Quote:Not that I think the Browns will be this huge threat to Jaguars dominance in the years to come. They have the look of an imploding team still yearning for managerial and coaching stability.
However, they have something they could do, that, in the interim, could throw a major wrench into the Jaguars draft hopes.
Namely, that something is pull off a trade for Colin Kaepernick.
Right now, most of the mock drafts show Cleveland taking a QB at 2.
If they were to acquire Kaepernick via trade, that may encourage them to go in a different direction at 2. To me, that would immediately mean they would go after one of the stud defenders on the board.
I would hope that person would be Buckner. But even a Browns selection of Buckner at 2 may pose problems for the Jaguars in the draft, because that would be one less defender on the board for San Diego or Dallas to take, which means Mack and Ramsey could both be off the board by 5.
I can see a real problem if the first 4 picks are, in any particular order, Bosa, Jack, Ramsey, and Tunsil. Of course, we have no idea how Dave is ranking the prospects, but if you look at Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 ranking as an example, you can see the problem. Here's the way he ranks them:
1. <span>Laremy Tunsil - OT, Ole Miss</span>
<span>2. <span><span>Jalen Ramsey - S, Florida State </span></span></span>
<span><span>3. <span><span>Myles Jack - LB, UCLA </span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span>4. <span><span>Joey Bosa - DE, Ohio State </span></span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span>Now here's where we have a problem:</span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span>5.</span></span></span></span>DeForest Buckner - DT, Oregon
6. <span><span>Ezekiel Elliott - RB, Ohio State </span></span>
<span>7: <span><span>Carson Wentz - QB, North Dakota State </span></span></span>
<span><span>8. <span><span>Jared Goff - QB, Cal </span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span>9. <span><span>Vernon Hargreaves - CB, Florida </span></span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span>10.</span></span></span></span>Ronnie Stanley - OT, Notre Dame
I could see possibly drafting Hargreaves, although he doesn't fit our style of CB, he's kind of small and doesn't tackle well. Daniel Jeremiah says, "Hargreaves will have some issues outside because of his lack of size but he could be an elite nickel cornerback at the next level." Do we spend the 5th pick on a nickel corner?
Buckner is basically a 3-4 DE or a 3-technique DT, and we're already overloaded at 3-tech DT. He and Malik Jackson seem like almost the same guy.
We don't need a QB or a RB. I suppose we could draft the OT from Notre Dame, and put him at OG, but you don't spend the 5th pick in the draft on an OG.
You have to go a little ways down the draft board to find guys that are really interesting, such as:
17. <span><span>Kevin Dodd - DE, Clemson</span></span>
<span><span>18.</span></span>Leonard Floyd - LB, Georgia
21.Ryan Kelly - C, Alabama
So to me, the ideal thing if the draft goes Tunsil, Bosa, Ramsey, Jack would be a trade down. Get that extra 2nd and maybe also extra 3rd round pick.
I would take a good look at Leonard Floyd. Jeremiah says this about Floyd:
"Floyd was a three-year starter at linebacker for the Bulldogs. He has excellent height and a very lean, narrow frame. His alignment changes depending on the game. He is at his best coming off the edge and I'm projecting him as a SAM linebacker at the next level. As a rusher, he has an explosive first step and a devastating inside counter move. He generates a lot of pressure without OTs getting a hand on him. Despite his skinny frame, he is very effective transferring speed to power off the edge. Against the run, he needs to improve his ability to set the edge. He prefers to slip, spin or trade one for one. Overall, Floyd lacks ideal bulk but his explosiveness is rare and he has double-digit sack potential. "
Disclaimer: I'm just using Jeremiah's rankings as an example, to show the difficulty we might have is the draft falls according to his rankings.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...-nfl-draft