2: 

 

Su'a Cravens, LB/S Hyrbid. 

ive liked cravens for a while now, but i didnt think the ravens thought too highly of him, until i did some digging and saw countless links of reports saying that the ravens "love" su'a cravens, and this has me excited, let me break down why he is so perfect for us... first off, we need speed in our front seven, we need coverage from our 2nd ILB, and we need a safety with great size, physicality, and reach to handle the stud TE's of the AFC north, cravens brings all of this in one package and he can do all of this at the same time! its not like we need to draft a LB and a safety to fill daryl smiths spot and to shore up the future of the safety position, we can draft one guy who does all of this. he isnt big enough to play as a true ILB, but luckily he wont be asked to, our front seven will be just fine stopping the run, and Cravens can play off the ball like a safety, but covers more ground than a linebacker, has great anticipation and gets to the ball in a hurry and pursues with authority, he doesnt have to be a ILB to make ILB plays from the safety position. we no longer need a 2nd ILB with this guy, we instead, have our linemen, our edge rushers/OLBs, mosley, and 3 safeties, our 2 true safeties are extremely smart and instinctive in coverage, but they cant make plays if they are forced to man cover TE's up the seam and getting out-manned, in comes cravens, who shuts down TE's, shuts down the seam in general, strikes fear into the heart of any slot guy or rb going for a dump-off, and this allows for freedome and a lot of flexibility from the webble tandem to make plays and grab int's. oh, and playing a heavy blitzing and man coverage role he had 9 ints in his 3 year career at USC, and is a pretty outstanding athlete for a man of his smarts and size, so thats cool. Cravens would be the most feared man in the AFCNorth after teams see what he does to their stud TE's, qb's would have nowhere to go except for the sideline where jimmy smith waits on one side, better hope your WR beats shareece wright every time you drop back... 

 

Round 3: 

 

Charles Tapper, DE. 

at 6'4" 270 this Baltimore native and ravens fan is an imposing figure, he has fantastic length, something our front seven sort of lacks, but the most impressive thing here is this kids strength to explosion ratio, i mean good god is it impressive.. im sure youve all seen the gif of him chasing amari cooper way downfield and making the tackle in a footrace. he ran a 4.59 at the combine, has a great get-off, and has great strength to really make a name for himself one day under the right coaching. i think trimming down 5-10 lbs would make this kid even faster and i dont think he loses much strength as a result. after adding bosa, we do a lot for our edge rush, but what we really lack there is speed and burst, tapper brings that in bunches, he needs work, if he wasnt raw he would be a first rounder, but i think we have the coaches and the environment to get the absolute most from this kid, he will lay his heart on the field playing for the team he grew up roooting for and once those physical skills meet up with a good bit of refinement, look out. 

 

Round 4: 

 

Aaron Burbridge, WR. 

this kids a quality WR at the next level, criminally underrated. good hands, good size, great routes, and enough athleticism to get the job done and then some. a bit like a jarvis landry/jordan matthews type of guy, he will get open, make tough catches, but isnt blowing anyones minds with jaw dropping speed or explosion, but he makes himself available and he is dependable, extremely tough, topped all wr's in the benchpress and plays like the type of guy who would. hes commonly projected in the 4th, with perriman and wallace this guy is a great complement.

Sebastian Tretola, G. 

he is a massive man and a nasty s-o-b in the middle. he doesnt quit on blocks and blows guys off the ball right off the snap and gets to the 2nd level, he isnt the most athletic guy, but our ZBS implemented a lot of inside zone last year, which is where this guy will excel, and with the removal of chop blocking i think the stretch zone becomes difficult to run consistently and we use more inside zone and thus get a guy who will help us with that. if zuttah gets hurt again or if he ends up a cap casulty in the future, then jensen likely becomes our future C and this guy would compete with Urschel to start at LG and i think this guy would win. as many outlets will report, his weight and conditioning is an issue but he isnt lazy, just has a lot of fat in the midsection. this is how ozzie keeps important position groups constantly restocked, by looking into the future and getting guys who can make a niche in this league and when the time comes that guy is ready to step up and contribute. ozzie does this best in the trenches. 

Caleb Benenoch, OT. 

a project athlete with the prototype frame. he looks the part of a LT with big long arms, broad shoulders, tree trunk legs and a thick and solid midsection, and has desirable measurables. quick drop back in pass protection, quick off the ball against the run, but plays tentative, lacks the "authority" you wanna see from a LT, uses his reach well to shield off edge rushers and is able to give up a lot of room on the outside shoulder and still keep hands on the rusher enough to push him behind the pocket. coaching and confidence is key with this guy, castillo is the best "teacher of the game" in football i believe, and we could have ourselves a gem here. 

 

Possibilities in round 6 and onward... 

i dont know where these guys will get drafted, but IF they are available, james cowser, victor ochi, maurice canady, tyler johnstone, cyrus jones, denver kirkland, paul perkins, anthony zettel, and max tuerk all are in heavy consideration, these are guys who have no consensus stock but the consensus does seem to be that they are late selections, i would take any of them in the 6th round as a pure value pick.  

 

we go ALL OUT to rebuild our defense here, cb depth would be nice but the value isnt right early on and in the 3rd we could maybe take an xavien howard or something but im personally not a fan, and thats even if hes there, and the hometown connection and stupid upside of Tapper is more appealing than any 3rd round cb who looks to offer very little to begin with. kevon seymour in the early 4th and kevin peterson in the late 4th are guys id be ok with, but i think our secondary will be a lot better than people expect in 2016, adding this much to the edge rush and then adding a guy like Cravens who can help to eliminate an often targeted area for us will make the cb's look much better, as will the intelligent play of our new safety tandem instead of bonehead miscues from hill and lewis. 

 

Barring any massive trades between 5 and 2 this will be my final mock. i tried to keep it as realistic as possible without involving trades.

 

 

 

[ALPHA]

It's terrible YOU SUCK

 

No I'm joking I like all picks except Tapper, big fan of Tretola too. Paul Perkins is a beast you should slot him in there.

[JoeyFlex5]

4 minutes ago, ALPHA said:

It's terrible YOU SUCK

 

No I'm joking I like all picks except Tapper, big fan of Tretola too. Paul Perkins is a beast you should slot him in there.

Tapper was a potential pick. Low floor but enormous ceiling that is worth a 3rd round pick I believe, especially with the ravens, I think he would flourish after 2 years of coaching from us, if mcphee developed into what he did under our coaching then I think tapper could be even better.

 

And i listed Perkins in my 6th and later section, if he's there in the 6th I like him a lot but I like my 4th round selections more lol

[Jacquouille]

Things you forgot:

Su'a Cravens can set the edge extremely well for a guy his size, and is a decent pass rusher if Pees wants to make him blitz.

One word I think define Burbridge and I haven't seen here is body control. Whether it's to go up and get the ball, or run in between the tackles, he's got that.

 

Obviously I love it, the first two picks are personnal favourites, Burbridge is a guy I've liked from day one, and depth in the OL is very helpful. 

[JoeyFlex5]

13 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

Things you forgot:

Su'a Cravens can set the edge extremely well for a guy his size, and is a decent pass rusher if Pees wants to make him blitz.

One word I think define Burbridge and I haven't seen here is body control. Whether it's to go up and get the ball, or run in between the tackles, he's got that.

 

Obviously I love it, the first two picks are personnal favourites, Burbridge is a guy I've liked from day one, and depth in the OL is very helpful. 

Hopefully cravens won't need to do much of that. Id rather see him making plays on the passing game which is something that comes natural to him, I think he is unfairly pigeonholed as just a thumper safety who lines up at LB but in reality he is a legit cover safety who can thump with the best of em. And yea i didn't go in depth on Burbridge but I see a lot of Jarvis Landry in him and that includes tough catches to bail out the qb

[Jacquouille]

4 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Hopefully cravens won't need to do much of that. Id rather see him making plays on the passing game which is something that comes natural to him, I think he is unfairly pigeonholed as just a thumper safety who lines up at LB but in reality he is a legit cover safety who can thump with the best of em. And yea i didn't go in depth on Burbridge but I see a lot of Jarvis Landry in him and that includes tough catches to bail out the qb

I see Cravens more as a LB that will both cover and blitz while CJ worries about the run, than a safety. And with Upshaw gone, it could be extremely helpful to line him up as an OLB on some downs, or in the box as a safety and let him blitz, because Pees does a lot of DB Blitzes and Cravens is taylor made for that if you want to put him in the DB category.

[ALPHA]

1 hour ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Tapper was a potential pick. Low floor but enormous ceiling that is worth a 3rd round pick I believe, especially with the ravens, I think he would flourish after 2 years of coaching from us, if mcphee developed into what he did under our coaching then I think tapper could be even better.

 

And i listed Perkins in my 6th and later section, if he's there in the 6th I like him a lot but I like my 4th round selections more lol

Fair enough, I don't mind Burbidge but I think he has an injury history and we already have a gimpy slot guy. As for Tapper the closest comparison is Adalius Thomas, they're near identical as prospects but it's a lot to put together likely too much imo

[GrimCoconut]

I like this draft. I think Tapper could be that Crockett Gillmore head scratcher of a pick that looks good later. No CB early means no good, though. But I do get why.

[JoeyFlex5]

1 minute ago, GrimCoconut said:

I like this draft. I think Tapper could be that Crockett Gillmore head scratcher of a pick that looks good later. No CB early means no good, though. But I do get why.

Fwiw.. Some think fuller is an early 2nd, some think he can go 3rd, if he is there in the 3rd then we sprint to the podium. Maybe even trade up if he's there in the low 60s

[Somerset Ravens]

I really like this draft. It puts some much needed life into our front seven. Tretola is a beast, I hope he will be there in the fourth round. Benenoch would be an upgrade over Hurst.

[ALPHA]

11 minutes ago, Somerset Ravens said:

I really like this draft. It puts some much needed life into our front seven. Tretola is a beast, I hope he will be there in the fourth round. Benenoch would be an upgrade over Hurst.

Any tackle in this draft is better than Hurst. ANY.

[Jacquouille]

After watching some Tapper tape, I agree that he needs to slim down a bit to gain some body control and fluidity. The kid is very very raw, but I have to admit his bullrush is something. He's explosive and he knows how to translate it into power. He plays too high sometimes, but I can see the McPhee comp.

[JoeyFlex5]

1 hour ago, Jacquouille said:

After watching some Tapper tape, I agree that he needs to slim down a bit to gain some body control and fluidity. The kid is very very raw, but I have to admit his bullrush is something. He's explosive and he knows how to translate it into power. He plays too high sometimes, but I can see the McPhee comp.

Yeah I feel like everything I say about tapper I said about mcphee also. Heavy handed as hell, great get-off, straight line athlete but plays explosive and violent, great speed to power, with mcphee I thought he could go both ways and either pack on muscle to play DE or slim down to play OLB and he did both well, I thought the same of tapper but I think his frame is near maxed out because he's borderline musclebound, also his explosiveness would be wasted on the interior I think, so slimming down and working on flexibility could pay huge dividends for him by year 3. 

 

If you watch mcphee as a rookie(i know you're from France so idk if you were a ravens fan back in 2011 or 12 whenever we drafted him) you'll see the similarities even more. Mcphee turned out to be a very agile and fluid player but he didn't start out like that.

Edited April 16, 2016 by JoeyFlex5

[usmccharles]

I'm digging it.   Not a huge fan of Bosa but I do think he can make a difference. As I've stated a couple times recently,  I love Cravens. Love the potential of Tapper.   Burbridge as well is a good pick in my opinion,  would be very happy.  

Would like to see jakeem grant here,  but have no clue where he will be drafted.   

[Jacquouille]

2 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Yeah I feel like everything I say about tapper I said about mcphee also. Heavy handed as hell, great get-off, straight line athlete but plays explosive and violent, great speed to power, with mcphee I thought he could go both ways and either pack on muscle to play DE or slim down to play OLB and he did both well, I thought the same of tapper but I think his frame is near maxed out because he's borderline musclebound, also his explosiveness would be wasted on the interior I think, so slimming down and working on flexibility could pay huge dividends for him by year 3. 

 

If you watch mcphee as a rookie(i know you're from France so idk if you were a ravens fan back in 2011 or 12 whenever we drafted him) you'll see the similarities even more. Mcphee turned out to be a very agile and fluid player but he didn't start out like that.

As of now, DE might be his best spot. He's quite horrible at bending the edge (although he sets it pretty well against the run, thank you long arms). I agree that he could be a good OLB if he slims down and works on his flexibility as you said, but if he wants to see the field in his first year I'd rather have him lose a bit of fat and rotate with Urban, Guy and Davis... Oh and KPL, and maybe ZDS. Okay, not many opportunities.

 

Nope, my very first game watched was the Wild Card against the Steelers last year, so I don't know what McPhee was like at the time, but I'm taking ZDS and the small sample I've seen from McPhee here and there as a reference.

[KBoum]

Great job I would be happy with this draft.

If you add a guy who can play corner somewhere I'm all in

[Wildabeast88]

I like it overall. I'm not totally sold on Cravens I know he's a solid player in college but I wonder if in the NFL he is going to be able to be successful. Also the fact he told teams he isn't working out for anyone didn't sit well with me

[JoeyFlex5]

8 hours ago, Wildabeast88 said:

I like it overall. I'm not totally sold on Cravens I know he's a solid player in college but I wonder if in the NFL he is going to be able to be successful. Also the fact he told teams he isn't working out for anyone didn't sit well with me

I just have to ask what you think will hold him back at the next level? I haven't seen much indication that he is a college only player. Everybody who has ever worked with him says something similar, that the kid is just a football player, he's very smart, tough, everything about the game comes natural to him, he's a very good athlete and he does everything at a high level. I honestly see no weaknesses in his game

[Mt. Crushmore]

I'm a huge Cravens fan

[usmccharles]

2 minutes ago, Mt. Crushmore said:

I'm a huge Cravens fan

Me too.  Him and ngakoue I really want 

[Wildabeast88]

3 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I just have to ask what you think will hold him back at the next level? I haven't seen much indication that he is a college only player. Everybody who has ever worked with him says something similar, that the kid is just a football player, he's very smart, tough, everything about the game comes natural to him, he's a very good athlete and he does everything at a high level. I honestly see no weaknesses in his game

I get the vibe with the weight being in the 230's I just feel like this is Arthur Brown all over again. Several tems were torn is he a S or a LB and the not doing individual workouts to let teams get a better look worries me a bit. I get the workouts could help or hurt its more a gut feeling than the tape but the weight is my biggest reservation.

[JoeyFlex5]

14 minutes ago, Wildabeast88 said:

I get the vibe with the weight being in the 230's I just feel like this is Arthur Brown all over again. Several tems were torn is he a S or a LB and the not doing individual workouts to let teams get a better look worries me a bit. I get the workouts could help or hurt its more a gut feeling than the tape but the weight is my biggest reservation.

Totally different situation. Brown didn't bust because he is undersized, he was a bust because he isn't on an NFL level mentally and he doesn't have passion for the game and seemingly doesn't care whether he fails or not. There shouldn't be an issue anymore about whether a guy is a SS or a LB, football is far past that point, he is neither, he is a hybrid, he has safety coverage skills and is as physical as a LB with better closing speed than most of them, he plays farther off the ball than a linebacker because he can cover the ground faster when needed. We shouldnt have to worry about what position He's labeled as, he's gonna be a starter and he's gonna be assigned a role that will do a lot for our defense, which would be a 3rd safety who plays close and blitzes and lays the wood against crossing routes and covers the seam against big guys. 

[RavensDieHard21]

I would love it. Boss is an immediate factor, Cravens brings speed, ball skills, attitude, and coverage skills, Tapper might be raw, but you can see the potential. Unless there was a safer prospect there, I'd have no problem taking him. I think too that we might miss the CB frenzy, especially since we might be reaching on prospects left. We will see. I just love Cravens and Bosa's versatility 

[trevorsteadman]

This is one of my favorite mocks so far. Bosa is the next Suggs. I see him not at a JJ Watt level like people compare him to on NFL.com which is stupid, I compare him to Suggs because he powers and uses his hands on the edge. People say Bosa isn't fast but he is fast enough for an OLB and he is decent at dropping back into coverage. He may need to come out strong as well with Suggs coming back from an injury. Especially when Suggs is also notorious for coming into training overweight. I hope he has worked on that. Cravens is a great 2nd round pick and will fit perfectly next to Mosley I think at inside linebacker. 

[JoeyFlex5]

7 hours ago, RavensDieHard21 said:

I would love it. Boss is an immediate factor, Cravens brings speed, ball skills, attitude, and coverage skills, Tapper might be raw, but you can see the potential. Unless there was a safer prospect there, I'd have no problem taking him. I think too that we might miss the CB frenzy, especially since we might be reaching on prospects left. We will see. I just love Cravens and Bosa's versatility 

The tapper pick was a lot to do with Ozzies recent history, drafting tray walker(r.i.p), Carl davis, Terrence brooks, Brandon williams, and even further back lardarius webb. Ozzie has shown that he is not afraid of taking a 3rd or 4th round flier on a guy who needs work if he thinks they have a high enough ceiling and are strong character guys. I think tapper fits that mold and the pick is the most likely in the first 4 rounds that I would change out, but it just feels like something Ozzie would do.

[Jacquouille]

Maybe Tapper can be picked with our 4th and we could take Shon Coleman with our 3rd. That would be great.

[JoeyFlex5]

4 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

Maybe Tapper can be picked with our 4th and we could take Shon Coleman with our 3rd. That would be great.

I kinda like benenoch under Castillo more than Coleman. Castillo instills a fire in his players and that would go a long way for benenoch since he plays tentative. I think if he gains confidence from some great coaching then he will become an elite pass protector. He may never be more than an anchor against the run but in the end of the 4th a future pass protecting lt is a great steal.

[Jacquouille]

15 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I kinda like benenoch under Castillo more than Coleman. Castillo instills a fire in his players and that would go a long way for benenoch since he plays tentative. I think if he gains confidence from some great coaching then he will become an elite pass protector. He may never be more than an anchor against the run but in the end of the 4th a future pass protecting lt is a great steal.

Kay, I already stated that OL is the one position I don't watch, so I'll let you decide on that. As for the CB depth, I'd love Kallan Reed in the 4th (although I do like Burbridge, Reed is the better player imo).

[GrimCoconut]

2 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

The tapper pick was a lot to do with Ozzies recent history, drafting tray walker(r.i.p), Carl davis, Terrence brooks, Brandon williams, and even further back lardarius webb. Ozzie has shown that he is not afraid of taking a 3rd or 4th round flier on a guy who needs work if he thinks they have a high enough ceiling and are strong character guys. I think tapper fits that mold and the pick is the most likely in the first 4 rounds that I would change out, but it just feels like something Ozzie would do.

Don't forget Crockett Gillmore. I agree that Tapper seems like that guy Ozzie takes earlier than you expect him to take a guy and he either works out or becomes a bust. 

[Jacquouille]

20 minutes ago, GrimCoconut said:

Don't forget Crockett Gillmore. I agree that Tapper seems like that guy Ozzie takes earlier than you expect him to take a guy and he either works out or becomes a bust. 

If anything, Tapper has very few chances of becoming a bust. Cullen will make him work a ton.