JJ's Post combine mock

[January J]

This will be my last mock until right before the draft. Can't get here soon enough.

In the first I think Cook will make it to us at 16 - putting us in perfect position to trade back with another team targeting him. If two teams get into a bidding war for him I think best case scenario we come away with a haul of an extra 2nd and 4th by jumping back 5 or 6 spots. My guess is those 2 teams will be the lions and giants - who are both RB needy teams & we either move to 21 or 23  depending on who coughs up the most.

1) JABRILL PEPPERS- I soured on him big time for a while..but he has been growing on me once again and I'm coming back around to the idea of pairing him with weddle. The 3 major reasons I see us going this route are :

A. The harbaugh connection- we will have the best in depth knowledge on not only his play but his attitude and character. If Jim signs off on him and thinks he can become something special- you have to imagine john will take his advice. obviously it could go the other way too and jim could say he doesn't have it- in which case we will either take Dan Feeney or John Ross.

 B. He can also play LB and multiple other positions. Always good to have a versatile player who can move around in a pinch.  

C. He will solidify our KR/PR position that has been hampering us for years since the decline and departure of JJ.  He will provide that playmaking potential that will give our offense a spark by getting us good feild position and also taking a few to the house. Feild position is key- and with a great returner and the best kicker in the league we could come away with atleast  3 points on several drives that would've resulted in punts.

 

2) TJ WATT - this guy is severely under-rated and I'm not sure why he's not talked about more. Getting some  younger pass rushers to backup Suggs is essential. In the future him and Judon will become our new Doom and Suggs. We may have to move up a few spots to get him - in which case I don't think we would hesitate to part ways with our now trade-able 3rd round comp pick.

2) COOPER KUPP - no explanation needed. If he's there we rush to the podium. We need to get  younger at WR and find that shifty slot/possesion receiver to move the chains in the absence of SSS. this guy will do that and then some.

3) RASUL DOUGLAS -  thought about going Kazee here who's ball skills are top notch but I think we need to get taller on defense..Douglas is 6'2 and he also is no slouch when it comes to ball skills in which he led the nation with 8 interceptions. Pair him with Jimmy and you got 2 towers on the outside with the rookie sensation Tavon young in the slot. Sidney Jones is intriguing in the first- but he may be gone by 16 and getting an extra 2nd round pick is too hard to pass up. We will get much better value by taking Douglas or Kazee here.

3) (comp) ISAAC ASIATA- this guy is strong as hell and he proved  at the combine by leading all lineman with 35 bench press reps. He played some tackle in college - but he's best suited at guard. Wagner looks to be on the way out- and I think we may attempt to move Alex Lewis around a bit and potentially fulfilling that void- so Asiata could be our LG. either way he will be great depth. I wanted to take a center early - but I've got a little hunch we go after the former jet and pro bowl center Nick Mangold. *Note- if another one of the top corners is still there at this point such as Kazee or King don't think we won't hesitate to double dip at CB back to back.

4) TAYLOR MOTON -  at RT he does everything well - pass blocking and run blocking. Would be a steal in the 5th round. Hopefully he could be a late round gem that becomes a starter- and could be a potential replacement for Wagner- but once again either way he provides great depth as bolstering our o- line this season is essential.  Double dipping at OL is very probable. Thought about Damien Mama here but we don't need another guard after Asiata and there are many concerns about his play.

5) CARROLL PHILLIPS-  he falls due to character concerns and we take a chance snatching him up and double dipping at pass rusher.

6) DONNEL PUMPHREY - if he falls this far you can bet we won't hesitate to grab him. He's that potential playmaking RB Harbs is looking for and also gives another option for KR.  Word is we spent alot of time with him- so don't be surprised if he ends up in purple & black. Tyreek Cohen and Kareem Hunt are 2 other options to keep an eye on.

7) JEROD EVANS - the whole mock process is a real crap shoot but at this point its even more of a guessing game. However if we don't get a deal done with Mallet- a backup QB will be a very under rated need.  I like Mallet BC his skillset is similar to Joes- however I think he leaves to search for a starting gig or for more $$$$. We haven't had much luck with veteran backups- and wasting cap space on someone who may not see the feild anyway is not the route I'd like to see us go unless its definitely worth it. Evans is a solid qb who put up good numbers and flashed potential. We had luck with Tyrod from VT ..and I'm also a Virginia kid so I'm biased a bit. I think he'd be a good fit here.

Review-

JABRILL PEPPERS - S/LB/PR 

TJ WATT - OLB

COOPER KUPP -WR

RASUL DOUGLAS - CB

ISAAC ASIATA - G

TAYLOR MOTON - RT

CARROLL PHILLIPS - OLB

DONNEL PUMPHREY - RB

JEROD EVANS - QB

 

Edited March 7 by January J

[lgcs27288]

Julius Peppers was a beast, but something is telling me he wont be available.

 

I like Kupp a lot, but very weary of Watt.

[RaineV1]

I'm still iffy on Peppers in the first. I think I'd rather trade back for a guy like Bubba Baker than to take Peppers at 16. i really like your rounds two, three and four though. I'd be very happy with those guys.

[rossihunter2]

btw it's jabrill not julius lol - julius is probably a bit old for the 2017 draft but in terms of picking him i think he's too "tweener" to be the pick at 16 unless pees bangs the table and says he has a plan to make this guy an all round game wrecker but given the kind of zone system we've consistently played and with the way that the emergence of zach orr completely negated any dime packages last year involving levine i dont see him as the kind of coordinator who would especially desire peppers on the team per se over a more orthodox safety or linebacker like budda baker or hasson reddick - both of whom probably are going in the 20s or end of the first - peppers' return skills are obviously a boon but they wont factor into any team taking him in the 1st because of how sparse special teams plays are and how you can often find returners later in the draft

i dont think you can get a 2nd round pick from a team to move up to the 16th spot if im honest, a third rounder might be had but i cant see us being offered a 2nd rounder especially with all the depth - and you say maybe because of a bid on running backs but the way christian mccaffrey and alvin kamara went about their combine drills etc. suggests that they could go in the 1st and maybe a team falls in love with joe mixon (despite the DV stuff which is why he's definitely not on the ravens board but the lions have outright said he's still on their board) - the depth of talent at the top in terms of rbs in the first couple of rounds suggests to me that there's no way you can get that high a pick from a team moving up - if anything it's more likely a team would trade with the redskins as well tbh because both them and us are seemingly unlikely to take a rb but the bucs would be the first real threats to take an rb in the 1st i think

and in terms of who you picked with that extra 2nd - the more i watch of cooper kupp the more i cant take my eyes off how bad the competition is - yes he outmuscles them and outleverages them but he doesnt dominate the way i kind of hope every time - he just isnt as good as he needs to be on tape for me - he certainly has some good traits but as much as he impressed in senior bowl practices i really dont see enough to take him in the 2nd although i realise that's maybe a controversial opinion

i hope taylor moton is around in the 4th but he's probably gone in the 3rd and there is absolutely no way he makes it to the 5th round but id definitely take him over carroll phillips

donnell pumphrey again i think you have him probably a round too late for where he'll actually go

and btw we don't have a 7th round pick

[RaineV1]

1 minute ago, rossihunter2 said:

i dont think you can get a 2nd round pick from a team to move up to the 16th spot if im honest

While I wouldn't bet on it, I do think its possible. There are teams that either just missed the playoffs or  got eliminated early that might give up a late 2nd round pick for a guy they think can get them over the hump. Cunningham, Ross, Lattimore, or one of the QBs could be seen as valuable enough for that kind of trade up.

[rossihunter2]

Just now, RaineV1 said:

While I wouldn't bet on it, I do think its possible. There are teams that either just missed the playoffs or  got eliminated early that might give up a late 2nd round pick for a guy they think can get them over the hump. Cunningham, Ross, Lattimore, or one of the QBs could be seen as valuable enough for that kind of trade up.

what i mean is why would they trade a 2nd to us? the teams right behind us look like better potential trade options for other teams and the draft is so stacked that i think someone like cunningham is a sure fire 2nd rounder at this point - this is also not a draft where i think many teams will be willing to give up a 2nd rounder simply because they can get a first round talent with that pick too in many cases - i think for us to get a 2nd we'd have to move back roughly 10 spots or so

[usmccharles]

Id be happy with it for the most part.  Not too informed on Peppers, but addressing that position I would be happy.  Watt I would really be happy with, I don't think he makes it to our second pick though

[redlobster]

Peppers has bust written all over him.

[trevorsteadman]

Just now, redlobster said:

Peppers has bust written all over him.

I disagree. It reminds me of Tyrann Matthieu's situation in college. A lot didn't believe he was big enough to play the position. Sometimes talent and ball skills make you change the view of the position the next 5 years. I think Peppers could be that guy to come in and blow off everyones' hats. I think he could be the pioneer for his position.

[jboy19]

1 minute ago, trevorsteadman said:

I disagree. It reminds me of Tyrann Matthieu's situation in college. A lot didn't believe he was big enough to play the position. Sometimes talent and ball skills make you change the view of the position the next 5 years. I think Peppers could be that guy to come in and blow off everyones' hats. I think he could be the pioneer for his position.

But Jabrill lacks size to play LB, coverage talent and ball skills 

[rossihunter2]

3 minutes ago, jboy19 said:

But Jabrill lacks size to play LB, coverage talent and ball skills 

for me its the ball skills that worry me most - tyron matthieu had loads of ints coming into the league whereas jabrill has just one - he looked good catching the ball at the combine but that was in a catching drill - im not sure if the int mentality is there - not sure he looks for the ball enough so that's why he might not work out as well as matthieu did - if he had loads of picks in college or got his hands to more passes id be more hyped about him

[January J]

I agree that peppers is very boom or bust. We may very well go a safer route if the right guy is there... But if the options are thin I think we roll the dice and hope he goes boom. 

 

Also forgot we didn't have a 7th round pick. Brain fart.

At some point we probably trade back and add one.

Edited March 7 by January J

[rossihunter2]

11 minutes ago, January J said:

I agree that peppers is very boom or bust. We may very well go a safer route if the right guy is there... But if the options are thin I think we roll the dice and hope he goes boom. 

 

Also forgot we didn't have a 7th round pick. Brain fart.

At some point we probably trade back and add one.

if im honest i dont think the ravens have ever valued 7th round picks because they are so good with undrafted guys - so often we get rid of our 7th rounders either by trading away the picks or by getting rid of the players - the last 7th rounder that had an impact is campanaro and we traded back in to get him using a 6th rounder from the year before

[redlobster]

2 hours ago, trevorsteadman said:

I disagree. It reminds me of Tyrann Matthieu's situation in college. A lot didn't believe he was big enough to play the position. Sometimes talent and ball skills make you change the view of the position the next 5 years. I think Peppers could be that guy to come in and blow off everyones' hats. I think he could be the pioneer for his position.

Mathieu proved in college that he was a top defender in the best conference (at least at the time). Peppers has no ball skills and lacks awareness in coverage.

[rossihunter2]

8 minutes ago, redlobster said:

Mathieu proved in college that he was a top defender in the best conference (at least at the time). Peppers has no ball skills and lacks awareness in coverage.

that's the big killer it's the production in coverage