Change it up Mock Draft

[sosa39rams]

Im going to change it up here, not sure if its for the better or worse.

GM: Les Snead
HC: Ray Horton


Free Agency:

Marques Colston, WR, Saints: Polished route runner, huge player, and a matchup nightmare. If the guy can stay healthy (which for the most part he has) he is a top WR in this league. We will pursue him hard in this case.

Jacob Tamme, TE, Colts: When Dallas Clark went down for the year this kid stepped in and played great ball. A versatile TE, and a very nice #2 and back up to the up and coming Lance Kendricks.

Deuce Lutui, OG, Cards: Nothing wrong here. An ok player but great depth and competition for a starting spot.

Aubrayo Franklin, NT, Saints: Since the switch to the 3-4 defense, we must get players that have already played in that environment. Here is one of the best NT's in the NFL in a 3-4.

Re-Structure:

Jason Smith, RT: We totally re-structure his deal. His cap hit is huge and will continue to be for years, but many of us are not ready to give up just yet. He needs a good OL coach and health and he should be fine.

Releases:

Jason Brown, OG/C: He has not even come close to playing what hes getting payed. Hes been beyond terrible, causing penalties all over the place, and a huge liability.

Re-Signings:

Danny Amendola, WR: The security blanket for Sam, and one of the games best slot WR's. Not to mention a great punt and kick returner.

Kellen Clemens, QB: I believe his contract is up, and if it is, lock this kid up. Very nice back up and is a good leader.

Cadillac Williams, RB: I think he was underestimated this year. When asked to step in he did a fine job, just didn't get many opportunities. Good RB, and nice depth.

Draft:

*We trade down with Washington to the #6 spot. For our pick we recieve their 1.6, 2.38, 3.70, AND next years First, 3rd, and 4th round picks.*

*Not done yet. We now move from the #6 spot down to the #14 spot (Cowboys) and we receive for our #6 pick their 1.14, 2.46, and 4.110.*

1.14 - Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama: This kid is a monster. He flys to the ball very quickly and is an amazing edge rusher. To pair him on the edge with Robert Quinn on the other side and Chris Long in front of him all rushing the passer? Thats a nightmare!

2.33 - Kelechi Osemele, OG, Iowa State: A nasty run blocking guard who can step in and start right away opposite from Harvey Dahl. He will be taught by one of the best (Dahl) and refine his game to become a better pass blocker.

2.38(Redskins) - Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis: He weighs 350 lbs, and is impossible to move. The best NT available. He could anchor this line and be a huge force to handle. Have fun running up the middle now that JLAU is free!

2.46(Cowboys) - Dwight Jones, WR, UNC: 6'4, and hard to bring down after the catch. Creates a lot of YAC, has nice hands, and will be a serious threat. Starting wideouts are both 6'4, sounds scary to me.

3.66 - LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: A true speedster who is too small to be an every down back in the NFL. He will back up SJ and will get 6-8 carries a game. He is explosive and can take it to the house at any time.

3.70(Redskins) - Michael Brewster, C, Ohio State: A center that is talented and can grow with Osemele and Saffold and Smith. He is a good run blocker and decent pass blocker. He can be coached up and can hopefully step in right away.

4.98 - Levy Adcock, OT, OkST: He provides great depth and will sit until ready. This may mean JSmooth being injured or eventually traded or released.

4.110(Cowboys) - Donnie Fletcher, CB, Boston College: He can provide much needed depth, and possibly take the slot spot. Who knows how Bartell, Fletcher, and Murphy will be coming off their injuries?

Depth Chart:

QB: Bradford, Clemens
RB: Jackson, James, Williams
WR1: Colston, Pettis
WR2: Jones, DX
Slot: Amendola, Salas
TE: Kendricks, Tamme, Spach
LT: Saffold, Adcock
LG: Osemele, Lutui
C: Brewster, Wragge
RG: Dahl, Lutui
RT: Smith, Adcock
LE: Long, Bannan
NT: Poe, Bannan
RE: Franklin, Gibson
ROLB: Upshaw, Chamberlain
MLB: Laurinaitis, Hall
MLB: Chamberlain, Poppinga
LOLB: Quinn, Poppinga
CB1: Bartell, Gordy
CB2: Fletcher, Hood
SlotCB: Murphy, D.Fletcher
FS: Mikell, Butler
SS: Stewart, Dahl

Had fun doing this. Toss some feedback, I wanted to switch it up from the regular Kalil/Blackmon talk. I'd still go with Blackmon but am exploring other options.

[LionsGuy]

Man, Sam Bradford would be happy as heck to have Colston, but can you really believe the Saints will let him sign elsewhere?

[fliptalianstallion]

This is a really good mock, a Belichick-type mock. Although I hope the war room won't fool itself.

[sosa39rams]

This is a really good mock, a Belichick-type mock. Although I hope the war room won't fool itself.

I noticed that while I was doing it haha. Hes the master anyways.

"Man, Sam Bradford would be happy as heck to have Colston, but can you really believe the Saints will let him sign elsewhere?"

And I believe he may. He came out and said he wouldn't take a home town discount to stay with NO. I think he very well may test the market. The Saints have an array of weapons anyways.

[fliptalianstallion]

I noticed that while I was doing it haha. Hes the master anyways.

"Man, Sam Bradford would be happy as heck to have Colston, but can you really believe the Saints will let him sign elsewhere?"

And I believe he may. He came out and said he wouldn't take a home town discount to stay with NO. I think he very well may test the market. The Saints have an array of weapons anyways.

One question, do you think we can afford Colston? I'm thinking he might want a lot and we're expected to have around $10 mil in capspace.

[sosa39rams]

One question, do you think we can afford Colston? I'm thinking he might want a lot and we're expected to have around $10 mil in capspace.

I think so. I guess we will have to see what we do this off season. Theres a lot of money laying around we dont need. Like Jason Brown, Jason Smiths massive contract, extend and give a new contract to Chris Long (final year) and make less of a cap hit now, James Butler, perhaps re-do Bradfords deal a bit.

Maybe the new regime doesn't like some guys. Releasing Bartell (7 mill), Jason Brown (7 mill), Jason Smith (10 mill), re-do Long's (from 10 mill down to something like 6). We can create a lot of cap room this offseason.

[fliptalianstallion]

I think so. I guess we will have to see what we do this off season. Theres a lot of money laying around we dont need. Like Jason Brown, Jason Smiths massive contract, extend and give a new contract to Chris Long (final year) and make less of a cap hit now, James Butler, perhaps re-do Bradfords deal a bit.

Maybe the new regime doesn't like some guys. Releasing Bartell (7 mill), Jason Brown (7 mill), Jason Smith (10 mill), re-do Long's (from 10 mill down to something like 6). We can create a lot of cap room this offseason.

I wouldn't mind restructuring Bradford's contract as well. I mean, the guy lives in a small apartment in St. Louis and drives a pickup truck like your average, typical American. It's not like he's going to buy 3 Ferraris and a gold-plated mansion one of these days, I think...

[sosa39rams]

I wouldn't mind restructuring Bradford's contract as well. I mean, the guy lives in a small apartment in St. Louis and drives a pickup truck like your average, typical American. It's not like he's going to buy 3 Ferraris and a gold-plated mansion one of these days, I think...

I'd love to see that happen. His figure is insane! Going to charge us a heavy 13 mill this year.

[Tampa_Ram]

Wouldnt we get a littl more from dallas for them trading up 8 spots? i figure at least throw a 2nd in next years draft as well.

[sosa39rams]

Wouldnt we get a littl more from dallas for them trading up 8 spots? i figure at least throw a 2nd in next years draft as well.

Its possible, but the numbers worked out well like this according to the draft value chart. I think by doing this we can find 7 new capable starters, rather than just 3 or 4.

[richtree]

Not a bad job....Don't like WR, Dwight Jones in Round 2 -- I project him as 4-5 round talent....


Love James as our 3rd down RB will explosiveness and speeeeed !

[RockinRam]

Not a bad mock. The trades aren't very unrealistic, and we would gain a lot of talent in return to help rebuild.

Courtney Upshaw is a great linebacker. I just don't see him as Von Miller-like yet. However, if we're looking for a more athletic, size-speed, potential freak we should look at Whitney Mercilus from Illinois.

6'4, 270lbs and is fast as hell. Led the nations in sacks. He's the next Jason Pierre-Paul/Aldon Smith.



Osemele is a great guard, wouldn't mind settling for him since there's no way DeCastro is dropping.


Not a big fan of Poe. I'd rather grab someone to help out the offense here, like Coby Fleener. We need our own Gronkowski/Jimmy Graham, and Kendricks hasn't shown me anything yet. Pairing him up with a guy like Fleener opens up more options for Bradford. Even with Tamme, our offense gets much better with a guy like Fleener in there.


The rest are good picks. I'm a fan of Dwight Jones. He's got a lot of potential.


Wouldn't mind Brewster but his play dropped pretty badly at the end of the season, I don't know why. Other center options are William Vlachos and Grant Garner.

Personally I like Garner because he kept the interior very clean for Weeden all season long, and especially against Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl.

Vlachos plays well in college, but I don't know how a barely 6'1 sub-300lb center will handle big defensive tackles. He's definitely the lower guy and has a better center of gravity, but if more talented d-tackles get up under him and use their bull rush, he'll be the next Nick Leckey.

[BarronWade]

Its pretty good

Going with ray horton and switching the entire defensive scheme is a huge obstacle but in this case it seams like a fluid transition i would make one tweak i would put Quinn at Defensive end and Long at OLB because Long uses his hands well and it can benefit him at OLB because he will be starting in a standing stance

One thing thou i am not a fan of the Colston decision because remember he is 29 and he is coming from a WR friendly system with a QB that gets 7 secs to throw each time...I dont know if Colston's play will translate well away from Brees.

My favorite pick is the Brewster pick...i dont know why but some site have him de-valued i think he is a 2nd round Center talent he does alot of things right

[codeman123]

Good mock. I like Horton as a HC candidate, and part of me thinks he would be the best hire. I just don't like switching to a 3-4 when the offense needs so much help and there's limited resources. I would almost always take Blackmon or Kalil (best players), but a switch to 3-4 needs a trade down philosophy like this. I like the Tamme pick to replace Bajema. How good of a blocker is he?
Don't really like Lutui signing as a backup and wasting money.
There's guys I like more than Colston if he wants a lot of money (more than 8 mil a year) but he would instantly upgrade the offense.
First two picks are solid. Not the biggest Jones fan and I would wait longer to take him.

[sosa39rams]

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. I wanted to switch it up here, and moving back this many places would be beneficial. Especially considering we'd have 2 1st rounders, 2 3rd rounders, and 2 4th rounders next year. Thats 4 new starters next year, including the 7 this year. I feel like thats the beginning of a roster turnaround. I was building a solid D here with a WCO offense that will move the ball efficiently and score 18-21 PPG. Relying on the tough D to hold opponents to much less. (Whiners?).