Crow's 2023 "What I Want" Mock

[kccrow]

Preface

I didn't like my first rendition so you're getting an edit here in 2023. I felt like the dudes I was pumping all offseason weren't in it in favor of some guys I like and provide explosion but don't make me as happy. Here it is, reworked, and hope you enjoy it. I think you'll remain happy with the explosive elements on offense while catering better to all levels of the defense.

The Draft

1-031 | WR JALIN HYATT, Tennessee (6001, 176)
Hyatt is an explosive playmaker reminiscent of DeSean Jackson. Hyatt's instant acceleration and deep speed create difficulties for man coverage assignments and he has enough agility to create against zone. Quick slants, crossers, seam routes, posts, screens, and end-arounds are going to be problematic for defenses to cover and he has the ability to make you pay dearly for a single miscue.



2-053 | DT KEEANU BENTON, Wisconsin (6'4" 309)
trade CHI 2-63, 4-134, 2024 4th for 2-53
Benton has been my dude since the start of this thing so for me to not have him in here has been bothering me. With the consensus that Hyatt could just be there at 31, I'm going to spend my draft capital to move up and snag Benton. Benton is explosive and powerful at the point with a stout big-man frame that makes it difficult for one-on-ones to beat him. He has plenty of juice to upset the passing game and has value to rotate to 3-tech as well. He'll need to work a bit on holding the fort against double teams though.



3-095 | OT BLAKE FREELAND, Brigham Young (6077, 302)
I'm in a state of constant indecision when it comes to Freeland as he's ostensibly a starting NFL tackle. That said, he has some issues that are hard to reconcile. His height and inability to bring his pad level down cause lunging and reaching issues that may not be correctable. His hand placement to create leverage and overall anchor strength are things he can work on but are current problems against NFL-caliber power rushers. His feet and overall athleticism are what make him most appealing, in a similar mold to Spencer Brown, which is why I think he goes in a similar range to the former 93rd overall pick. In the end, I think KC needs to take a solid shot at a developmental tackle because we don't know how well Taylor will perform at LT and we don't know if Niang can hold up to the rigors of a full NFL season.



4-122 | CB REZJOHN WRIGHT, Oregon State (6'2" 193)
Wright is a physical press corner with good recovery speed and excellent transitional footwork. I like his ability to mirror routes and stay in phase with the receiving, including sharp snaps off of breaks which helps define his footwork and agility which is pretty difficult for a guy with his height. He definitely needs to work on being so grabby throughout the route as it would draw a lot of holding penalties in the NFL. I like his tackling well enough but more aggressiveness at times would be a cherry on top. He's shown good ball skills with 4 interceptions and 17 pass breakups spread equally over the past two seasons.



5-166 | RB SEAN TUCKER, Syracuse (5'9" 207)
Tucker is a good runner between the tackles and a good receiver out of the backfield in the mold of a young Shady McCoy. He has enough speed to reach the corner on outside zone and to take one the distance but we'll have to see where that speed is as I think he's a 4.50 guy but he shows to be a high 4.3 guy on social media. I think Reid is going to be high on this cat. I'm not sure of the reasoning for him being medically red-flagged at the combine but he's finally been cleared and is set to host a pro day on April 24th. If he runs as high as he is showing on social media, he could go much higher but I still think teams will be wary of whatever it was that got him flagged to begin with. I'm taking a poke here on what I feel is one of the top 5 running backs in this class. He's going to have to learn to pass block though at a much higher level.



6-178 | DE TAVIUS ROBINSON, Ole Miss (6061, 257)
Solid player in all facets but a master of none that needs continued development in his pass rush plan and hand usage, playing more on the edge in 5/6/7 versus the 4i alignment he often held at Ole Miss, and gaining anchor strength and mass against the run. Robinson does sport a decent-to-good snap release, quality bend, and outstanding length to be a quality developmental player in Spags' scheme.



6-217 | DT DANTE STILLS, West Virginia (6034 286)
Stills is a rotational one-gap penetrator that can make the lives of QBs and RBs miserable, as evidenced by 23.5 career sacks and 52.5 tackles for a loss. He doesn't have great length so he'll need to work harder on developing his strength in the NFL and adding some mass. That said, he's a guy that can step in and create havoc in a role the Chiefs hoped Wharton would stand out in. This was a tough choice over Jacob Slade (Michigan State) but the difference between them is about 1/2" in height, 7 lbs, and 3/8" in arm length to Slade's advantage. Stills was just far more of a disruptive player but has less anchor against the run.



7-249 | DB QUINDELL JOHNSON, Memphis (6'1" 195)
Johnson is a 3-time All-ACC defensive back that has shown the ability to line up pretty much anywhere for any task and he's been good at them all. He's a good tackler and makes plays on the football, evidenced by 320 career tackles, including 104 in 2021, and 10 career interceptions (4 in 2022). He's a field multiple guy that can play box, nickel, and single-high. While he's a bit linear as an athlete, he can close on the ball extremely well and isn't afraid to attack downhill. He could easily go much higher than I have him here but I'm largely going off consensus projections.



7-250 | LB BUMPER POOL, Arkansas (6'2" 237)
A rangy linebacker with solid play as a zone defender in coverage. Fits as an ILB or WILL in the NFL. Is a definite thumper. He hits like a Mack truck, throwing every little bit of his lighter frame into every hit. Passionate. Was an absolute dawg with 400 tackles the past 4 years in the SEC, which is definitely saying something. Had hip labrum surgery after 11 games this year so hasn't been on the radar in the draft process and it could push him to UDFA status but with a bunch of picks and a couple of late-rounders, I'd fully take the chance on the kid. Hell, this kid could just as well go in the 4th round if a team feels great about his medicals for 2023. We'll see.



Predicted 53-Man Roster

QB P. Mahomes II, S. Buechele (I think they'll add a vet option here after the draft)
RB I. Pacheco, S. Tucker, C. Edwards-Helaire
WR K. Toney, M. Valdez-Scantling, J. Hyatt, S. Moore, R. James, J. Ross
TE T. Kelce, Gray, J. Fortson, B. Bell
OT J. Taylor, L. Niang, B. Freeland, P. Tega-Wanogho, D. Kinnard
IL J. Thuney, C. Humphrey, T. Smith, N. Allegretti

DE G. Karlaftis, C. Omenihu, M. Danna, T. Robinson, M. Herring
DT C. Jones, K. Benton, D. Nnadi, D. Stills, T. Wharton
LB N. Bolton, D. Tranquill, L. Chenal, W. Gay, B. Pool
CB L. Sneed, T. McDuffie, J. Watson, R. Wright, J. Williams, N. Johnson
DB J. Reid, M. Edwards, B. Cook, D. Bush, Q. Johnson

ST H. Butker, T. Townsend, J. Winchester

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Appreciate the comments gents.

I am incredibly high on Hyatt and have been throughout the process. I think a lot of the statements about him are overly nitpicky on him. One that especially bothers me, and not to call anyone here out because I know it comes from external sources, is the part about blown coverages. When you watch the tape, you realize it's not as much blown coverage as it is Hyatt blowing by the coverage. He's an electric player and he makes more of it happen than I think often meets the eye. Subtle changeups that he uses to get a guy slowing down and then juicing them and shit like that. He's a phenomenal WR in my opinion. He's every bit as good as the guy countless people were gushing over last year in Jameson Williams last year for me and if I can get that I'm getting it. I do think we'll have to at least leap Buffalo to snag him and I MUCH prefer him over Flowers. In fact, I wouldn't draft Flowers for this current makeup of a WR corps. I actually prefer Hyatt over every WR not name Smith-Njigba for this team. I like Johnston but he's not as explosive as Hyatt. Hyatt will improve on the routes he hasn't been running as much of in college but you can't teach some of the things Hyatt does physically. And that's another point, route running in college is never what route running is in the NFL. They all have a learning curve. They all run the route tree in practice even if they don't run all those routes in games. They just aren't as refined in the technical nuances yet

Thank you for this - I actually feel better about Hyatt now. I always value your input!

[Couch-Potato]

MVS
Toney
Hyatt*
Moore
James
Ross
Ross
Powell
Smith-Marsette

He's the guy I think we all want.

[Abba-Dabba]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Young is a pretty highly thought-of player for what he is. Nobody is making any mistake about him being more than what he is as an early-down run defender. He's basically Nnadi before Nnadi went into complete suck mode. Most pundits have him in the 4th round. I don't think it's a big reach or anything but admittedly it's not a sexy pick.

Robinson has shown enough flashes I think to warrant a late 5th-round pick. Definitely not reaching on anyone at that point in my opinion. You're basically picking straws there. If a guy fell, like Horton for example, I'd jump on that. I just think he's in the range of late 3rd to late 4th much like McGuire and Diaby. Sure, if one of those guys falls down that far I'd change course. It's more about what I think is available at that point and it's definitely not what's available on pickyourfavoritedraftmachine.com.

I love Stills. He's the same guy as Calijah Kancey to me. That means one of two things, either Kancey is being drastically overvalued or Stills is being drastically undervalued. I'm going off of consensus opinions from writers I respect and that's where they have him. I think it has a chance to be far too low. My personal opinion is this is a 3rd-4th round guy and so is Kancey. Neither is the ideal size, neither are exceptional run defenders, and both get after the QB quite well. But as I said, you kind of have to give some credence to the national beats and think they might have a slightly better pulse on how teams feel than what my eyeballs alone tell me. Personally, I'd probably have the 3 of these guys as 4th Stills, 5th Young, and 6th Robinson. It's all relative though.

I'm not doubting them as players. I'm just saying that I see them as a reach in the spots you selected them. 134 and 178 I can see them not making that expectation. Tavius I can see him going earlier than either of the other 2 with his skillset.

No worries though. With a "what I want" type draft you are going to have to have the expectation going in you will have to reach a time or 2.

[Nightfyre]

Addison is the top WR of this class IMHO. Granted, I have not been as engaged this year as I have historically. But Addison just has that kelce ability to work over defenses and I feel can actually be a day one contributor. Hyatts ceiling is high owing to his athletic profile, but I feel he will need a ton of development as a route runner and as a player in a pro system, especially Andy Reids. The short area quickness and twitch of Addison feels like a stronger fit to me, despite limited top end speed. Take it for what it's worth, my 2 cents, etc.

I also somewhat suspect that these recievers end up going a little later than consensus. There are enough questions about each top prospect to cause them to slide to the late first, early second range.

[kccrow]

I might switch this up a bit. Just a couple picks but I'm having second thoughts on a couple of guys.

[kccrow]

Reworked this one for you guys, explanation in the preface. I'm in my happy place now.

[Couch-Potato]

Love those top 3 picks, plus Sean and Stills! Less familiar with the others but this is a solid mock!

[Abba-Dabba]

I like this one 100% more than the original.

[JPH83]

Hmm. I'd probably not prioritise those positions in that order if I'm completely honest. I'm way lower on Hyatt than most but fine at 31, but I'd still prefer a DE there given who I think will be available. I'd probably also switch the Wright and Robinson picks around for another DL in the 4th, but I wouldn't hate your order there. Lots to like