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Halfway point of season, time for 1st look at 2014 NFL draft (1 Viewer)

Bracie Smathers

Footballguy
BR gets lambasted and rightly so for the most part but one guy that they have who I have started to pay attention to is draft analyst Matt Miller.

He just put out an early mock. I don't agree with the picks he has but I do sorta like the positions he has matched up with teams yet I'm sure things will shift in the draft order and we will see different names break into the first two rounds.

All things considered, its not a bad effort.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1827834-2014-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-latest-projections

2014 NFL Mock Draft: Matt Miller's Latest Projections

By Matt Miller(NFL Draft Lead Writer) on October 28, 2013

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Pick: QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Pick: DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

3. Minnesota Vikings

The Pick: QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon

4. New York Giants

The Pick: OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pick: OT Taylor Lewan, Michigan

6. St. Louis Rams (from Washington)

The Pick: LB C.J. Mosley, Alabama

7. Atlanta Falcons

The Pick: LB Anthony Barr, UCLA

8. Houston Texans

The Pick: QB Zach Mettenberger, LSU

9. Philadelphia Eagles

The Pick: WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson

10. Buffalo Bills

The Pick: LB Khalil Mack, Buffalo

11. Cleveland Browns

The Pick: QB Tajh Boyd, Clemson

12. Miami Dolphins

The Pick: OT Tiny Richardson, Tennessee

13. Baltimore Ravens

The Pick: WR Mike Evans, Texas A&M

14. Tennessee Titans

The Pick: OT Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama

15. St. Louis Rams

The Pick: OG Cyril Richardson, Baylor

16. Oakland Raiders

The Pick: DT Louis Nix, Notre Dame

17. New York Jets

The Pick: WR Marqise Lee, USC

18. Arizona Cardinals

The Pick: OT Cameron Erving, FSU

19. Carolina Panthers

The Pick: WR/RB De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon

20. Chicago Bears

The Pick: CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State

21. Dallas Cowboys

The Pick: OG Gabe Jackson, Miss. State

22. San Diego Chargers

The Pick: CB Jason Verrett, TCU

23. Detroit Lions

The Pick: LB Ryan Shazier, Ohio State

24. Cleveland Browns (from Indianapolis

The Pick: WR Jarvis Landry, LSU

25. Green Bay Packers

The Pick: TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina

26. New England Patriots

The Pick: WR Brandon Coleman, Rutgers

27. Cincinnati Bengals

The Pick: CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Oregon

28. San Francisco 49ers

The Pick: WR Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt

29. Seattle Seahawks

The Pick: DT Will Sutton, Arizona State

30. Denver Broncos

The Pick: LB Kyle Van Noy, BYU

31. New Orleans Saints

The Pick: LB Adrian Hubbard, Alabama

32. Kansas City Chiefs

The Pick: WR Paul Richardson, Colorado

==========

Second Round

Second Round Mock Draft Pick Team Player

1 Tampa Bay QB Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

2 Jacksonville DE Vic Beasley, Clemson

3 Minnesota DE Trent Murphy, Stanford

4 Pittsburgh FS HaHa Clinton-Dix, Alabama

5 Washington DE Ra'Shede Hageman, Minnesota

6 Atlanta DT Michael Bennett, Ohio State

7 Houston OT James Hurst, North Carolina

8 New York Giants TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington

9 Buffalo CB Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma

10 Cleveland RB Lache Seastrunk, Baylor

11 Philadelphia QB Brett Hundley, UCLA

12 Baltimore CB Antone Exum, Virginia Tech

13 Tennessee QB Derek Carr, Fresno State

14 St. Louis RB Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

15 Oakland OG Zack Martin, Notre Dame

16 Miami OG Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA

17 Arizona OLB Michael Sam, Missouri

18 Carolina OG Anthony Steen, Alabama

19 New York Jets SS Craig Loston, LSU

20 Chicago DT Anthony Johnson, LSU

21 Dallas RB Marion Grice, Arizona State

22 San Diego DT DaQuan Jones, Penn State

23 Detroit WR Allen Robinson, Penn State

24 Indianapolis WR Donte Moncrief, Ole Miss

25 Green Bay ILB Shayne Skov, Stanford

26 New England CB Marcus Roberson, Florida

27 Cincinnati DT Timmy Jernigan, FSU

28 San Francisco CB Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida

29 Seattle OT Jack Mewhort, Ohio State

30 Denver CB Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State

31 New Orleans ILB A.J. Johnson, Tennessee

32 San Francisco (f/Chiefs) DE Ben Gardner, Stanford

 
love the ha ha clinton dix pick for the steelers

hate the lewan pick, not cause of him more so because they would have to use another top pick on an o linemen

would love to see something like

round 1: Mike Evans wr the big wr ben wants

round 2: ha-ha clinton-dix

 
I remember on a 49er board I used to post on, a lot of mocks had them picking Blaine Gabbert. That's why I don't read mocks.

 
Browns going QB/WR?

ya, no.
They sure could. Why not? In fact I was putting a mock together and have the same thing (Carr/Matthews).

Not a bad mock but I don't think Mettenberger and Boyd are 1st rounders but I do think Carr is. So are Dix and Manziel.

 
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Browns going QB/WR?

ya, no.
They sure could. Why not? In fact I was putting a mock together and have the same thing (Carr/Matthews).

Not a bad mock but I don't think Mettenberger and Boyd are 1st rounders but I do think Carr is.
Im willing to bet they go shore up the offensive line before anything else

personally Id roll with Hoyer next year. absolutely.
I don't think they want to roll with a 28 y.o. journeyman QB that's recovering from a torn knee.

O-line is possible.

 
Browns going QB/WR?

ya, no.
They sure could. Why not? In fact I was putting a mock together and have the same thing (Carr/Matthews).

Not a bad mock but I don't think Mettenberger and Boyd are 1st rounders but I do think Carr is.
Im willing to bet they go shore up the offensive line before anything else

personally Id roll with Hoyer next year. absolutely.
I don't think they want to roll with a 28 y.o. journeyman QB that's recovering from a torn knee.

O-line is possible.
May be a journeyman, but the cat looked phenomenal in his limited time w the Browns. Sure he's not young, but he looked the answer.

If you're not going to land Bridgewater, pass... go o-line, beef it up, roll with Hoyer and see where you're at. Browns are well ahead of where most think they are.

 
I'm just of the mind that you don't take non-Left Tackle linemen in the top half of the draft. They could take one at the 2nd first rounder, but they need more skill players on offense.

 
I'm just of the mind that you don't take non-Left Tackle linemen in the top half of the draft. They could take one at the 2nd first rounder, but they need more skill players on offense.
The Browns would be wise to trade down from the pick and try to nab another early pick (if possible)

I sincerely believe if the Browns shore that oline and place hoyer (whose release was tailor made for the Browns) behind it, they will benefit better than doing anything else.

WRs are all over the place and I wouldnt waste an early on them.

 
Browns going QB/WR?

ya, no.
They sure could. Why not? In fact I was putting a mock together and have the same thing (Carr/Matthews).

Not a bad mock but I don't think Mettenberger and Boyd are 1st rounders but I do think Carr is.
Im willing to bet they go shore up the offensive line before anything else

personally Id roll with Hoyer next year. absolutely.
I don't think they want to roll with a 28 y.o. journeyman QB that's recovering from a torn knee.

O-line is possible.
May be a journeyman, but the cat looked phenomenal in his limited time w the Browns. Sure he's not young, but he looked the answer.

If you're not going to land Bridgewater, pass... go o-line, beef it up, roll with Hoyer and see where you're at. Browns are well ahead of where most think they are.
Hoyer has a very limited resume.

I'm sure he's liked by the Browns but it seems a foregone conclusion that Cleveland has positioned themselves to take a QB.

I do like Hoyer and feel he gives Cleveland leeway where they do not have to push in all of their chips for a QB especially if they aren't sold on anyone or can't move to get the top one or two QBs. I think that they could take a project-type QB like Hundley in the second round and use Hoyer as a bridge.

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Per Browns taking offensive line, sure but not in the first round. 1st round OT Joe Thomas, 1st round C Alex Mack, 2nd round OT Mitchell Schwartz. That is a lot of high picks/high salaries invested on the O-Line already. They recently got back OG Shuan Lauava and will get back OG Jason PInkston and signed Jon Grecco to an extension. They faced the top pass rushing defense in KC (35 sacks heading into Sunday's game against Cleveland) and the Browns only gave up 1 sack.

Add Trent Ricahardson didn't light things up after getting traded and the Browns are starting a 32 year old RB waiver wire RG in Willis McGahee so the poor rushing stats are a product of injured starting OGs and bad talent at the moment at RB. Then factor in the new front office took a late round project in Garret Gilky last year and appear to be grooming him so I think they will continue along that philisophical trajectory to continue to accumulate young offensive linemen in that vein.

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On position I feel that the Browns will add with a high draft pick is cornerback. See the remarks made by Browns GM Mike Lombardi in the past about the nickel CB position and how highly he values that position.

Mike Lombardi the Bill Simmons podcast

part I of the October 16, 2011 podcast.

ML

: "I think the one other aspect of the NFL this season has been nickel runs. I think nickel runs, if you ask me to talk about the season, it is about nickel runs and how teams are ineffective against defending nickel runs.

For instance, two weeks ago the Giants played the Browns, they were in a lot of nickel runs. The browns couldn’t stop them. Cincinnati came thinking they could run the football. They didn’t really try running out of nickel. They ran out of base, Cleveland stopped them.

The fans said, "why didn’t we stop the Giants when they ran the ball?"

Well, they ran the ball out of nickel and often times if you don’t have a guy who can play in the slot. A slot corner who can tackle, who can read, who is perceptive, got great instincts and who is tough and can tackle. You can't play nickel run. You don’t know how to fit on nickel runs and you don’t know where your force comes for nickel runs force.

So, it becomes a real problem and this league right now, why New England has such an advantage is they get you into some nickel runs situations where you are not equipped to handle it and I think that is the tenue(sic) of the league. I think that is gonna be where this thing’s going is, how teams prepare for nickel runs and how much time you put preparing for it in your week of practice and training camps."

ML

: "You are going to have to have a player who is a nickel corner, but he plays like a linebacker, but he can tackle, he can cover. Its almost to me, like if I ever got back in the league, it would be a position that would be more valuable than Middle Linebacker.

…. You know there are teams that just don’t have that player and if you don’t have him. It becomes problematic for you and then teams force you into some areas and all scouts will always say "Well if he is not fast then we will put him inside.". Well ,that is really gonna help us a lot. He is not fast and he cant tackle so there we go there’s 35 yards running right down the field."

 
That Florida State game really scared me on Tajh Boyd. One game doesn't necessarily define you at the college level but he didn't exactly look the part of an NFL franchise qb that night.

 
Mettenberger and Boyd will not go before Manziel. No way Manziel makes it out of the top half of the 1st round.

 
Two seasons in a row without a bellcow RB in the first round. Wow. Deeper in the draft, are there any kickers worth mentioning? Any later round projected guys with tremendous upside?

 
I don't know enough to have an opinion, but I have a decent respect for NFLDraftCountdown and they just posted their 2nd 2014 mock. They have the UCLA QB, Hundley going no. 5 overall, whereas this mock has him going no 11, in the 2nd round. NFL DC has the LSU QB, Mettenberger going 32nd overall, while the mock in the OP has him at 8 overall. Seems like that's the biggest discrepency that jumps out to me.

 
Soulfly3 said:
Andy Dufresne said:
I'm just of the mind that you don't take non-Left Tackle linemen in the top half of the draft. They could take one at the 2nd first rounder, but they need more skill players on offense.
The Browns would be wise to trade down from the pick and try to nab another early pick (if possible)

I sincerely believe if the Browns shore that oline and place hoyer (whose release was tailor made for the Browns) behind it, they will benefit better than doing anything else.

WRs are all over the place and I wouldnt waste an early on them.
agree all around. hopefully hoyer will be fully recovered by training camp, and he'll take some sliding lessons for next season.

if CLE goes QB, WR, RB I will puke.

here's to IND going into a slump to make that pick better than the high 20s.

 
Mettenberg at 8 seems the most out of place to me. Mocks this early are really tough though. Hard to fault IMO. But, no I just don't see that one at all.

 
I would not be happy if the Pats use a #1 on a WR...they are breaking-in three rookie WRs this year...if they add a WR it should be a veteran that Brady doesn't have to babysit...if you are thinking skill position for the Pats than TE makes sense...they could use another weapon there...especially with Gronk's injury history...

 
No way does Hundley come out if he is going to be a 2nd rounder. I'd put him above Mettenberger and probably Boyd. Seems more doubtful that he comes out now but that is a glaring flaw in this.

 
No way Baalke drafts a WR in the 1st round at their projected position. It'll be either CB or defensive line. Unless they can somehow jump up a few spots and get Mike Evans if he falls into the 20s.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.

 
The chances the Raven's take a WR in the first are slim. They will address their biggest problem, the Oline, or trade down to address holes in the defense like the always do.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Joe Thomas are special, too. For all the good that has done their respective teams.

Honestly, a very good quarterback probably does more to change a team's fortunes than a Hall of Fame anything else.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Joe Thomas are special, too. For all the good that has done their respective teams.

Honestly, a very good quarterback probably does more to change a team's fortunes than a Hall of Fame anything else.
Ryan Tannehil, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbart.

The idea that a top 5-10 qb pick is a lock to being a franchise qb or turning around a team is what has lead teams to reaching on QB's and wasting years. Kaep and Dalton were 2nd's and Wilson a 3rd. Assuming that taking the best available QB first overall is the way to go is a bad argument. Look how long it took Stafford and Alex Smith to be relevant. Bradford is still feeling the effects of being drafted into a team with tons of other needs.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, J.J. Watt, and Joe Thomas are special, too. For all the good that has done their respective teams.

Honestly, a very good quarterback probably does more to change a team's fortunes than a Hall of Fame anything else.
Ryan Tannehil, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbart.

The idea that a top 5-10 qb pick is a lock to being a franchise qb or turning around a team is what has lead teams to reaching on QB's and wasting years. Kaep and Dalton were 2nd's and Wilson a 3rd. Assuming that taking the best available QB first overall is the way to go is a bad argument. Look how long it took Stafford and Alex Smith to be relevant. Bradford is still feeling the effects of being drafted into a team with tons of other needs.
We can play that game with DEs, too, though. Tyson Jackson, Gaines Adams, Courtney Brown, Andre Wadsworth, Cedric Jones. Any top-5 pick at any position is a bust risk. There's no such thing as a "sure thing"- just ask Robert Gallery or Aaron Curry. I'm just saying, if you want to turn around the fortunes of a moribund franchise, getting a great quarterback is pretty much the only way to do it. If you take a bad franchise and add the best offensive tackle in the league, you wind up with... a bad franchise (Joe Thomas, I'm talking about you). If you take a bad franchise and add the best CB in the league, you get a bad franchise (yes, Nnamdi, that's you). Ask Jared Allen and his one career playoff win what happens when you put the league's best pass rusher on a bad franchise. On the other hand, take a bad franchise and add an elite quarterback, and suddenly you have a good franchise. Just ask Andrew Luck, or Robert Griffin, or Drew Brees.

A guy like Bridgewater may not be as good of a prospect as Clowney in a vacuum, but when you factor in positional importance, he's still the guy I'd take at #1 overall. You can toss out all the the Sam Bradfords and David Carrs you want, but the upside is too high. You can mention Kaepernick and Dalton and Wilson and Romo and Brady and Brees and Favre and anyone else you want. To quote Doug Drinen (who was, I believe, paraphrasing Winston Churchill)... drafting a quarterback high is the worst way to get a franchise quarterback, except for all the other ways. The success rate at the top of the draft is low. The success rate everywhere else is much, much lower still.

 
A guy like Bridgewater may not be as good of a prospect as Clowney in a vacuum, but when you factor in positional importance, he's still the guy I'd take at #1 overall.
Yeah you might be able to make a case for teams drafting more then one QB "every" year until they got a good one. The Browns come to mind.......

 
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I don't know enough to have an opinion, but I have a decent respect for NFLDraftCountdown and they just posted their 2nd 2014 mock. They have the UCLA QB, Hundley going no. 5 overall, whereas this mock has him going no 11, in the 2nd round. NFL DC has the LSU QB, Mettenberger going 32nd overall, while the mock in the OP has him at 8 overall. Seems like that's the biggest discrepency that jumps out to me.
I've watched a handful of Hundley's games over the past couple years and never felt that he was a future NFL starter. I think he's one of those guys who looks better on paper than in reality. He might look the part physically, but he doesn't seem to have great mental talent (anticipation, pocket presence, poise, improvisation, etc). I think him sliding into the 2nd (and perhaps well beyond) is more realistic than him being a top 10 pick.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Bridgewater looks like the real deal, they need someone to throw the ball...Also, Blackmon is an unquestioned WR1 with Teddy at QB

 
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I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Bridgewater looks like the real deal, they need someone to throw the ball...Also, Blackmon is an unquestioned WR1 with Teddy at QB
I have only seen snippets of Bridgewater in the past 2 seasons so I truly do not know just how good he is. Is this a situation where Bridgewater is a clear cut top qb prospect like Newton, Luck, RG3 etc? Or is this a situation where he is just the best prospect this year and will probably go #1 just on general principal?

From what I can tell is that he throws a nice catchable ball, looks to be accurate and stays in the pocket. Not overly big and doesnt run that much.

 
I have a hard time believing that even the Jags could blow the first pick and not take Clowney. Clowney is special. You can't pass on a guy like that.
Bridgewater looks like the real deal, they need someone to throw the ball...Also, Blackmon is an unquestioned WR1 with Teddy at QB
I have only seen snippets of Bridgewater in the past 2 seasons so I truly do not know just how good he is. Is this a situation where Bridgewater is a clear cut top qb prospect like Newton, Luck, RG3 etc? Or is this a situation where he is just the best prospect this year and will probably go #1 just on general principal?From what I can tell is that he throws a nice catchable ball, looks to be accurate and stays in the pocket. Not overly big and doesnt run that much.
Amazingly there was debate between Gabbert and Newton, imagine that...

Bridgewater is a true pocket passer - He has all of the tools of an elite QB. I think it's a difficult argument to say any other QB in this class has more potential than Bridgewater.

 
I find it hard to believe Roby lasts to 20. He's a better corner IMO than any of the guys drafted the last 2 years and we have been seeing 2-3 corners a year off the board by 20.

I won't be shocked if he's top 7.

 

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