Thread: Assassin's 1st mock offseason

Haven't had much time lately to sit down and assess things, but this week has slowed me down a bit. I've had time to formulate an initial plan. First off will be Free Agency, followed by my draft preferences. Here is a quick position by position assessment.

QB-Unless Andrew Luck somehow drops to us, our QB situation should remain the same. 3 QBs, all going different directions at the current time. One is melting down. One's star should be on the rise. The other is stagnant.

RB-I like the progress that Moreno has showed now that he's healthy. It's part OLine maturing and part natural ability. Regardless, he's still n injury risk. Problem is, we have so few draft picks and our defense is sol old. I think RB gets addressed via Free Agency and/or very late in the draft. My preferred Free Agents are:

Ricky Williams...Little wear and tear for his age. He's stable and is a complete RB. Has good hands and good power. Plus he'll be pretty inexpensive.
Mike Tolbert...He has shown that he can be successful, given the opportunity. He's great on the goalline and he blocks well. Plus we also subtract a solid addition from a division opponent.

WR-We're fine here. With youth like DT, Decker and Royal to go with vets Gaffney and Lloyd, we're fine for now I don't expect much more from Gaffney, but he is a solid #3 or 4 and is a professional. Lloyd is a huge question mark to repeat his 2010 output, but he should still be a solid producer for us.

TE-We NEED a pass catching threat at TE. McD's successor is likely to make better use of the TE spot. As with RB, the draft isn't the right place to find our gut. There are 3 options here.

Zach Miller...STUD who has had to deal w/ the Oakland QBs. He is a star in waiting. But will Oakland let him go?
Kevin Boss...Very good TE who blocks and catches well. He's not my #1 option, but we'd do well to end up w/ him in Denver.
Owen Daniels...The biggest playmaker of the bunch, but has the recent injury. I love the guy...especially if Kubiak end up coaching in Denver.

OLINE-Right Tackle seems to be our biggest concenr right now w/ Clady at LT and 3 rookie interior OL on the roster. Depth is an issue as well. A late draft choice and/or responsibly priced Free Agent addition is key here. I have no specific names who I want yet. Need more research time.

DLINE-MUST BE ADDRESSED VIA THE DRAFT. We have solid players and 3-4 bodies. Just no difference makers or dominant presences who make offenses account for them. My draft preferences to follow.

OLB-I like what we have at 3-4 OLB with Elvis and Ayers...although I do acknowledge the injury concerns. We also have developed depth in their absences. I think this position can be addressed in the future, given our other needs.

ILB-We need to improve here. DJ is solid, but not dynamic. He's stable, but aging. I would like this position to be addressed in Free Agency and the draft. 3 Free Agent options I like include:

David Harris...If we spend big on any Free Agent this year, it should be for him. Dominant 3-4 ILB who comes from a great system. Young and nasty. A must have.
David Hawthorne...Another nice young player. He's not Harris, but he can play. He'll be 26 next year and will be much less expensive than Harris.
D'Qwell Jackson...Older option, but he is a player. Injuries have hurt him, but he's a very low cost infusion of natural LB talent.

Safety-Given the youth at the position, I think we're okay here for now. The only real move I see us making here is if Kubiak is the coach, then Pollard may follow.

CB- Champ's age and contract as well as Cox's current "behavior" CB is a need for us. Quad has shown glimpses and our older vets are still talented, but it's a real possibility that Champ leaves. He could also move to Safety, although pretty unlikely in 2011. Not a great draft class at CB, but very top heavy. I think DLine is the draft focus early and often so I'd go CB in Free Agency. My guy:

Eric Wright...He's only 25 and has shown improvement each season. He'll have a fairly high cost, but I don't think it will be over the top. If Champ does move on, we'll have the cash for him.

I hope Denver drafts another RB the first 3 rounds with a coach whose completely committed to the run... 40 rush attempts a game with Knowshon/Demarco Murray/Tebow sounds very nice.

Im not for signing any RB in Free Agency though.... the career span of a RB is not too promising... even the good ones.

MOCK DRAFT

ROUND 1
MARCEL DAREUS, DE, Alabama
6'3" 309

Beast of a man and already plays 3-4 DE at 'Bama. He's been my #1 for a year now. Was hoping we had no shot to get him, but now that we do, he's the guy.




ROUND 2A
JARED CRICK, DE, Nebraska
6'6" 285

Another beast. Suh loves him, which is good enough for me. He's strong as an ox and seems like a great fit as 3-4 DE.




ROUND 2B
MARTEZ WILSON, ILB, Illinois
6'4" 250

This is likely to be my most disputed pick, but our front 3 needs to be stronger and we need to be better up the middle as well. Even if we add a Free Agent ILB, Wilson can rotate in and contribute in special teams until he would be ready to supplant DJ.




ROUND 3
PHIL TAYLOR, NT, Baylor
6'4" 340

FINALLY, our young, dominant NT. Nuff said.




ROUND 6
RASHAD CARMICHAEL, CB, Virginia Tech
5' 10" 186

SPEED. SPEED. SPEED.




ROUND 7
DEREK HALL, OT, Stanford
6'5" 305

Nice draft. I think Taylor is going to sneak into the 2nd round because of number of teams looking for 3/4 NT. He has shown he has the ability to hold up the POA and take on double teams. Also I disagree with your view on the safety position. I think there is to much age and the young guys have yet to step to believe this isn't a position need either via FA or the draft.

I think they take a couple local kids somewhere in the draft. Nate Solder and Jimmie Smith. Solder can be spooky good, and if they keep Tebow they need a RT. Smith is the best all round DB available. He has the size and speed to play anywhere in the backfield.

Nice mock draft. Well thought out and I like that you focused on defense, primarily on the d-line. I would be happy with this.

If we have needs at RB then I think we should consider a guy like Deangelo Williams who is a FA or maybe someone else to compliment KM. Clearly Bucky and Mauroney are not the answer so I think they both will be gone. Lendale White I think could have done wonders for us but he got hurt. So, White should be back to compete next year. I just don't think we should burn a draft pick on a RB this year and should look to the free agent pool. Maybe on TE too unless his name is Rudolph.

OK...so a month later and how does this hold up?

We seem more likely to go 4-3 rather than stay 3-4, so I will have to revamp soon. However, if we do stay 3-4, I still like this...although Phil Taylor has been projected late 1st/early 2nd now. I still love Dareus, Crick and Wilson. I also still like the other 2 later picks. I'd have to find a different #3...maybe a Ryan Williams, RB, V Tech? Maybe a OLB.

As far as FA goes, I now think we should spend much less. If Champ does go, we have some money, but we better go YOUNG if we're spending.

I like the Dareus pick but only we can move down a few slots. If not, i would rather take Fairly or Bowers.

I like the Crick pick and SoCal said that he liked Martez over my pick of Jones but im still uncertain of that but if Martez is equally as good i have no problem taking him.

I say no to Carmichael, ive seen enough of him to not be overly impressed but to each their own.

As for Taylor and Hall dont know much about them to really make a statement on them yet.

Yeah...the more I think about it, I still think I prefer dareus over Fairley. Dude is a tank. And he was productive longer than Fairley was. He doesn't come w/ the baggage and is actually a bit heavier. He can easily play 3-4 DE or 4-3 DT.

If we go 4-3, I'd change Crick to Watt given his size (6'6" 292)...especially since I don't even think Crick declared.

So:

1-Marcel Dareus, DE/DT, Alabama
2A-JJ Watt, DE, Wisconsin
2B-Martez Wilson, ILB, Illinois
3-Best RB/CB/Safety available