Since I was part of the graphics department, I wasn’t allowed to make a mock draft, since I knew where everyone was going. That would’ve been a teensy bit unfair. But that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t surprised by seeing where these guys landed. Plus I had a general idea about where the players would go before the picks started rolling in; I’d done my research. Or so I thought. There were several people who I thought would go way higher than they actually did. So let’s see which players probably could’ve gone a round earlier without anyone calling it a reach.
Yellowknife selects RB Morgan Marshall (San Antonio) (@`EnfysNest`)
Drafted #14, projected mid-1st
I probably don’t need to ramble on about Morgan Marshall’s accomplishments any more than I already have, but because of that, I thought it would make a ton of sense for him to go in the top five. The general consensus correctly predicted that Marshall would go to Yellowknife, but that it would be with their 1st round pick, #4 overall. And some mocks had him going as high as #2 overall to New Orleans. But with the fourth pick, Yellowknife took Nero Alexander. Made sense, their defensive line was in dire need of a face lift. It would’ve been a difficult choice for anyone. But then, he fell past the expansion teams, which I wasn’t too shocked by, I thought they would go for a veteran with a recreate with their first ever pick (which is why Chicago taking Lightsout Lewis confused me a bit). But then in the latter half of the first, Colorado traded out of the #7 pick, despite RB being a need. Orange County was a possibility at #8, as was nearly every team from there until Yellowknife at #14. New Orleans did go running back at #13, but to many people’s surprise, they took Forrest Gump over Marshall. Which left Marshall there at #14, ripe for the picking. With Dick Wizardry hanging around for one more year before he heads down to Austin, Wizardry, Marshall and fellow newcomer Jerrod Canton should form a terrifying three-headed monster that’ll give Yellowknife a very intimidating ground game, while new quarterback Cooter Bigsby figures out the passing game.
Baltimore selects FS Walt Green (San Antonio) (@Duilio05)
Drafted #17, projected late 1st/early 2nd
The highest position that I saw someone take Walt Green at was #7 to Colorado, but I thought that two of the best places for him to land would either be #10 to San Jose or #11 to Arizona, and when Arizona traded up with Colorado, I thought Colorado might snag Green there while deftly grabbing some picks. But, San Jose went Ahri Espeeyeeseetee and Colorado went Mo Berry. Baltimore could’ve gone there at #12, but they went strong safety instead of free safety, selecting Fatih Terim. After that though, there wasn’t any teams that had safety as a big enough priority to justify this high of a pick, besides perhaps Yellowknife, but with Marshall on the board and given the depth of this safety class, he just wasn’t the pick there. But then, Baltimore came around again at #17, and they got Green. They ended up going safety with both of the picks in the first two rounds, and that seems like a good idea given their lack of depth at the position. I have a feeling that both Terim and Green will be starting over incumbent Steven Oats by the end of their rookie seasons.
Philadelphia selects CB Emondov Emoji (Portland) (@BWIII)
Drafted #19, projected early 2nd
Maybe I was being a bit in the minority to take Emondov Emoji this high, but the dude already has more than 300 TPE, there was no reason for him to fall this far, unless it was because he’s usered by one of Philly’s GMs. And even if that’s the case, that doesn’t change the fact that taking Emoji this late is an incredible value. Colorado at #11 and New Orleans at #13 could’ve gone CB, as well as the expansions, as we saw Chicago take Xerxes Ridley at #16. Emoji will likely be Philly’s day one starter over Johnson Cox III, and it looks like Philly should be secure at the position for years to come.
Chicago selects LB Guy Nikko (Palm Beach) (@Duress)
Drafted #26, projected late 2nd
To me, Guy Nikko has the most upside out of anyone in the vaulted “Palm Beach Penetration”, the Solar Bears’s beastly linebacker corps last season, and yet he slipped into the middle of the third round based on a perceived lack of versatility. Baltimore could’ve been a possibility at #17 as Ben Horne and Austin Roenick begin to go through regression. Orange County and Colorado both went linebacker at #18 and #22 respectively, where they took Lanzer Grievous and fellow Solar Bear Tony Gabagool. Baltimore was there again at #23, but addressed running back after passing on Marshall with Dorfus Jimbo. Two teams who already have young linebackers later, and Chicago was there, and they snagged Nikko at #26. I said before that Nikko needed some elite players alongside of him to cover up his faults and let him shine, and Chicago did as good of a job as possible of doing that, going linebacker or secondary with each of their first four picks. With any luck, next year’s draft and the expansion draft will fill in any other holes they have.
Orange County selects QB Franklin Armstrong (Portland) (@moonlight)
Drafted #28, projected mid-2nd
I think that article that came out a while back about teams never needing to draft a quarterback might’ve scared a few teams off from going quarterback, as both Franklin Armstrong and Jay Longshaw tumbled down the draft board. A lot of mock drafts saw Armstrong going in the first round, as high as #2 to New Orleans. I didn’t think that was very likely, given how deep this class was and how quarterback wasn’t that dire of a need for most teams. The earliest I could’ve foreseen Armstrong going was #13 to New Orleans, but more likely to me were Austin or Chicago at #15 and #16, although neither team picked up a quarterback, suggesting they may target someone else for conversion. Colorado passed at #22, but they’ve been clear that their target was always going to be Jay Longshaw. After Chicago passed on them again at #26, New Orleans was on the clock again, and I thought the stars had aligned for them to get their guy at a fantastic price, but they still had a desperate need at corner, and had to go there before there were no corners left. After that Armstrong was drafted at #28 by… Orange County? What? Gus Showbiz hasn't even hit regression yet, this didn’t seem like that big of a need for them. Perhaps Armstrong could be in line for a position change, since he received a massive first year on his contract that could cover the cost of a position change. But if the plan is for him to be the heir-apparent to Gus T.T. Showbiz, then this’ll give Armstrong plenty of time to accumulate TPE in the D-League while Showbiz finishes out his contract, but I worry if this is planning too far for the future, as we’ve seen what happens when players are left in the D-League for too long with what happened to Vander Jones. Orange County needs to handle this situation carefully.
Philadelphia selects WR Nacho Varga (Palm Beach) (@Fordhammer)
Drafted #29, projected late 2nd
There were four wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft that could be immediately contributors. Landers, Espeeyeeseetee, and Rod Tidwell were the top three at the position, and a little bit behind them was Nacho Varga. I expected Varga to get picked up right after the first three went off, because if you still needed a receiver at that point, it was Varga or nothing. After Tidwell was taken at #15, there was Chicago at #16, but they went with Xerxes Ridley. Both Orange County and Philadelphia are getting older at receiver, but they passed on him at #18 and #19. After that, most of the teams with a pick between #20-27 had either already drafted a receiver (San Jose and Arizona) or just didn’t have much of a need there. Orange County and Philadelphia came up again at #28 and #29, and while Orange County took Armstrong, Philadelphia got Varga. He’ll probably start off in the slot, but as the season rolls on, I expect him to surpass Roger Batoff, and become a great compliment to Jordan von Matt.
Arizona selects TE Jammerson Irving (Tijuana) (@contacts)
Drafted #41, projected mid 3rd
Maybe I was just expecting my position to be more of a need for some reason, and maybe my scouting was off, but this might be the biggest steal in the whole draft. I had Jammerson Irving as the #2 tight end on my board, ahead of both Cameron Olsen and Dan Wright. Yellowknife at #24 was the first likely place for him to go. After that was Chicago at #26, they passed. San Jose went tight end for the second time in the draft, selecting Dan Wright at #30. Then during the fourth round, Austin had three picks, and passed on pairing Irving with Chase Jensen all three times, as well as Chicago at #36. Finally, to open the fifth round, Arizona filled their need at tight end by taking Irving. I think he’ll be starting on opening week over Steven Moore, who’s been IA for three months. To get a starter in the fifth, that’s pretty darn good.
Colorado selects QB Jay Longshaw (Norfolk) (@dropbear)
Drafted #43, projected early 4th
Like Franklin Armstrong before him, Jay Longshaw just kept on sliding down the board. And like Emondov Emoji, he’s usered by one of the GMs of the team that took him. But for them to find their future franchise quarterback in the fifth round? That’s a pretty big steal. I thought Colorado might go with Longshaw at #31, since after that was the aforementioned three Austin picks in the fourth, but they passed on him. Chicago also had a crack at him at #36, as did New Orleans at #38. Still Colorado got their future franchise quarterback in the early-fifth. They only have one year to build him up before he’ll be thrust into the starting role upon Micycle McCormick’s retirement, so they and Norfolk will need to build him up and fast.
Chicago selects TE Timmy Hoss (San Antonio) (@smaxx77)
Drafted #46, projected late 4th
Timmy Hoss was a guy I probably should’ve mentioned in my offensive draft board post, because he’s still someone with a lot of promise. He’s staying updated fairly regularly and he’s at nearly 200 TPE, there’s potential there. If Irving had gone a little higher, I thought Hoss would be a good fit in Colorado at #37, where he could learn from Balthazar Crindy for a year. Austin passed on him at #40 and again later at #45, and Arizona of course took Irving at #41. That left him open for Chicago to pick him up at #46. This’ll give him one more season in San Antonio to develop before coming over in Season 16 as the likely undisputed starter at tight end.
Yellowknife selects DT Ryan Leaf Jr. (Norfolk) (@ValorX77)
Drafted #55, projected early 5th
I knew Ryan Leaf Jr. was going to fall, I knew some teams would be worried about which Ryan Leaf Jr. they’d get, but I wasn’t expecting him to fall like this. After AJ Lattimer was selected at #8, there weren’t any other defensive linemen with any decent level of activity, besides Leaf. Cale Clay just returned, but he’s under 100 TPE. Frasier Crane is a little higher but is IA, and Nick Snider is even worse. All three of those guys were taken before Leaf. I thought Arizona at #41 was a possibility as not even trading up for Ricardo Morris at #7 will be enough to completely turn that line around. Colorado was also a possibility at #43, and later #52. Arizona had another pick at #48. Orange County had three picks in the fourth and early fifth and chose Cale Clay at #51 instead. And then finally, Yellowknife took a chance on Leaf and selected him at #55. They already drafted Nero Alexander at #4, and Zach Skinner is still on the roster. This means that Leaf can continue to develop in Norfolk, get a full year of playing at DT under his belt, and then, he can come up next season and become a beastly one-two punch along the D-Line with Alexander. Fantastic late round selection, with major upside.
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Yellowknife selects RB Morgan Marshall (San Antonio) (@`EnfysNest`)
Drafted #14, projected mid-1st
I probably don’t need to ramble on about Morgan Marshall’s accomplishments any more than I already have, but because of that, I thought it would make a ton of sense for him to go in the top five. The general consensus correctly predicted that Marshall would go to Yellowknife, but that it would be with their 1st round pick, #4 overall. And some mocks had him going as high as #2 overall to New Orleans. But with the fourth pick, Yellowknife took Nero Alexander. Made sense, their defensive line was in dire need of a face lift. It would’ve been a difficult choice for anyone. But then, he fell past the expansion teams, which I wasn’t too shocked by, I thought they would go for a veteran with a recreate with their first ever pick (which is why Chicago taking Lightsout Lewis confused me a bit). But then in the latter half of the first, Colorado traded out of the #7 pick, despite RB being a need. Orange County was a possibility at #8, as was nearly every team from there until Yellowknife at #14. New Orleans did go running back at #13, but to many people’s surprise, they took Forrest Gump over Marshall. Which left Marshall there at #14, ripe for the picking. With Dick Wizardry hanging around for one more year before he heads down to Austin, Wizardry, Marshall and fellow newcomer Jerrod Canton should form a terrifying three-headed monster that’ll give Yellowknife a very intimidating ground game, while new quarterback Cooter Bigsby figures out the passing game.
Baltimore selects FS Walt Green (San Antonio) (@Duilio05)
Drafted #17, projected late 1st/early 2nd
The highest position that I saw someone take Walt Green at was #7 to Colorado, but I thought that two of the best places for him to land would either be #10 to San Jose or #11 to Arizona, and when Arizona traded up with Colorado, I thought Colorado might snag Green there while deftly grabbing some picks. But, San Jose went Ahri Espeeyeeseetee and Colorado went Mo Berry. Baltimore could’ve gone there at #12, but they went strong safety instead of free safety, selecting Fatih Terim. After that though, there wasn’t any teams that had safety as a big enough priority to justify this high of a pick, besides perhaps Yellowknife, but with Marshall on the board and given the depth of this safety class, he just wasn’t the pick there. But then, Baltimore came around again at #17, and they got Green. They ended up going safety with both of the picks in the first two rounds, and that seems like a good idea given their lack of depth at the position. I have a feeling that both Terim and Green will be starting over incumbent Steven Oats by the end of their rookie seasons.
Philadelphia selects CB Emondov Emoji (Portland) (@BWIII)
Drafted #19, projected early 2nd
Maybe I was being a bit in the minority to take Emondov Emoji this high, but the dude already has more than 300 TPE, there was no reason for him to fall this far, unless it was because he’s usered by one of Philly’s GMs. And even if that’s the case, that doesn’t change the fact that taking Emoji this late is an incredible value. Colorado at #11 and New Orleans at #13 could’ve gone CB, as well as the expansions, as we saw Chicago take Xerxes Ridley at #16. Emoji will likely be Philly’s day one starter over Johnson Cox III, and it looks like Philly should be secure at the position for years to come.
Chicago selects LB Guy Nikko (Palm Beach) (@Duress)
Drafted #26, projected late 2nd
To me, Guy Nikko has the most upside out of anyone in the vaulted “Palm Beach Penetration”, the Solar Bears’s beastly linebacker corps last season, and yet he slipped into the middle of the third round based on a perceived lack of versatility. Baltimore could’ve been a possibility at #17 as Ben Horne and Austin Roenick begin to go through regression. Orange County and Colorado both went linebacker at #18 and #22 respectively, where they took Lanzer Grievous and fellow Solar Bear Tony Gabagool. Baltimore was there again at #23, but addressed running back after passing on Marshall with Dorfus Jimbo. Two teams who already have young linebackers later, and Chicago was there, and they snagged Nikko at #26. I said before that Nikko needed some elite players alongside of him to cover up his faults and let him shine, and Chicago did as good of a job as possible of doing that, going linebacker or secondary with each of their first four picks. With any luck, next year’s draft and the expansion draft will fill in any other holes they have.
Orange County selects QB Franklin Armstrong (Portland) (@moonlight)
Drafted #28, projected mid-2nd
I think that article that came out a while back about teams never needing to draft a quarterback might’ve scared a few teams off from going quarterback, as both Franklin Armstrong and Jay Longshaw tumbled down the draft board. A lot of mock drafts saw Armstrong going in the first round, as high as #2 to New Orleans. I didn’t think that was very likely, given how deep this class was and how quarterback wasn’t that dire of a need for most teams. The earliest I could’ve foreseen Armstrong going was #13 to New Orleans, but more likely to me were Austin or Chicago at #15 and #16, although neither team picked up a quarterback, suggesting they may target someone else for conversion. Colorado passed at #22, but they’ve been clear that their target was always going to be Jay Longshaw. After Chicago passed on them again at #26, New Orleans was on the clock again, and I thought the stars had aligned for them to get their guy at a fantastic price, but they still had a desperate need at corner, and had to go there before there were no corners left. After that Armstrong was drafted at #28 by… Orange County? What? Gus Showbiz hasn't even hit regression yet, this didn’t seem like that big of a need for them. Perhaps Armstrong could be in line for a position change, since he received a massive first year on his contract that could cover the cost of a position change. But if the plan is for him to be the heir-apparent to Gus T.T. Showbiz, then this’ll give Armstrong plenty of time to accumulate TPE in the D-League while Showbiz finishes out his contract, but I worry if this is planning too far for the future, as we’ve seen what happens when players are left in the D-League for too long with what happened to Vander Jones. Orange County needs to handle this situation carefully.
Philadelphia selects WR Nacho Varga (Palm Beach) (@Fordhammer)
Drafted #29, projected late 2nd
There were four wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft that could be immediately contributors. Landers, Espeeyeeseetee, and Rod Tidwell were the top three at the position, and a little bit behind them was Nacho Varga. I expected Varga to get picked up right after the first three went off, because if you still needed a receiver at that point, it was Varga or nothing. After Tidwell was taken at #15, there was Chicago at #16, but they went with Xerxes Ridley. Both Orange County and Philadelphia are getting older at receiver, but they passed on him at #18 and #19. After that, most of the teams with a pick between #20-27 had either already drafted a receiver (San Jose and Arizona) or just didn’t have much of a need there. Orange County and Philadelphia came up again at #28 and #29, and while Orange County took Armstrong, Philadelphia got Varga. He’ll probably start off in the slot, but as the season rolls on, I expect him to surpass Roger Batoff, and become a great compliment to Jordan von Matt.
Arizona selects TE Jammerson Irving (Tijuana) (@contacts)
Drafted #41, projected mid 3rd
Maybe I was just expecting my position to be more of a need for some reason, and maybe my scouting was off, but this might be the biggest steal in the whole draft. I had Jammerson Irving as the #2 tight end on my board, ahead of both Cameron Olsen and Dan Wright. Yellowknife at #24 was the first likely place for him to go. After that was Chicago at #26, they passed. San Jose went tight end for the second time in the draft, selecting Dan Wright at #30. Then during the fourth round, Austin had three picks, and passed on pairing Irving with Chase Jensen all three times, as well as Chicago at #36. Finally, to open the fifth round, Arizona filled their need at tight end by taking Irving. I think he’ll be starting on opening week over Steven Moore, who’s been IA for three months. To get a starter in the fifth, that’s pretty darn good.
Colorado selects QB Jay Longshaw (Norfolk) (@dropbear)
Drafted #43, projected early 4th
Like Franklin Armstrong before him, Jay Longshaw just kept on sliding down the board. And like Emondov Emoji, he’s usered by one of the GMs of the team that took him. But for them to find their future franchise quarterback in the fifth round? That’s a pretty big steal. I thought Colorado might go with Longshaw at #31, since after that was the aforementioned three Austin picks in the fourth, but they passed on him. Chicago also had a crack at him at #36, as did New Orleans at #38. Still Colorado got their future franchise quarterback in the early-fifth. They only have one year to build him up before he’ll be thrust into the starting role upon Micycle McCormick’s retirement, so they and Norfolk will need to build him up and fast.
Chicago selects TE Timmy Hoss (San Antonio) (@smaxx77)
Drafted #46, projected late 4th
Timmy Hoss was a guy I probably should’ve mentioned in my offensive draft board post, because he’s still someone with a lot of promise. He’s staying updated fairly regularly and he’s at nearly 200 TPE, there’s potential there. If Irving had gone a little higher, I thought Hoss would be a good fit in Colorado at #37, where he could learn from Balthazar Crindy for a year. Austin passed on him at #40 and again later at #45, and Arizona of course took Irving at #41. That left him open for Chicago to pick him up at #46. This’ll give him one more season in San Antonio to develop before coming over in Season 16 as the likely undisputed starter at tight end.
Yellowknife selects DT Ryan Leaf Jr. (Norfolk) (@ValorX77)
Drafted #55, projected early 5th
I knew Ryan Leaf Jr. was going to fall, I knew some teams would be worried about which Ryan Leaf Jr. they’d get, but I wasn’t expecting him to fall like this. After AJ Lattimer was selected at #8, there weren’t any other defensive linemen with any decent level of activity, besides Leaf. Cale Clay just returned, but he’s under 100 TPE. Frasier Crane is a little higher but is IA, and Nick Snider is even worse. All three of those guys were taken before Leaf. I thought Arizona at #41 was a possibility as not even trading up for Ricardo Morris at #7 will be enough to completely turn that line around. Colorado was also a possibility at #43, and later #52. Arizona had another pick at #48. Orange County had three picks in the fourth and early fifth and chose Cale Clay at #51 instead. And then finally, Yellowknife took a chance on Leaf and selected him at #55. They already drafted Nero Alexander at #4, and Zach Skinner is still on the roster. This means that Leaf can continue to develop in Norfolk, get a full year of playing at DT under his belt, and then, he can come up next season and become a beastly one-two punch along the D-Line with Alexander. Fantastic late round selection, with major upside.
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