The NFL Thread

Yeaaah, as something of a fan of Carolina..I have to say the new Jags uniform is like theyre trying to pretend there was only one expansion team.

Leaks of the new Vikings and Dolphins uniforms. My only real issue with either uniforms is that the home Vikings jerseys look very similar to the home Giants jerseys and I think they would have benefited from a bit more of a difference.

I don't see the problem. It's basically a modernized version of their old alternates◊.

I feel like it's really close to the Ravens' uniforms since it's a near solid purple jersey.

So since we are within 48 hours of draft, a bunch of the informed talking heads (Mayock, Eisen, Marriucci) and the some of the not so informed all got together and did their own mock draft. It should be on a playlist, but anyway it will probably some time to get through. Don't put any stock in most of the picks, because they are just talking heads with no inner knowledge of the team's actual process at the moment. I just thought it would be fun for people to just have something to watch as the draft approaches.

I'm not clicking on it but whatever they have for the Niners, I'm betting they're wrong. I'm pretty sure Team Harbaalke loves trolling everyone who thinks of having a prediction about anything.

I think this says a lot◊

Man the Bills have been smokescreening up a storm. They've gone from saying they want Nassib, to saying that they're fearful that the Jags and the Jets might poach him if they don't select Nassib at 8, to saying that they like Barkley and not Nassib, to saying that they actually like EJ Manuel and not Barkley or Nassib.

I know smokescreening is not out of the ordinary, but the Bills are making this pretty goddammned entertaining. Hopefully none of that smoke blows into their eyes and they end up selecting someone they shouldn't have

(Meanwhile the Jaguars say that they will select Nassib if he's available...in the 2nd round)

edited 24th Apr '13 5:11:11 PM by NoChorus

Barry Sanders is going to be on the Madden 25 cover.

Begin speculations on how a retired player could be affected by the Madden Curse now.

Since we're now down to under 12 hours until the draft, I will, like last year, make a few posts over the course of the first round, updating the next few picks every quarter/half hour or so, for those of us who can't watch the draft live or online. So who do you think your team will take? As much as everyone says we're going to take OLB Dion Jordan from Oregon (which would make logical sense because he's Chip Kelly's old player), I'd much rather we take an offensive lineman (Johnson, Fisher or Joeckel(sp?)) to replace our somewhat aging offensive line (having 3 members who are now over 30 and probably wont be getting much better).

edited 25th Apr '13 5:47:16 AM by EagleFan

I don't like to speculate on individual players, I think it's too much of a crapshoot. I do think the Packers are going to take a safety in the first round.

I think there Chiefs will pick somebody.

Yep. You heard it first from the resident cynical chiefs fan.

I saw an article saying that the Chiefs know exactly who they are going to pick, IF thy keep the pick. So you might be wrong.

I will not be surprised if the Niners pick up a not-a-safety in the first round, then pick up some sleeper star in the second or third round.

Somehow I doubt my team will pick anyone in the first round.

And here we go! Live Stream if anyone is interested.

With the 1st pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Eric Fisher, Tackle, Central Michigan.

With the 2nd pick, the Jaguars take Luke Joeckel, Tackle, Texas A&M.

With the 3rd pick, the Raiders(shockingly 1st time with a 1st round pick in the draft since 2010) (traded for the 12th and 42nd) to the Dolphins who take Dion Jordan, Outside Linebacker, Oregon.

With the 4th pick, the Eagles take Lane Johnson, Tackle, Oklahoma.

With the 5th pick, the Lions take Ziggy Ansah, Defensive End, BYU.

With the 6th pick, the Browns take Barkevious Mingo, Defensive End, LSU.

With the 7th pick, the Cards take Jonathan Cooper, Guard, North Carolina.

With the 8th pick, the Bills trade (and get the 16th, 46th, 78th and 222nd) to the Rams (for the 8th and 71st picks) who then take Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver, West Virginia.

With the 9th pick, the Jets take Dee Milliner, Cornerback, Alabama.

With the 10th pick, the Titans take Chance Warmack, Guard, Alabama.

This is the 1st time in a long time I can't remember a QB going in the top 10.

With the 11th pick, the Chargers take D.J. Fluker, Tackle, Alabama.

With the 12th pick, the Dolphins Raiders take D.J. Hayden, Cornerback, Houston.

With the 13th pick, the Jets take Sheldon Richardson, Defensive Tackle, Missouri.

With the 14th pick, the Panthers take Star Lotulelei, Defensive Tackle, Utah.

With the 15th pick, the Saints take Kenny Vaccaro, Defensive Back, Texas.

With the 16th pick, the Rams Bills take EJ Manuel, Quarterback, Florida State.

With the 17th pick, the Steelers pick Jarvis Jones, Outside Linebacker, Georgia.

With the 18th pick, the Cowboys have traded to the 49ers (for the 31st and 74th) and they (Niners) then pick Eric Reid, Defensive Back, LSU.

With the 19th pick, the Giants pick Justin Pugh, Tackle, Syracuse.

With the 20th pick, the Bears pick Kyle Long, Guard, Oregon (yes, he's Howie Long's other son).

With the 21st pick, the Bengals pick Tyler Eifert, Tight End, Notre Dame.

With the 22nd pick, the Rams trade to the Falcons (originally this pick was the Skins pick before the RGIII trade) for the 30th, 3rd round, 6th round and undisclosed 2014 pick and Atlanta selects Desmond Trufant, Cornerback, Washington.

With the 23rd pick, the Vikings select Shariff Floyd, Defensive Tackle, Florida.

With the 24th pick, the Colts select Bjoern Werner, Defensive End, Florida State.

With the 25th pick, the Vikings select Xaiver Rhodes, Cornerback, Florida State.

With the 26th pick, the Packers select Datone Jones, Defensive End, UCLA.

With the 27th pick, the Texans select DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver, Clemson.

With the 28th pick, the Broncos select Sylvester Williams, Defensive Tackle, North Carolina.

With the 29th pick, the Patriots (for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th round picks of the Vikings) trade to the Vikings who select Cordarelle Patterson, Wide Receiver, Tennessee. This is the 3rd Viking Pick in the 1st round.

With the 30th pick, the Falcons Rams select Alec Ogletree, Inside Linebacker, Georgia.

With the 31st pick, the 49er's Cowboys select Travis Fredrick, Center, Wisconsin.

With the 32nd pick and final of the first round, the Ravens select Matt Elam, Free Safety, Florida.

So, what did everyone think of the 1st round? Like your team's pick? Hate it? Sound off below.

edited 25th Apr '13 9:18:15 PM by EagleFan

I like our pick. Adds some much-needed toughness on the defensive line. Plus the guy is supposed to be good at defending the read-option, which we all know the Packers could use some help with. If he pans out, and Perry and Hayward get better, the Packers could have a top-10 defense next year.

Obviously, the Seahawks didn't have a first round pick, so I was mostly watching to see where Desmond Trufant went, school pride and all. It's cool that he went as early as he did, and the Falcons are a decent fit.

I watched Reid's highlight reel. It's like watching a zippier Dashon Goldson.

Gonna be honest here: when they picked Joeckel I wasn't happy.

Why? Because we already have a great LT (that nobody knows about because well...Jaguars): Eugene Monroe, and our pass rush is seriously lacking. Monroe's not going to want to play RT and I was unsure how well Joeckel would do playing a position he doesn't.

But then I thought about it. He has from now until the start of the season to get used to being at RT . If he was going into camp as a LT and then trying to switch half way I'd be worried but he has a ton of time to prepare.

Also, I know Kolb will probably be the starting QB, but: Bills, WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Hey, at least they're not the Cowboys. The center they took is ranked by most of the "respected" draft pundits as a third round pick at best. Hell, even he (Fredrick) said he expected to go in the 2nd round (and players always overrate themselves when it comes to where they'll be drafted). That pick was easily the biggest reach of the first round.

Also, because Dallas sucks. Had to get that in at some point.

I think the biggest surprises of the night is that Geno Smith and Manti Teo have still not gone. These guys were projected 1st rounders. I have a feeling since so many offensive tackles and defensive tackles/ends went in the 1st round, there will be a lot of receiver, quarterback and tight end talent available for lower prices in these upcoming later rounds.

edited 25th Apr '13 9:41:08 PM by EagleFan

Yeah, if it was any QB I expected to be drafted in the first round it was him. Maybe Barkley if someone was desperate but definitely not EJ Manuel. Poor Geno.◊

edited 25th Apr '13 9:55:48 PM by NoChorus

One thing you have to realize though is that the draft pundits don't know nearly as much as the teams. They write about football because they aren't good enough to actually be scouts. It's as simple as that. Most of the so-called "reach picks" really aren't. A prime example of that would be Bruce Irvin last year. The draft pundits said he was a reach, but the Jets said they would have taken him if the Seahawks didn't, so it's not like they could have waited or traded down, and he was hardly a bad pick considering that he lead all rookies in sacks. I'm not saying that Dallas or Buffalo made some sort of brilliant move, merely that it's hardly the stupid move you're making it out to be.

I trust someone like Mike Mayock to be pretty reliable though, he called most of the picks tonight before they actually happened and as a draft pundit/announcer he is probably one of the best of the bunch in terms of analysis. You're right, it doesn't mean Fredrick and Manuel wont become great players, it's just that most people believe they were taken at a point where they still would have been available and the picking teams would have lost less in return. Who knows, maybe these guys could become Pro-Bowlers and easily worth the picks they were taken at. What I'm saying is that until they begin to play and start to prove themselves, it was more a reach pick than a smart drafting decision.

I'm still not really "thrilled" (not sure if this is really the best way I can describe it) with the Cowboys pick though. I mean, they're being led by an owner who fancies himself a GM (which he's pretty awful at) and who's four years removed from a 12-person draft which has resulted in no remaining starters (and only 2 of those guys are still even in the NFL). Hopefully, this pick will help them begin to repair some of that damage (though, as my name says, I'd really rather they didn't.).

Also, check out Andy Reid's kickass◊ Hawaiian draft day shirt.

And Chris Johnson is happy the Titans took Warmack.

Here's◊ Jon Gruden's (or as I call him, Mr."This guy, He's something special.") face after Miami took Dion Jordan.

edited 25th Apr '13 10:48:40 PM by EagleFan

Whatever. I'm of the opinion that any sort of "post-draft grade," or other attempt at assessing draft picks before they've had the chance to prove themselves on the field is complete and total bullshit no matter who's doing it. Because it's easier to reference what you're most familiar with, I'll use the Seahawks as an example again. After the 2012 draft, Mayock gave the Seahawks the lowest draft grade of any team in the NFL. However, as we know now, the Seahawks drafted serious contenders for both offensive and defensive rookie of the year, as well as a number of other solid players. Basically, let's see these guys on the field a bit before we pass judgement.

Actually, the general rule is to wait 3 years before assigning any grade on the current draft class.

Side note: Did anyone else think Joe Namath showed up to this completely wasted?

Also, Matt Barkley of USC, two years removed from the speculative #2 overall behind Cam and one year from being called the 3rd best QB behind Luck and Griffin. After a bad season in college, looks like he may not even make it until Saturday at the earliest. How the "mighty" have fallen.

edited 25th Apr '13 11:11:16 PM by EagleFan