Thread: Northman's 2016 Mock Draft

(Using the Fanspeak Simulator) (7 round Mock)

**This Mock does include the comp picks as well as trades**


38: R2P7
OT SHON COLEMAN
AUBURN

STRENGTHS

Very long and gets maximizing disruption from arm length. Above average play strength with powerful upper body. Extremely physical with backpack full of nasty with him. Drive blocker who uproots defenders and creates space. Latches onto defenders with big, strong hands. Gets chippy as run blocker and looks for aggressive finish. Pass sets are generally balanced with decent slide to the edge and ready hands. Has ability to redirect inside against stunts. Very heavy hands. Uses his punch as a measure of force and intimidation. Fires his hands from inside his frame and lands with proper placement. Able to play in space. Relatively smooth climbs to second level and mirrors oncoming traffic looking to engage. Has played on left and right side. Held his own against Myles Garrett from Texas A&M losing badly just once on inside spin move.


WEAKNESSES

Base will get too wide hindering balance. Leans into contact in pass sets and consistently plays with weight too far forward. Feet deaden when punching, opening door around the corner. Inconsistent footwork in general. Lunges at rushers trying to turn corner rather than sliding feet into position. Has habit of leading with head down and will miss run targets at times. Got away with holding in college. Doesn't bring feet thru contact in run game and has trouble sustaining without mauling. Needs hands to control defender rather than just punish. Will turn 25 as a rookie after sitting out two years overcoming a leukemia diagnosis in 2010.

63: R2P32
DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN
MICHIGAN STATE

STRENGTHS: Lining up mostly at left defensive end, he does an excellent job using his long strides to gain instant momentum, leaning into blockers to transition that speed into power. He can do damage from both sides of the line. Has a fluid lower body and bends well off the edge with natural flexibility to curve the arc.
Often wins the edge with a straight speed rush, using his initial get-off and long strides to beat the tackle to the corner. Slips blocks with his quick feet and initial momentum to crash the pocket, showing a relentless play style to keep blockers busy.


Calhoun has shown improved hand use and pass rush moves, putting more thought into his moves and using his length to stack and shed with a violent mentality. He is stout at the point of attack to hold his ground vs. the run. Shows impressive strength, length and even agility when run defending.
He is coordinated in space to easily change directions and keeps his feet well, protecting against cut blocks. Does an excellent job playing the edges and holding contain. Does a nice job using his length to jolt blockers.



WEAKNESSES: Calhoun isn't as strong as he looks right now and is missing a power element to his game as he's too easily slowed or stonewalled at contact. He loses the leverage battle too often and his ball awareness tends to run hot/cold. His snap anticipation and technique are both underdeveloped.
Bad habit of lowering his head at contact, losing sight of his target. Calhoun needs to be a better finisher in the pocket, playing too hard and out of control at times, leaving production on the field.

95: R3P32
WR RASHARD HIGGINS (WR/ST)
COLORADO STATE

Strengths:

• Great speed

• Flawless release
• 17 TDs in 2014 - an expert of getting open in the end zone
• A monster after the catch
• Dangerous in space
• Fancy footwork
• Not awful at blocking
• Good vision
• Often gives routes a 2nd effort
• Can make contestant grabs
• Great coordination on over-the-shoulder throws
• Viable deep threat
• Got some toe tap magic

Weaknesses:

• A little small for the NFL
• Struggled with a hamstring injury
• Uses his chest to catch some balls
• Acceleration isn't excellent
• Concentration issues
• Made quite a few easy drops in college
• Runs great routes at times, but gets slippery
• Isn't doing much on run plays

99: R3P36
ILB SCOOBY WRIGHT III
ARIZONA

STRENGTHS: Quick, instinctive and relentless, Wright is a classic tackling machine at inside linebacker. He's consistently in position to make big plays in part due to his excellent diagnosis skills, showing excellent timing to jump the snap count and squeeze through gaps to make plays behind the line of scrimmage, including when rushing the quarterback.
Complementing Wright's awareness is good athleticism, including the balance, lateral agility and active hands to avoid would-be blockers in the hole. He possesses good (but not great) speed to the flanks but is made faster due to his recognition, frequently slicing through the line on toss plays wide to bottle up backs before they have a chance to turn the corner.
Wright is generally a reliable wrap-up tackler who isn't afraid to leave his feet to deliver a big blow on the ballcarrier. He has active hands and keen spatial awareness to rip or punch out the ball (recording six forced fumbles in 2014) as he's or another defender are making the tackle.



WEAKNESSES: Though listed at a prototypical inside linebacker size of 6-feet, 246 pounds, Wright does not possess an ideal build for the position. He possesses a bit of a "beach build" with a relatively slim lower half which causes him to struggle to anchor.
His production was inflated by spinning off would-be blockers and tracking down ballcarriers in pursuit, as well the action being funneled to him in Arizona's unique 3-3-5 spread defensive alignment. He was often asked to rush the quarterback rather than drop into coverage at Arizona and may lack the fluidity and straight-line speed to handle third down duties in today's pass-happy NFL.
He will overrun plays, leaving himself and his teammates vulnerable to cutbacks. He has a tendency to leave his feet to tackle, often connecting for impressive hits but lunging at air occasionally, as well.
The surgically-repaired meniscus (left knee) and foot sprain which limited Wright to just three games in 2015 will need an evaluation from NFL doctors at the Combine.

104: R4P5
CB MAURICE CANADY
VIRGINIA

STRENGTHS: He has ideal height and length for the position with the coordinated athleticism to shadow receivers at all levels of the field. Canady accelerates well to smoothly change directions. Canady plays with nonstop competitiveness and shows a keen awareness vs. the run.

WEAKNESSES: Displays wild footwork in coverage and needs to calm his transition to stay under control ? he is able to recover after false steps in the ACC, but that won't be the case in the NFL. Lacks ideal strength to push through blocks and is more of a hugger than overpowering finisher.

136: R4P37
RB C.J. PROSISE
NOTRE DAME

Strengths:

After redshirting his first year in South Bend, Prosise actually played 13 games as a wide receiver and was active on special teams. During that season, he totaled seven receptions for 72 yards. He followed that up the next season with 29 receptions for 516 yards and two touchdowns while leading the team in special teams tackles. His experience in catching the ball is fairly deep and it shows in his play.
He is an experienced route-runner for someone at his position and displays the soft hands necessary to make some difficult catches. Despite being the starting running back with over 1000 yards rushing, Prosise has still managed to total 26 receptions for 308 yards and a touchdown so far this season. He will go into the league compared to some of the better receiving backs like Arian Foster or DeMarco Murray.

Weaknesses:
While his experience as a receiver helps him to be a threat from the backfield in the passing game, it also demonstrates his inexperience at the position as a whole. This will be something on the minds of scouts, coaches, and executives alike. While it shouldn’t hinder his abilities in the NFL, his lack of experience will give him a label as a “project player”, no matter how unjustifiable it may be. Prosise will have to do a good job demonstrating the nuances of the position he’s learned in just one year of playing at the position. If he can demonstrate this at the combine and his pro-day, he can alleviate some of those fears.

While I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a weakness, this is one of those key areas of inexperience that Prosise will definitely need to continue to improve. There are times where Prosise identifies a player leaking into the backfield and there are others where he steps up against the wrong hole and the quarterback gets sacked. In a press conference after Notre Dame beat Navy, 42-24, Head Coach Brian Kelly identified this saying, “I think he’s (Prosise) still evolving within that role (running back). Missed a couple of protections today, but I think what I like the most about him is he is in that learning curve…”

144: R5P5
FB GLENN GRONKOWSKI
KANSAS STATE

STRENGTHS: Has proven himself as a versatile talent as a rusher, receiver and blocker. A versatile talent, Gronkowski established himself as one of the better blockers at the college level early in his career. Made the most of his limited touches with seven career touchdowns.



WEAKNESSES: Doesn't have the same size as his older brother. Didn't receive many chances to touch the ball (31 career offensive touches).


IN OUR VIEW: On the surface, leaving school a year early looked like a surprising move because rarely do underclassmen fullbacks leave early for the NFL Draft. But Gronkowski graduated in December and has nothing left to prove at the college level. If he feels ready for the next step in his life, then the move makes sense. Another year of college football likely won't push his draft value any higher.


Gronkowski will now compete with Northwestern's Dan Vitale and Wisconsin's Derek Watt to be the first fullback drafted in the 2016 class. Gronkowski is expected to be drafted on Day 3, likely in the fifth-to-seventh round range.
If he had a different last name, would Gronkowski still be considered a draftable player? We'll never know that answer, but his tape does speak for itself. And it shows a player worthy of late-round consideration.

146: R5P7
P DREW KASER
TEXAS A&M

Positives

• Highly Consistent in yardage
• Has a very strong leg, 70 yard career best
• Good directional ability
• Frequently places inside the 20, avoiding touchbacks
• Very productive in college
• Smooth, quick punting technique
• Good hang time, 5.0 seconds
Negatives

• Hang time can be inconsistent

219: R6P41
OLB IAN SEAU
NEVADA

Strengths:

has great size
is a good pass rusher
a solid tackler
versatile
can play OLB
and DE. Has a nonstop motor
a pure play maker for the Nevada defense
and he looks faster than his projected 40 time indicates.
Weaknesses:

The only negative may be the conference he played in

226: R7P7
S TRAE ELSTON
OLE MISS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

The hard-hitting, extremely aggressive Elson provides quite the complement to free safety Cody Prewitt in the Rebels' secondary. While not as reliable in coverage as his teammate, Elston attacks downfield in the running game, popping off the screen due to his closing speed.

233: R7P14
RB KEENAN REYNOLDS (RB/ST)
NAVY

STRENGTHS: The move from quarterback should come naturally to him because Reynolds' running ability is what made him so dynamic in Navy's option offense, using his vision and shifty moves to create on his own.Shows the lower body athleticism to make quick cuts and fluidly redirect his momentum, stringing together his moves to pick through the defense. He reads the field well and has the speed to beat the linebacker to the edge.
Despite limited experience, appeared natural looking the ball into his hands before bursting downfield at Shrine Game practices. Brings versatility for a play-caller with his ability to line up in the backfield and take direct snaps, and has spent time practicing as a punt returner.



WEAKNESSES: Making the transition from quarterback to running back. Scouts will be paying attention to Reynolds during workouts when he doesn't have the ball to see how he blocks, runs routes and acclimates himself to the new position.
With his limited build, Reynolds doesn't have the body power to run through contact, which shows as an inside runner. And with 32 career fumbles at Navy, he also needs to improve his ball security. Unproven as a pass-catcher out of the backfield with only one career catch in college.

251: R7P32
QB CODY KESSLER
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

STRENGTHS: Put up big numbers in coach Steve Sarkisian's pro-style offense, which calls for a variety of downfield throws, including NFL staples like quick slants, deep posts and outs and wheel routes. His comfort with the system and patience are clear as he often checks second and third reads before passing. Shows great anticipation, firing passes before receivers break into their routes, along with good pocket awareness.
Kessler is pretty effective at creating space in the pocket, exhibiting light feet and spatial awareness while keeping his eyes downfield. Kessler also shows impressive accuracy on the move, making him dangerous even as the pocket breaks down and on the designed roll-outs in Sarkisian's pro-style scheme.
When he is forced to run, Kessler shows his competitiveness, surprising defenders with sneaky athleticism and leg drive.



WEAKNESSES: Lacks ideal size at 6-1, 215 pounds and arm strength. Challenged by Sarkisian at times to be more aggressive and give his tight ends and receivers opportunities to make plays downfield.
Despite significant starting experience, appeared rattled at times when his protection broke down.
Struggles to push the ball downfield on throws longer than 15 yards. Many of his passes are underneath routes or dump-offs to running backs, and lacks the same zip throwing to the outside unless he can fully step into the pass.

So how did i do? Let the flames begin to burn......

I'd love to see them get the punter from Utah (Hackett). If your drafting a punter why not go for the best in college? He doesn't get enough credit because a lot of his kicks in college were rugby style, but the ones that were not are still great punts. He pins teams in the red zone a lot and gets plenty of air and control on his kicks whether they are rugby style or standard.

I like it. I think CJ prosise goes earlier. I bet he is a 3rd rd guy.

Everyone is on the scooby train. I just watched a bit of him this morning. I was not disappointed, but not impressed either. Will have to watch more on him.


Do you like Sterline Shepard? He is the slot wr I love!!! I like Pharoh too.



My main thing is I doubt we draft a T. We have CLady, Tysam, Schofield...Thats plenty, we dont need anymore High Round draft picks there.

Originally Posted by underrated29

My main thing is I doubt we draft a T. We have CLady, Tysam, Schofield...Thats plenty, we dont need anymore High Round draft picks there.

**** that. We need some depth at tackle, schofield sucks balls, clady might be done and ty is still getting evaluated

Originally Posted by Valar Morghulis

**** that. We need some depth at tackle, schofield sucks balls, clady might be done and ty is still getting evaluated

At the moment we have 5 of them. Clady, tysam, schofield, harris, polombus. It seems like the first 3 will be here for sure (unless we trade for Joe T- which I still suspect happens). We do not need anymore tackles, at least not early. I do expect a high upside late round T to be taken, but we need C depth, and G depth.

Tysam, did better at RT and LT being thrown into the fire than any of the T that played for us this year.

Originally Posted by underrated29

I like it. I think CJ prosise goes earlier. I bet he is a 3rd rd guy.

Everyone is on the scooby train. I just watched a bit of him this morning. I was not disappointed, but not impressed either. Will have to watch more on him.

Do you like Sterline Shepard? He is the slot wr I love!!! I like Pharoh too.

My main thing is I doubt we draft a T. We have CLady, Tysam, Schofield...Thats plenty, we dont need anymore High Round draft picks there.

Scooby will not last to the third round. He is very good. He awards

Unanimous*All-American*(2014)
Pac-12*Defensive Player of the Year (2014)
First-team*All-Pac-12*(2014)
Bronko Nagurski Trophy*(2014)
Rotary Lombardi Award*(2014)
Chuck Bednarik Award*(2014)
9th Place in*Heisman Trophy*voting (2014)
Jack Lambert Award*(2014)
New Mexico Bowl Defensive MVP*(2015)

He was injured most of 2015

Originally Posted by gregbroncs

If your drafting a punter why not go for the best in college?

Well, that would be like saying why dont i draft every player that is best at their position. Its all about availability and who is there when Denver picks so its not that i think Hackett is a scrub but that i think Drew is up there in talent and available for us without first addressing some other needs. My response is obviously not meant to be flippant or sarcastic but im sure in a perfect world it would be nice to land the best player at every position if possible. Know what i mean?

Originally Posted by underrated29

Do you like Sterline Shepard? He is the slot wr I love!!! I like Pharoh too.

Honestly dont know much about him.

As to Terror's opinion Scooby wont be there in the 3rd there are some who believe he will be.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...oby-wright-iii
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...e-thirdrounder

Check out sterling. I fear he. May go earlier than 3 but I really really like him.

Originally Posted by underrated29

Check out sterling. I fear he. May go earlier than 3 but I really really like him.

Yea, looking at his draft position it looks like he is slated for a 2nd or 3rd round. I cant remember where he ranks on Fanspeak in terms of higher or lower than guys like Will Fuller, Tyler Boyd, and Higgins but im sure he is in the mix.

IN terms of rankings this is CBS's big board with Wideouts.

6
WR

LAQUON TREADWELL - OLE MISS

23

WR

COREY COLEMAN - BAYLOR

36

WR

MICHAEL THOMAS - OHIO STATE

40

WR

JOSH DOCTSON - TCU

43

WR

WILL FULLER - NOTRE DAME

46

WR

BRAXTON MILLER - OHIO STATE

58

WR

TYLER BOYD - PITTSBURGH

61

WR

PHAROH COOPER - SOUTH CAROLINA

72

WR

RASHARD HIGGINS - COLORADO STATE

76

WR

STERLING SHEPARD - OKLAHOMA

86

WR

LEONTE CARROO - RUTGERS

93

WR

KENNY LAWLER - CALIFORNIA

97

WR

DE'RUNNYA WILSON - MISSISSIPPI STATE

101
WR

PAUL MCROBERTS - SOUTHEAST MISSO

For the life of me i cant understand why Braxton Miller is rated so high. I dont remember him being all that great as a wideout.