2022 NFL Mock Draft 2.0: I'M STARTING TO THINK BLIMP ISN'T COMING BACK • Page 23

oh damn I'm almost up lol guess I should check out the board

 

Ravens select John Ridgeway, DT, Arkansas

I’m telling you (or really, I’m echoing @CarpetElf telling you) we gotta pay more attention to those linemen who were ex champion wrestlers. Once you teach them how to use their hands, they already intuitively understand the hard part, which is coaxing your body to stay balanced / in a low center of gravity no matter which adjustments you gotta make with your feet.

Ridgeway’s not gonna fly off the line of scrimmage. But the Ravens don’t necessarily need that from their interior - even at the end position, they like space eaters with extremely long arms so that they can send a linebacker in through an open gap. Most their pass rush comes from their LBs.

he’s more “mean, strong and instinctive” than he is “skilled and creative” - for some teams maybe he just becomes a two down plodder. But, like with Cam Thomas, I’m putting my faith in the Ravens’ coaching regime - who live and die by the fact they literally almost never fail to develop front 7 players. Then better technique he develops, the more that “mean strong instinctive” stuff pops on tape.

In BAL you’re gonna see this light footed nose tackle who still got two sacks, get uncorked into a role where his high motor and active hands for his size let him make more plays at DE. He’s a natural fit across from Derek Wolfe in the void left by Calais Campbell.

 

Oh shit I’m up again for JAX lol hold on

 

Jaguars select Matthew Butler, DT, Tennessee.

Doing the opposite of Baltimore and getting an explosive rush oriented IDL player.

Butler is QUICK off the snap and a very skilled block shedder as well. He doesn’t have much of a pass rush “plan”, his counter moves could improve and so could his controlled footwork, but this is a guy you can run on all kinds of stunts and dips and dives. He’s got a good bull rush plus the flexibility / hand combat skills to get under or over defenders’ shoulders. Good length too. Some sources consider him massively underrated because he’s a late bloomer who only REALLY bust out in his 5th year, but an ascending player is an ascending player - his ceiling is high with some improvements to his technique.

Unlike a lot of guys who are quick interior rushers, Butler’s really stocky upper body and frame make him pretty hard to move off the spot even if he has to double team. He’s got the explosiveness when you want it, the ability to be stout when you don’t. This makes it possible to use him at 3-4 DE, which I’m not seeing talked about a lot so maybe his ability to do this is disputed. I’m sure he will need some film study and coaching to shift into the 3-4 “mindset”, so this draft pick isn’t without risk.

However, the Jags already have run defenders incumbent on the team - DaVon Hamilton has been decent enough to be a viable fallback option if Foley Fatukasi is a bust signing. Malcolm Brown isn’t the standout player we thought he was when drafted, but solid for the paltry contract he signed. Roy Robertson-Harris & Duwane Smoot are usable role players at OLB in run-defending packages. Stopping the run was the only thing we occasionally did well last year, putting an exclamation point on that by stifling the Bills and then mostly stuffing Jonathan Taylor in our only two later-season wins.

In adding Logan Hall and Matthew Butler, my goal is to help Josh Allen with pass rushing in a way that doesn’t expose us to a liability against the run. So if It turns out they’re both rotational IDL who only see the field when it’s not an obvious running situation? Fuck it, that’s fine. That’s exactly what we need. I think they both have the potential to take over Hamilton & Brown full time though.

 

The Miami Dolphins select Rachaad White, RB, Arizona State.



Dolphins want to have a "physical track meet" based on what Terron Armstead said this week. White rounds out the RB room with Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds.

 

@JoshIsMediocre Chiefs

then @PeacefulOrca Rams

then group pick for SF, then me again lol

 

Kansas City Chiefs select Coby Bryant, CB, Cincinnati

 

@PeacefulOrca

 

I forsee this as a very likely pick

 

Coby Bryant to la would’ve been more interesting but instead,


Sam williams

 

No idea what the 49ers do, is there an athletic wr our there? Maybe tayquan thompson? Lol

 

done.

@Randall Mentzos jags

 

Round 4 baybayyyyy

 

Aw dammit I was gonna take Bryant lmao.

@JoshIsNOTMediocre

 

I’m just falling up

 

I’m gonna go Nick Cross, S, Maryland for Jax

Go Terps! Nick Cross is actually a beast idk where all his hype is at but he was Maryland’s best player. He not only went to my alma mater, but also went to a high school down the road from me with a very prestigious football program that also produced Chase Young (DeMatha Catholic). Don’t let the Maryland commit fool you - he was a top high school prospect that stayed home (and was a big part of the Terps playing better than usual.)

He played the Darnell Savage role as a safety who was used like a Swiss Army knife, and there’s footage of him doing it all - from sideline to sideline interceptions as a center fielder who literally jumped over WRs for the ball… all the way to sacks and FF in the backfield when used as a Deone Bucannon-like heat seeking missile. The guy’s burst is excellent, I love his aggressive style when he’s given free reign to make tackles.

Dude is ridiculously fast and a ridiculously hard hitter. He has knocked the ball clean out of a ballcarrier’s hands several times. There’s even an example of him legit tackling a punter before he punted the ball! (He dropped the snap, picked it up immediately, Cross was already on top of him.)

Running a 4.3 and jumping 37” (10’10” broad) definitely boosted his draft stock and shows his range is for real. Darnell Savage was an undersized FS in the same role who also had 4.3 speed and he was taken in round 1. I think Cross is a bigger version of the same Jack-of-all-trades safety and brings a lot of tools. His weakness is man coverage which is true of a lot of safeties… I’ll bet on my coaches to improve that mirroring technique, considering how damn skilled he is as both a deep zone safety and a downhill charging nickel / box safety.

We will start him out as a third safety in “Big Nickel” packages and a second slot corner in “Dime” opposite from Darious Williams. But the eventual goal is for him to replace Rayshawn Jenkins. He was one of the worst FA signings of the short lived Meyer regime - only had 73 tackles and 3 PBUs, no other stats, while giving up lots of passes (96.9 opposing QB rating) and penalties (including getting ejected for punching a dude). His only good trait is he rarely misses tackles, but Cross is a plus tackler as well who consistently wraps up even if he can’t get a hard hitting angle.

Only reason the Jags aren’t cutting Jenkins is cause most his guarantees don’t come off the books until June 1 next year. So we gotta wait a season to cut him but in the meantime… I’m good with Cross taking his job early if he can handle it. He’s the perfect physical hybrid safety to pair with Andre Cisco, who’s also a hybrid but more of a ballhawk. The plan is to use them interchangeably as the high and low safety depending on the situation, and to be able to call more Cover 2 (which Mike Caldwell likes.)

 

@GreatBeardRecs texans x2

 

Jags so far, since we may not get to my big brain fifth round pick:

1 - Evan Neal - RT
2 - Chad Muma - MIKE ILB
3 - Logan Hall - 3-4 DE
Jamaree Salyer - LG
Greg Dulcich - TE
Matthew Butler - 3-4 DE
4- Nick Cross - SS

(Free agents:
RG - Brandon Scherff
WILL ILB - Foyesade Olokun
SLCB - Darious Williams
NT - Foley Fatukasi
WR - Christian Kirk
WR - Zay Jones
TE - Evan Engram

existing franchise pieces:
QB: Trevor Lawrence
RB: one of Robinson/Etienne
WR: Laquon Treadwell (as a rotational piece)
LT: one of Cam / Walker Little
CB2: Tyson Campbell
CB1: Shaquill Griffin
LOLB: Josh Allen
FS: Andre Cisco
P: Logan Cooke

Still deciding whether or not to keep
C: Brandon Linder
WR: Laviska Shenault
WR: Marvin Jones
ROLB: Roy Robertson-Harris
ROLB: Dawuane Smoot
K: Matthew Wright)

Building a physical team, it’s a good start. Obviously in this scenario WR is the weakest part of the roster now, still no WR1 on the team, but it’s a major upgrade elsewhere. I couldn’t get wideouts at value so I did the opposite and bulked up my trenches + added a “team captain” level ILB and an “enforcer” type safety. James Robinson is very good and Etienne is a wild card that could come out of the gate as an electric starter-level talent as well - the reality is, those are our main weapons. We should be playing ball control while we develop our QB.

Seeing what we have in Kirk / M. Jones / Shenault under a new staff, before adding receivers, isnt the worst idea either since we’ve already invested recent resources into them. They’re all at least okay receivers. I’d think differently if we traded Shenault, but he’s still got a ceiling of potential in there that, if unlocked, could make him a go-to guy. We should focus on getting the most out of him in a way Meyer couldn’t. (And if he still sucks… then draft WR round 1 next year lol.)

All the defensive pieces I added put more pressure on offensive lines in a way that frees up Josh Allen as well. And in the same sense Roy Robertson Harris also isnt cuttable yet and Duwane Smoot is still in his last year… let’s see if either of them are usable as a second OLB moving forward.

Really hope Brandon Linder has a healthy bounce back year!! Cause this is not the year to need a center, this center class suckssssssss. It’s a contract year - he has Pro Bowl talent but keeps missing more than 6 games, and he’s almost 30… so that’s a definite concern. We’re not completely screwed when Tyler Shatley subs in for him, but Shatley is also not a future solution as a starter.

 

RRH plays DE.

 

Like the Elam pick, I think he and Booth are the best scheme fits for McDermott. The other guys... Position is right but value/scheme is not my favorite. Pierce especially, I think if they invest a premium pick in WR it will be for Beasley's replacement. Diggs and Davis are locked in outside for at least a couple years.

Breece Hall and Calvin Austin would probably be run to the podium picks for them the way that board fell. I could see either of them fitting the Bills offense really well. Hall has the receiving ability that Singletary doesn't. Austin is Isaiah McKenzie supercharged

 

Who’s up

 

@GreatBeardRecs

 

I'm driving out of state for a work trip for a couple of days so can we change Kansas City to group selection?

 

Yeah. Also if we want to keep going @GreatBeardRecs is up

 

I definitely want to keep going!