Mock Draft Simulater

[HPF Bob]

Well, Fanspeak is getting even more creative. You can now choose between three different big boards and, for $4.95 charge to PayPal, you can have trades proposed and create your own plus access other resources.

So I tried the Walter Football Big Board and made two trades:

I traded our 1-1 to the Browns for their 1-4, 2-3 and next year's first (which ought to be first-half so you'd have two top-half #1s to go after a great player next year) then, when I saw so much available at 2-1, decided to trade it to the Rams for 2-12 and an added 4th-rounder.

I figured I would then have to pick between Clowney and the three QBs with one or two options off the table. Instead, the choices were 2 WRs and Jake Matthews so I still had the same decision. I decided to go with Clowney at 1-4. The remainder were:

1-4: Jadeveon Clowney, OLB-DE, S. Carolina
2-3: Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
2-12: David Yankey, G-T, Stanford
3-1: Jimmy Garrapolo, QB, Eastern Illinois
4-1: Christian Jones, ILB, Florida St.
4-10: DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn St.
5-1: Storm Johnson, RB, Central Florida
6-1: Lamin Barrow, ILB, LSU
7-1: Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma

Now, let's try with Optimum Scouting big board:

Son of a duck, the same trade with the Browns happens and the Browns take Bortles but, at 1-4, the same choice of Clowney or Bridgewater is there. I guess I'll take Clowney again.

Amaro, Yankey and Garrapolo were all taken in the first round but there are a pair of well-known Aggies available and several other good choices. I traded down twice more to give me three picks in the 4th but no 7th.
I came out with:

1-4: Jadaveon Clowney, OLB-DE, S. Carolina
2-3: Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
2-9: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M (too good to pass up here)
3-7: Joel Bitonio, OT, Nevada
4-1: DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn St.
4-9: A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
4-27:Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor
5-1: Jackson Jeffcoat, OLB-DE, Texas (too good to pass up here)
6-1: Max Bulloch, ILB, Michigan St.

In both cases, I also have next year's #1 from Cleveland.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

In both cases, I also have next year's #1 from Cleveland.

Good work. They have no quarterback and their running back will be injured most of the year so that should result in a great pick for us in 2015.

[Roy P]

Not bad, Bob. Just curious about how you would utilize Clowney though. Do you see him as a Two-gap DE in the 3-4 like Richard Seymour or an OLB like Willie McGinnist in Romeo's defense?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Roy P

Not bad, Bob. Just curious about how you would utilize Clowney though. Do you see him as a Two-gap DE in the 3-4 like Richard Seymour or an OLB like Willie McGinnist in Romeo's defense?

I know your question was directed to Bob, but I'm going to take a shot at it here. Notwithstanding any reported non-football issues, Clowney is a tremendous football play, not just a tremendous athlete. And he's not one-dimensional because he's strong against the run beside being a truly elite pass-rusher: he's the consensous #1 talent in this very talented Draft.
Now to your question about how would O'Brien/Crennel play him in Crennel's defense ? If O'Brien and his DC would be incapable of knowing how to figure out how to employ/apply this most talented football player in this the 2014 NFL Draft in their defense, then Bob McNair made a major mistake when he hired O'Brien to be his new HC.

[HPF Bob]

The short answer is "like McGinnest". A talent like Clowney is all about creating mismatches and getting him upfield quickly to disrupt plays. Therefore, I would want him and Watt to line up all over the place - sometimes together and sometimes on opposite sides so defenses have to read both before reacting. He would be what Wade Phillips tried to do with Mario Williams but I think Clowney is better suited for it. I think Clowney and Watt will make the other even better and if a third guy (Mercilous, Reed, Cushing or a Jackson Jeffcoat I drafted in one mock) becomes a consistent rusher you've made the defense really tough for opponents.

[Roy P]

OK, I can go with that, but I like Barr in that role. He seems as if he could also not be a fish out of water when asked on those rare occasions to drop into coverage. That's why I'm so hoping that we can trade down and pick up extra picks. If Clowney didn't have the 'work ethic' baggage, we might be able to easily find someone to trade up for him.

[HPF Bob]

Guys like Barr and Mack are fine but they could also be liabilities against the run where a guy like Clowney can hold up at the point of attack in goalline packages because he has DE size to go with his OLB quickness. That's why he's a matchup headache which would give us a second one to go with Watt. Put those two on a front seven and everyone else, even Cushing, gets single coverage which means you just have to beat your man to make the play. Next you start mixing in some blitzers and you are giving the opposing team a lot of different stuff they don't have answers for.

If we pass that up for Bortles, he better be at least a Phil Simms-caliber QB or we have really screwed ourselves.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

1-4: Jadeveon Clowney, OLB-DE, S. Carolina
2-3: Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
2-12: David Yankey, G-T, Stanford
3-1: Jimmy Garrapolo, QB, Eastern Illinois
4-1: Christian Jones, ILB, Florida St.
4-10: DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn St.

I only saw a couple of Texas Tech games last year but Jace Amaro looked dominant in both..... a man among boys.... Someone is going to get a good TE...

[HPF Bob]

I doubt Amaro gets past the Patriots but I've said elsewhere that he is the next Gronkowski - big dude with good hands and downfield speed. And guess what? We now have the guy who developed the first Gronkowski. I doubt Amaro is there at 2-1 but, if he is, you have to put your other plans on hold and take him - especially now that we've released Owen Daniels.

On again, today's NFL is about creating mismatches and this guy is too fast for most LBs and too big for most safeties to cover. You can take an average QB (ie Fitzpatrick) and put a security blanket like Amaro around him and he will get instantly better.