glazeduck

It's sort of a vicious cycle. Owners are usually very collaborative in trying to continue to improving the product so they can continue to make more money. Spanos consistently refuses to collaborate OR spend money, opting instead to basically just bathe in the work that others have done and not do his part, so owners hate him. He took for granted a really great and passionate fanbase in San Diego and moved the team to LA because of the market, despite knowing that there was not and would not be a great amount of fan support there. In LA, you're competing with USC football, the Raiders, the Rams, the beach, the Lakers, the Dodgers, the Angels, Disneyland, UCLA football (to a lesser degree), etc. So now he's in a market with no fan support, no stadium and really no additional owners support. It's a mess.

@GunnerBill just for funsies, what does your board say are the next 10-15 best available after the 2nd round? I've got: Jamin Davis Tommy Togiai Nico Collins Dwayne Eskridge Richie Grant Davion Nixon Alim McNeil Tylan Wallace Amari Rodgers Milton Williams Cameron McGrone Joe Tyron Pete Werner Elijah Molden Ben St-Juste

One more thing I'd add to my evaluations (I'm certain that not everyone who did the mock had this in mind) is that I'm giving extra points to guys that I feel like have safer floors and downgrading guys who don't. Ojulari has 2 quality seasons under his belt in the toughest conference in CFB, his tape checks out, his pro day numbers were fantastic... pretty clean evaluation for me. Same story for Bateman, 3 great years on a so-so team, pretty clean tape, good athletic testing... They're both safe, and when you're evaluating players in this messed up Covid year, I think that's worth something vs. a guy who randomly popped in weird circumstance (see: Wilson, Zach). Possibly why I'm higher on those two...

Totally fair question and I think you bring up the biggest limitation of doing mocks without trades -- sometimes you just end up with weird fits for needs, etc. Can easily see how not being able to trade back kind of forced your hand there. I like Trey Smith and Meinerz over Myers, but not by a ton. I think I probably would've just punted on OL and gone with defense. Jamin Davis, Cameron McGrone, Pete Werner, Ossai, Tryon, Togiai, Nixon, Stokes all would've felt like reasonable picks there too.

@GunnerBill Thanks for your comments, I numbered your responses for ease of response. In general I agree, I go back and forth on Meli but I do think he's the type of guy who could carve out a successful role somewhere in that defense. Was tempted to blast Wilson, because I don't think he's anywhere NEAR the 2nd best QB in this draft, but since it's basically a given, let that one slide. Leatherwood could certainly be a high end player. I'm probably overly biased by his turnstile impression during the Senior Bowl practices. My fears are mostly conditioning and athleticism for him, so if he can reshape his body and get bendier, he'll likely be just fine. Bateman is very similar to Justin Jefferson in my book. Somewhat unassuming as a playmaker, solid everywhere but not special anywhere, laid a little low in a lesser program... I won't be surprised if Bateman is looked at as a top 20 talent in this draft when all is said and done. And lord knows the Eagles need talent at WR. I don't love Jenkins as a player, but I think if you're getting a guy you can reasonably reliably pencil in as a starter at a need position at the end of the first round, that's not a bad pick, per se. In general, agree that his positional limitations keep it from being a better fit, but I also think he'd be a fine guard, so he's still got basically 3 shots to stick... The Bears CERTAINLY could do worse in adding a quality piece to the roster. Lower ceiling but high floor. Agree Basham is meh physically, but I also think he's a guy who'll just get the job done. Not an especially inspired pick, by any means, but he fills a need and that late, it's not one I'll knock. Agree his best fit is a 34 edge right now. That said, I think he's one of, if not the most complete players in this draft, so we're worlds apart with him as a prospect. Fit isn't great, agreed, but I think a lot of that falls away when you can put him in on 3rd downs and tell him to hunt. Beyond that, I think 10lbs of muscle and some good coaching could turn him into a pretty nasty even front edge man. Obviously this wasn't Eric DeCosta making this pick, but for the sake of argument, I'd trust the Ravens to find a fit for a guy like that. Agree that in a vacuum he's not a great scheme fit, but at the end of the 2nd, if you're getting a guy that you can plug into certain situations for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, you can certainly do worse.

This would be VERY big for the NFL. Spanos is one of the worst owners in pro sports.

Best values (in my mind) in no particular order: Ossai Radunz Stokes Bateman Rondale Moore Ettiene Baron Browning Wyatt Davis Jaelen Phillips Azeez Ojulari Jaycee Horn Biggest reaches (in my mind) in no particular order: Greg Rousseau Creed Humphrey Javonte Williams as the 1st RB off the board Chazz Surratt Jamar Johnson Jackson Carman Dan Moore Josh Meyers Cumulative team perceptions: Jags: got good/great value at each pick Jets: picks all have reasonably high bust factor for their draft slot 49ers: solid/unspectacular. Fields at 3 is a layup, Campbell maybe just a slight reach, but in pecking order of CBs, not too much there to critique Falcons: Pitts no question BPA, but a luxury pick after spending a 3rd and a lot of cash on Hurst. Got 2 physical freaks big upside. Bengals: passing on Sewell looks a lot better with Eichenberg; Chase will be a star Dolphins: Good/great value on all picks but Rousseau who will take a few years to develop but high upside may counteract that since MIA's best days are still ahead of them Lions: Jamar Johnson one of the bigger reaches to me. Fits a need but better players on the board, even at S. Smith should get every opportunity to shine. Panthers: Lance goes somewhere where he can develop, think that offense would be a problem in a couple years. Freirmuth good value. Broncos: Parsons an instant star there. Didn't feel like Cosmi was the best OT on the board, but fills a need. Cowboys: Copy/paste from Broncos -- Surtain an instant starter, limitless ceiling. Not a big Leatherwood guy (especially with Radunz still on the board). In the 2nd, he has bust written all over him to me. Giants: LOVE Waddle, love giving Danny Dimes all the opportunities to sink or swim. Etienne an interesting pick with Saquon entrenched there, but great value. Eagles: Love both Farley and Bateman picks, great value, but it has to be asked... Is Caleb Farley really what they want to be able to show for that trade back? Feels like there'll be pressure for a splashier pick there. Bateman one of the best values in this mock. Chargers: Mission: protect Justin Herbert, get him weapons. Status: Complete. Is slater a T or a G? Either way he's great value and a great talent. Elijah Moore not my favorite WR on the board there, but plenty talented and gets to come in as 3rd on the depth chart and learn from Keenan Allen. Vikings: If you only have one pick in the top 2 rounds, you can certainly do a TON worse than coming away with Kwitty Paye. No notes! Cheatriots: I have my doubts about Mac Jones, but hard to argue his similarities to Brady. LOVE Wyatt Davis, which makes me sad that I'd now have to hate Wyatt Davis. Cards: Horn will be a stud. Like adding to the OL, but don't know about Dickerson's fit in that offense. Raiders: Alijah Vera-Tucker is solid value later in the first. Thought Carman was a reach. WFT: Darrisaw and Browning are both great values. Browning's fit in that defense a little circumspect, but at some point talent is talent. Bears: Teven Jenkins is solid value here. Joseph a bit more developmental but high ceiling. Titans: Newsome and Basham both very good values late in their rounds. Colts: Azeez Ojulari another steal of this draft. Dan Moore... notsomuch Steelers: Surprised they took Javonte Williams over Harris (and less-so, Etienne); Meyers felt like a reach Seahawks: I wanted a starting OL and got a guy that's arguably a 1st round talent. Was very happy to land Radunz. Seahawks have a late 2, a late 4 and one of the last picks in the draft, so in reality they will almost certainly be trading out of that spot barring something amazing falling to them... In my eyes, Radunz might be that good... Rams: With only 1 pick, late in the 2nd, coming away with Nick Bolton is great value at a position that could stand reinforcements and depth Browns: Surratt and Samuel both felt like reaches to me. Solid players but probably each about a round too early. Ravens: Only minor quibbles about Terrance Marshall, I think he'll have a great career, but feels like that team needs more of an alpha, I would've gone with Bateman, but again, it's a minor nit. Perkins felt like a bit of a reach with Tryon and Ossai still on the board, but going to Baltimore probably means he'll end up a star. Saints: Solid value with Collins/Nasildereen... ZC maybe a slight reach, Nas a slight value balances out nicely -- 2 solid pieces on D Packers: Arguably the "winners" of this draft. Doesn't get better than Barmore and Stokes at the end of their respective rounds. Bills: Probably the Pack's only competition for "winning" this thing... JOK and Ossai are great pieces to add. I wanted Phillips in the 1st, but if you could guarantee me that Ossai would be there for us in the 2nd, I'd be VERY okay with this result! Chiefs: Mayfield walks right into a starting role. Dyami Brown's a great value but maybe a bit of a luxury pick since that offense seems to manufacture production. Bucs: No notes. Phillips is a stud and gets to learn from 2 of the best pass rushers in the game?!? I'm slightly lower on Rondale Moore than most, and he's at best their #4 pass catcher (which excludes Gronk, OJ Howard and Brate) but can't argue with the value there.

Wouldn’t shock me if he never *loved* football, but he had a couple really great years. Great kid too. He’s studying concussions now too, so definitely giving back to the world/community.

Yeah he'd be a pass rush specialist in year 1 while he fills out and broadens his skillset, but frankly that's all we need in the short term.

Outside of maybe turning a soccer player into a kicker, which, let's be honest, is basically doing the same thing, but with pads, Basketball to TE has got to be the easiest transition (I'm sure there's a rugby argument in there too, but I don't know s*** about Rugby). I'll never know if I was the reason he did it, but at my college graduation reception I was chatting with a graduating basketball player about our futures. I suggested to him that he try football, as he was a 6'5 rebounder. Fortunately for him he had a year of eligibility left, got his masters while playing 1 year of college ball and went on to have a 7 year, 2x pro-bowl career in the NFL! I say that not at all to namedrop or pat myself on the back but to emphasize how little real football he experienced before the pros and how it turned out for him. Doesn't always work that way, but TE was clearly the right path...

God I had such a draft crush on Tyrone Calico...

To be fair, Surratt runs like a moving truck. I was thinking Bashsm was ~a 4.8 guy, so high 4.6s in an ideal setting isn’t shocking. I’d be fine with Basham in the 3rd or later but hope we don’t take him over an explosive athlete like Ossai

Joseph Ossai, DE, Texas Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia

1 million percent. Stokes too. @Virgil please add Ossai and Stokes, they're the leaders in the clubhouse as far as I'm concerned...

Not only are they not JAGs, they're great fits for what this staff is clearly looking for -- ability to separate. The caveman football fan in me wants to spread 5 6'5" wrs out and throw jump balls all day, but this staff clearly has a plan and those guys fit into it. We're SET at WR for this year. Could certainly use some youth to develop behind them, so to the topic at hand, I think Dyami goes way higher than we'll be looking for a WR.

Looooot of good players on the board for the Bills here! Stokes, Ossai (yes please!), Tyron, Moore, Dyami Brown, St. Brown, Eskridge, Nico Collins........ Gotta be Stokes or Ossai for me.

Exactly. It's always been about separation, not just speed. While straight line speed doesn't hurt, separation invokes agility, footwork, body control, chemistry with your QB, mental components and so many other things...

Couple thoughts on these two comments... Teams don't put as much emphasis on the 40 as draftniks do for a bevy of reasons, but furthermore, Florida is a rich enough program that they almost certainly have GPS data on speed that they're sharing with teams -- that's what will tell the true story of Toney's speed. 100 times out of 100 teams will defer to that data over the 40 because it's non-linear, geared-up, live action, incorporates defenders, etc. Secondly, 40s can be deceiving representations of "speed" and the ability to get deep. My favorite 40 time ever is Chad Johnson running a 4.55. No one would ever accuse Chad Johnson of being "slow" or not being able to get deep coming out of college. These days, teams use the 40 more for an evaluation of explosiveness and dedication to training more so than "how fast a guy is". So sure, with Toney, maybe it was 4.41, maybe it was 4.5, but either way those are very minor data points in the grand evaluation process for him. Frankly, the 3-cone will mean a great deal more than the 40 for a guy like Toney.

Nice. Love this kid's game. I'm of the opinion that Edmunds is our guy, but if we somehow got a big enough offer for him, I'd love to take Davis as his replacement.

I think he'll be a good pro. I also think if you're drafting for 2022 and beyond, and also recognizing that WR isn't as immediate or glaring of a need, I think you can get away with drafting more developmental types later in the draft. Seth Williams and Josh Imatorbhebhe (both probably a little higher than the rest), Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Jonathan Adams, Tamarrion Terry, Jalen Camp and Mike Strachan are all guys who would be really intriguing in the 5th or 6th rd...

With the 56th pick in the TSW draft, the Seattle Seahawks select.. Dillon Radunz, LT, NDSU The Los Angeles Rams and New Era/Butt Stuff are now on the clock. You have to feel for John Schneider here. One of the NFL's best human beings is tasked with mending the fence between two squabbling hall of famers, with basically 2 draft picks, little cap room and a lot of needs. What better way to start mending that fence by drafting a first round talent to protect Russell and improve the running game in the late second? Radunz has all the tools to step into a starting role on the offensive line and improve a unit that has been underperforming for years. EDIT: there's absolutely ZERO chance that the Seahawks don't trade down here, but since trading out of the second round is neither an option, nor any fun in a two round mock, went with easily the best player available...

Yeah I think it could work.

Man, y'all are crazy. Wilson to the Jets has massive bust written all over it. You'd rather let them stock up and roll with a guy who knows the system or make the smart choice in the draft?!? No thank you...