Another Mock Draft, because you know you love it too

[Jacquouille]

Ok, I guessed we're going to pick between 10 and 15. Here goes:

 

1) TRADE DOWN, a team like Arizona could want a QB, or a flashy player like Peppers falling could help us set it up. I'm not really a pro in this so I'll guess we give our comp 3rd for the other team's second. Don't hesitate to correct me if I'm dead wrong.

Choice: Desmond King, CB Iowa

Anywhere I read some mocks, I see him going in the back end of the first and I never understand why. When a guy checks all the boxes in terms of technic, versatility, agressiveness, football IQ, physical tools, and those freaking ball skills, how can analysts not consider him even top15 I'll never know. Maybe teams will. For now, I'll believe he'll be there and I'm all good with that. Pair him with Jimmy and Tavon and look at that secondary. My goodness we could be scary.

 

2-a) Ethan Pocic, C LSU

 

He's been the forgotten man the last few weeks, but going back to the tape, he's too good to be left out. He's extremely powerful (Zuttah asking what powerful means), can apparently play several positions, has the smarts of an NFL Center, plays to the whistle and I don't think his height will be a problem. Centers are usually big anyway, and he is able to maintain a proper leverage to make up for it. My only concern is that he may lack some mean streak, a little bit more nastiness would be nice. Anyway, him Yanda and Jensen would give us an All Ginger interior OL, but on a more serious note he could change our offense.

 

2-b) Ryan Anderson, OLB Alabama

I really loved the small sample I saw from him. I think he can be a legitimate successor to Sizzle. He's got the nastiness, the agressivity and the physicality that you want in a Raven. He can win with his hands, with his speed, with his bend, with his bullrush. If you get a rookie that can do all that in the second round, you win. 

 

3) Buck Hodges, TE Virginia Tech

 Sorry couldn't put another picture due to size I guess. Anyway, watching Joe play this year I felt he badly needed a guy to throw to when under pressure. You know Joe loves to throw some big ol' sausages in the air and hope his guy will go up and get it no matter what, like he did with Anquan. Joe just needs a guy that can win 50/50 as much as he needs his deep threats, and right now there isn't a guy in our team tha can go up in the air and get it. Hodges is the answer. He's tall, fast, athletic and he has amazing hands. Bonus: he's also a great blocker in space. I think having a guy like that would be tremendous help for this offense.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by Jacquouille

[Cillmatic]

Reason King isn't seen as a top prospect is because of his size and there's a perceived speed problem. 

[ravensnation5220]

Ya im not sure how good kings long speed is. I doubt he'll run sub 4.5 he also hasnt had the ball production like he had last year. He only has one pick so far and i dont know the completion % of when qbs target him. Overall hes been quiet this year maybe becuase iowa isnt as good. All he needs are a few more picks and a good bowl gane and senior bowl and then i think he goes top 20. As long as he runs well enough at the combine

 

Other than that i love the picks. I really like pocic. Hes really good at getting to the second level and making blocks as well as pulling from the center position. Hes really tall so he has pad level issues and can easily get bull rushed which doesnt bode well for flacco. Thats my biggest knock on him

Edited November 1, 2016 by ravensnation5220

[hn68wb4]

I'll be honest with you, I'm not really feeling this mock man.

I don't mind trading back in the first if none of our perceived "blue chip" players are available. It's a deep class in what we need so trading back and collecting early picks I think is definitely in the cards. That being said I think it's pretty much impossible to say whether the trade itself makes sense without knowing where the Cardinals pick is, when it comes to the first round the pick values sway considerably from top to bottom. I like King as a player, he checks out on tape but the concerns are definitely still there. 

I don't like Pocic at all, everytime I put on his tape I am thoroughly underwhelmed compared to a guy like Pat Elflein. And he's 6'7", there's a reason most interior lineman aren't that tall, getting in and out of that stance could be trouble at the NFL level when interior dlinemen come off the snap fast and low. Basically, in my opinion, there's a higher likelihood of him struggling in the NFL compared to some of the other top guys at the position.

I like Anderson, he's seems like a great player. If he's there in the second then I wouldn't mind taking him.

Lastly, I really don't think we're taking another TE. We have so many young guys there at the moment I don't see why we'd use another relatively high pick on him regardless of his physical abilities.

Edited November 1, 2016 by hn68wb4

[443hurricane]

1 hour ago, hn68wb4 said:

I'll be honest with you, I'm not really feeling this mock man.

I don't mind trading back in the first if none of our perceived "blue chip" players are available. It's a deep class in what we need so trading back and collecting early picks I think is definitely in the cards. That being said I think it's pretty much impossible to say whether the trade itself makes sense without know where the Cardinals pick is, when it comes to the first round the pick values sway considerable from top to bottom. I like King as a player, he checks out on tape but the concerns are definitely still there. 

I don't like Pocic at all, everytime I put on his tape I am thoroughly underwhelmed compared to a guy like Pat Elflein. And he's 6'7", there a reason most interior lineman aren't that tall, getting in and out of that stance could be trouble at the NFL level when interior dlinemen come off the snap fast and low. Basically in my opinion I think there's a higher likelihood of him struggling in the NFL compared to some of the other top guys.

I like Anderson, he's seems like a great player. If he's there in the second then I wouldn't mind taking him.

Lastly, I really don't think we're taking another TE. We have so many young guys there at the moment I don't see why we'd use another relatively high pick on when regardless of his physical abilities.

Exactly..

[Jacquouille]

8 hours ago, hn68wb4 said:

I don't mind trading back in the first if none of our perceived "blue chip" players are available. It's a deep class in what we need so trading back and collecting early picks I think is definitely in the cards. That being said I think it's pretty much impossible to say whether the trade itself makes sense without knowing where the Cardinals pick is, when it comes to the first round the pick values sway considerably from top to bottom. I like King as a player, he checks out on tape but the concerns are definitely still there. 

Nah, I'm not trying to predict anything but I truly believe teams are gonna fall in love with some prospects and be ready to trade up for them, like the Bears did for Floyd.

8 hours ago, hn68wb4 said:

I don't like Pocic at all, everytime I put on his tape I am thoroughly underwhelmed compared to a guy like Pat Elflein. And he's 6'7", there's a reason most interior lineman aren't that tall, getting in and out of that stance could be trouble at the NFL level when interior dlinemen come off the snap fast and low. Basically, in my opinion, there's a higher likelihood of him struggling in the NFL compared to some of the other top guys at the position.

Lastly, I really don't think we're taking another TE. We have so many young guys there at the moment I don't see why we'd use another relatively high pick on him regardless of his physical abilities.

First, I don't believe Elflein will be there in the 2nd, otherwise yes I would have chosen him. But I still like Pocic a lot, he has more power to him than Elflein and his leverage and upper body strength makes up for his height. Anyway, if he ends up here, he'll have to face Michael Pierce, who's potentially the worst leverage matchup in the league, in training. So I believe he'll overcome it.

 

As for our TE, Crockett is majorly a blocker, Pitta is good at getting separation but I have yet to see him snatch a jump ball in the air, Maxx is a ghost, and Watson won't be here for long. It's more than physical abilities, it's the ability to bail out Joe when he throws off his back foot.

[rmw10]

I'm not majorly into the draft yet this year, but I honestly feel like this mock was just a way to get in all of the names that have been posted around here quite a bit.  Although I haven't posted much, I have been reading, and a lot of these names have been posted ad nauseum.

Otherwise, I'm just not a fan.  I view King as a S at the next level, which is fine if that's what you want.  If you want a CB, I think there are quite a few better options.  There are some things I like about Pocic and things I hate.  His height really limits him as a C, I believe.  Anderson is the pick I like best, but I'm not sold on him.  Hodges is a nice player but we have too many TEs as it is.

[January J]

3 hours ago, rmw10 said:

Hodges is a nice player but we have too many TEs as it is.

Not exactly. Who knows what happens with Watson and Pitta next year. They both could be gone from what I'm hearing. Only sure things are Maxx and crock- Boyle is a wildcard and so is Waller really. I guess your right in a sense but weve seen  how  quickly you can go from being stacked at a position to being depleted. That's not saying I think we should take Hodges either but if he's the BPA then hey.

[rmw10]

1 minute ago, January J said:

Not exactly. Who knows what happens with Watson and Pitta next year. They both could be gone from what I'm hearing. Only sure things are Maxx and crock- Boyle is a wildcard and so is Waller really. I guess your right in a sense but weve seen  how  quickly you can go from being stacked at a position to being depleted. That's not saying I think we should take Hodges either but if he's the BPA then hey.

I could agree with not exactly, but I wouldn't be taking a TE unless it's truly a crime that a guy is still available.  Although there are definitely some question marks, you still have Gillmore, Williams, Waller, and Boyle, and it's been stated how much they like both Waller and Boyle.

[Jacquouille]

7 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

I could agree with not exactly, but I wouldn't be taking a TE unless it's truly a crime that a guy is still available.  Although there are definitely some question marks, you still have Gillmore, Williams, Waller, and Boyle, and it's been stated how much they like both Waller and Boyle.

Let's say I want a tall receiver that can go up and get it, and bail Joe out. I think there's isn't a better player at doing that than Hodges.

[January J]

4 minutes ago, rmw10 said:

I could agree with not exactly, but I wouldn't be taking a TE unless it's truly a crime that a guy is still available.  Although there are definitely some question marks, you still have Gillmore, Williams, Waller, and Boyle, and it's been stated how much they like both Waller and Boyle.

Yeah its definitely not up there on the list of priorities. And Im sure Hodges isn't going to make us change our mind. I'm still interested to see what happens with Boyle. Gonna be real interesting seeing how they move forward given the situation. An injury would make it a no brainer- but right now its pitta- Crockett and waller. (And juice depending how you look at it) So we would either have to carry a 4th and give up a spot elsewhere or value him over Waller which I'm not sure about consdering wallers ST contributions.

[rmw10]

34 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

Let's say I want a tall receiver that can go up and get it, and bail Joe out. I think there's isn't a better player at doing that than Hodges.

I can see your point, but I'm no longer one that sees too much value in hitting the same position over and over again unless the value of the player is just insane.  I think the back to back years of hitting ILB, S, and DL (3 years in a row) in the first 3 rounds killed us.  That left a lot of holes open that we're still trying to fill.  I think the whole BPA thing has become somewhat antiquated, to be honest.  It's not as simple as just paying a FA to fill a hole anymore, with the way contracts are today.

[BmoreBird22]

1 hour ago, Jacquouille said:

Let's say I want a tall receiver that can go up and get it, and bail Joe out. I think there's isn't a better player at doing that than Hodges.

I think a lot of people are going to get caught up in the label of TE again, but his utilization in Blacksburg is a lot like that of Jimmy Graham. He's not inline, at all, this year, usually flexing out wide.

He's pretty much an oversized receiver with a little less speed. 

If he were brought in here, he'd be a "TE", but only by label. His usage would be vastly different than that of Crockett or Williams, both of whom I feel do their best work inline. 

I think it was Lance Kendricks a few years ago that argued for the WR franchise tag because he was flexed out more than he was used as a "TE" and that's what you're going to get with Hodges. He'll probably split out for just about all of his snaps and just be a weapon for a team that needs a big vertical threat that can go up and get it.

[PurpleCity5]

Not feeling it either. I like King but he would have to be a safety here. I think we'll need a safety next year with Webb's impending exit. 

I've fallen out with Pocic as well, I just think his size is going to be a problem. You would like your Cs to be in that 6-2 through 6-4 range. 6'5 is pushing it but the thing is that Center is a position where the lowest man wins. In that sense, it will be questionable how Pocic can get low and win against next level DLs. I think his ability to get low will decide just how effective we would be on QB sneaks and runs up the gut. 

[hn68wb4]

7 hours ago, Jacquouille said:

Nah, I'm not trying to predict anything but I truly believe teams are gonna fall in love with some prospects and be ready to trade up for them, like the Bears did for Floyd.

First, I don't believe Elflein will be there in the 2nd, otherwise yes I would have chosen him. But I still like Pocic a lot, he has more power to him than Elflein and his leverage and upper body strength makes up for his height. Anyway, if he ends up here, he'll have to face Michael Pierce, who's potentially the worst leverage matchup in the league, in training. So I believe he'll overcome it.

As for our TE, Crockett is majorly a blocker, Pitta is good at getting separation but I have yet to see him snatch a jump ball in the air, Maxx is a ghost, and Watson won't be here for long. It's more than physical abilities, it's the ability to bail out Joe when he throws off his back foot.

I was just saying because you asked if that trade was fair, you can't say without knowing how far back we're trading. Of course teams are going to love some guy and want to move up, but there's a huge difference between moving back a couple spots in the first and moving back all the way into the 20s.