The WAY WAY too early 2016 mock draft

[benchmobbin02]

It's the 22nd so time for another Mock Draft. I plan on doing one a month and see how the prospects ratings and seasons along with our draft needs change. Hopefully I can get at least one pick right along the way haha.

Despite the recent win, I haven't moved from the thinking that we will win between 5-8 games and be picking between 6th-12th in the draft order. This mock takes into account our draft needs as S T LB CB LB DL RB QB WR with 8 picks including the trades for Butler and Moore. I didn't include the conditional pick from Dal because it is still questionable whether we'll get it, just the two 6th rd picks from IND and DAL.


1st rd pick - S - Jalen Ramsey S FSU 6'1" 201
Ramsey is a play maker on defense. He can be another anchor along with Mack. He has the size and aggressiveness to play safety and the instincts and speed to play corner in KNJ's defense.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4MplOj2IU[/youtube]

Safety position - Woodson, Asante and Ross are UFA after this year. Allen, J. Dowling and T. McDonald are signed thru 2018 or 19. With Allen injury I hope he can comeback and be the guy we saw this preseason but it could turn into another Sio Moore, T.Branch, Nick Roach situation where the injury cause a productive players eventual departure from the team. Dowling has already been waived. I can see us going after a SS in FA like Sean Richardson GB (planted the seeds this yr), Robert Blanton MIN or Jaiquawn Jarrett NYJ or giving Mays or Lambert a chance to take the position by the reins depending on their development this year.



2nd rd pick - OT - Jerald Hawkins LOT LSU 6'6" 309
Hawkins natural OT and has been an anchor for the LSU Tigers for 2 years starting 26 games at ROT after redshirting his freshmen year. With La'el Collins moving on the the NFL this year Hawkins will move to LOT and hope to follow his former teammate in 2016. With natural left tackle feet and coordinated shuffle and bend to stay square to rushers and mirror in space but needs more seasoning getting push in the run game.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5RojBCIbUU[/youtube] He is the first white jersey you see.

OFF Line position- Penn resigning is still on the agenda for Reggie thou I'd would like to avoid a mistake we can't get out of due to a fall off in production. Hopefully the deal is structured in a way that we can still be flexible. If we have Penn at LT, Jackson at LG and Hudson at C set we are in good shape. Then we have Howard (not looking great at T again this season) Watson (coming off a nasty Achilles injury) Feliciano and Morris (on the Practice Squad) to man the right side. All these player are under contract for next year besides Penn obviously. Adding a high draft pick at T lets us hopefully move Feliciano in a RG and have either a rehabbed Watson or a rookie Hawkins at RT. Oline would be looking more stable after years of moving pieces.



3rd rd pick - LB - Jordan Jenkins LB 6'3 253
Jenkins is a true SEC LB with the production and leadership to prove it. Has recorded 5 sacks 9.5 TFL and 24 QBH last season and 5sacks 12 TFL and 23 QBH in 2013. Started the year with 22 tackles and 3 sacks. Able to play MLB or OLB in our scheme.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3csbFg0cdU[/youtube]

LB position - The state of our LB position is not as rosy as we thought going into the offseason. Mack is still a potential generational player but he hasn't produced the #'s wanted so far this year. Sio Moore had the skill set needed to start last year til injury derailed his progress and he was traded. Malcom Smith has shown some life at Will and KNJ hopes he can be the answer long term. Ray Ray Armstrong is athletic but undisciplined and reckless. He and Ball need more seasoning from KNJ and JDR. MLB is still a work in progress with Lofton and Heeney missing strong interior lineman play. Max Valles looks like a pass rush specialist in the making. FA options Nick Perry GB (Reggie connection), Bruce Irvin + Michael Morgan SEA(KNJ connection), Shea McClellin Chi, Vincent Rey and Emmanuel Lamur Cin and Kyle Wilber DAL are all available in 16.



4th rd pick - Eddie Jackson Alabmama 6'0" 190 CB
Jackson was a top prospect and showed great promise in his freshman year. He tore his ACL in spring practice coming into his soph year but returned later and only missed 6 games showing he still had it. Has moved to FS in this his junior year recording 9 tackles 1 int 1ff and 1 fum rec.

no good highlight reel for him

Cornerback postiton - Carrie and Hayden have both had ups and downs early. The book is still out on how they will far overall. Thorpe has taken over the 3rd spot with 2nd yr man McGill, rookie McDonald and newly signed Amerson providing depth. I see Reggie contiuning to grab corners mid to late til he is secure in the group.



5th rd pick - Peter Kalambayi Stanford 6'3" 245 OLB34 This kid is gonna be special PERIOD.

http://www.gostanford.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=30600&id=3447924

LB position - See above - Pass Rusher addition - Mack and Smith made us all excited to see the mayhem they could cause but thus far it has been alot of almost hits and dissappointments as the defense adjusts to injuries and new roles. Bring in a pass rushing LB\DE provides depth and insuracne if we lose Smith to suspension or FA.



6th rd pick - Gerald Dixon Jr. South Carolina 6'3" 327 DT
Big body lane clogger with quick feet and burst. Long arms and good technique.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IFFBZtSgqw[/youtube]

DT position - Dan Williams and Jelly Ellis play well together when healthy but the injury to Jelly shows our need for depth with the drop in production. Mcgee isn't starter material and Autry and Wislon are more 4-3 DT then lane cloggers.



6th rd pick - Nate Sudfeld Indiana 6'6" 240 QB
Big strong QB who can make all the throws and has gotten off to a great start this year for the 3-0 Hooisers. He is proficient in the short passing game that Musgrave uses.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22RJPvD8478[/youtube]

QB position - Carr is the guy till he isn't and McGloin has beaten all comers trying to take his slot but in case of injury or McGloin getting poached someday we need to start grooming someone to pick up the slack.



6th rd pick - Kenneth Dixon RB Lou Tech 5'10 210
Is the feature back for Lou Tech and has been impressive so far this year with 48 att 355yrds 7.4avg and 3tds. Reminds me of a young Jamal Charles with more bang than flash.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhRnTqXpPVs[/youtube]

RB position - Murray Helu and Jones are all signed next yr. Murray looks like he will capitolize on promise shown last year but there are many games left. Helu and Jones don't have significant money guaranteed after this year. We could very well revamp the RB position if it doesn't produce this year. Not much in FA. Matt Forte CHI, Doug Martin TB, Alfred Morris WAS, Lamar Miller MIA and Kendall Hunter SF all out there.



7th rd pick - Caleb Jones ARZ WR - 6'3 215
Tall and fast with a large catch range and solid production. Can challenge for a roster spot with his attributes alone. Kinda of a clone of Butler who we got an extra pick for this year.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ptlJPGRsgA[/youtube]

WR position - Cooper is our anchor at Wr for years to come but we're gonna need more hands to catch balls from Carr. Crab, Streater, Holmes and Roberts are all FAs next yr. Will any of them produce and be resigned? I can see all but Streater returning. Butler was traded. DeBose is on IR and hopefully he can rehab and recover the burst he had but that is far from certain. Look for us to target Wr in FA as well. Brian Quick STL, Jarrett Boykin GB, Mohamed Sanu + Marvin Jones Cin, Rueben Randle NYG, Travis Benjamin CLE, Keshawn Martin HOU and Rishard Matthews Mia are all guys looking to have nice years to capitalize on FA in 2016 and be a #2-3 WR. Any could be targeted.

[Quake Griffin]

Wait….before I compliment your draft, where are all these 6th rounders coming from?

I know we traded Sio for a 6th.
the other 2?

[benchmobbin02]

The first report I read said the trade with Dallas for Butler was for a 6th rd pick coming to us and also a conditional 5th and 6th rd pick swap, (now realizing either report was wrong or I clearly misread it after checking several sources). That is why I added the additional 6th rd pick.

I did the mock without the assurance that the conditional swap would happen. If it doesn't we would still have our 6th, the 6th from IND for Moore and the 6th I thought we got from Dallas. That was it. (BTW- Butler has been on the active 53 man roster for Dallas the last 2 games, and logged 25 and 36 snaps respectively without a catch).

I would eliminate either the QB or the RB from the mock after dropping the extra pick. I like both players, so it is hard to decide quickly. McGloin is a restricted FA next year and Murray Reece Jones and Helu are all signed, so I'd probably have to say drop Kenneth Dixon but I still stand by picking him for our team where I did.