2014 Official Draft Thread

[thelightningwill]

But I wouldn't consider it going deep. A 15 yard route is intermediate

Ron Jeremy is a good one to sign if we need to go deep.

[Boltjolt]

Point is Floyd is a completely different receiver than Allen and both fit just fine in this supposed "system" of ours.

I'm not counting on Floyd being back. I hope he retires. Too much cap space for a part time player and his neck is messed up.

[QSmokey]

Point is Floyd is a completely different receiver than Allen and both fit just fine in this supposed "system" of ours.

I love Malcom Floyd; just love the guy. His talent, his professionalism; his guts. But Floyd really didn't have much of an opportunity to "fit in" last year, given he was injured so early on. I would love to see him come back, and I believe he can be effective. But I don't think there was enough of a sample to definitively say would fit in "just fine". I think his role would be more complimentary than primary.

But personally, I'd like to see Malcom retire. Too much at stake, IMO, given his most recent injury.

[Fleet]

We should do a forum mock draft. Ill take the bolts. lol. We can all take a few teams each.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Ill take the Browns and 9rs, Ill then trade you the 4, and 26th picks for the 25th pick. Then All trade the 9rs 30th and both second rounders for the 26th pick!

[bonehead]

We should do a forum mock draft. Ill take the bolts. lol. We can all take a few teams each.

I 'll take the Rams and kill it!!!!

We can do forum mocks 1.0 , 2.0 and 3.0..:

[QSmokey]

We should do a forum mock draft. Ill take the bolts. lol. We can all take a few teams each.

This is a great idea. I would absolutely suck at it (LOL!), but it would be cool to play GM. You can sticky the thread and us GMs can PM each other with trade offers. It would be fun. But I think you should limit each poster to 1 team. Otherwise you'd have a 'conflict of interest'.

[Yubaking]

Huh why do you think he's too light to play on the pass rush line? That's the one line I'm not worried about. It's the run downs where he may get man handled. Pass rush line is all about the speed and acceleration off the edge. Just gotta bend off of it and drop the QB!

Here's another overview.

STRENGTHS: Rangy athlete with terrific closing acceleration and burst. Explosive first step as a blitzer to force the QB from his spot. Very good bend off the edge with momentum to fight through blocks and disrupt the pocket. Flexible ankles and flattens easily.
Uses his length well at the point of attack with good take-on strength to deliver a pop, filling hard vs. the run. Eyes are always elevated with good ball vision and anticipation. Breaks down well on the move and gets low, showing clear improvement with his tackling technique.

Smart and puts himself in correct position to make plays. Sniffs out the ball and almost always finishes when he's in the area. Never quits working to the ball and relentless in pursuit.

Team leader and uplifting teammate with strong personal and football character. Versatile skill-set to drop in coverage, blitz and cover both sidelines. Very productive career with back-to-back seasons with 115-plus tackles, including a conference-best 143 stops in 2013.

WEAKNESSES: Lean frame and lacks elite bulk. Doesn't have the body type to get too much bigger. Needs to continue to get stronger to better shed at the point of attack. Too easily engulfed when attacking the line of scrimmage.

Sometimes content throwing his shoulder and not wrapping up. Overaggressive at times in coverage and needs patient and alert. Will lose track of his assignment in man.

Needs to stay disciplined and tidy up his timing to avoid late hits and unnecessary flags. Needs to keep his composure and keep his emotions in check. History of minor injuries that have caused him to miss playing time.

Compares To: Lavonte David, Buccaneers - While he's not quite as refined or tough as David, Shazier has a similar body type and movement skills to cover a large area and be a ultra-productive tackler at the next level.

--Dane Brugler (2/11/14)

PLAYER OVERVIEW

A high school defensive end, Shazier was recruited at linebacker and had scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida and LSU, but decided to go north and committed to Ohio State.
He steadily earned more playing time as a true freshman, eventually starting the final three games. Shazier tallied back-to-back seasons with 115-plus tackles as a sophomore and junior, combining for 44.5 tackles for loss over his career and earning multiple All-Big Ten honors.

He played inside and outside in Columbus and has the versatile skill-set to fill various roles. He was loved by the Buckeyes coaching staff because of his team-first approach.

Shazier has instant acceleration and explosive closing burst, using outstanding edge speed and timing to disrupt the pocket. He lacks natural power to disengage blocks and needs to develop his discipline, but Shazier is a scheme diverse player who projects as a three-down weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 or as an edge rusher in a 3-4 base.

The analysis of his weaknesses is exactly why we do not need a player like Shazier. Right now, we are soft against the run. The last thing we need is more guys who can't play the run. We can get guys that can rush the passer AND play the run effectively. I think those are the OLBs that we should be seeking. For the same reason, I am opposed to Dee Ford. I think selecting either Ford or Shazier would be a terrible move on our part--not just bad, but TERRIBLE!

[blahblahblah]

The analysis of his weaknesses is exactly why we do not need a player like Shazier. Right now, we are soft against the run. The last thing we need is more guys who can't play the run. We can get guys that can rush the passer AND play the run effectively. I think those are the OLBs that we should be seeking. For the same reason, I am opposed to Dee Ford. I think selecting either Ford or Shazier would be a terrible move on our part--not just bad, but TERRIBLE!

You and I have completely opposite ideas on how to build a defense in the modern NFL.

[Steve]

The analysis of his weaknesses is exactly why we do not need a player like Shazier. Right now, we are soft against the run. The last thing we need is more guys who can't play the run. We can get guys that can rush the passer AND play the run effectively. I think those are the OLBs that we should be seeking. For the same reason, I am opposed to Dee Ford. I think selecting either Ford or Shazier would be a terrible move on our part--not just bad, but TERRIBLE!

I thought the point of having a huge NT was so that we could get LB who could run? Why do we need a stout NT if we want the LB to be stand up DT types?

Besides that, how many LB really stand in and go toe to toe with a OL anyway?

It's not that Shazier cannot play the run, but he is a pursuit type of player. You can't play run D without players who can run. You need a mix. A group of players who can do nothing but pursuit can be run right at, but a group that is extremely stout can be run on outside (plus they can rarely get after the QB).

The thing with Shazier is that I see him as an ILB in our scheme, not an OLB. He is playing a WLB spot in OSU, so it is a lot closer to what we do with our WILB. Not that he couldn't move, but I don't think the kid has the frame to be a pass rushing OLB in our 34. Plus, he has a lot of learning to do in term of technique. He would have to learn how to play DE (essentially). Not sure we need to consider him now that we have Butler back.

[Panamamike]

I still think Van Noy gives us an excellent all around OLB that would help us tremendously.

[Steve]

Do you think he can put his hand on the ground and rush the QB like a DE? I like him as a LB prospect, but I don't see him as an OLB in our D. I see him being a guy who lines up at ILB and runs to the ball. And I think he could be pretty good. But I don't see him being able to maintain outside leverage and taking on OL at the line.