2014 NFL Draft Chatter

[Axeman33]

The NFL Network might as well called the show The 2014 NFL Draft starring Johnny Manziel.

Holy crap, was there even anyone else in the green room? You wouldn't know it because the only person you KNEW who was in there was Manziel. The camera was on him all night long. Even after he was finally picked they followed him down hallways and even had to keep the camera on him as he was obviously hiding so he could make some phone calls.

I'm a Niners fan so after they took Jimmie Ward, I wont lie, I said "who?". I had to go look him up. I really wanted them to take either Marques Lee or Bradley Roby (who went the very next pick) but their brain trust knows a hell of a lot more then I do.

[Pengwin7]

I watched the first round on and off... I found it a bit more interesting than previous years, can't say why.
Really interesting to see the NFL value shift in players over the past 10 years. The non-sexy positions (O-line, D-line, secondary) finally getting equal value share, if not more, than the sexy players (O-backs & LBs).

Did an RB even go off the board in the first?

My two teams are the Broncos & Lions.
Pretty happy with the Broncos getting a good corner way down at 31. That was nice.

Lions seemed to reach, but from the Mayock mocks I'd seen, he was regarded as the only elite TE prospect - and sometimes teams reach based on positional scarcity.
Yeah... Lions need defense, but sometimes you retain your star offensive players by surrounding them with more weapons.
Plus, offensive tilts put butts in the seats.

I don't know much about Bortles, I think I watched him play ONE college football game... amazed to see his stock rise all the way to #3.

As for Johnny Football, I think he makes it in the NFL.
Learning curve for sure, but his NFL smarts and on-field instincts are just too good compared with past QB busts that could move a bit.

Flutie 2.0.
He'll be fine in Cleveland.
It will be the top selling NFL jersey every month for the next 6 months.


*Pledging to not finish bottom three in the next Dobber Fantasy Football League... yeesh.*

[Axeman33]

Second year in a row that a RB wasn't taken in the first round. That being said, I dont think it will be long before Carlos Hyde is taken in the 2nd round.

It's weird though, in my keeper pool last year, the whole first round of our prospect draft was pretty much all RB's. Tavon Austin went in our 1st round last year but short of him, it was all pretty much RBs.

[Pengwin7]

It's weird though, in my keeper pool last year, the whole first round of our prospect draft was pretty much all RB's. Tavon Austin went in our 1st round last year but short of him, it was all pretty much RBs.

Oh sure, yes.
RB turnover is so fast these days... a lot of teams are taking RBs in 2nd/3rd/4th rounds and still forecasting them into future 1b) type backs.
And in fantasy football - it seems like RBs have thinned out enormously as "dependability" goes... so teams seem to be stockpiling them, if roster spots allow it.

[Bomm Bastic]

I've contemplated the Bills trade and move up for Watkins, and upon further consideration....I like it. A bit of an overpay, but they identified their man, and went for it. So kudos to them. High risk/reward.

Mas cojones, as it were.

[als_revenge]

Don't the bills do something stupid in the first round on a pretty much annual basis?

[metaldude26]

I've contemplated the Bills trade and move up for Watkins, and upon further consideration....I like it. A bit of an overpay, but they identified their man, and went for it. So kudos to them. High risk/reward.

Mas cojones, as it were.

Yeah, it's an interesting question. By all accounts this is a seriously deep draft and the Bills have needs all over but this was a chance to grab one of the few elite players in the draft. You'd prefer to see them make this sort of move in a shallower draft but who knows if all these projections/grades are correct.

[metaldude26]

I was impressed to see that the Jaguars are still the Jaguars. Bortles at #3, even if he is good, BAHAHAHA.

[Bomm Bastic]

Don't the bills do something stupid in the first round on a pretty much annual basis?

Hey they coulda done the safe thing and stood firm, and draft a an OT or perhaps Ebron. But they went for it. I have no problem with that. Not one scouting report out there on Watkins that had anything but accolades. Like I said...ballsy. About friggin time if ya ask me.

How 'bout Garoppolo to NE?? Where's Mallet headed...??

[Axeman33]

I like the Niners going out and acquiring Stevie Johnson for a conditional 4th next year.

I also like the Carlos Hyde pick, although I am not so sure a RB was really a priority at that point in the draft for SF.

[metaldude26]

Hey they coulda done the safe thing and stood firm, and draft a an OT or perhaps Ebron. But they went for it. I have no problem with that. Not one scouting report out there on Watkins that had anything but accolades. Like I said...ballsy. About friggin time if ya ask me.

How 'bout Garoppolo to NE?? Where's Mallet headed...??

Rumoured to be going to Houston, which would help explain their not picking a quarterback. That or they just don't believe that strongly in any of the options in this draft, though you have to wonder if they wouldn't have taken Bridgewater had Minnesota not jumped up to get him right before their pick in round two. At the same time, Seattle trading back was a surprise to approximately no one so it's not like Houston would have been blind sided.

[Rylant]

Good on St Louis for drafting Michael Sam. Many thought he would not be drafted because of his sexual orientation, despite his ability to play football. I hope he has a Hall of Fame career and he makes 31 teams regret seeing "gay" first.

Rylant

[Axeman33]

Good on St Louis for drafting Michael Sam. Many thought he would not be drafted because of his sexual orientation, despite his ability to play football. I hope he has a Hall of Fame career and he makes 31 teams regret seeing "gay" first.

Rylant

Totally agree.

[STONE.]

I do hope he'll have success, but let's be fair. He was a mid-round pick at best, who followed it up with a terrible combine.
I'm not sure it's fair to say that 31 teams passed on him for being gay.

Will the Rams be a terrible organization if they cut him before he gets to play a snap?
Or maybe, it's just because he's a tweener who might not be worth a roster spot, and who brings with him a media circus that adds a load of distraction to a team trying to win games.

I'm glad he was drafted. I hope he makes it. And I'm sure there were some teams that never even included him on their boards because of who he finds attractive. But I'm not ready to throw every other organization under the bus for making choices that may have simply been best for their football team.

[metaldude26]

Good on St Louis for drafting Michael Sam. Many thought he would not be drafted because of his sexual orientation, despite his ability to play football. I hope he has a Hall of Fame career and he makes 31 teams regret seeing "gay" first.

Rylant

Honestly, I don't think that was the case. If anything, I think the fact that he showed such courage to come out made it impossible for him not to get drafted. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would have been for the NFL. From what I'd heard, Sam simply wasn't that highly regarded of a prospect. He was a real talent in college but most didn't project him to be more than a late-round/undrafted free agent type. And that's exactly where he ended up.

I don't doubt that there were some franchises that weren't open to picking Sam but I think most went about things business as usual, sticking to their board.

But hey, props to the Rams for being open enough to do so. I don't think we can label the other 31 teams as being "closed to gays" just because they didn't draft Sam so the only thing we can say for sure is that the Rams were open enough and that deserves celebrating. And Sam deserves celebrating as well.