Official 2015 NFL Draft - Round 1 Thread
 

Always excited for draft day, but this class lacks some zeal for me, at least as far as the first round goes.

- QB
- Pass Rushers
- LT
- CB
...these are the premium positions to get in round 1, and since QB isn't happening, and LT is locked down, I'll be hoping for a pass rusher or CB. I just don't think the options there at #16 are going to wow me. Can't remember a year where a trade down seemed more appealing if the draft sorts out the way the mocks have.

Anyway, this is the thread for all general convo regarding the first round tonight. Let's have some fun.

Lemme see..

Of the potential first rounders we have one guy who has been accused of rape, one who flunked the NFL combine drug test, one who had the drugs on him when stopped by the police, one who got kicked off the team, one who got kicked off the team and was prevented from joining another team by the NCAA, at least one who got a DWI and one now involved in a murder investigation.

And at the bottom of the draft, Dallas, Cincy, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England are going to grab all these felons and years later we'll hear about what great steals they were on draft day - except for the one or two that wound up in prison.

And we'll wonder each year why the same teams keep making the playoffs every year and how they manage to do it.

I think it is more the QB they have at this time, along with some coaching consistency.

New England's drafting in recent years makes Rick Smith look like Executive of the year.

2014
1st Dominique Easley didn't play
2nd Garroppolo barely saw the field
traded out of 3rd, got nothing late

2013
traded out of 1st
2 Jamie Collins solid, more talent than production at this point
2 Aaron Dobson, no good
3 Logan Ryan, good rookie year, not as productive in year 2
3 Duron Harmon, no good
nothing late

2012
1 Chandler Jones, very good
1 Dont'a Hightower, solid
2 Tayon Wilson, no good, barely played since rookie year
3 Jake Bequette, no good
Alfonzo Dennard late, a rotation DB

2011
1 Nate Solder, very good
2 Ras I Dowling, no good
2 Shane Vereen, definitely not worth a 2nd
3 Stevan Ridley, not worth a 3rd, both lost job to vet minimum Blount
3 Ryan Mallett, never played and dealt for a 7th
nothing late

I would take JJ watt over all 30 of their draft picks combined. I'd probably take Hopkins over every guy on this list (Jones is the only one that would make me think). And we've hit more often on starters than they have (Watt, Mercilous, Crick, Brooks, Jones, Newton, Bullock, Hopkins, Prosch).

New England is a great organization. They are superbly coached on Sundays. They have been bad in the draft for a long time and stay on top through a combination of Brady, Bellichik, killing everybody on trades, signing vets who want to play there in FA, and getting more out of their roster churn than almost everyone (like guys who make super bowl winning interceptions).

The quarterback and coaching consistency are critical, yes, but also is a good front office that has a team assembled well enough to be able to take a risk on a high risk/reward player. I would love for the Texans to be able to look around and say, Yeah, you know what, let's go ahead and take Beckham-Green. We have the organization here to support a guy like that and if he busts, well, OK.

But these guys whiff on so many draft picks that they really can't do that.

Again, New England whiffs on more. They have not struck out the last few years from risk/reward guys (with the exception of Easley). If anything the opposite is true. They trade down and increase their chances to get it right with extra picks and still blow it. They haven't drafted a decent WR in over a decade. Tom Brady just cures a lot of ills. So does properly managing your cap and not blowing money re-signing the wrong guys.

There is no doubt their front office is much better than ours. But they are not doing it through the draft.

And I am not arguing for our front office at all. I am disagreeing with any kind of sentiment that NE is good in the NFL draft.

That's why I talked about assembling a team rather than drafting a team. I'm certainly not arguing that the Patriots draft well, but neither are they the only successful franchise over the last six, eight, ten years.

The Texans are trying to elevate themselves from the middle of the pack into the elite. Without the luxury of a Brady they have to manage their roster especially well. They haven't done that, I don't think, and several straight years of poor drafts does not help. The Texans really have to start finding guys in the second, third and fourth rounds who are difference makers rather than guys who can't play, don't play, or guys who quickly get cut from the team.

Somehow they find Gronkowski and other low-round steals. I notice your analysis ignored him.

+++++
 

This. +++++

They also manage to put together what usually are excellent offensive lines without going Cowboy crazy with high round draft picks.

But I'm not really interested in what those cheaters do or don't do. I'm interested in what our team does and hopefully we'll get out of this thing this year with multiple difference makers.

My main point was and still is if the team drafted better they could take a flyer on a guy with insane talent but some red flags. There seem to be more of those guys than usual this year and picking in the middle of the round could be a perfect time to look at a DBG or a Gordon or any one of the other dozen guys like that coming out this year.

They can't keep averaging half a productive player per draft like they've done over the past two years.

I think Tampa Bay just made a huge mistake

Luck, Bortles, Mariota. ...the Texans now have the 4th best QB in the Division.

I think the Titans just made a mistake, too. But as I always say, I am the world's worst projector of college quarterbacks.

Of course Tennessee could spend the next three hours figuring out ways to rape the Eagles.

I'm not at all sure that Mallett can't play. We have a laughably small sample size but what we saw when he was healthy showed a lot to like.

Dante Fowler. ...Hopefully we'll block him

I was so hopeful that Amari Cooper would fall to us,but that was too good to be true. Now I am watching Kevin White and Vic Beasley.

Washington going with Scherff, Leonard Williams, Vic Beasley, and Kevin White still available :)

What do the Jets do?