RealFantasy Pigskin 2013: Draft and Discussion

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

Being in the center, I've finally started to realize to not even bother making up a list until at least the wrap around. Until Byrd there hadn't been one player that I was even remotely looking at the pick before that ending up falling 30+ picks. 
 
I assume most lists look similar still, except possible scheme differences. Good players fly off the board.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Being in the center, I've finally started to realize to not even bother making up a list until at least the wrap around. Until Byrd there hadn't been one player that I was even remotely looking at the pick before that ending up falling 30+ picks. 
 
I assume most lists look similar still, except possible scheme differences. Good players fly off the board.

 
They're all on our team.
 
You can have them when we're done using them.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

They're all on our team.
 
You can have them when we're done using them.

 
KFP is Richard Sherman of BbtL.

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

Cool, so like Summer 2014?
 
I'd assume that's when the Browns franchise finally blows up. A result of the fans of Austin burning the stadium down after watching Sanchez for a whole season. 

 

[Saturnian]

With their 5th round pick, the Saints select TE Jason Witten.
 

 
I have watched this guy dominate the Giants for what seems like 20 years, and he's still only 30 years old.  He shrugged off a ruptured spleen to record a career-high 110 catches this year, and he is a solid blocker as well.  With Alex Smith slinging the rock, I valued a prolific TE over the WRs I looked at taking in this spot. 

 

[RhaegarTharen]

Man....this was a tough one.  I watched a lot of players I really liked disappear in the last 15 picks or so, and now my board contained a lot of players I had ranked similarly, making choosing two out of the pack a very tough proposition.   I spend the entire past 30 mins while in a meeting debating which of 8 players I have ranked about the same I should take.  Thought for sure Kam Chancellor would have made it to me, or that Sullivan or Sweatleaf or Decker would be around for me to start building my offense. 
 
Instead, I'm doubling down on defense...again.  
 
With the 160th and 161st picks the Minnesota Vikings would like to welcome....  TJ Ward, SS  and Dont'a Hightower, OLB. 
 

 

 
 
These were really tough decisions.  Ward has battled season-ending injuries the past two years (foot in 2011 and knee bruise in 2012) but has shown the ability to be a top safety when he is on the field.  He grades out excellent against the run, and is no slouch in coverage either.  I'm gambling here that Ward, who has demonstrated the ability to be a Top 5 NFL safety, will avoid further injury and will pay off more than taking some of the slightly younger and promising - but still unproven - players that I also considered for this spot. 
 
For Hightower I went the other direction.  I was hesitant to take him over some older players who had proven the ability to play at a high level over the course of a full season of starts - but in the end I felt that Hightower's higher ceiling compared to those other players made the gamble worth it.  Hightower may not have played as many snaps as other options, but he was about as disruptive - he had 14 total pressure plays on only 65 pass rushing snaps, and had about the same % of stops/snap as Jerod Mayo this year.  With Dont'a its all about upside, and so I'm hoping that his potential outweighs the other potentially safer options at this position. 
 
With these two additions, I now have two strong playmakers at each level of my defense, and while I may have missed out on all the premium offensive talent, I think there's still lots of value to be had there, and I hopefully won't have to worry much about finding players off the scrap heap to plug into my defense. 

 

[Dollar]

Sullivan was a guy I was looking at last round, but decided to go with Veldheer at that point. Having both of them anchoring my O-line for the foreseeable future definitely gives me (and my QB Philip Rivers) a whole lot of confidence in my offense. I had Sullivan as my clear cut number one center on my board, a very good pass blocker who can also pave the way for a 2000 yard rusher. While my offensive skill positions are still unfilled, I'm still happy that they'll eventually be playing with a great young core of protection.

Edit
Witten was a guy I was targeting, he is a guy you can build an entire offense around... great pick. My next pick is sent to Proxy in case I'm not available.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Cool, so like Summer 2014?
 
I'd assume that's when the Browns franchise finally blows up. A result of the fans of Austin burning the stadium down after watching Sanchez for a whole season. 

 
Excuse ME, sir!
 
The city of Austin is going to love watching Sanchez. There are a lot of football fans of Mexican descent in Austin. They'll cheer every interception and butt-fumble.
 
Good DAY, sir!

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You picked Mark Sancez! You bumped into Brandon Moore's butt which now has to be washed and sterilized, so you get nothing!
 
You lose! Good day, sir!

 

[mascho]

Sullivan was a guy I was looking at last round, but decided to go with Veldheer at that point. Having both of them anchoring my O-line for the foreseeable future definitely gives me (and my QB Philip Rivers) a whole lot of confidence in my offense. I had Sullivan as my clear cut number one center on my board, a very good pass blocker who can also pave the way for a 2000 yard rusher. While my offensive skill positions are still unfilled, I'm still happy that they'll eventually be playing with a great young core of protection.

Edit
Witten was a guy I was targeting, he is a guy you can build an entire offense around... great pick. My next pick is sent to Proxy in case I'm not available.

Sullivan is a good pick.  Had him as my top center.  Thankfully Matt Birk is still available.  

 

[Super Nomario]

Interesting photo choice ... preseason before Hightower switched uni numbers? And looks like a Bobby Carpenter sighting.

 

[Saturnian]

The Saints will add LG Evan Mathis with their 6th round pick.
 

 
Adding Mathis to Staley on the left side of my line should make for plenty of running room for Leroy Hoard or whoever I end up with at RB.

 

[mascho]

Gut punch.  I hope you stub your little toe walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night tonight.  That always sucks.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Yeah, Mathis was a timely pick.  Best guard left by my estimation.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Saturnian is doing a great job constructing exactly the type of offense within which Alex Smith should thrive.  Nice pick.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Might have been the best lineman in the NFL by PFFs estimation. I dont agree, but hes a great pick regardless.

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

So I know we started doing this last time right after Round 5 so I decided to kick this off again.
 

NFC West

Pos.	Team	RD 1	RD 2	RD 3	RD 4	RD 5
11	dylanm Cards	QB / Drew Brees	RB / Ray Rice	ILB / Daryl Washington	DE / Darnell Dockett	DE / Trent Cole
13	ragnarok Rams	QB / Cam Newton	WR / Larry Fitzgerald	DT / Gerald McCoy	CB / Brandon Flowers	DE / Michael Bennett
15	DoDM 49ers	QB / Eli Manning	DE / Muhammad Wilkerson	OLB / Brian Orakpo	LT / Eugene Monroe	FS / Jairus Byrd
25	Danooo Seahawks	TE / Rob Gronkowski	LT / Matt Kalil	RB / Alfred Morris	C / Max Unger	SS / Kam Chancellor

 
I think so far theses teams are all very solid. Not really any picks I hate. Dockett might be the only guy that I did have on my draft board because of age and he seemed to take a step back last year. Dylan has the best QB though with Brees, and a nice weapon in Rice.
 
Danooo is possibly the most physical team we've seen yet. 4 beasts on offense, and a real hard hitter in Kam.
 
I'd probably rank ragnarok's team first (though I think Julio instead of Fitz would have been much scarier over the long haul).
 
The NFC west is going to be tough to win.  

 

[DanoooME]

The Saints will add LG Evan Mathis with their 6th round pick.
 

 
Adding Mathis to Staley on the left side of my line should make for plenty of running room for Leroy Hoard or whoever I end up with at RB.

 
If ya smell what the Rock is cookin'

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Really like the Mathis pick. 
 
I still have another name in mind and if he's taken, I'm eating another bowl of dog stew.

 

[Super Nomario]

The Saints will add LG Evan Mathis with their 6th round pick.
 
 
 
Adding Mathis to Staley on the left side of my line should make for plenty of running room for Leroy Hoard or whoever I end up with at RB.

I was thinking Ironhead Heyward but it turns out that dude is dead!

 

[Proxy]

Dollar
 

Jurrell Casey, DT

 

[mascho]

Oh FFS.  The past 8 picks or so have crushed my board.  

 

[PBDWake]

With our pick, the Green Bay Packers look to add some help for Eric Berry in the secondary, and believe we've found just the man to do that. Also known for his hard hitting analysis on the greatest QB left on the board, we're proud to announce our pick of Brandon Carr, CB
 

 

[PBDWake]

Also, PM'd Laddie

 

[RhaegarTharen]

Love the Jurrell Casey pick.  Would have taken him myself if I didn't already have 2 Def lineman

 

[DaughtersofDougMirabelli]

Agreed on Casey. Was just starting to convince myself he'd be great as a DE in the 3-4. 

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Damn. Really liked him as well.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

I came THIS close to taking Casey last round. I was looking for a DT, but didn't feel he'd be a great fit for our 3-4 defense. Really like him though.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

 I've got 3 guys at the top of my board right now with 4 teams ahead of me. This should be fun...

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I'm here.  Hold on.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

alright alright alright...
 
So, the Eagle-Yambags are going to continue to improve the defense, and with that, you need a pass-rusher.  Pass-rushers rule.
 
One of the best defensive players in this years draft is Jarvis Jones, OLB, who has been playing in the 4-3 in college and seems to be the top pass-rusher available coming out this year.  If he avoids potential medical issues, this guy could be a Von Miller type in the NFL.
 

 

[ragnarok725]

ugh - delete me

 

[ragnarok725]

delete me 

 

[ragnarok725]

So I know we started doing this last time right after Round 5 so I decided to kick this off again.
 

NFC West

Pos.	Team	RD 1	RD 2	RD 3	RD 4	RD 5
11	dylanm Cards	QB / Drew Brees	RB / Ray Rice	ILB / Daryl Washington	DE / Darnell Dockett	DE / Trent Cole
13	ragnarok Rams	QB / Cam Newton	WR / Larry Fitzgerald	DT / Gerald McCoy	CB / Brandon Flowers	DE / Michael Bennett
15	DoDM 49ers	QB / Eli Manning	DE / Muhammad Wilkerson	OLB / Brian Orakpo	LT / Eugene Monroe	FS / Jairus Byrd
25	Danooo Seahawks	TE / Rob Gronkowski	LT / Matt Kalil	RB / Alfred Morris	C / Max Unger	SS / Kam Chancellor

 
I think so far theses teams are all very solid. Not really any picks I hate. Dockett might be the only guy that I did have on my draft board because of age and he seemed to take a step back last year. Dylan has the best QB though with Brees, and a nice weapon in Rice.
 
Danooo is possibly the most physical team we've seen yet. 4 beasts on offense, and a real hard hitter in Kam.
 
I'd probably rank ragnarok's team first (though I think Julio instead of Fitz would have been much scarier over the long haul).
 
The NFC west is going to be tough to win.  

 
 
Thanks for putting that together - these look great. Excited for all the analysis that will come after here.
 
On the Fitz vs. Jones thing, I think if we were playing for a 10 year window with lifetime contracts, Jones would be my guy. But if we're playing for the oft-stated three years, the 30, 31, and 32 year old seasons of Fitzgerald are a really great bet to be elite. He's done it regardless of surrounding weapons and even regardless of QB for a while now outside of the blip last year. Jones has really only produced at a (near)-elite level for one year, and with a great supporting cast in White and Tony G, with a top-10 QB throwing him the ball. He's young and could very well still have some growing pains ahead of him. I like Jones a lot, and the decision was a tough one, but I still feel like I made the right one going for more of a sure thing with a 2nd round pick. Giving Cam a reliable receiver that's used to seeing tons of targets and few well thrown balls was the need.

 

[Super Nomario]

So I know we started doing this last time right after Round 5 so I decided to kick this off again.
 
The NFC west is going to be tough to win.  

Here's the AFC North:
  [tablegrid= AFC North ]O Name Team QB RB WR WR LT LG RT DE DE DT ILB OLB CB S 3 soxfan121 Bengals Tom Brady   Victor Cruz     Mike Iupati   Cameron Jordan   Corey Liuget         5 Super Nomario Ravens Colin Kaepernick   Michael Crabtree Hakeem Nicks     Anthony Davis     Haloti Ngata         6 SeoulSoxFan Steelers Russell Wilson C.J. Spiller     Tyron Smith             Justin Houston   Reshad Jones 21 KennyF'ingPowers / SMU_Sox Browns               Charles Johnson Carlos Dunlap Kyle Williams Patrick Willis   Lardarius Webb  [/tablegrid]
 
Only KFP / SMU are building a classic NFC North squad, going really defense-heavy since they got shafted on draft position relative to the other 3. The Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers have all gone offense-heavy, with at least three picks on that side of the ball. The outstanding questions are who is going to cover my WR one-two punch - no one has more than one DB yet - and how we are going to block the Browns' pass rush - no one has more than one offensive lineman. Also, whether the Browns are ever going to draft an offensive player.

 

[SPDougie]

I think Jones will be a good pass-rusher in the league so I like the pick.  Only thing I will nit-pick is he played in a 3-4 defense at Georgia and not a 4-3.

 

[Dollar]

I finally have some time today, so I'll post write-ups for my two most recent picks, behind spoilers to avoid confusion:
 
First pick

Spoiler

With their fifth round pick (158th overall), the Denver Broncos select... John Sullivan, center.
 

 
Widely regarded as one of the best centers in the NFL in 2011 and 2012, the Broncos are happy to have him in the middle of their offense, anchoring the offensive line. Along with Jared Veldheer, Sullivan will give Philip Rivers a level of protection he didn't often have in San Diego, and open holes for our eventual running game much like he did with Adrian Peterson in Minnesota.  Even with an inexperienced quarterback, the Minnesota offensive line had the 5th fewest sack yards allowed and the 8th fewest QB hits in the NFL.  He has been called for 4 penalties in the past three seasons combined (45 games started in that period.)  The Broncos are thrilled to add Sullivan to the offense and look forward to further improvement from the 27 year old.
 

 
Second pick
 

Spoiler

With their sixth round pick (163 overall), the Denver Broncos select.... Jurrell Casey, defensive tackle.
 

 
The 23-year-old, 300 pound Casey will be the centerpiece of the Broncos quick, powerful defense.  With Lavonte David and Patrick Peterson, the Denver defense is sure to be young and talented at every level.  Casey offers that rare ability to be a run-stuffing force in the center a la Vince Wilfork, while also displaying the versatility to get off his blocks and pressure the quarterback.  He also shows the instincts to go after the ball, forcing two fumbles in 2012.  Casey has also finished among the league leaders in tackles by a DT in both of his NFL seasons, and only looks to improve in the future.
 
He also chooses to play football without a helmet, apparently, so he's got that going for him too.
 

 
Overall, my team has a radically different look than my team in the last RealFantasy, through six rounds.
 
2009                                     2013
James Harrison                 Patrick Peterson
Ray Lewis                         Philip Rivers
Adrian Wilson                   Lavonte David
Champ Bailey                   Jared Veldheer
Olin Kreutz                        John Sullivan
LaDainian Tomlinson        Jurrell Casey
 
While I was happy with my defense last time, it was definitely an aging core and didn't allow for any sort of progression over the years, it probably would have been like watching an aging Steelers team over the past few years, without the elite quarterback (I ended up with Jake Delhomme... so... let's just move on.)  While I was able to hit on guys like Duane Brown (round 13), and Calais Campbell (round 20), those kinds of picks were few and far between.  I am much more happy with my picks this time around, my only fear is that some of these guys flame out early and never reach their potential.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I think Jones will be a good pass-rusher in the league so I like the pick.  Only thing I will nit-pick is he played in a 3-4 defense at Georgia and not a 4-3.

Ah, right.  Well, he still seems like a guy who could project well in the 4-3.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Hmmmnnn...Ilol@u was on an hour ago but didn't make a pick. 

 

[SMU_Sox]

. woops!

 

[ilol@u]

Sorry, I'm here, didn't know it was my turn. 
 
The LOL Giants select ... JULIUS PEPPERS, DE
He was the best defensive player on my board, and I think people didn't draft him due to his age (33 years old), but he has still been extremely disruptive in rushing the passer. He had 11.5 sacks this year and 11 sacks last year. So he doesn't seem like he is slowing down, as he ranked 8th among DE's with a 1.42 +WPA, despite being used in mainly passing situations. 

 

[Dgilpin]

The Lions select Andre Smith RT
 
 

 
At this point in the draft if you can grab one of the top one or two players at a position you have to do it, and I feel Smith is definitely in area when it comes to the RT position. At 26 y/o the thought of having this monster anchor the Lions O-Line with our other tackle Joe Thomas, makes me, Mr. Tannehill and Shady McCoy very happy. A very good pass blocker, Smith is an absolute beast when it comes to run blocking. PFF had him as the best RT in football this past season. 

 

[mascho]

Lions select Andre Smith RT. Sent my pick to the proxy but I'll draft here to keep it moving along. Can someone PM Danoome for me

I hope you too stub your toe in the middle of the night. Nice pick.
 
EDIT: PM Sent

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Lions select Andre Smith RT. Sent my pick to the proxy but I'll draft here to keep it moving along. Can someone PM Danoome for me

Danoome PMed

 

[soxfan121]

He's not eligible...but I'm curious. Who would have taken CLOWNEY and where?
 
I might have tabbed him with my 2nd pick (high 50s) and absolutely would have taken him over Corey Liuget. Do others agree? 
 
And if you're not sure who CLOWNEY is go directly to Youtube and put in "Clowney decapitates" and enjoy. 

 

[Saturnian]

I think that's about right, somewhere between 50th and 60th overall.  Hardy and Wilkerson went 48th and 49th, and they are both very young and very talented DEs.  Clowney is out of this world; I can't think of the last time a college player not eligible for that year's draft would have been the no-brainer number one pick.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

I'd take him somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round. I definitely would've taken him over Richardson in the 3rd. Being a rookie brings with it some legitimate risks but that guy has the upside that few DE's have coming out of college. He's the real deal. Hopefully he stays healthy next season.

 

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

Have to agree with the above. I would've tried to grab him in the 3rd, but looks like sf121 would've beaten me to him.

 

[Phragle]

He's not eligible...but I'm curious. Who would have taken CLOWNEY and where?
 
I might have tabbed him with my 2nd pick (high 50s) and absolutely would have taken him over Corey Liuget. Do others agree? 
 
And if you're not sure who CLOWNEY is go directly to Youtube and put in "Clowney decapitates" and enjoy. 

 
He's ok, but he's no RG3.
 
If you want Clowney bad enough I'm sure Powers will give you the number one overall pick for Brady next year.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Sure. Ill sucker it out of one of you in a trade soon enough. This draft is full of suckers.