2014 NFL Draft

kennyb3

Paully D wrote: »

I can't wait for it now, I'm really looking forward to it.

The only thing I dislike about draft night is having to stay off social media during it as there's always a few media guys who have to try and show off by telling people the pick a few seconds before it happens, even though there was an agreement in the media I think. NFL Network ruined the #1 pick announcement last year FFS :pac:

Hopefully there'll be a gentleman's agreement between us on here not to spoil the picks either.

I've to stay away from media totally (facebook, e-mail, internet etc) until Sat morning as watching live isn't an option with twin babies in the house. Going to kill me! And praying there are no spoiler texts!

adrian522

Is it on SKy this year?

JaMarcusHustle

kennyb3 wrote: »

I've to stay away from media totally (facebook, e-mail, internet etc) until Sat morning as watching live isn't an option with twin babies in the house. Going to kill me! And praying there are no spoiler texts!

I'd like to propose the mods issue a no spoilers rule that night too. Even for posts "Rumours going around that X might be taking X". The thread should be a reactionary thread for what's been broadcast and nothing else, no other media sources allowed.

Morrison J

adrian522 wrote: »

Is it on SKy this year?

Think all they are showing is the first round. Heres the Thursday schedule on Sky Sports 1:

22:00
NFL Draft - Andrew Luck Master Class (Sport)
Neil Reynolds joins the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck for a quarterback masterclass. Luck holds the record for the most passing yards by a quarterback in his first two NFL seasons.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition)

23:00
NFL Draft - Story of the Draft (Sport)
NFL Films go behind the scenes at the 2013 NFL Draft and discover what the players go through during such a pivotal time in their careers.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition)

00:00
NFL - Draft (Sport)
New York's Radio City Music Hall hosts the 2014 NFL Draft. This pivotal offseason event decides the futures of the top college football players in the country.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition, Live)

kennyb3

Yeah first round only as with last year.

Knex*

Its gas the way some players stock rise and fall, all during a time when nobody is even playing games.

I can understand small changes in peoples opinions/rankings from season end to now as they have more time to study tape, interview, and pro day/combine affects it a bit too, but people putting the likes of Bortles and Carr ahead of Bridgewater is a little daft, surely.

If nothing they did during the past two seasons in college ever put them ahead of him then, what's changed since?

adrian522

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

I'd like to propose the mods issue a no spoilers rule that night too. Even for posts "Rumours going around that X might be taking X". The thread should be a reactionary thread for what's been broadcast and nothing else, no other media sources allowed.

Yeah, but then you will have some watching on Sky, some streaming, some gamepass. You'd need to stay off the thread if you are using a streaming site or gamepass.

Silver-Tiger

adrian522 wrote: »

Is it on SKy this year?

Wade Philips with Kev and Neil.

Great guest.

I recently started listening to The "Inside the Huddle" Sky podcast.
After months of listening to the boys from ESPN/PFT/NFLN it was refreshing to hear some familiar voices. Obv Neil as an "expert" on Sunday evening is bad but he does a pretty good job as a host of a podcast and leaves all the expertise to Reinbold and he's very good. Love how he pretends to know everyone in the game.

I'd love to know more about Reinbold. I'd say he's had a few rough years in between teams.

franglan

Jeff doesn't only know everyone in the NFL, he knows everyone on a first name basis in the NFL. He actually visits everyone weekly too!

Would really appreciate if they had at least day two on the red button - doesn't sound like it though :-(

SameOleJay

Did Jeff work with Trestman (in the CFL maybe) ? He seems to be very fond of him anyway.

Pumped for the draft anyway, at last.

HigginsJ

Seems like a lone voice in the night when it comes to Teddy Bridgewater.

Take a bow Doug Farrar

http://nfl.si.com/2014/04/29/2014-nfl-draft-top-64-teddy-bridgewater/

Paully D

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

If anything, the whole Bridgewater media drop should show you much of a sheep the majority of these writers are. Up to a month/six weeks, everyone was proclaiming Bridgewater as the best QB. It wasn't even in question with 99% of writers. Suddenly, one or two people started dropping him because of a pro day. All of a sudden, practically everyone is pointing out his flaws and how they rank others ahead of him.

It's bullshít, too many writers are afraid of their rankings being proved wrong. They want their top 5 QBs to be taken in that order in the draft so they can "toldyaso" everyone. Where were these concerns you had about Bridgewater back in March? After 3 years worth of game tape, are you seriously telling me that you've only spotted these concerns in the final couple of weeks before the draft, and it's a coincidence that all these so-called draft experts have as well?

It's a joke. Mayock's analysis of prospects might be better than anyone else, but he's as guilty as any of adjusting his ranking so as not to get his order of picks wrong. This gap between when the draft should have taken place and next weekend has done no favours for anyone. Apart from inexplicable risers like Garoppolo and Savage.

I'd love to see an analyst, as a joke, just get completely behind a player who is almost certainly going to be an UDFA or late round pick as an experiment to show how much group think plays a part in the draft. Then pen an article on the subject.

Though with Tom Savage being spoken about as a player who could sneak into the first or go early second round, I'm starting to think someone is already running with that idea.

franglan

It goes both ways though, look at the analysis of Ryan Nassib and the "NFL insider" love-in that happened. He was still a 4th round draft pick, who is now fighting for his roster slot with Curtis Painter.

adrian522

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

kennyb3

adrian522 wrote: »

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

Jerry Angelo admitted as much here. Thank f'uck we are done with him!

Long article - so here is the extract

'I was in Chicago in 2003 and we were hell-bent on taking a defensive lineman in the first round. We were a 4-3 scheme at the time and relied more upon big-bodied defensive linemen than slender ones. Michael Haynes, a defensive end from Penn State, was the player we drafted in the first round. To my recollection, no one loved him, including me. But he was the best available lineman in the eyes of many. Haynes had the credentials, led the Big Ten in sacks that year, played well at the Senior Bowl and was a bright kid. There was another player out of Troy State I really liked who was much more exciting to watch than Haynes in college. He was more of a conventional 4-3 defensive end.

It was ultimately my decision and I opted to select "the people’s choice” and passed on Osi Umenyiora, who the New York Giants selected in the second round. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s easy to get caught up in perception and need, but in the end, if you did your work and you have a strong conviction, do what you believe is the right thing for the club.'

Paully D

adrian522 wrote: »

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

Over on the soccer forum a couple of years ago we made up a rumour that Newcastle were trying to sign a North Korean striker. After a few days of Twitter and passing it around, journalists started to pick up on it and the Daily Mail ran a story on it :pac: Here's a Newcastle blog and the Mail discussing the potential (completely made up) transfer:

http://www.nufcblog.com/2012/06/06/newcastle-linked-with-north-korean-striker/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2155866/Transfer-latest-Luiz-Adriano-Tottenham-Liverpool-eye-Victor-Moses-Newcastle-target-Jong-Il-Gwan.html

Here's a comprehensive list of all places that covered it, about 40 articles, Serbian and Dutch websites started reporting that Newcastle face competition from Partizan and PSV for his signature :pac:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=1384

It might be fun to do something like that for the NFL draft. Just pick a 6th/7th round prospect, start tweeting NFL guys saying he looks really impressive on his tape, make up a few things about his attributes and see how far we can get him bumped up? :pac: If anyone knows or speaks to someone with links to draft guys via social media or something it might be an idea to see if we can get them involved in such an experiment?

Knex*

Had forgotten about that, Paully. Ridiculous how easy it was to get it into mainstream media.

Have to go the route of doing it through a social group (they still exist?), as you can't have it on a public forum.

glued

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

If anything, the whole Bridgewater media drop should show you much of a sheep the majority of these writers are. Up to a month/six weeks, everyone was proclaiming Bridgewater as the best QB. It wasn't even in question with 99% of writers. Suddenly, one or two people started dropping him because of a pro day. All of a sudden, practically everyone is pointing out his flaws and how they rank others ahead of him.

It's bullshít, too many writers are afraid of their rankings being proved wrong. They want their top 5 QBs to be taken in that order in the draft so they can "toldyaso" everyone. Where were these concerns you had about Bridgewater back in March? After 3 years worth of game tape, are you seriously telling me that you've only spotted these concerns in the final couple of weeks before the draft, and it's a coincidence that all these so-called draft experts have as well?

It's a joke. Mayock's analysis of prospects might be better than anyone else, but he's as guilty as any of adjusting his ranking so as not to get his order of picks wrong. This gap between when the draft should have taken place and next weekend has done no favours for anyone. Apart from inexplicable risers like Garoppolo and Savage.

Writers aside I would of thought it was fairly obvious how a player can suffer a huge drop. Yes, the game tape is nice but that is only one aspect of what these GM's and coaches are looking for. If Mayock says that Bridgewater's stock is dropping you can be sure that his stock really is dropping and there is probably good reason behind it.

The new concerns about Bridgewater may be ones that only coaches at an elite level are concerned about. Perhaps he interviewed very poorly. Maybe he was poor at taking on a more dynamic level of instruction. Maybe lots of teams don't see him as a 'good fit'. We don't and might never know why exactly his stock is dropping but we do know that it's not without merit.

My own opinion is that Bridgewater's poor performance at his Pro Day was a catalyst for criticism. As you say - Everybody was high on Bridgewater until March but from a Pro Day he's gone from #1 Overall to potential 2nd Rounder. At the start everybody was saying "how great he'll be at the next level", "he has all the intangibles", "safe pick" etc.... It's all draft hyperbole. The answer is that his true value lies somewhere in the middle. He's not a Top 5 prospect but he's not a second rounder either as he's one of the top QB prospects this class.

As a result of his Pro Day he obviously came under more scrutiny. He was probably asked more questions and had more focus than Manziel, Bortles and Carr put together as he was the #1 QB prospect. He's suffering now because he was ranked so high initially. The same people who ranked him so highly are now putting him lower and lower down the draft by the day and that's why I pay little heed to mocks.

thats a fair point interviews and how a guy works out for a team (i would imagine there is coaches- players who have lots of chemistry or no chemistry or any where in between) would play a big part in evaluating a player chip kelly and howie roseman seem to love the interviews they said the interviews and there character are the reasons they drafted bennie logan and matt barkley last year. so bridgewaters pro day may not be the issue

spencer long out of nebraska is a guy iv read could be drafted higher than he would have due to interviewing well and having a "high character"

Paully D

Audio and transcript from Mayock's conference call today. I only caught the last quarter but it was interesting as always:

http://nflcommunications.com/2014/05/01/transcript-audio-file-of-conference-call-with-nfl-network-analyst-mike-mayock-5114/

im looking for yere opinion on this because it feels wrong but if the browns grab watkins with there first and bridgewater with there second do ye think the browns become a powerhouse they have a good defense and o-line give them a good qb and watkins or evans across from gordon with camron at tight end. are they a potential superbowl team within the next 5 years....... i mean its the browns for god sake

HigginsJ

Gerald Polite Smallpox wrote: »

im looking for yere opinion on this because it feels wrong but if the browns grab watkins with there first and bridgewater with there second do ye think the browns become a powerhouse they have a good defense and o-line give them a good qb and watkins or evans across from gordon with camron at tight end. are they a potential superbowl team within the next 5 years....... i mean its the browns for god sake

They really are not a million miles away and have added well again this offseason, but as you say its the Browns. So Tom Savage with their 1st pick and Colt Lyerla with their 2nd pick

Itssoeasy

If the browns or any Cleveland sports franchise win a championship I'll eat my hat. Isn't it one of the signs of the apocalypse if they do ?

Itssoeasy

Itssoeasy wrote: »

If the browns or any Cleveland sports franchise win a championship I'll eat my hat. Isn't it one of the signs of the apocalypse if they do ?

ya thats why i cant bring myself to believe it but thats a serious roster if they get those two if they had a settled coaching staff id be certain

Silver-Tiger

#BELIEVELAND

Silver-Tiger

Silver-Tiger wrote: »

#BELIEVELAND

#BUTITSCLEVELAND

andyman

Why isn't it Thursday already?

Itssoeasy

My take on the draft is that if teams can say of a player, " I like this player" and no hesitation then draft the player. It's this whole pro day and private visit thing on top of the combine that bugs me as it's pointless if you have character or play concerns then don't sign the kid. If you can't get a feel of a college player from his college tape, combine workout then you need to get new talent evaluation people.

Paully D

Just put my mock draft together for the 1st round:




This is not what I would necessarily do or how I rank the players personally, more just a prediction on what each team might if certain players are available. I think the Texans/Rams/Falcons are all strong candidates to trade and will blow the whole thing open after about 5 minutes on draft night, but anyway.

Some short reasoning:

1) Texans - Clowney's the best player in the draft. He's a freak. Pairing him alongside JJ Watt is just unfair. If they stay #1 then they take the #1 player in the draft despite their need at QB.

2) Rams - Jake Long has injury concerns, is getting older, and the Rams need to do everything they can to protect Sam Bradford who is coming back from a serious injury. Robinson has everything you want in a franchise tackle from a physical point of view. Inexperienced at pass blocking, but OL coaches will love him and the chance to shape him.

3) Jaguars - Reports from those close to the Jaguars seem to indicate that they won't be taking a QB this early in such a deep draft (SI.com). If that's true, then they take the best pass rusher in the draft after Clowney who seems to be a great fit for Gus Bradley.

4) Browns - The Browns have needed a franchise QB for a long time. He's either going to work out really well or be a complete disaster, I can't see there being any in between. The Browns new set up go boom or bust.

5) Raiders - The Raiders don't have anything close to resembling a #1 receiver. Watkins has the possibility to have an AJ Green/Julio Jones type impact in the NFL.

6) Falcons - Matthews is arguably the most pro-ready of any player in this entire draft. Very good at everything he needs to be good at and will likely be an excellent LT tackle for a long time in the league. He can do an excellent job at RT either as he proved in college when playing on the opposite side of Luke Joeckel if the Falcons decide to go down that route. They can mix and match with Baker until their happy which is another benefit of Matthews' versatility.

7) Buccaneers - Mike Evans just seems like a great fit here. The Buccaneers really need a receiver after trading Williams, and Evans is special. Trying to deal with Jackson and Evans will be a match-up nightmare for defenders.

8) Vikings - If Bridgewater makes it past this spot, in my draft he's almost certainly falling out of the first round. That said, the Vikings need a QB and Bridgewater had a 3 day visit with Minnesota according to numerous sources. My thoughts on Bridgewater are known, and this is my perfect landing spot for him. If it it happens, the Vikings will be a force in the NFC soon.

9) Bills - The Bills have a massive need at TE, their GM says they're focused on giving EJ Manuel all the help they can to progress. The best pass protectors and wide receivers are gone, the best TE it is. Not a bad consolation prize, is it?

10) Lions - A couple of Lions fans have told me they are going to give their secondary crew another year and go WR, but with the addition of Golden Tate the need for help for Megatron is negated somewhat. I can't help but feel that they'll add Gilbert. Great press-man coverage CB's are all the rage in today's NFL and I think Gilbert has the potential to be one.

11) Titans - With the change to a 3-4 in defense due to Ray Horton, they need to find some sort of aggression and pass rush. Barr is raw, but can be taught and shaped and can learn a lot from Shaun Phillips.

12) Giants - I considered Mosley and Lewan here, but reports suggest Lewan's red flags mean the Giants won't even consider him. Eli spent most of last year running for his life and it's imperative that he's given protection. Martin is perfect in that he can play LT or guard. Gives the Giants a bit of flexibility depending on Beatty's play.

13) Rams - After sorting the O-line need with Robinson, the Rams have two big needs. Secondary and WR. It's a far deeper WR class than secondary class, so the Rams take the Ha'Ha Clinton-Dix. An extremely aggressive safety with pace, power, and ball skills. He'll be a major upgrade for them at the position.

14) Bears - The Bears are planning to keep their 4-3 defense and Donald fits that scheme perfectly. He's a bit too undersized to play the NT position in a 3-4. Donald is a capable run defender but an explosive and speedy pass rusher. He'd be a nice addition for the Bears.

15) Steelers - Pittsburgh are desperate for a playmaker at the CB position. Taylor got schooled nearly every week last season, I seen a stat which said that every receiver he faced apart from AJ Green posted season highs on him (think it might have been Walter Football actually?). Anyway, Dennard fills that need.

16) Cowboys - In my draft I'd imagine that the Cowboys main three or four players are off the board here. Dallas have a need at the safety position and Pryor would start from day one. He's going to end up spending most of his rookie paycheck on fines for his hits but he has a lot of potential. The Seahawks have paved the way for showing what you can do with good safeties and the cowboys defense instantly improves with this pick.

17) Ravens - Lewan is a very agile and quick OT who would be a great fit for the Ravens zone blocking scheme. He's only played the position for 4 or 5 years so can get even better. Red flags will put a lot of teams off but I think Harbaugh would be confident of whipping him into shape.

18) Jets - Beckham Jr is my favourite WR in the draft after the big two. A really, really speedy and explosive WR with great hands. He can return kicks too. Pairing Decker with Beckham Jr gives Vick/Smith weapons. A nice addition to an offense that badly needs improvement at the WR position.

19) Dolphins - All the Dolphins main targets are off the board at this point. Instead of reaching for an OT, they go for the best linebacker in the draft. Daniel Jeremiah says he'd feel comfortably with Mosley in either a 3-4 or 4-3 D and this move would also allow the Dolphins to switch Ellerbe to WLB.

20) Cardinals - The Cardinals D is really good but they seem to need pass rush every single year and it never really gets addressed to a high enough standard. Abraham and Dockett are getting on now. Kony is really versatile and I'm sure the Cards would enjoy coming up with lots of creative uses for him. He's also one of the quickest college players in the country in getting to the QB.

21) Packers - After Clinton-Dix, he's my favourite safety. He's exceptional against the pass and will be a great asset against slot receivers. Really good play recognition and he's capable against the run too. Only real knock on him would be his size, but he has the smarts to make up for it IMO.

22) Eagles - Eagles pass defense was the second worst in the NFL last year and adding secondary help would make a lot of sense. Fuller is flying up the draft boards and Mayock lists him as one of his favourite players and some Eagles beat writers have been saying that their D coordinator is a big fan of him too.

23) Chiefs - Kansas City need someone at the WR position to free up Bowe a bit and also to vary their offense from being either Charles or Bowe. He's very fast and an excellent route runner who will torch defenses after the catch. He's also a good run blocker and gets involved in that aspect of offense which will help Charles too.

24) Bengals - Bengals badly need an addition at the cornerback position. Verrett is a superb coverage skills, is good under the ball and on his tape has done a good job on receivers such as Beckham Jr who went to the Jets above. He's shorter than one would like, but his size is his only real knock.

25) Chargers - Another one that might drop because of red flag issues. Blazing speed, ability to contribute equally in man or zone, and good under the ball. His speed and athleticism would help against the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders (especially if the Chiefs have added Lee and the Raiders Watkins) and the Chargers would fill a big need with this pick.

26) Browns - The Browns go the expected WR/QB route, just in the opposite direction to what some are predicting. They have their QB, now they need to add a weapon alongside Gordon. Give them Brandin Cooks, a WR who has the ability to consistently get separation and contribute in both the slot and vertically. He'd be a nice piece for Manziel as his speed and seperation capabilities should see him able to stay open while Manziel scrambles.

27) Saints - With the vast majority of WR's and CB's off the board, the Saints target a future replacement for their ageing linebacker corps. Shazier is someone who can cover a lot of ground quickly from the linebacker position and he's very good in pass coverage. Rob Ryan I'm sure would love to get his hands on this guy.

28) Panthers - The Panthers have a lot of work to do in the draft. They need improvements at WR and OT especially. Benjamin was a big consideration here, but the Panthers decide to take a necessary risk to sort out their O-line which has been decimated. Very high-risk, high-reward pick here, but if Koundjo is a success then the Panthers have hit on one piece of their O-line rebuild.

29) Patriots - Not much to say here, I think Nix is a ready made replacement for Vince Wilfork/Tommy Kelly, who are 32 and 33 respectively and picking up injuries. Nix can slot in and be a 10 year starter at the position. He'll also get the invaluable experience of learning from those guys for a while too.

30) 49ers - In real life I think the 49ers have traded up for a receiver or corner, but here they take a chance on Kelvin Benjamin, a huge, physical specimen who they will hoping can take advantage of his size to become a matchup nightmare and big red zone threat.

31) Broncos - With the loss of Beadles the Broncos could do with a boost on their offensive line. It's not clear whether Franklin's position switch is going to work and in any case the Seahawks penetrated them quite easily in the Super Bowl. He seems an extremely safe pick and would boost any offensive line in the league.

32) Seahawks - Seahawks lost a lot of pieces on their D line this offseason and could do with an addition. The Seahawks are able to afford him time to bed in.

Let me know what you think, feel free to tear it apart

adrian522

Great write up, are you entering the PFL draft comp?

For the 49ers I'm not sure they'd select Benjamin there. I have to think CB is the bigger need. I could see them trad eup for oBJ in your scenario if he was still there I could see them jumping ahead of the Jets.

Dee Ford is a guy I really like and if the draft plays out like that I'd like to see SF take him and then maybe trade up a bit in the second and grab a CB there.

WR is still a position we have Crabtree, Lloyd, Boldin, Patton etc. So it's not an urgent need I don't think.

just looking over old drafts and was watching a bit of jamarcus russell tape he really did throw one of the prettiest balls iv seen such a waste

franglan

Really bored of this now...

adrian522

I drew the line at this. I mean FFS, just do the draft already.

SameOleJay

adrian522 wrote: »

I drew the line at this. I mean FFS, just do the draft already.

My god- how much time went into that abomination?

JaMarcusHustle

Seantrel Henderson continues to murder his draft stock. Tested positive for weed at the combine.

GoldFour4

Just looking through twitter and Goodell told Eisen that he's been lobbied heavily by the mayors of Chicago and LA for the draft location to be mixed up a little. I think its a nice idea to be honest.

HigginsJ

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Seantrel Henderson continues to murder his draft stock. Tested positive for weed at the combine.

Crazy how he had any real draft stock in the 1st place. He did nothing in Miami and wasn't even starter to begin the year.

I know the idea is that he is this raw talent with huge upside who can be coached up, however under the new CBA with full contact training sessions so precious no one will have the time to do this with Henderson.

adrian522

You can have a free trial of gamepass from now until May 12th, just dont forget to cancel autorenew.

padraig_f

Looking to learn a bit more about the expected first round picks, any good draft preview sites?

Paully D

padraig_f wrote: »

Looking to learn a bit more about the expected first round picks, any good draft preview sites?

Personally not a big fan of their mock drafts, but Walter Football have excellent previews of players, sorted by positions. Just copy and paste the below link into your browser mate:

walterfootball.com/draft2008P.php

nfl draft drinking game whos up for it

http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/lost-lettermens-2014-nfl-draft-drinking-game

its only with espn unfortunately

phatkev

Ha, you would need a lorry full of booze for 12 and 13 alone

phatkev

phatkev wrote: »

Ha, you would need a lorry full of booze for 12 and 13 alone

ya not sure if id make it out of the first 10 picks to be honest making pick 22 before blacking out could be an issue

Chucky the tree

10 players failed a drugs test at the combine. Mettenberger had a diluted sample which is considered a positive test. Timmy Jernigan is another big name failer. List also include: Telvin Smith, Christian Jones and Anthony Johnson.

Chucky the tree

Chucky the tree wrote: »

10 players failed a drugs test at the combine. Mettenberger had a diluted sample which is considered a positive test. Timmy Jernigan is another big name failer. List also include: Telvin Smith, Christian Jones and Anthony Johnson.

is it peds or just weed do we know

Chucky the tree

Gerald Polite Smallpox wrote: »

is it peds or just weed do we know

I'd say weed, but not 100% sure.

Paully D

Peter King's draft week column. Contains some things he's hearing etc:

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/05/05/nfl-draft-johnny-manziel-khalil-mack/

My meandering T-minus-three-days draftapalooza column (attaway to sell the column, King!) includes an eye-opener from Mike Mayock, predictions from the cognoscenti, separating fiction from fiction [cq] on Johnny Manziel, a rundown of places I think I think I know something about, a way to make a four-day draft sound almost tolerable, and the hottest name in the draft.

My mock draft runs Tuesday on The MMQB. Until then, here’s what I know now:

Ten things, from 1 to 32.

From the top of the first round to the bottom, here’s what I’m hearing:

No. 1, Houston. The buzz about a trade-down or Khalil Mack to Houston instead of Jadeveon Clowney won’t die. The Texans are doing a good job of sending mixed signals to the GM community, that’s for sure. Mack’s in the dark, which is to be expected. I can’t see Atlanta mortgaging the farm on any player, so if the Texans want to trade down, the return likely won’t be a ransom.

Nos. 2 and 13, St. Louis. I sense the Rams like Greg Robinson at two—over Sammy Watkins and Jake Matthews. A St. Louis contingent went to Auburn on Thursday to work out Robinson; no negatives surfaced. More mystery about 13. The Rams really like Johnny Manziel, and if he were there at 13 (which is unlikely), they would consider picking him. His workout for the Rams on Friday in Texas, with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer running the show, was impressive, as was the 80-minute post-workout session in the meeting room with Schottenheimer and coach Jeff Fisher, among others. One other piece of knowledge I got confirmed Sunday: Rams GM Les Snead recently went to Texas Tech and met at length with coach Kliff Kingsbury—Manziel’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at A&M in 2012—and came away thinking Manziel could adjust to life well as an NFL passer. Does that mean the Rams will take Manziel if he’s there at 13? I am still dubious. But I can tell you the Rams like him a lot.

No. 3, Jacksonville. A peer of GM David Caldwell said Sunday he knows a big Jag priority will be to play it safe with this pick. Sammy Watkins or Jake Matthews … quite safe.

No. 8, Minnesota. The Vikings are more inclined than ever to get their quarterback out of a bottlenecked group of passers at No. 40 in the second round. Vikes want a front-seven disruptor—defensive tackle Aaron Donald comes to mind—more than anything else up here.

No. 11, Tennessee. Hadn’t heard quarterback and the Titans in round one until Sunday. Now I hear: corner one, quarterback two.

No. 20, Arizona. We’ve been hearing a lot about quarterback here, and with the unpredictability of the QB market this year, it’s entirely possible the Cards could take a Derek Carr. On the other hand, Arizona’s not far away from competing in the NFC West, and is the best use of their draft currency to take a quarterback they’ll likely redshirt this year behind Carson Palmer?

No. 22, Philadelphia. Keep hearing they want in on the prime receiver action, and the receiver they want could be LSU’s Odell Beckham, who can play outside, inside in the slot and as a returner. But the Eagles would have to trade up, and GM Howie Roseman is doing his due diligence, talking to at least two teams in the mid-round neighborhood, when Beckham would likely go. But the cost could be too rich for the Eagles’ blood. They may have to settle for Marqise Lee, who would be some consolation prize.

No. 24, Cincinnati. Bengals like Teddy Bridgewater. They couldn’t. Could they? Well, if you’re Cincinnati, and you’re seriously thinking about making Andy Dalton the center of the franchise and paying him $17 million a year, you might be asking the question about whether Dalton’s worth it.

No. 26, Cleveland. Time to get a quarterback, right? Not so fast. GM Ray Farmer has asked at least one team low in the round about trading back into the first round from Cleveland’s second-round slot. That leads me to think Cleveland wants to get ahead of Houston, another obvious quarterback hotspot, and get a passer with a third first-round pick. That leads me to …

No. 32, Seattle. Think about the advantages of picking, saying, 35th instead of 32nd if you’re the Seahawks. Every dime is going to count going forward because of pricey vets like Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman who must be re-signed. Last year, the difference between the 32nd pick (safety Matt Elam) and 35th pick (tight end Zach Ertz) was $350,000 per year. Not a huge sum, but when you add a $1.4 million total difference between 32 and 35 to the fact that the Seahawks might be able to get a low-fourth-round pick for moving down three slots—and you remember how good Seattle’s been in the later rounds of drafts—you start to think John Schneider has to be thinking about this too. That’s if Cleveland would do a deal low in round one. But it’s intriguing. All Seattle would lose is the ability to add a fifth-year option by keeping its first-round pick. I think the advantages of saving $1.4 million and adding a mid-round prospect outweigh the edge of the fifth-year option.

* * *

Four men look into the crystal ball.

I asked Mike Mayock, Todd McShay, Mel Kiper and Gil Brandt, “When round one is over Thursday night, tell me a story line or two that will surprise people.”

Mayock: “I’m going to give you this one: [Nebraska cornerback] Stanley John-Baptiste slips into the first round. He’s what today’s NFL is all about. He’s too long [6-3 and 213] and moves too well for this not to happen.”

Kiper: “If I predict something that would shock me now, then it probably won’t be too shocking when it happens. But there could be as many as eight wide receivers in the first round—and no running backs. Although if this was 1988, [Ohio State running back] Carlos Hyde would have a top-15 grade. The real shock would be no quarterbacks going before 16, but I really don’t think that’ll happen.’’

McShay: “I’ve got [Ohio State linebacker] Ryan Shazier going ahead of [more noted Alabama linebacker] C.J. Mosley. I just updated my mock draft today. I’ve got Shazier going to Arizona at 20, Mosley to Green Bay at 21. Shazier is lean, but he can fly.’’

Brandt: “I don’t think Teddy Bridgewater falls to the second round. I think Johnny Manziel will go in the top five, but not number one. And I think Khalil Mack gets picked ahead of Jadeveon Clowney.”

Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin is this week’s Hottest Guy in the Draft.

Mayock surprised me the other day by saying he thought Martin will come off the board “between nine and 13 … He’s too good. He’s too safe. He’s about as safe a player as there is in this draft.” Mayock told me Sunday he saw a Notre Dame practice last summer in which Martin had to be shifted from his usual spot, left tackle, to guard because of an injury, and when he watched the tape of the practice, “It looked like he’d been playing guard for years.’’ I know one team in the top 10 seriously considering him.

Oat23

Long, but a good read. I wish him all the best.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2048118-for-nfl-prospect-pierre-desir-its-always-been-fatherhood-then-football

Realt Dearg Sec

adrian522 wrote: »

You can have a free trial of gamepass from now until May 12th, just dont forget to cancel autorenew.

How do you cancel autorenew? Can't seem to find it in settings.

EDIT: Nevermind, figured it out.

mikemac1

Gerald Polite Smallpox wrote: »

nfl draft drinking game whos up for it

http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/lost-lettermens-2014-nfl-draft-drinking-game

its only with espn unfortunately

There's a NFL Network version of that also

Down a shot everytime Mayock says "heavy legged waist bender" was one