1) OLB – Noah Spence / Eastern Kentucky 6-3/254: He is the best 3-4 pass rusher in this draft and is exactly what we need on defense. He getting banned from the Big 10 is an issue but I think he has grown up and has learned from that experience. If Buckner is gone, Spence should be the pick as he provides the formula that is needed to win a championship, a deadly pass rush.
2) DT/DE – Vernon Butler / LA Tech 6-4/325: Butler has made a name for himself following his Senior Bowl performance and could certainly be gone by the end of the 1st especially if Denver doesn't re-sign Jackson. However, this Dline class is so deep I believe we luck out in the early 2nd round and have a versatile stud drop into our laps. He can start at RE immediately and slide inside on passing downs. If he is gone, I have no issues selecting Austin Johnson or even Chris Jones here. Either way, we address two huge needs with our first two picks.
3) QB – Dak Prescott / Mississippi State 6-2/226: Very athletic, strong enough arm and a playmaker; but more importantly, he has shown great improvement as a passer and could fit very well in Chip's offense. I would expect for him to sit his entire first year while we see what we have in Kap and Gabbert but Prescott could certainly challenge for that starting spot next year or at worst, become a quality back-up. He is projected as a 3rd to 4th rounder but is climbing up the board and could be gone at the end of the 2nd round. However, I'll take the chance of him being here and us snagging one of the best QBs for Chip's offense.
3) WR Kenny Lawler / Cal 6-2/195 – Nice size, long arms, great athleticism, really big and good hands and great after the catch. He was Goff's favorite target for a reason. Although he is pretty slim, he is a very smooth WR that has no issues making plays in a crowd. Chip wants to get quicker on offense and he does that by letting Boldin go in FA and adding Lawler. Between he, Smith, Patton and Ellington, there will be plenty of speed all over the field. Throw in a healthy Smelter and our WR corps looks very formidable, especially in Chip's offense where guys are running open all of the time.
4) OLB – Yannick Ngakoue / Maryland 6-2/250: Following the Broncos blueprint of creating a monstrous pass rush, we grab Ngakoue two rounds before his 6th round projection (although I expect that to climb more the closer we get to the draft). You can never have enough pass rushers and with the expectation being we are going to score more points and a quicker pace this year, we will need a solid rotation of guys who know how to get to the QB and Ngakoue is very familiar with that coming off of a junior year of 13.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss!
4) CB Deiondre' Hall / Northern Iowa 6-2/192: Versatile player who has played all over the defense to include safety and linebacker at some time. Rangy corner with freakishly long arms that comes from a 3-4 system and is not afraid to come up in run support and lay the wood. Despite needing some work on his press coverage skills, when the ball is in the air, he knows how to make a play. 13 INTs with 4 of them returned for TDs. With both Chip and Baalke loving the length at this position, Hall makes perfect sense.
5) RB – Tyler Ervin / San Jose St. 5-10/192: Small school prospect but very explosive. He can serve as the "Darren Sproles" type of back in Chip's offense. Elusive and quick out in space and can challenge Ellington as the kick returner. Despite his size, he was very successful running between the tackles in college. Competition is somewhat of an issue but he will not be an every down back for us, just a change of pace and third down back once he picks up the intricacies of pass protection from a RB.
6) DT – D.J. Reader / Clemson 6-3/340: Big boy to help man the middle in our 3-4 defense. Played on an elite defensive line unit with Clemson and can be a solid back-up in the run game for Williams. I expect a lot of Dline rotation this year so depth here is big.
6) K – Ka'imi Fairbairn / UCLA 6-0/183: Originally had us taking Roberto Aguayo in the 5th round but felt adding to our defense and special teams with Cyrus Jones gave us better value. However, Fairbairn is the 2nd best kicker in this draft and well worth taking at this point.
Depth Chart:
Offense:
QB – Kap/Gabbert/Prescott
RB - Hyde/Harris/Ervin/Davis/Hayne
FB – Miller
LT – Staley/Boone
LG – Foster/Thomas
C – Kilgore/Martin
RG –Boone/Tiller
RT – Davis/Brown
TE – McDonald/Bell/Celek/Anderson
WR –Smith/Lawler/Smelter/Patton/Ellington/Anderson/Rogers
Defense:
RDE – Butler/Dial/Purcell
NT – Williams/Reader
LDE – Armstead/Thornton
ROLB – Spence/Harold/Carradine
ILB – Trevathan/Armstrong
ILB – Bowman/Hodges
LOLB – Lynch/Ngakoue
CB: Brock/Hall
CB: Johnson/Acker
Slot: Ward/Reaser
FS: Reid/Ward/McCray
SS: Bethea/Tartt
Special Teams:
K – Fairbairn
P – Pinion
KR: Ervin/Ellington
PR: Ellington/Ervin/Hayne
[ Edited by Sims19849ers on Feb 26, 2016 at 1:34 PM ]