Sac's February Mock - Best Yet!

[Saccopoo]

It’s officially Haley’s team now. Bill Muir is the official OC/OL coach and Haley is who’ll be calling the plays. He’s going to build this sumabitch the way he wants it built. That means getting the right guys in to do the job.

1. Anthony Costanzo, OT; Boston College: 6’7”, 305 lbs.
- Haley is tired of having to put Albert on an exercise bike at the start of every training camp. He wants mobile, athletic tackles for his zone scheme and Costanzo, a four year starting tackle and first team All American fits the bill perfectly.



2. Christian Ponder, QB; Florida State: 6’2”, 220 lbs.
- Haley rides Matt Cassel like a Leadville donkey. He wants a smart, poised quarterback that can make quick reads. Cassel isn’t that guy. Ponder is. Already working on his PhD in business (got his bachelors and masters in under four years), Ponder is athletic, has a nice arm and has excellent pocket and field awareness. Visions of Kurt Warner are dancing through Haley’s head.



3. Jerrell Powe, NT; Ole Miss: 6’3”, 335 lbs.
- To get Pioli and Crennel off his back, he picks the Ole Miss nose tackle, team captain and teammate of current Chiefs Dexter McCluster and Kendrick Lewis. Powe has great size for the NT and will fill the two-gap position effectively.



4. Austin Pettis, WR; Boise State: 6’3”, 205 lbs.
- Haley has his Boldin in Dwayne Bowe, now he needs his Fitzgerald. Pettis isn’t exactly Fitz, but he runs great routes, extends for the ball, has hands of glue and knows how to find the end zone. He’s also a pretty good open field runner. Should be an excellent possession receiver.



5. Jake Kirkpatrick, C; TCU: 6’2”, 300 lbs.
- The 2010 Rimington Award winner, Kirk was also a 2nd team AA. Deceptively strong with good quicks, an excellent zone blocking center prospect.



6. Mike Mohammed, LB; California: 6’3”, 240 lbs.
- Mohammed is a tough, smart guy that only missed one game his entire career. Has good size and a frame to add more, he is athletic enough to play either inside or outside. Has a great nose for the ball in both the pass and run. Finished his career with fourth most tackles in school history.



7. Rob McGill, OT; Louisiana Tech: 6’6”, 310 lbs.
- Three-time all-conference player who has started since his freshman season. Very good run blocker in addition to having good footwork in pass protection. He won’t remind anyone of former Bulldog Willie Roaf right off the bat, but there’s a lot of tools to work with and develop.

[salame]

maybe we should just draft 7 O-lineman

[cabletech94]

Originally Posted by salame

maybe we should just draft 7 O-lineman

surely we'd get one that took?

[RealSNR]

People are having their periods over the 3 Olinemen

In this mock, though, we've covered a lot of needs and that's not even including the extra 5th round pick we have.

I remember when San Diego sucked eggs on the line. They drafted McNeil and two others in one draft and that cleaned up their problems right away.

I'm not demanding a superior line or anything, but we need depth at all positions and some starters should probably get replaced. I'm totally fine with it.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by SNR

People are having their periods over the 3 Olinemen

In this mock, though, we've covered a lot of needs and that's not even including the extra 5th round pick we have.

I remember when San Diego sucked eggs on the line. They drafted McNeil and two others in one draft and that cleaned up their problems right away.

I'm not demanding a superior line or anything, but we need depth at all positions and some starters should probably get replaced. I'm totally fine with it.

Is that conditional an official fifth rounder? I haven't seen it mentioned, so I didn't include it in my mocks.

[spanky 52]

I've seen where the fifth round picks are #l48 and #151. Is is true we don't have a sixth?

[KurtCobain]

I do want Powe bad. You sure he'll be there in the third?

[BigCatDaddy]

This isn't too bad for the most part, but I would still go OLB with the 1 instead of of the Tackle.

[Rams Fan]

Sac, what do you think of Saffold?

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by KurtCobain

I do want Powe bad. You sure he'll be there in the third?

Hmmm...a good question actually.

Let's see, there are, by my count, currently 16 teams that run a 3-4 defense:

Kansas City, Dallas, Jets, Packers, Dolphins, Ravens, Bills, Cardinals, 49ers, Steelers, Redskins, Chargers, Broncos, Browns, Patriots and Texans.

Dallas (Ratliffe), Jets (Pouha), Packers (Raji), Dolphins (Soliai - what's with all these Utes at NT, BTW?), Ravens (Gregg/Cody), Bills (Williams - best NT in the NFL IMO), Cardinals (Robinson/Williams), 49ers (Franklin), Patriots (Willfork) and Steelers (Hampton) all have solid players entrenched at the position.

Several are free agents, but I expect all will be resigned by their respective teams.

Chargers drafted Cam Thomas in 2010 to play the position.

Broncos and Browns will be switching to a 4-3.

Redskins will probably be looking for one, especially considering that Haynesworth refuses to play NT in a 3-4, and was just accused of (another) road rage incident and will probably be in custody later today on that charge. I see the Redskins trying to jettison him.

Texans need a guy.

Chiefs need a guy, but who knows with Pioli.

One team for certain will be looking to fill the 3-4 NT spot in the 2011 draft.

Two teams (Chiefs and Redskins) will probably be looking for a 3-4 NT in the 2011 draft.

The others might pick one up later in the draft as a project, but I don't see that happening before the third or fourth round unless a team falls in love with a guy. And I don't see that happening with Powe, who was average this past season and didn't get a Senior Bowl or Shrine invite (which usually goes out to the top guys).

Phil Taylor of Baylor is the top NT in the draft. He's got prototype size and excellent athletic ability for a guy that big. He was killing guys at the Senior Bowl. He could possible go in the first to a team like Pittsburgh, but he probably wouldn't make it past Houston in the second round at pick 42.

Sione Fua of Stanford played extremely well in the Cardinals switch to a 3-4 this past season and is probably regarded as the second best true 3-4 NT in the draft. Depending on what teams do in the first with the DT position, Fua could be a 2nd, 3rd or 4th round pick in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defense.

The next guy off the board at that position is going to be between Powe, Ellis of Hampton and Williams of Notre Dame. Ellis is an absolute monster with the total package. Depends on if the pro guys thought he was just bored at the DII level or is actually an unmotivated dude. Williams has good (not great) size and plays hard. Powe is what he is, a huge dude that's going to tie up blockers. He's not a penetrator, but that's not what you expect out of a NT.

Yeah, I think he'll be there in the third. I wouldn't roll the dice that he'd be there in the fourth however.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

This isn't too bad for the most part, but I would still go OLB with the 1 instead of of the Tackle.

Miller won't fall after his Senior Bowl performance. If he did, all day long.

If Ayers is there...maybe.

After that, I don't think that there is a quality 3-4 LOLB prospect worth a first rounder. Houston and Smith are both 4-3 college ends that were dedicated pass rushers only. They are tweeners that might not have the capability of falling back into pass protection or providing quality run support at the next level. That's a lot to expect and a lot of unanswered questions to take a chance on with a first rounder that needs to come right in and provide quality playing time.

As well, Studebaker was getting more and more reps by the end of the season and we have no idea on what the potential of Sheffield is, though the coaching staff likes him a lot. I just don't think that taking a gamble on a guy who is going to be a project at a position where there is some depth is worth a first for this team right now.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Sac, what do you think of Saffold?

Probably the same thing you think of him. Guy had a very good season and looks like he'll be the cornerstone of that offensive line for a long time. Give Bradford some outside weapons and a season or two of everyone working together and the Rams should be pretty tough.

[Bewbies]

UGA switched to a 3-4 this year, Houston was an OLB.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by spanky 52

I've seen where the fifth round picks are #l48 and #151. Is is true we don't have a sixth?

we traded magee and a 6th for a 5th, i think

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Probably the same thing you think of him. Guy had a very good season and looks like he'll be the cornerstone of that offensive line for a long time. Give Bradford some outside weapons and a season or two of everyone working together and the Rams should be pretty tough.

On the other side of the line, what about Smith?

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Is that conditional an official fifth rounder? I haven't seen it mentioned, so I didn't include it in my mocks.

I remember the Chiefs sent away Alex Magee and an extra pick for Tampa's 5th