AJAX1188 Mock Draft/Offseason

Thought id join in on the speculation and wish lists for the 2011 off-season.

Unlike some on this board I don't think we will make a huge splash in FA. With that being said though, I do believe we will be quite active this off-season with the new regime taking over. A new coach and GM should lead to a little more player turnover then a usual off-season. I hope we can pull in a couple solid middle of the pack additions to go along with a quality draft. Add a decent veteran stop gap QB and we should have no problem contending for the NFC West next season while also developing a QB for the 2012 season.

With that said, here we go...

Let walk/don't re-sign/Cut:
Manny Lawson - (Will demand too much for what he brings to the table)
Will James
Brian Westbrook - (Will decide to go where there might be more PT)
Parys Haralson - (Under performs and over priced)
Demetric Evans
David Carr - (Garbage and we will bring in our own Vets to work with rookie)
Eric Heitman - (Overpriced with the emergence of Bass at center)

Re-sign/Tender/Franchise:
Takeo Spikes 2 Yr - (Leader, great locker room guy, and plays very well inside with Willis)
Ray MacDonald 3 Yr - (Solid DE in our 3-4 scheme)
David Bass 4 Yr - (Good season as our center and earned an extension)
Dashon Goldson 1 Yr Tender - (Let him prove his worth after a sub-par season)
Travis LaBoy 1 Yr - (Solid situational pass rusher)
Aubrayo Franklin Franchise Tag - (One more year while we develop his replacement
Nate Clements - (Restructures his contract)
Tony Wragge 2 Yr - (Solid back up at C and G, and will come cheap)


FA Targets:

QB Bruce Gradkowski - Bring him in along with Johnson to compete for the starting job next year, while our rookie QB is being groomed. Gradkowski is underrated in my opinion and is a tough gamer type QB who at the very least can be a solid back up in this league.

WR Malcom Floyd - Gives us that big bodied sturdy receiver we have been lacking in recent years. Can make the tough catch and create mismatches with his size.

CB Chris Carr - CB depth and also has good return abilities if needed.

S - Dawan Landry - Had a solid bounce back year after a couple of rough seasons that followed an outstanding rookie year. Still has plenty of potential and shouldn't come at an extremely high price.

Trade: Trade a 6th in '11 and a 5th in '12 for QB Josh Johnson

And yes I have been browsing the Webzone long enough to know that we all expect an off-season in which we get Nnamdi, Champ, Tamba Hali, Lamar Woodley, trade for Kolb, while still maintaining our high draft picks for this year and the future! Problem is that just isn't gonna happen. With that said I do believe we will be able to secure some mid-level NFL free agents that can come in and help solidify our team.

2011 NFL Draft:

1st Round (7th Pick): Trade down with Detroit (13th Overall) - Von Miller, OLB Texas A&M

Lions trade 1st (13th Pick), 3rd (75th), and 5th
49ers trade 1st (7th)

Detroit jumps up to land their lock-down CB. Either Peterson if he makes it there or Amkumara if Peterson is gone. 49ers get the extra picks and are able to target a high motor, athletic, pass-rushing OLB. We finally land someone who can consistently rush the passer. Which in my opinion is a higher priority then CB. All DB's look and play better when there is pressure on the opposing QB.

And I realize there are concerns about Miller's size. For those who see his size as a concern please look at the following:

James Harrison (6' 242) - 36.5 sacks from '08-'10
Elvis Dumervil (5'11 248) - 19 sacks in '09
Robert Mathis (6'2 245) - 74 sacks in 8 years career

Von Miller (Measured 6'2 237 w/ 34" arms at the Senior Bowl)

Quotes from the Senior Bowl practices:

A couple of NFL scouts have mentioned “we knew he had an impressive burst off of the edge in pass rushing drills, but his skills in coverage and his overall play has been impressive going against some of the best seniors in the country.”

“What we’ve seen here is that he can drop into coverage,” said ESPN’s Todd McShay, indicating that Miller’s return for his senior season to polish his game paid off. “He’s an absolute playmaker on every passing down.”

“Two words,” said Mayock. “Defies. Gravity. Bends parallel to the ground. This guy comes off the edge and it’s scary how quick he gets to the quarterback. In my notes from the season, I had the word ‘wow’ written (about Miller) more than any other player.”

2nd Round (44th) - Andy Dalton QB TCU

QB of the future. Here is a recent tid bit from Eric Branch's article on the QB search for the 2011 Draft - "Hmmm. It’s hard to trust what general managers say – or what they seem to say – leading up to the draft. But it sure sounds like Baalke and Harbaugh could be targeting a savvy quarterback dripping with intangibles."

Quote on Dalton from Senior Bowl - "He's always around the QB coaches or offensive coaches, always asking questions, always talking, always engaged."

Dalton is known for his intangibles, football knowledge, and most importantly being a winner.

Round 3 (From Detroit) - Rashard Carmichael, CB Virginia Tech

Athletic and aggressive CB with good speed. Mix him in with Spencer, Clements, Carr, and Brown and with the added pass rush our secondary should have a much improved year.

Round 3 (Original pick) - Titus Young, WR Boise St.
Quick and speedy receiver that has shown the ability to adjust and make tough catches.

Round 4 (Original pick) - Brooks Reed, OLB Arizona
Add another potent pass rusher - Can never have enough pass rushers (Think steelers D)

Round 4 (From San Diego) - Sione Fua, NT Stanford
Solid NT that is very familiar with Fangio's 3-4 hybrid defense

Round 5 (From Detroit) - Stanley Havili, FB USC
Smaller athletic fullback with great hands and ability out of the back field

Round 5 (Original pick) - Noel Divine, RB West Virginia
I don't believe Westbrook will be back. Devine can be our 3rd RB/Change of pace back

Round 6 (Original pick) - Traded to TB in Josh Johnson deal

Round 6 (From Seattle) - Chris Conte, FS Cal
Started off his career as a CB. Big, athletic safety with good cover skills. At the very least we get a good special teams guy

Round 7 (From Detroit) - Jeff Maehl, WR Oregon
If you watched any Oregon games this year you would be very familiar with Maehl. He makes plays all over the field. Not a burner, but a good solid receiver with very reliable hands.

Round 7 (Original pick) - BPA

I think pass rush and QB are our biggest needs and with this draft we would secure our QB of the future (Dalton) and significantly upgrade our pass rush (Von Miller and Brooks Reed)



Thoughts/Comments...

[ Edited by ajax1188 on Jan 26, 2011 at 15:56:33 ]

Most of the guys are webzone favorites so you'll get good feedback.

i think that you cant forget about titus young in the 3rd-round...he had a very nice senior bowl so far.

I dont mind this too much. I would rather have Ras as our 3rd round CB if he ia still there. If he is gone then Carmicheal would be ok. I would not be upset if this happened.

Likes: Miller and Carmichael, good description for each move

Dislikes: Devine is going sooner than you anticipate, why are we giving up multiple draft picks for Josh Johnson?? Dalton in the 2nd??

It seems 10 QBs are going in the first 2-3 rounds according to the WZ (Locker, Gabbert, Newton, Mallett, Stanzi, Dalton, Devlin, Kaepernick, Ponder, McElroy)

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
Likes: Miller and Carmichael, good description for each move

Dislikes: Devine is going sooner than you anticipate, why are we giving up multiple draft picks for Josh Johnson?? Dalton in the 2nd??

It seems 10 QBs are going in the first 2-3 rounds according to the WZ (Locker, Gabbert, Newton, Mallett, Stanzi, Dalton, Devlin, Kaepernick, Ponder, McElroy)

Maybe on Devine who knows until the combine and all the pro days are over. Guys with speed do tend to creep up the draft boards though, so maybe it is wishful thinking.

Josh Johnson has more value then your giving him credit I think. He has NFL starter experience, is familiar with the offense and is still on the young side. Maybe being reunited with Harbaugh can bring him up a notch. In terms of the picks we gave up, i'm no NFL GM. I just kinda thought a 6th and a future 5th might do the trick, haha. Maybe its a little too much though.

And in terms of the 10 QB's in the first 2-3 rounds, it could happen. Most years though QB's get all hyped up by the "draft experts" but come draft day some tend to slide a bit when the real evaluators (GMs, coaches, scouts) are making the picks. So I think it is a possibility he will be there in the second. If not we have extra picks to move up a little bit to grab him.

With the buzz surrounding him right now, Von Miller will be long gone by then. And I don't see WR Titus Young lasting until the 3rd round.

not bad

I like this mock and I like your reasoning with Detroit trading up. But I agree that Miller probably wont make it to 13 and that Young will come off the board much sooner

Being a Hawaii fan Ive seen Young alot and been impressed by him. Blackmon, Floyd, and Broyles deciding to return to school hurt our chances at someone like Young I think. So get Greg Salas instead

Also, wouldnt mind at all bringing in those free agents but would like to see us pick up a RG as well. You let Heitmann walk and Chilo/Snyder still leaves us with a weak spot next to a still young and developing Davis

I think with the Senior Bowl Von Miller`s having, he will not last til pick 13

like the mock seems realistic for the most part. not sure why we would grab 3 WR altho yes i think we need help. also think devine goes a little earlier.

i for one dont think miller is def going to be gone. only people i would worry about is washington or houston. top 7 is pretty much a lock on the top 7 prospects give or take maybe 1 qb. then washington, minnesota, and tennessee possibly could go qb as well but not all of them. i think if we were at 13 we would have a good chance or landing miller.

lol i love how most of these mocks are just picking guys from all these bandwagon threads.

I've made my thoughts on Miller well known but I guess if we had to take him...at least we'd trade down.

Titus Young won't be there for our 3rd round pick. Not when he's getting called a Desean Jackson clone and tearing it up at the senior bowl.

If we trade out of the 7th pick with Peterson still on the board that would be a horrible move.

Talent like Peterson doesn't come around often, however there is usually always a good amount of pass rushers year in and year out.

This Von Miller hype is getting ridiculous because he's had 2 good practices at the senior bowl. Everybody settle down on this kid.

Nice mock!