3/4/14 fanspeak mock x5
 

Decided to toy around on fanspeak a bit today and do a few mock sims to see if I could fill some areas of concern/depth with what was available, found a few interesting things to note.

1. Borland/Skav are almost always available at our 3rd round selection
2. A.J. McCarron is available 90% of the time with our 4th round selection
3. That 5th round draft pick has Kareem Martin available quite a bit
4. There is an absolute wealth of talent available with the 6th and 7th round selections, even more spilling over into FA post draft, leaves me to believe that there could be some great depth scores in FA this year, more than most years prior to this draft.
5. Despite the talent available in the later rounds at QB, I don't think Bray + Draft Pick would sufficiently back us up if Alex has any issues. Guys I keep seeing available in 4-6, McCarron, Boyd, Fales, Logan Thomas.
6. Fanspeak is by no means a great indicator of things to come, and my own personal choices of these picks are based simply on positions of need both immediately and depth, as well as a BPA in the right occasion. Take it all with a grain of Salt, and Enjoy!

Mocksim#1: Our Selections

23 WR MIKE EVANS
87 ILB SHAYNE SKOV
120 TE C.J. FIEDOROWICZ
151 ILB JORDAN ZUMWALT
177 S KENNY LADLER
184 C RUSSELL BODINE

Thoughts:

Total surprise to see Evans there, couldn't resist firing a shot at a big body receiver :clap: , Was also super surprised to be in a position to snag both Skov and Zumwalt who either was high on (skov) or surprised by at the combine (zumwalt). While drafting two ILB's seems crazy, it is a position we lack a starter opposite DJ in, as well as depth. The value just seemed too good. And getting Ladler and Bodine in the back end felt really solid in terms of raw value for the picks we have.

Mocksim#2: Our Selections

23 CB DARQUEZE DENNARD
87 ILB CHRIS BORLAND
120 QB A.J. MCCARRON
151 DE KAREEM MARTIN
177 RB JAMES WILDER JR.
184 G MICHAEL SCHOFIELD

Thoughts: I'm really high on Dennard, I think if he's there every time, we should snag him. Super happy to get Borland in the third, as I believe he can be an immediate starter if the need should arise, and he doesn't seem like a completely developmental kind of guy, he should be able to be rather plug and play. McCarron in the 4th is something that keeps happening, I believe we need to keep trying to homebrew a QB here in KC until one sticks, and I'm completely at ease with a McCarron pick in the 4th despite the talent that is still there. Huge, HUGE fan of Kareem Martin in the 5th here, every now and again on the sim he pops up there and after his combine, I keep snaggin him on the sim.

Mocksim#3: Our Selections

23 S CALVIN PRYOR
87 ILB CHRIS BORLAND
120 RB LACHE SEASTRUNK
151 WR BRUCE ELLINGTON
177 DE WILL CLARKE
184 WR MIKE DAVIS

Thoughts: Many of the guys I'd like to nab were gone this time around, with the exception of Kony who was available. No real WR choices, and seemed like all linemen. While Kony isn't a bad selection, we really need help at the Safety position, and Pryor isn't a bad choice here, just felt less valuable this time around. Once again Borland is there in the 3rd, superb selection of Ellington in the 5th IMO, and I love rounding off our last pick with Mike Davis, I feel like overall, its a depth draft with this one, super solid depth draft, but nothing that really wos me. Pryor/Borland obviously stand out as potential starters.

Mocksim#4: Our Selections

23 S HA’SEAN CLINTON-DIX
87 ILB CHRIS BORLAND
120 WR MARTAVIS BRYANT
151 QB DAVID FALES
177 WR RYAN GRANT
184 C RUSSELL BODINE

Thoughts: While I am NOT a huge Clinton-Dix fan by any means, I respect the fact that there's a wealth of talent there, and CP seems to have a more positive feel than I do for him. Seeing the lack of WR's there during this simulation left me feeling like I had to make the pick given the value staring me in the face. Once again Borland is there in the 3rd, and I feel like we should really start getting familiar with the guy. Big fan of the Fales pick in the 5h, wrapping it all up with Bodine in the end, just felt solid as we address many positions of weakness with this draft, and either accrue serious depth, or at worst 2 starters and a potential #2/3 WR there.

Mocksim#5: Our selections

23 CB DARQUEZE DENNARD
87 DE JACKSON JEFFCOAT
120 ILB YAWIN SMALLWOOD
151 WR JEFF JANIS
177 WR RYAN GRANT
184 S MARQUESTON HUFF

Thoughts: What I felt was going to end up being a purely depth draft here after I started seeing names come off the board, it actually turned out surprisingly well (IMO). Zero regrets about Dennard there in the 1st, loved what Jeffcoat was doing at the combine and pleased to see him in the 3rd there for the first time. Smallwood is a guy I'm curious about in that 4th round spot, I've heard a lot of guys talk about him but I found him "so-so" at the combine. I absolutely fell in love with that Huff selection, while I'm not super big on him, the value there just screamed at me. In those one, I think we end up with maybe .5-1.5 starters and some depth. Probably not the best draft of the 5, but it felt really strong defensively.


Overall thoughts: I feel really good about our ability to take care of our current needs (prior to free agency) in this draft, The depth of talent is there at every round, and aside from the 1st round draft pick, it didn't feel like you would be reaching for talent at any pick, and had a ton of options to address those needs. Our first round pick really feels like it'll be a BPA scenario with someone from the top 10 falling out, but I'm sad to see Mosley, someone I'm extremely high on, gone EVERY single time at the #22 pick.

The one thing I can truly say that I "fear" or "regret" going into this draft, is simply not having enough picks. If you had enough picks, you literally could build a team out of this draft class outside of maybe the QB and Tackle Positions, its just that deep.

You don't even want to know what I did with a Browns simulation draft, it almost sickened me. :deevee:

Thoughts?

I'm really hoping that we get an opportunity to trade back from 23 and still pick up someone like Brandin Cooks.

I'm REALLY hoping we can do something like that, there's just too much depth and talent in the 50-120 range.

Not realistic on Evans, so no comment.

Absolutely abhor this draft. Two ILBS??? Kill me now. Ladler and Bodine are good value in the late rounds, but why the hell are we drafting a third center -- we better be moving Hudson to guard and Kush better be ready to take over; two things I'm not certain of. Fiedorowicz is a sneaky good pick, but he's probably best as a 4th rounder simply because he's never going to put up good numbers in the NFL because he blocks so well. Which is exactly why Reid and Dorsey probably love him.

Grade: D

I'm not crazy about this, either. Dennard is a good investment for our future, but an ILB and McCarron (who I despise) are just thrown away draft picks when we should be investing in our receiver corps or front seven. Speaking of which, Kareem Martin may not translate to the 3-4.

Wilder and Schofield are good late-rounders, Schofield especially. Schofield is the guy you can get in the 6th round who can eventually start for you.

Grade: B-, largely because of Dennard.

I like this draft. I'm not crazy about Pryor, but I think he fits if we can pull Berry back into more of a FS role. Borland, again, is not the best investment we can make at the 3rd even though he's plenty talented, but the other picks look really promising. Seastrunk is a great guy to have in your stable, and would land in the perfect place taking a season behind Charles and Davis. Ellington and Clarke are both outstanding athletes, and I'm bullish on Mike Davis, who I think can be developed into a really good #3.

Grade: B+

Same comments that I had before with Borland and Bodine. Bryant is unrealistic in the 4th, so no comment.

Clinton-Dix is a really good acquisition for this team -- he'll help solidify our secondary and free up Berry to do more than he already does. Fales is fair value in the 5th, though where on our roster does he fit? Is Bray really an upgrade over Daniel at #2 QB at this point? And I just don't like Grant as much as I used to. His hands are average, and everything else about him is below average.

C-, Clinton-Dix saving it from being a D.

I like this draft a ton -- Dennard, Jeffcoat, Janis, and Huff are all smart, aggressive picks to improve this team in the short- and long-run. Smallwood would fit really well in the SILB role in our defense as well. My only hangup would be Ryan Grant, but I'll let it slide because it's a 6th rounder in what looks like to be a strong draft class.

A

In regards to #1, its definitely under the premise of moving Hudson to guard, Kush starting, and keeping bodine as a backup either at the guard spot (which he would be pretty solid at) or staying in the center.

I knew you'd hate me for the double ILB selection, but the "supposed" value was staring me in the face pretty hard. That being said, both of those guys I feel could play inside and outside in our system. In this case, it would be primarily as a starter inside and depth outside, as I don't think either of them translate completely into an OLB in our system. Having said that, in terms of pure depth, probably better than the backup OLB's on our current roster if I had to be blunt about it.

For #5, there is just something magical that I feel for a Dennard, Jeffcoat, Huff, Smallwood combination draft there just makes me super excited.