HighlandHawks first 5 round mock draft

HighlandHawk

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Couple of caveats to this. First up, I've generally looked at the back end of round fully aware that we're drafting late so while some players may naturally be graded in a round above I've taken the shot at them where we can however some of these guys could easily jump up the boards. Ideally we'd be trading back in the second round to pickup an extra 5th or 6th and swapping the 2nd for an early 3rd but I'm not mocking trades out of this.

1 Kawaan Short DT Purdue
[youtube]z0_ueLOWGdU[/youtube]
Needs to be double teamed and if not he can barrel past the interior linemen. Naturally strong with long arms that helps him to disengage, can use leverage well and has a quick first step. Has multiple moves.

Concerns over level of effort linger due to games in the past but he's shown a willingness to put more effort in recently. Lacks a nasty streak.

2 John Simon DE Ohio St
[youtube]UpCJe4Djy_w[/youtube]
Absolutely relentless motor, can play both RE and DE even in 3-4 package. Good ability to swat the ball and while he isn't the quickest he does have a good burst and his natural quickness comes in the first 10 yards. Powerful upper body.

Lacks overall speed, struggles with coverage and needs to work on mixing up his move set. Aggression can get him into trouble. Not always a bad thing

3 Menelik Watson OT Florida State
[youtube]ag5wLMJ65xU[/youtube]
Off the scales atheticism, very powerful and agile and can completely lockdown a DE. Natural RT that suits the ZBS perfectly

Raw, very raw... A veteran will beat him and he needs time to develop into his role. Run blocking not the greatest

4 Bennie Logan DT LSU
[youtube]gpLIcE5cqtY[/youtube]
Quick first step, good leverage and if double teamed is not out the play completely.

Doesn't always disengage too well. More of a rotational DT, not every down, similar to Jason Jones he would likely appear in the nickel package more often.

5 Gavin Escobar TE San Diego State
[youtube]ZwQs9CP0ZI8[/youtube]
(can't find that much proper tape right now but watched him in the Ponsietta Bowl)
Good pass catcher, tall with decent speed and route running ability. Knows how to get open and make the difficult catches.

Not the first TE you'd put to run block. Lacks the strength and skills to contribute at an NFL level at the line of scrimmage

5 Ray(mond) Graham RB Pittsburgh
[youtube]hzPSjTJveuk[/youtube]
Quick and agile, good cutting skills means he will often make defenders miss the first tackle. If he breaks into the open field he has the ability to make something special happen. Decent pass catching. Has special teams returning experience

Won't break many tackle and his lack of size means he's not an every down back. Best used as a change of pace back. Don't ask him to pass block and while he's quick he's not got elite speed.

Later rounds/UDFA in no particular order
Josh Evans FS Florida
Brandon Kaufman WR Eastern Washington
Marquess Wilson WR Washington State
Nick Florence QB Baylor
Cooper Taylor SS Richmond
Tyrann Mathieu CB 'LSU'

Few notes:

What? No WR? Nope... Everytime I was thinking who would be available in those spots the WR's I believe PCJS would like were always a round or two away. I also believe they're happy with the Rice, Tate and Baldwin but they do know they need to look to the future hence why 6th round on I've for two potential WR's. Next year I believe we'll see a WR drafted early, this year? Not so much.

Two DT's? Yep. I don't think PCJS would be afraid to overload on the D Line looking for that special player that gives us that interior pass rush threat. It's a vital role and one I believe needs fixed sooner rather than later. Short gives us our starting 3 tech and Logan gives us a Jason Jones type. Build throughthe draft remember.

And that DE? Indeed. Quite a fan of John Simon and I actually believe he could be drafted as the long term LEO letting us keep Irvin as a situational pass rush specialist where I believe he could be more effective.

Menelik who? Oh if you don't know him, come the combine you will. I almost guarantee that Tom Cable is screaming at PCJS to draft him as early as possible. 3rd round would be risky to pick him up though so here's hoping we somehow get an early third or another late second.
 

kearly

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Nice work HighlandHawk. Good job finding new names instead of just recycling through the same stuff. Appreciated the video and rationale.

I don't think we will draft a RB, but I think Ray Graham was my favorite pick. Kind of reminds me of Ray Rice, or perhaps J-Force with speed.

Gavin Escobar is getting mocked in the 5th round a lot around these parts, but that is beginning to seem like a pipe dream unfortunately. Scott Pioli had Escobar #10 on his underclassmen big board. It is likely that Escobar will go in the first two rounds; it's possible he could be the first TE taken.

LSU's defensive line coach sucks. Montgomery, Mingo, and Logan all struggle badly with technique.

Giacomini and Okung look like fixtures. If PC did draft someone, it would be a player with sky high potential hoping to coach him up, so your reasoning is sound. They wouldn't make that pick in round 3 though- rounds 1-3 tend to be the rounds they address needs and the later picks tend to be where they draft depth and projects.

Love John Simon, but I suspect he'll end up in Baltimore or Pittsburgh. He's pretty similar to Courtney Upshaw last year, and Seattle didn't rate Upshaw as highly as we were initially told. Upshaw was drafted by the Ravens. Like Upshaw, Simon is a classic Steelers/Ravens OLB type- with power and technique rated over speed. The Ravens are probably losing Kruger this offseason, and the Steelers have some old dogs in their LB corps too, so I suspect he'll end up higher on their draft boards than ours. Would love to be wrong though. If Simon can add 20-30 pounds, I think he could be JJ Watt lite.

Kawaan Short is my preferred choice of the likely DTs available at #25. He has an odd skillset though- he's not a rock against the run but confusingly his best penetration ability is on running plays, especially against zone blocking schemes. When he breaks into the backfield, it's usually on a running play. That has value, but I think it deceives the unguarded observer who simply thinks he can break into the backfield at will.

I'm not a big fan of Sly Williams, but I think Seattle might lean more in his direction. He gains more from coaching than Short would, and he's a tank against the run. It would basically be like drafting Alan Branch. I like Alan Branch, and if Seattle conceded that the Red Bryant idea isn't working, it would be a good pick. Should be interesting offseason. It's been a while since PC/JS outsmarted themselves. Maybe that streak of savvy decisions ends this offseason.
 

Recon_Hawk

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I like the Bennie Logan pick with the 4th rd, alot, but I think he's an underrated guy who will see his stock climb before its all said and done. A 4th rd projection matches a lot of the draft grades he's getting, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him climb into the late 2nd rd, maybe even to the Seahawks.

He's a little raw, but he's young (a junior), extremely athletic with huge upside, and has the frame to easily add 10-15 pounds. He also plays with a high motor and toughness on the field which matches how the LSU coaching staff feels about him, seeing that Logan wore #18, the jersey number given to the player with the best work ethic.

I wouldn't want Logan as the Day one 3-tech starter, but if we get a stop-gap DT or if Jay Howard can handle the role for now, give it a year with Logan playing some vital, rotational snaps as a pass rusher, and I think he can grow into a disruptive 3-tech that we need.

Lastly, great late round/udfa list, especially Florence. He's a guy who won't overwhelm you, but he knows how to get the job done.
 

Rat

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As a Buckeye fan, I love John Simon. Johnathan Hankins is getting all the draft love, but Simon was the one who always stood out on the field. He's also a very natural leader.

I know this will probably turn off several of you to Simon, but he's exactly the kind of player that Tim Ruskell would have been all over. I don't think that's a bad thing though. A few Ruskell types on your team is a good thing. It's when you draft only those kind of players that your team lacks long term winning stability.
 
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HighlandHawk

HighlandHawk

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Thanks for the input guys. This is just my first mock, pre offseason I guess. so a lot can/will change.

I've tried to go for a PCJS philosophy for drafting, looking for those players who will improve the team the greatest and make us younger at the same time, preferably, fast, powerful and a desire to compete. In retrospect I could see us looking at the OLB around the 4th and 5th round and I believe Logan and Escobar will go higher so those guys will likely drop off my next list unless I pull the trigger on them earlier.

Have to admit thogh, Menelik is a bit of a homer pick for me, I just really want this guy (and think that the Seahawks would love him as well) but I'm struggling to see us grab in him in the third round. I've got a lot to think about moving forward and version two should be done after the combines.

Thanks for the input, it's much appreciated :)
 

The Outfield

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Nice. I like that finally it's a mock draft that doesn't have a WR as a first priority.... it's definitely no where near a priority imo.
 
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