2016 NFL mock draft: Seattle Seahawks snag Jonathan Bullard

This works for me.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/ ... an-bullard

Sheldon Rankins is number 1 on the board. He was available and they didn't pick him. Bullard is a fringe 1st rounder who I like but if rankins is there u take him period end of story.

titan3131":3i8gbv69 said:

Sheldon Rankins is number 1 on the board. He was available and they didn't pick him. Bullard is a fringe 1st rounder who I like but if rankins is there u take him period end of story.

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Seems like a case of wanting to look right. All the info is out there of considerable interest from the Hawks in Bullard (whether it is smoke screen or true we won't know yet). So, instead of mocking the best available player that is the best fit, they mocked someone they have seen rumors of interest in. With that said, I love Bullard so no complaints from me (although not as much as Rankins).

Funny thing is the first report of Rankins being a first round pick came from the Seahawks. That was back when he was still thought of as a third rounder.

McGruff":1crxclvv said:

Funny thing is the first report of Rankins being a first round pick came from the Seahawks. That was back when he was still thought of as a third rounder.

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Ya, from the Senior Bowl right? He was one of the first players we heard linked to Seattle. The popular name right now is Bullard to us though. You can tell which sites do their mocks based off of rumored interest.

Jonathan Bullard is better than Dominique Easley, IMO, but it's still a comparison that gives me pause.

I'm basically at the point now where I'm rooting for Seattle to surprise us at #26.

I want a surprise @ 19 or 21 and we get RANKINS!

I would love Rankins, before he pulled up at the Senior Bowl, he was eating every olineman alive.

I just don't see it with Bullard.

I think we desperately need a DT, preferably a run stopper now that Mebane is gone. It Tuba gets hurt, we're in deep doo doo.

My preferences in order are the powerful Andrew Billings, the light footed Vernon Butler, and the physical phenom, Chris Jones who is only 21 years old.

You take them in the first round so that you can have that 5th year option, then bring him along slowly.

Depending on who falls to 26, I don't believe that there's that much difference between a late 1st round tackle or a 2nd rounder.

I really liked Spriggs early on, before the combine, but something worries me about injuries with him. For some reason I see Russell Okung for injuries.

And with all the talent available, it seems like a waste to me to pick anything for the Oline other than a left tackle. Ifedis intriguing, but he failed at left tackle at A&M.

I'm not that high on Rankins or Bullard, but they feel like franchise saviors compared to Chris Jones. Jones has some of the worst and most boring tape in the draft among draftable DTs, and his combine numbers are good but not amazing. He's the kind of player you could find in rounds 3-5 EVERY year.

Rankins, IMO, can be as good as any DT in the league.

Other than jumping ability and 40 time, Rankins' combine numbers are eerily similar to Jordan Hill's. Rankins had a lot more production, but he never had a "game wrecker" type impact... it would be more accurate to say that the QB ran into him a lot (same thing is / was true for Hill).

He's a safe pick, maybe the safest of all the DTs. But I think his ceiling is over-stated. He doesn't have that lightning first step and doesn't have the arm length. Really all he has going for him is some empty college production and good athleticism.

I dunno, maybe he could be a star in the NFL... I just struggle to see how he does it. Pretty much every star DT in the NFL had some kind of special trait. Rankins is lacking in glaring weaknesses, but he's also lacking in rare, standout qualities. Being a jack of all trades and master of none gets you players like Derrick Morgan and Lawrence Jackson.... if you want a superstar you need a guy with at least one undisputed superstar trait.

When you compare Rankins' combine profile to other guys in recent drafts, you get names like Earl Mitchell and Grady Jarrett. Good, but not great.

I have no ill-will against Rankins. I just think he's a Tim Ruskell type. High Floor, low ceiling. An okay starter. Safe.

The thing for me with Bullard, or overemphasizing the value of an outside-in DL trying to emulate Bennett, is that I'm concerned about a guy needing to basically know whether it's run or pass to make a positive impact. Bennet does better situationally, but can still rush the passer from the edge or impact a running play on the inside.
Even a base "run-stopping" DT can have his value dramatically cut into if an opponent just avoids being too run/pass predictable. Brandon Mebane's impact against the pass seems to have been forgotten by many, because it has dropped so much since his 2014 injury. Before that his presence, even without many "passing down" snaps, was pretty significant just by preventing comfort in stepping up in front of the edge rush.

Getting someone similar to Mebane would be great since he's gone....yuk.