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Miami Dolphins
Ash’s Pick: Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
Brandon’s Pick: David Njoku, TE, Miami
Adam’s Pick: Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
Miami should have a few players available to them here that could help them do some fine tuning heading into next season. Mario Williams was a huge disappointment this season and he could be replaced with Taco Charlton in the starting role opposite Cameron Wake. This also makes a fair bit of sense as the Dolphins already have a lot of money sunk into their defensive line and need some younger starters on rookie deals step up in order to open money for talent at other positions of need. If they choose to go another direction, David Njoku the local Miami tight end could fill a big need in the offense. Jordan Cameron might retire due to concussions and they could lose Dion Sims to free agency this offseason. Njoku offers a big role as a receiver even if Sims stays on the roster.
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New York Giants
Ash’s Pick: Jarrad Davis, MLB, Florida
Brandon’s Pick: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan St
Adam’s Pick: David Njoku, TE, Miami
The Giants went a long way to addressing their defensive problems last offseason but they still didn’t quite get all the way there. Linebacker is still a concern as it has been for years now and Jarrad Davis, Ash’s pick, could go a long way to hopefully solidifying the middle linebacker spot. He’s a sideline to sideline guy that makes explosive plays all over the field and if used correctly could be the key to taking their already good defense to the next level. Brandon decided to go with Malik McDowell who would offer an important hybrid defensive line piece especially if JPP left in free agency. McDowell has the flexibility to rotate in at tackle and act as a penetrating change up to Hankins and Harrison, or role outside and rush off the edge, adding one more dynamic to an already formidable front. I went with the other side of the ball however and gave them a quality receiving tight end. The combination of Will Tye and Larry Donnell just haven’t cut it for New York to date and a quality big receiving option and red zone threat is key for sustaining drives and maximizing points.
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Oakland Raiders
Ash’s Pick: Raekwon McMillen, MLB, Ohio St
Brandon’s Pick: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
Adam’s Pick: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
The Raiders are another team that could use a defensive reload as especially early in the season they got exposed through the air. Sidney Jones would offer a large improvement at starting corner and help maintain coverage so the pass rush has time to get home. Ash went with Raekwon McMillen as his top corners were already off the board by this point in the draft and middle linebacker is a huge need for Oakland. While McMillen has coverage concerns associated him, he’s also got great awareness with the ability to read plays and lead a defensive unit. His floor is being a very solid two down thumper against the run and that alone would be a huge plus for the Raiders.
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Houston Texans
Ash’s Pick: Deshon Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
Brandon’s Pick: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
Adam’s Pick: Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
Houston has all the pieces in place… except for a quarterback. Brock Osweiler’s terrible first season will lead many to think about taking a quarterback here. If a Deshon Kizer were available like in Ash’s scenario, they would jump on the opportunity immediately as a guy they saw with the potential to take them to the promised land, and hopefully save Bill O’Brien’s job. In Brandon’s scenario Patrick Mahomes, the air raid project out of Texas Tech, makes his way to Houston due to his deep ball and natural raw ability which could help better utilize their great receiving corps. I tend to think though that they will try to address the position later on as they seem to like Tom Savage, and instead take a tackle here in Cam Robinson. I think Robinson lost himself some money in the national championship game where Clemson exposed his lack of core strength and balance, but he’s still a good prospect to go after in the mid to late 20’s. With Derek Newton’s horrific injury they’re going to need someone to take over that right tackle spot and offer a future replacement for Duane Brown who’s going to be 32 next season. Hopefully that will give Houston’s quarterbacks enough time to do something of value next year or at least they will block better for Lamar Miller.
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Seattle Seahawks
Ash’s Pick: Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
Brandon’s Pick: Jabrill Peppers, Hybrid, Michigan
Adam’s Pick: Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah
The biggest needs for Seattle probably lie along the offensive line and the secondary. I decided to go with the former here and went with Bolles out of Utah, a raw athletic tackle that adds talent to a very talent deprived unit. He can plug in day one and hopefully improve Russel Wilsons blocking which was a shambles last season. Ash and Brandon both decided to go with the secondary here, Brandon on a playmaker, Ash on a shutdown corner. For Brandon, Peppers offers a playmaker that can help replace the Seahawks aging safeties and continue the Legion of Boom, rotating down to the linebacker spot for nickel packages. Ash’s selection of Cordrea Tankersley on the other hand, offers the definition of what it is to be a Seattle corner, and could be plugged in across from Richard Sherman to help close out the opposition’s pass game.
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Kansas City Chiefs
Ash’s Pick: Budda Baker, FS, Washington
Brandon’s Pick: Derek Barnett, OLB, Tennessee
Adam’s Pick: Jarrad Davis, ILB, Florida
The best place for the Chiefs to look to upgrade is to double down on their strength and target the defensive side of the ball. Ash has Budda Baker coming in as an interchanging safety that can compliment Eric Berry in the heart of the Chiefs defense. He offers a huge speed element and can ball hawk over the top, allowing Berry to go back to hunting over the middle of the slot. Brandon has Kansas City continuing the tradition of elite edge rushing, adding Derek Barnett in with veterans Tamba Hali and Justin houston, and young stand out Dee Ford. That very well might be the undisputed best edge rotation in the league. offering even greater disruption for an already solid defense. I decided to try and find a future replacement for Derrick Johnson in Jarrad Davis. Johnson is regularly hurt it seems at this point and Davis can do a lot of what Johnson brings to the table.
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Dallas Cowboys
Ash’s Pick: Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
Brandon’s Pick: Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida St
Adam’s Pick: Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
Dallas absolutely must address the pass rush this draft as early as possible. The one major hole on their team, the Cowboys simply could not get to opposing quarterbacks illustrated quite obviously against Green Bay in the playoffs. Ash still had Derek Barnett on his board and he would be a phenomenal pickup for Dallas at 28. Brandon prefers to go with Demarcus Walker, the tweener out of Florida St as a hybrid rusher that can come from a variety of angles and positions. The best guy left on my board in my opinion was Charles Harris who has a lot to offer as a pure edge rusher or a penetrator at the next level. While he does have some run responsibility concerns, Dallas will be more then willing to overlook those issues for someone that can regularly get sacks and disrupt the quarterback.
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Green Bay Packers
Ash’s Pick: Tim Williams, OLB, Alabama
Brandon’s Pick: Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
Adam’s Pick: Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
The Packers showed this year that they were surprisingly devoid of talent at several positions and definitely need to retool this offseason in order to stay in the championship hunt. A huge position of need for them will be pass rusher with Julius Peppers and Nick Perry both hitting free agency, which is why Ash mocked them Tim Williams to work toward providing some pressure off the edge that was sorely missed this season. Based on what was available in both Brandon and my draft’s, corner was the best value for Green bay to target. The Packers clearly showed that they don’t have great depth at the position and now with a pot charge and a concussion history Sam Shields isn’t to be trusted long term. In Brandon’s mock they luck into Marlon Humphrey, while in mine they take the troubled yet talented Teez Tabor who just looks the part of a Green Bay rehab project that turns into something special.
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Pittsburgh Steelers
Ash’s Pick: Hasson Reddick, OLB, Temple
Brandon’s Pick: Takkarist McKinley, OLB, UCLA
Adam’s Pick: Takkarist McKinley, OLB, UCLA
Pittsburgh in an even worse way then Green Bay needs edge rush help in this years draft. James Harrison is set to retire any year now, and outside of Bud Dupree none of their recent picks at the position have really worked out. We all had them addressing the outside linebacker position here but with different focusses. Ash has them taking Hasson Reddick the ex-defensive end out of Temple as more of a versatile option. He has shown after a stand out senior bowl that he’s not only a dynamic undersized pass rusher but he also has impressive coverage chops as well. Ash sees him as a potential Clay Mathews type hybrid guy that lines up all over the formation as a game wrecker that would be insanely hard to account for along with Ryan Shazier. Brandon and I went more traditional with the best remaining pure edge rusher Takkarist McKinley. He has great athleticism and speed off the edge that will hopefully give the Steelers another hit at the position to help bring back the steel curtain.
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Atlanta Falcons
Ash’s Pick: Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
Brandon’s Pick: Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
Adam’s Pick: Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
Atlanta did a phenomenal job of addressing positions of need the last few years. Now they can shore up the last few holes and keep building up a growing young defense. The one thing that the falcons have struggled with most of all is the defensive line, and that should be easy to address still at 31. Ash and I both went with Caleb Brantley here in order to give them some more penetration up the middle. An upgrade beside Grady Jarrett would be big for them going forward especially while playing with smaller linebackers in the front seven. Brandon’s pick of Carl Lawson has been sneaking in to the back end of the first round a fair bit recently and could be a nice edge presence for Atlanta as they have gotten by with very average and older talent at the position for a while now.
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New England Patriots
Ash’s Pick: David Njoku, TE, Miami
Brandon’s Pick: Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah
Adam’s Pick: Jabrill Peppers, SS/LB, Michigan
What else do the Patriots really need? they got rid of their best two defensive players this season and still managed to pull out the Super Bowl shutting down the Falcons offense for most of the second half. Ash thought that David Njoku would be a nice add, allowing New England to let Martellus Bennett walk for his big pay day and still keep a two headed monster to play off with Gronk. Brandon went with Garrett Bolles to fill the hole Sebastian Volmer is going to leave at right tackle, as Marcus Cannon has gotten a clown suit put on him various times this offseason, including the Super Bowl, and is much better suited to the swing tackle position then an actual starting role. I have Jabrill Peppers headed to New England because he is exactly the type of player Bill Belichick would want to draft if available. He could immediately upgrade on Patrick Chung at strong safety and step down to linebacker in nickel and dime situations over Eric Rowe for a big nickel look.
Condensed Version
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