I am well aware FA isn’t over. My predictions didn’t come true 100% but some did(Boyle and Williams restructuring.. btw learn to read I said it was restructure/cut for a reason. I figured both would come around). I noticed a change in Eric’s approach. We signed Zeitler, a top tier move by Eric. I liked Josh Oliver several years ago and I do think he’s a good compliment to Andrews. So officially.
Free Agency Grades
Kevin Zeitler: A+. The big upgrade we’ve needed for YEARS has come in, especially now that Yanda is gone.
Josh Oliver Trade: A. I think he could be a pleasant surprise and have 4-5 TDs this year with 300 yards. Be someone the defense has to pay attention too. This is a sneaky move that a lot of people might be surprised by. I
Resign Bowser: A. Everything the fanbase thought Judon did for this defense, Bowser actually did. I agree with most analysts in the sense that Bowser was way cheaper than Judon and Yannick but is probably a better football player. I don’t doubt that for a second.
Resign McPhee: A. He’s Derrick Henry’s dad. He had to stay. Also underrated as a pass rusher still.
Sign Sammy Watkins: B-. If he stays healthy, which he won’t it’s an A grade. We signed him for basically nothing, and I know he isn’t the sexy guy everyone wanted... But he has a history of showing up in the playoffs(the Chiefs frankly don’t win their super bowl without him) and he’s 1000 times better than Boykin. We have seen what he can do in a Greg Roman offense if he’s healthy. If he stays healthy, the dude is the best WR in the league who hasn’t made a pro bowl. He’s extremely talented and when he does play, he’s very good. But with his health.... It’s a B-.
Now for the draft. Every offseason is important. but this one is especially important. You only have Lamar on a rookie deal for 2 more years. Andrews, Bozeman, and Orlando are all free agents after this year. All three have been pivotal, and if Eric is smart, and for the most part he is(he’s made a few mistakes but nothing backbreaking). The biggest need on the team is not offensive line, or wide receiver, or even pass rusher, it’s offensive coordinator.... which we can’t draft here. I’ve been saying since mid-MVP campaign from Lamar that Roman wasn’t very good. But last season was a step in the right direction in some facets. Harbaugh got his head out of his ass and finally got rid of Skura(seriously. Once again. When it comes to the oline. I was right. You run a GAP SCHEME with a guy who cannot anchor. Decosta letting Skura walk was an A+ move. I’d look like an above average center sandwiched inbetween Yanda and Bozeman. His 2019 season was not impressive, it’s time to stop pretending it was). Finally stopped running those god-awful TE screens to Boyle/Tomlinson(which btw.. I was vindicated with Boyle. Great run blocker, but at this point his presence hurts us more than it helps us because he’s completely useless in the passing game. Good hands does not = effective WR(see Willie Snead). There’s a reason he’s always open, defenses are not afraid of him. It’s time to stop pretending that he’s a good option. I get keeping him for locker room cohesion, but don’t be surprised if he’s relegated to the third spot). If it wasn’t for us trading for Oliver I’d have Pat Friermuth mocked to us in the second round after a tradeback.
So I’m not taking “my players” like I’ve done in previous years. I am trying to figure out what the draft strategy will be. This is how I think it goes.
Thus, with our first pick we take...
Round One: Sarah Fuller, K, Vanderbilt.
Justin Tucker can’t be trusted anymore after that game against Buffalo. He’s not even a top 2 kicker in the league anymore let alone top 1. Nah just Playing.
I know a lot of Ravens fans want a receiver here. I don’t blame you. I go back and forth on Terrace Marshall(I don’t think Bateman will be here, he’d be an obvious pick if he was) and Creed Humphrey. I decided to go with Creed Humphrey
Round One: Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma.
So unlike Matt Skura, I actually like Patrick Mekari, but I don’t think Mekari is the future at C, and judging by our change in philosophy this offseason, I don’t think Eric does either. I think he’s a competent starting caliber player at the NFL level, I think he’s the inevitable replacement to Bozeman next year(though I would LOVE to resign Bozeman) at the LG spot. I keep hearing ravens fans saying that we need to help Lamar, and I couldn’t agree more. So I want back to the 2019 tape to see what was so different about that passing offense vs. 2020’s passing offense. Both had nearly identical personnel but one was considerably better than the other. And then I figured it out: Yanda was gone and Skura got exposed. It’s obviously not that simple, but you lose the ability to run the ball up the middle when skura is in the lineup(the game where Mekari got hurt and Skura had to fill in sandwiched in between Bozeman and Powers is proof enough) aYanda was the interior run blocking, which is why Decosta immediately decided to get Zeitler. Roman, for all his faults(he has 0 creativity when it comes to constructing a passing attack), does have a complex and effective rushing scheme and was able to hide a MASSIVE liability. If I am the GM of the ravens, and I look at the fact that I have a running quarterback, I never want this problem to occur again.
All those runs up the middle that set up a significant portion of our passing plays were null and void for the first half of the season because of one reason and one reason alone: Matt Skura cannot anchor to save his life. Well there’s a second reason, Tyre Phillips is not NFL ready yet(I do think he will be, he improved considerably throughout the year and I’m actually comfortable enough with him as T depth). And as long as Lamar Jackson is here, you need a top flight center. It’s just unavoidable. Creed Humphrey is my #2 C in this class behind Dickerson, but he’s a perfect fit in this scheme. His athleticism may be off the charts testing wise, but he doesn’t play like a freak athlete. He does play like a very good athlete though. His wrestling background has indirectly turned him into a masterful technician who understands leverage, and he could be a monster in this regard if he hits the weight room(though he’d still be more than capable of pulling as he is right now. He’s very impressive). He’s a very high-IQ football player who has a lot of experience calling protections. He’s strong enough to blow defensive lineman off the ball to effectively run gap plays, but also more than quick enough to assist in outside zone plays, and occasionally displays a nasty streak that’s unavoidable. I understand Creed Humphrey is not sexy. I get it, but he’s the center version of Ronnie Stanley, while Dickerson is the C version of Tunsil(the comparison honestly reminds me of the 2016 battle). I have Dickerson as a better prospect, but kind of like Stanley was in 2016, Humphrey is just a better fit and you cannot go wrong either way(Stanley and Tunsil are 2/3 best LTs in football). I’m normally not the biggest fan of taking a center in the first round, but as long as Lamar is here, I think it’s imperative that you get a C on a fifth year option contract for as cheap as possible since we are about to open a Brinks truck for him. Humphrey may not be sexy, he may not be the flashy WR the team wants, but I don’t see us getting a flashy WR(sorry ravens fans). But I could see Humphrey being an important reason why our passing attack returns to form in 2021.
....
That said if Teven Jenkins is here take him and don’t think twice about it.
Round Two: Walker Little, OT, Stanford
I originally had Tylan Wallace here. And don’t get me wrong, huge fan of his. Unlike any of our WRs currently, Tylan Wallace plays with heart. I am not doing trades for this mock but if he were falling here I’d hope we could actually trade future capital to take him. He is to me what Duvernay was last year. But I keep seeing Walker Little fall this far in several mock drafts I got to thinking about Ozzie Newsom’s old draft strategy. Think of him like a major league hitter. He’s likes singles and doubles, and that’s why he was an effective drafter. But he also knew how to swing for the fences when pitchers threw a hanging curveball(see Orlando Brown falling in 2019). Enter Walker Little. In 90% of drafts he’d be the first tackle off of the board. He’s quick with his feet, strong at the point of attack. From a technical standpoint his game has few weaknesses. In my opinion the only real thing he needs to do is hit the weight room more. The only reason Walker Little might fall this far, is due to minimal film over the past two years. He tore his ACL in 2019(which does not concern me. People come back from that now rather easily) and sat out 2020 due to COVID. Due to little tape, he’s unlikely to be drafted where he should be, and he’s also on the receiving end of maybe the deepest offensive tackle class in recent memory. He’s a very intelligent player as well and it shows from how he picks up protections and how he gets to the second level. He’s technically sound, and he’s coming to an ideal situation. I don’t think (it is 4/17 as I write this for everyone so this might change) we trade Orlando Brown this season since he will likely have opportunities to play LT, and he might want to be on a playoff team again to show he can handle big time rushers. Little can ride the bench for a year and learn the offense, and become Orlando Brown’s replacement next year, especially in the sense of if Stanley gets hurt again, Little can probably play LT at a very high level like Brown did in a pinch if he’s developed correctly. Little does not have the athletic profile to be an exact carbon copy of Brown(i.e, the perfect schematic fit for this offense), but kind of like Ronnie did coming out of school, he’s the type of athlete who can fit into any scheme if he’s coached correctly. If our team can develop unathletic players like Ben Powers into decent starters, what happens to a smart and athletic player in Little? OT may not be an immediate need if we don’t trade Brown(especially since I like Phillips’ upside in the long run due to his obvious work ethic), but Ozzie made his career taking the best player available and not apologizing for it, and frankly it’s not very often that someone in my top 32 is projected to fall to near 64. Tylan would be sexier, and I get it if you’re mad about it, but Walker Little would be far and away the best player available. If you really want to help Lamar Jackson, go protect Lamar with the best line in football. Assuming in 2022 that Stanley is healthy, you’d have an offensive line of Stanley-Mekari-Humphrey-Zeitler-Little. A big offensive line, that’s athletic, smart, and can do anything. Arguably the best line in the league.
Some people want to replace Brown. Little could potentially be an upgrade given his upside. Think about that for a second and be afraid.
Round Three: Josh Palmer, WR, Tennesse
A couple of things: yes, he is the only WR I am drafting this year. I understand the concern some ravens fans have about the wide receiver position, but I don’t think Bateman is gonna be there in the first(nor would I trade up for him. The problem isn’t a simple “trade the future for a WR”. This passing attack would still have a lot of problems if we had in his prime Calvin Johnson), I don’t think Marshall is an EDC prospect, and you saw my reasoning. I also am perplexed about some of the WRs we are projected to draft. Bateman and Marshall at least make sense to me, because they’re the exact type of WR the team needs. We need an X. A bigger route runner who can get open on third downs outside the hashes, and make tough catches.
It’s a good thing Josh Palmer is exactly that. I think teams will run away from Josh due to his lack of production, but his tape is significantly better than the numbers he’s put up. He’s smooth, and got natural ball skills that you just can’t teach. He’s fundamentally sound and comes back to the ball, and the big reason I see him coming here is because he’s also a willing special teamer, and Harbaugh values that. I don’t think Palmer is gonna be someone on day one who lights the league on fire or anything, but with Watkins here to temporarily fulfill the X role, Palmer can ride the bench and learn the route tree. Granted, I don’t trust Roman to use any of our receivers correctly, but honestly the team can do considerably worse than a Brown-Watkins-Duvernay WR corps, and I think Palmer could easily become an above average X receiver. In theory, with a much improved offensive line, this offense should be potent again(especially if Roman ever bothered to use Duvernay, Justice Hill, and even JK Dobbins correctly in the passing game. Yes, I am aware of Duvernay’s limitations as a route runner but I highlighted those limitations a year ago. He runs three routes, but the fact that we don’t bother using him on slants or even go routes that often and create spacing with two burners is an indictment on how bad Roman is as an OC). We have more than enough speed in the WR corps. And I do think Duvernay will become at least a contributor(seriously, put him in the slot and let him work with screens, deep passes, and slants. He’s never gonna be a complete WR, but we all knew that). Palmer provides a much needed steady presence that could become a trusty target for Lamar.
Not to mention our newest hire at WR coach just coached him. This pick makes too much sense and could be a steal. He could be a quality possession WR at the next level.
Round Four: Patrick Johnson, Edge, Tulane
The ravens are predictable with these mid round pass rushers. They like to take strong athletes, who went to smaller schools, with a bunch of production. Jaylon Ferguson is more of a rotational piece than a true edge defender, Johnson is probably a better pro prospect. Where Ferguson won with length, Johnson is a much better pass rusher. He has a good spin move, sold swim move. His biggest weakness is he lacks length, but with his motor and work ethic I could see a solid transition to the pros. I also expect us to get a veteran, so Johnson mostly assists with depth.
Round Five: Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa
Two offensive tackles? Yes. I am taking two offensive tackles. I like Tyre Phillips, but our lack of tackle depth last year cost us big time. Probably a good idea to double down. Spencer Brown is a pure projection, but his athleticism and work ethic make him an easy favorite. His athleticism was off the chart, but his technique needs work. Lots of work. However, we turned Mekari and Ben Powers into solid players and they had less to work with than Brown did athletically. Best case scenario, Brown turns into a starting caliber player and we can flip him. Worst case scenario? Probably a decent swing tackle.
Round Five(Comp): Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt
A third round pick on tape who had a devastating injury which tanked his draft stock. Dayo is mostly another projection but he’s not your typical raw prospect either. He has pass rush moves and a high motor. Dayo needs some work developing his fundamentals, but he fits best as one of those hybrid players who bounces between 5T and an edge defender. He’s the perfect guy to have here behind Calais Campbell. He’s a bit boom or bust, but you gotta have some fun with a mock.
Round Six: Jordan Scott, NT, Oregon
These are the types of guys we usually go for in the later rounds. ...Did we all just forget that Justin Ellis sucks? Brandon Williams is overrated, yes, overpaid, yes. But Ellis was awful this year. Big reason we blew the Titans game in the regular season. No more. Go get me a big plug and play NT and don’t think twice.
Free Agency Grades
Kevin Zeitler: A+. The big upgrade we’ve needed for YEARS has come in, especially now that Yanda is gone.
Josh Oliver Trade: A. I think he could be a pleasant surprise and have 4-5 TDs this year with 300 yards. Be someone the defense has to pay attention too. This is a sneaky move that a lot of people might be surprised by. I
Resign Bowser: A. Everything the fanbase thought Judon did for this defense, Bowser actually did. I agree with most analysts in the sense that Bowser was way cheaper than Judon and Yannick but is probably a better football player. I don’t doubt that for a second.
Resign McPhee: A. He’s Derrick Henry’s dad. He had to stay. Also underrated as a pass rusher still.
Sign Sammy Watkins: B-. If he stays healthy, which he won’t it’s an A grade. We signed him for basically nothing, and I know he isn’t the sexy guy everyone wanted... But he has a history of showing up in the playoffs(the Chiefs frankly don’t win their super bowl without him) and he’s 1000 times better than Boykin. We have seen what he can do in a Greg Roman offense if he’s healthy. If he stays healthy, the dude is the best WR in the league who hasn’t made a pro bowl. He’s extremely talented and when he does play, he’s very good. But with his health.... It’s a B-.
Now for the draft. Every offseason is important. but this one is especially important. You only have Lamar on a rookie deal for 2 more years. Andrews, Bozeman, and Orlando are all free agents after this year. All three have been pivotal, and if Eric is smart, and for the most part he is(he’s made a few mistakes but nothing backbreaking). The biggest need on the team is not offensive line, or wide receiver, or even pass rusher, it’s offensive coordinator.... which we can’t draft here. I’ve been saying since mid-MVP campaign from Lamar that Roman wasn’t very good. But last season was a step in the right direction in some facets. Harbaugh got his head out of his ass and finally got rid of Skura(seriously. Once again. When it comes to the oline. I was right. You run a GAP SCHEME with a guy who cannot anchor. Decosta letting Skura walk was an A+ move. I’d look like an above average center sandwiched inbetween Yanda and Bozeman. His 2019 season was not impressive, it’s time to stop pretending it was). Finally stopped running those god-awful TE screens to Boyle/Tomlinson(which btw.. I was vindicated with Boyle. Great run blocker, but at this point his presence hurts us more than it helps us because he’s completely useless in the passing game. Good hands does not = effective WR(see Willie Snead). There’s a reason he’s always open, defenses are not afraid of him. It’s time to stop pretending that he’s a good option. I get keeping him for locker room cohesion, but don’t be surprised if he’s relegated to the third spot). If it wasn’t for us trading for Oliver I’d have Pat Friermuth mocked to us in the second round after a tradeback.
So I’m not taking “my players” like I’ve done in previous years. I am trying to figure out what the draft strategy will be. This is how I think it goes.
Thus, with our first pick we take...
Round One: Sarah Fuller, K, Vanderbilt.
Justin Tucker can’t be trusted anymore after that game against Buffalo. He’s not even a top 2 kicker in the league anymore let alone top 1. Nah just Playing.
I know a lot of Ravens fans want a receiver here. I don’t blame you. I go back and forth on Terrace Marshall(I don’t think Bateman will be here, he’d be an obvious pick if he was) and Creed Humphrey. I decided to go with Creed Humphrey
Round One: Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma.
So unlike Matt Skura, I actually like Patrick Mekari, but I don’t think Mekari is the future at C, and judging by our change in philosophy this offseason, I don’t think Eric does either. I think he’s a competent starting caliber player at the NFL level, I think he’s the inevitable replacement to Bozeman next year(though I would LOVE to resign Bozeman) at the LG spot. I keep hearing ravens fans saying that we need to help Lamar, and I couldn’t agree more. So I want back to the 2019 tape to see what was so different about that passing offense vs. 2020’s passing offense. Both had nearly identical personnel but one was considerably better than the other. And then I figured it out: Yanda was gone and Skura got exposed. It’s obviously not that simple, but you lose the ability to run the ball up the middle when skura is in the lineup(the game where Mekari got hurt and Skura had to fill in sandwiched in between Bozeman and Powers is proof enough) aYanda was the interior run blocking, which is why Decosta immediately decided to get Zeitler. Roman, for all his faults(he has 0 creativity when it comes to constructing a passing attack), does have a complex and effective rushing scheme and was able to hide a MASSIVE liability. If I am the GM of the ravens, and I look at the fact that I have a running quarterback, I never want this problem to occur again.
All those runs up the middle that set up a significant portion of our passing plays were null and void for the first half of the season because of one reason and one reason alone: Matt Skura cannot anchor to save his life. Well there’s a second reason, Tyre Phillips is not NFL ready yet(I do think he will be, he improved considerably throughout the year and I’m actually comfortable enough with him as T depth). And as long as Lamar Jackson is here, you need a top flight center. It’s just unavoidable. Creed Humphrey is my #2 C in this class behind Dickerson, but he’s a perfect fit in this scheme. His athleticism may be off the charts testing wise, but he doesn’t play like a freak athlete. He does play like a very good athlete though. His wrestling background has indirectly turned him into a masterful technician who understands leverage, and he could be a monster in this regard if he hits the weight room(though he’d still be more than capable of pulling as he is right now. He’s very impressive). He’s a very high-IQ football player who has a lot of experience calling protections. He’s strong enough to blow defensive lineman off the ball to effectively run gap plays, but also more than quick enough to assist in outside zone plays, and occasionally displays a nasty streak that’s unavoidable. I understand Creed Humphrey is not sexy. I get it, but he’s the center version of Ronnie Stanley, while Dickerson is the C version of Tunsil(the comparison honestly reminds me of the 2016 battle). I have Dickerson as a better prospect, but kind of like Stanley was in 2016, Humphrey is just a better fit and you cannot go wrong either way(Stanley and Tunsil are 2/3 best LTs in football). I’m normally not the biggest fan of taking a center in the first round, but as long as Lamar is here, I think it’s imperative that you get a C on a fifth year option contract for as cheap as possible since we are about to open a Brinks truck for him. Humphrey may not be sexy, he may not be the flashy WR the team wants, but I don’t see us getting a flashy WR(sorry ravens fans). But I could see Humphrey being an important reason why our passing attack returns to form in 2021.
....
That said if Teven Jenkins is here take him and don’t think twice about it.
Round Two: Walker Little, OT, Stanford
I originally had Tylan Wallace here. And don’t get me wrong, huge fan of his. Unlike any of our WRs currently, Tylan Wallace plays with heart. I am not doing trades for this mock but if he were falling here I’d hope we could actually trade future capital to take him. He is to me what Duvernay was last year. But I keep seeing Walker Little fall this far in several mock drafts I got to thinking about Ozzie Newsom’s old draft strategy. Think of him like a major league hitter. He’s likes singles and doubles, and that’s why he was an effective drafter. But he also knew how to swing for the fences when pitchers threw a hanging curveball(see Orlando Brown falling in 2019). Enter Walker Little. In 90% of drafts he’d be the first tackle off of the board. He’s quick with his feet, strong at the point of attack. From a technical standpoint his game has few weaknesses. In my opinion the only real thing he needs to do is hit the weight room more. The only reason Walker Little might fall this far, is due to minimal film over the past two years. He tore his ACL in 2019(which does not concern me. People come back from that now rather easily) and sat out 2020 due to COVID. Due to little tape, he’s unlikely to be drafted where he should be, and he’s also on the receiving end of maybe the deepest offensive tackle class in recent memory. He’s a very intelligent player as well and it shows from how he picks up protections and how he gets to the second level. He’s technically sound, and he’s coming to an ideal situation. I don’t think (it is 4/17 as I write this for everyone so this might change) we trade Orlando Brown this season since he will likely have opportunities to play LT, and he might want to be on a playoff team again to show he can handle big time rushers. Little can ride the bench for a year and learn the offense, and become Orlando Brown’s replacement next year, especially in the sense of if Stanley gets hurt again, Little can probably play LT at a very high level like Brown did in a pinch if he’s developed correctly. Little does not have the athletic profile to be an exact carbon copy of Brown(i.e, the perfect schematic fit for this offense), but kind of like Ronnie did coming out of school, he’s the type of athlete who can fit into any scheme if he’s coached correctly. If our team can develop unathletic players like Ben Powers into decent starters, what happens to a smart and athletic player in Little? OT may not be an immediate need if we don’t trade Brown(especially since I like Phillips’ upside in the long run due to his obvious work ethic), but Ozzie made his career taking the best player available and not apologizing for it, and frankly it’s not very often that someone in my top 32 is projected to fall to near 64. Tylan would be sexier, and I get it if you’re mad about it, but Walker Little would be far and away the best player available. If you really want to help Lamar Jackson, go protect Lamar with the best line in football. Assuming in 2022 that Stanley is healthy, you’d have an offensive line of Stanley-Mekari-Humphrey-Zeitler-Little. A big offensive line, that’s athletic, smart, and can do anything. Arguably the best line in the league.
Some people want to replace Brown. Little could potentially be an upgrade given his upside. Think about that for a second and be afraid.
Round Three: Josh Palmer, WR, Tennesse
A couple of things: yes, he is the only WR I am drafting this year. I understand the concern some ravens fans have about the wide receiver position, but I don’t think Bateman is gonna be there in the first(nor would I trade up for him. The problem isn’t a simple “trade the future for a WR”. This passing attack would still have a lot of problems if we had in his prime Calvin Johnson), I don’t think Marshall is an EDC prospect, and you saw my reasoning. I also am perplexed about some of the WRs we are projected to draft. Bateman and Marshall at least make sense to me, because they’re the exact type of WR the team needs. We need an X. A bigger route runner who can get open on third downs outside the hashes, and make tough catches.
It’s a good thing Josh Palmer is exactly that. I think teams will run away from Josh due to his lack of production, but his tape is significantly better than the numbers he’s put up. He’s smooth, and got natural ball skills that you just can’t teach. He’s fundamentally sound and comes back to the ball, and the big reason I see him coming here is because he’s also a willing special teamer, and Harbaugh values that. I don’t think Palmer is gonna be someone on day one who lights the league on fire or anything, but with Watkins here to temporarily fulfill the X role, Palmer can ride the bench and learn the route tree. Granted, I don’t trust Roman to use any of our receivers correctly, but honestly the team can do considerably worse than a Brown-Watkins-Duvernay WR corps, and I think Palmer could easily become an above average X receiver. In theory, with a much improved offensive line, this offense should be potent again(especially if Roman ever bothered to use Duvernay, Justice Hill, and even JK Dobbins correctly in the passing game. Yes, I am aware of Duvernay’s limitations as a route runner but I highlighted those limitations a year ago. He runs three routes, but the fact that we don’t bother using him on slants or even go routes that often and create spacing with two burners is an indictment on how bad Roman is as an OC). We have more than enough speed in the WR corps. And I do think Duvernay will become at least a contributor(seriously, put him in the slot and let him work with screens, deep passes, and slants. He’s never gonna be a complete WR, but we all knew that). Palmer provides a much needed steady presence that could become a trusty target for Lamar.
Not to mention our newest hire at WR coach just coached him. This pick makes too much sense and could be a steal. He could be a quality possession WR at the next level.
Round Four: Patrick Johnson, Edge, Tulane
The ravens are predictable with these mid round pass rushers. They like to take strong athletes, who went to smaller schools, with a bunch of production. Jaylon Ferguson is more of a rotational piece than a true edge defender, Johnson is probably a better pro prospect. Where Ferguson won with length, Johnson is a much better pass rusher. He has a good spin move, sold swim move. His biggest weakness is he lacks length, but with his motor and work ethic I could see a solid transition to the pros. I also expect us to get a veteran, so Johnson mostly assists with depth.
Round Five: Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa
Two offensive tackles? Yes. I am taking two offensive tackles. I like Tyre Phillips, but our lack of tackle depth last year cost us big time. Probably a good idea to double down. Spencer Brown is a pure projection, but his athleticism and work ethic make him an easy favorite. His athleticism was off the chart, but his technique needs work. Lots of work. However, we turned Mekari and Ben Powers into solid players and they had less to work with than Brown did athletically. Best case scenario, Brown turns into a starting caliber player and we can flip him. Worst case scenario? Probably a decent swing tackle.
Round Five(Comp): Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt
A third round pick on tape who had a devastating injury which tanked his draft stock. Dayo is mostly another projection but he’s not your typical raw prospect either. He has pass rush moves and a high motor. Dayo needs some work developing his fundamentals, but he fits best as one of those hybrid players who bounces between 5T and an edge defender. He’s the perfect guy to have here behind Calais Campbell. He’s a bit boom or bust, but you gotta have some fun with a mock.
Round Six: Jordan Scott, NT, Oregon
These are the types of guys we usually go for in the later rounds. ...Did we all just forget that Justin Ellis sucks? Brandon Williams is overrated, yes, overpaid, yes. But Ellis was awful this year. Big reason we blew the Titans game in the regular season. No more. Go get me a big plug and play NT and don’t think twice.
