A Draft Exercise With A Difference

[manxman2601]

The depth of this draft has had me thinking; could a team with 22 picks spread across the rounds build a decent to good team of starters from this draft alone? Obviously it's only a thought exercise but it encouraged me to create this little competition/exercise to keep us going through this pre - FA lull.

So, if you want to take part, here are the rules.

1. The aim is to create a team of 22 starters on offense and defense from this draft. No special teams.

2. You will be allowed three picks per round ( 3x7=21). Whilst you can have as many UDFA ranked players as you like to get to 22, you must have at least one UDFA (3x7)+1.

3. We will be using CBS Sport's rankings for this exercise (LINK). As these rankings are changed regularly, please specify the date of the rankings when you submit your team (the date is at the top of the rankings).

4. You can choose whichever formation you like. You can go 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5 etc on defense, go with a FB on offense, five wide or TE heavy. The choice is yours but please ensure it's both legal and realistic.

5. Please specify the CBS ranking/or round for each prospect.

6. No unreasonable projecting. We're looking for a team to win as early as possible. So no trying to tell us that this UDFA QB you've chosen that no-one has heard of will be the next Tom Brady.

7. Haven't decided whether it's worth trying to determine a winner or just doing it for fun. Any thoughts? I did wonder whether we should award the entry with most 'likes' as the winner.


I'll be entering my team shortly. If you have any questions, please ask and feel free to comment (politely) on peoples choices. And have fun!

Edit: One more rule. We're only focused on the rankins of the prospects, not their projected rounds. So your available 2nd round prospects are those ranked 33-64 and any prospect ranked later than 224 is considered a UDFA.

 

[EwanSellars]

quick question is there somewhere specific we should pick for each round or can we just do the first 3 picks in each round

 

[manxman2601]

quick question is there somewhere specific we should pick for each round or can we just do the first 3 picks in each round

You can if you want but will you be able to fill out a roster that way? The idea is to have a bit of fun with it and pick the prospects you like the most at each position and trying to get the best value out of the choices.

Edit: Also try to think about value. You'll want to take a QB/LT/pass rusher early for example. MLB's are worth more than 4-3 SLB's and you probably won't want to fill out your interior OL with early picks. You don't have to stick to that of course, fill it out as you like but just something to consider.

 

[EwanSellars]

Ok im gonna give this a try ill be using a 4-3 defense and ill have a 2 te 2 wr 1 rb set on offense and ill be using cbs rankings
Rankings are from 3/8/13

1st round:
LT Luke Joeckel
QB Geno Smith
DE Ziggy Ansah


2nd round
WR Quinton Patton
OLB Arthur Brown
OLB Khaseeme Greene

3rd round
DE Tank Carradine
DT Brandon Williams
CB Robert Alford

4th Round
FS D.J Swearinger
OG Brian Winters
OT David Quessenbury

5th Round
CB Tharold Simon
TE Nick Kasa
RB Marcus Lattimore

6th Round
WR Connor Vernon
SS Robert Lester
C Braxton Cave

7th round
OG Eric Herman
TE Michael Williams
ILB Vince Williams

UDFA
DT Caraun Reed/Kapron Lewis Moore

I just did the extra pick in the first to make it easier later but i think this is a solid team

 

[Lamanai]

I'll give it a go: Running a 4-3 defense, 3WR-1RB-1TE offense (as of 3/10)

Round1: Joeckel(OT-1), Milliner(CB-6), Ansah(DE-12)

round 2: Williams(DT-36), Ogletree(LB-39), Hopkins(WR-37)

Round 3: Rambo(S-89), Rodgers(WR-80), Ball(RB-92)

Round 4: Jones(QB-111), Jefferson(S-99), Pugh(G-97)

Round 5: Bailey(G-130), Nixon(T-147), Johnson(LB-135)

Round 6: Geathers(DT-189), Ghoulston(DE-175), Johnson(LB-165)

Round 7: Stankiewitch(C-223), Wilson(WR-222), Rivera(TE-205)

UDFA: Sweeting(CB-250)

 

[manxman2601]

OK, time for mine. Summary at the end.

CBS Sports (3/8) - Round in brackets.

QB EJ Manuel (2)
RB Christine Michael (4)
WR Markus Wheaton (2)
WR TJ Moe (UDFA)
WR Marquess Wilson (UDFA)
TE Gavin Escobar (3)
LT Lane Johnson (1)
LG David Quessenberry (4)
OC Brian Schwenke (3)
RG Hugh Thornton (6)
RT Ricky Wagner (6)


DE Ziggy Ansah (1)
NT Montori Hughes (5)
DT Sylvester Williams (3)
DE Cornelius Washington (6)
SLB Lerentee McCray (5)
MLB Vince Williams (UDFA)
WLB Alec Ogletree (2)
CB Dee Milliner (1)
CB Leon McFadden (4)
FS Terry Hawthorne (5)
SS Ray Ray Armstrong (UDFA)

Offense:

The obvious intriguing choice here is EJ Manuel at QB. My view is this; firstly I don't believe Geno Smith is that much better than Manuel whilst Manuel's upside is better. A strong OL, which I'm very pleased with btw, and four good receiving options limits the risk factor for Manuel.

Defense:

I'd be delighted with Ansah and Washington as pass rushers for the Pats in the real draft so I'm very happy to have them on the team. Montori Hughes has really come on in this draft process and Sylvester Williams provides one of the better balances at DT between pass rushing and run stopping. At LB, McCray offers some pass rush upside from that SLB spot whilst Vince Williams is an excellent downhill hitter. Ogletree was brought in to compensate for Williams' lack of range.

I'm thrilled with my CB's. I have the best in the draft with Milliner whilst McFadden, as a cover guy, truthfully isn't that far behind. It's Off-Man and Zone all the way for me in the secondary. I've had to compromise a little at Safety. Armstrong is the forgotten man but he's a demon whilst flying around in the secondary. I like the idea of converting Terry Hawthorne to FS. Whilst I'm not super impressed with him at CB, at Safety, he can put those CB skills to better use just as McCourty does.

 

[manxman2601]

Ok im gonna give this a try ill be using a 4-3 defense and ill have a 2 te 2 wr 1 rb set on offense and ill be using cbs rankings
Rankings are from 3/8/13

1st round:
LT Luke Joeckel
QB Geno Smith
DE Ziggy Ansah


2nd round
WR Quinton Patton
OLB Arthur Brown
OLB Khaseeme Greene

3rd round
DE Tank Carradine
DT Brandon Williams
CB Robert Alford

4th Round
FS D.J Swearinger
OG Brian Winters
OT David Quessenbury

5th Round
CB Tharold Simon
TE Nick Kasa
RB Marcus Lattimore

6th Round
WR Connor Vernon
SS Robert Lester
C Braxton Cave

7th round
OG Eric Herman
TE Michael Williams
ILB Vince Williams

UDFA
DT Caraun Reed/Kapron Lewis Moore

I just did the extra pick in the first to make it easier later but i think this is a solid team

Williams -Brown-Greene is a very nice LB crew.

I'll give it a go: Running a 4-3 defense, 3WR-1RB-1TE offense (as of 3/10)

Round1: Joeckel(OT-1), Milliner(CB-6), Ansah(DE-12)

round 2: Williams(DT-36), Ogletree(LB-39), Hopkins(WR-37)

Round 3: Rambo(S-89), Rodgers(WR-80), Ball(RB-92)

Round 4: Jones(QB-111), Jefferson(S-99), Pugh(G-97)

Round 5: Bailey(G-130), Nixon(T-147), Johnson(LB-135)

Round 6: Geathers(DT-189), Ghoulston(DE-175), Johnson(LB-165)

Round 7: Stankiewitch(C-223), Wilson(WR-222), Rivera(TE-205)

UDFA: Sweeting(CB-250)

And Hopkins-Rodgers-Wilson is an outstanding WR crew (unless Rodgers/Wilson are character busts . And then you're screwed )

 

[BlackFrancis]

This was a lot of fun.

The picks went like this:

1. Geno Smith QB
1. Jonathan Cooper OG
1. Desmond Trufant CB

2. DeAndre Hopkins WR
2. Terron Armstead OT
2. Margus Hunt DE

3. Darius Slay CB
3. Brian Schwenke C
3. Bacarri Rambo FS

4. Stedman Bailey WR
4. Devin Taylor DE
4. Jon Bostic ILB

5. Corey Lemonier OLB
5. Nick Kasa TE
5. Brennan Williams OT

6. Earl Wolff SS
6. Cornelius Washington DE/OLB
6. Reid Fragel OT

7. Jeff Baca OG
7. Michael Buchanan OLB
7. Michael Williams TE

UDFA - Nick Williams DT
UDFA - Jared Smith DT
UDFA - Knile Davis RB

Which works out to:

QB: Geno Smith
RB: Knile Davis
WR: DeAndre Hopkins
WR: Stedman Bailey
TE: Nick Kasa
TE: Michael Williams
LT: Terron Armstead
LG: Jon Cooper
C: Chris Schwenke
RG: Jeff Baca
RT: Brennan Williams

I am fairly happy with that on offense. Love the quarterback and the wideouts, especially with Geno and Bailey having chemistry. I would have rather fit in Christine Michael or La'Veon Bell at running back but what can you do? The line is full of zone blocking all-stars that will either kill it or completely suck. Risky, but why not swing for the fences with the OL.

On defense, I've got:

DE: Margus Hunt
DT: Nick Williams
DT: Jared Smith
DE: Devin Taylor
OLB: Corey Lemonier
ILB: Jon Bostic
OLB: Cornelius Washington/Michael Buchanan
SS: Earl Wolff
FS: Bacarri Rambo
CB: Desmond Trufant
CB: Darius Slay

I'm beside myself with glee about the defense. The middle isn't as stout as I'd have liked but every player on the front seven can get into the backfield. Slay and Trufant can lock down the outside, while Rambo gambles and Wolff lays wood.

If nothing else, I think this draft would be able to give the Raiders, KC and the Jags a run.

 

[Sciz]

QB: Matt Scott (5)
RB: Eddie Lacy (2)
FB: Zach Line (6)
TE: Michael Williams (7)
WR: Cordarelle Patterson (1), Mark Harrison (7)
OT: Luke Joeckel (1), Reid Fragel (6)
OG: Larry Warford (3), Eric Herman (7)
C: Brian Schwenke (3)

A little bit of a gimmick offense here, but I think it's the best use of limited resources. Lacy can obviously run with the ball, but so can Scott, Line, and Patterson. Could have gone Austin over Patterson, but saw Patterson as having a better overall ability while still having good ball-carrying ability. Harrison is my big, fast big-play WR. Williams and the OL have an overall run-blocking theme.

DE: Tank Carradine (2), Joe Kruger (UDFA)
DT: Jessie Williams (2), Bennie Logan (5)
OLB: Dion Jordan (1), Alec Ogletree (2)
MLB: Jon Bostic (4)
CB: Blidi Wreh-Wilson (4), Tharold Simon (5)
S: Sanders Commings (6), DJ Swearinger (4)

Doing my best to imitate Seattle's defense here. Carradine is the Elephant (because I refuse to call it a Leo), Logan the pass-rushing DT, Williams the 1-tech NT, and Kruger the 2-gap end. Jordan is the on-the-line Sam LB, where he can take on TEs both in coverage and against the run. Bostic and Ogletree add some more athleticism to the LB group. Definitely skimped a little on the secondary, where I went with height and length among my CBs and some hard hitters at safety.

 

[Avenger]

QB Zac Dysert 146
RB Marcus Lattimore 143
WR Markus Wheaton 57
WR Corey Fuller 173
TE Jake Stoneburner 221
TE Michael Williams 228
LT Luke Joeckel 1
LG Garrett Gilkey 180
C Braxston Cave 185
RG Omoregie Uzzi 193
RT Kyle Long 53

DE Margus Hunt 64
DT Star Lotulelei 15
DT Jesse Williams 36
DE Cornellius Carradine 67
OLB Maalik Bomar 209
ILB Nico Johnson 135
OLB Jelani Jenkins 120
CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson 100
FS D.J. Swearinger 114
SS Phillip Thomas 70
CB Dee Milliner 6

may have screwed up the math but there it is

 

[everlong]

Disclaimer that I don't love every prospect on my list but I wanted to use a 3-4 defense and the second DE position was tough and in some other spots I had to choose between two players I liked in the higher rounds and take a player in the later rounds who was a fit for the rules but a player I have reservations about.

QB Ryan Nassib 2nd round
RB Marcus Lattimore 4th round
OT Lane Johnson 1st round
OT Ricky Wagner 5th round
OG Omoregie Uzzi 6th round
OG Chris Barker UDFA
C P.J. Lonergan 6th
TE Travis Kelce 3rd
WR Mark Harrison UDFA
WR Denard Robinson 6th
WR Markus Wheaton 2nd

NT Gilbert Pena 7th round
DE Datone Jones 1st round
DE William Gholston 5th round
OLB Ezekiel Ansah 1st round
OLB Jamie Collins 3rd round
ILB A.J. Klein 5th round
ILB Nico Johnson 4th round
CB Darius Slay 3rd round
CB Leon McFadden 4th round
S Matt Elam S 2nd round
S John Boyett 7th round

 

[Patriot Missile]

QB Tyler Bray 3 (84)
RB Knile Davis 7 (261)
OT Luke Joeckel 1 (1)
OG Larry Warford 3 (72)
C Brian Schwenke 3 (58)
OG Chris Mcdonald udfa (415)
OT Xavier Nixon 5 (141)
WR Deandre Hopkins 2 (37)
WR Markus Wheaton 2 (57)
WR Josh Boyce 6 (169)
TE Nick Kasa 5 (149)

DE Ezekiel Ansah 1 (12)
DT Star Lotulelei 1 (15)
DT Josh Boyd 6 (195)
DE David Bass 7 (203)
OLB Alec Okafor 2 (39)
MLB Nico Johnson 5 (135)
OLB Brandon Jenkins 4 (105)
CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson 4 (100)
FS D.J. Swearinger 4 (114)
SS Earl Wolff 6 (190)
CB D.J. Hayden 7 (227)

 

[SirApropos]

I went with a Pro Style Offense and a 4-3 Under Defense. If I was going to build a franchise around a guy Barkley would be my choice for QB as I see him as a poor man's Matt Ryan.

DE Dion Jordan (1)
CB Xavier Rhodes (1)
QB Matt Barkley (1)

DT Jesse Williams (2)
WR Quinton Patton (2)
OT Menelik Watson (2)

DT Brandon Williams (3)
DT Sylvester Williams (3)
OG Justin Pugh (3)

FS D.J. Swearinger (4)
C Khaled Holmes (4)
OLB Zaviar Gooden (4)

WR Chris Harper (5)
OT Reid Fragel (5)
ILB A.J Klein (5)

OG Hugh Thornton (6)
WR Aaron Mellette (6)
TE Ryan Otten (6)

CB Micah Hyde (7)
RB Knile Davis (7)
SS Cooper Taylor (7)

OLB Michael Mauti (FA)

Offense
QB Matt Barkley (1)
RB Knile Davis (7)
WR Chris Harper (5)
WR Aaron Mellette (6)
WR Quinton Patton (2)
TE Ryan Otten (6)
LT Menelik Watson (2)
LG Justin Pugh (3)
C Khaled Holmes (4)
RG Hugh Thornton (6)
RT Reid Fragel (5)

Defense: 4-3 Under
LEO Dion Jordan (1)
3T Sylvester Williams (3)
NT Brandon Williams (3)
5T Jesse Williams (2)
WLB Zaviar Gooden (4)
MLB A.J Klein (5)
SLB Michael Mauti (FA)
CB Xavier Rhodes (1)
FS D.J. Swearinger (4)
SS Cooper Taylor (7)
CB Micah Hyde (7)

Complete side note but I just realized I built a new Williams Wall

 

[Wilfork#75]

I probably put way too much time and effort into this, oh well.

Picks
1. Chance Warmack- Alabama (2)
1. Star Lotulelei- Utah (15)
1. Matt Barkley- USC (21)
2. DeAndre Hopkins- Clemson (37)
2. John Jenkins- Georgia (48)
2. Barrett Jones- Alabama (54)
3. Tank Carradine- Florida State (67)
3. Dallas Thomas- Tennessee (68)
3. Da'rick Rogers- Tennessee Tech (80)
4. Blidi Wreh-Wilson- UConn (100)
4. Chris Faulk- LSU (115)
4. TJ. McDonald- USC (132)
5. Bennie Logan- LSU (137)
5. Marcus Lattimore- South Carolina (143)
5. Brennan Williams- UNC (160)
6. Cornelius Washington- Georgia (161)
6. Nickel Robey- USC (162)
6. Sanders Commings- Georgia (181)
7. Ty Powell- Harding (196)
7. Duke Williams- Nevada (218)
7. Michael Williams- Alabama (228)
UDFA- Vince Williams- Florida State (249)
UDFA- Walter Stewart- Cincinnati (269)
UDFA- Joseph Fauria- UCLA (281)
UDFA- TJ Moe -Missouri(293)
UDFA- Abry Jones- Georgia (299)
UDFA- Aaron Hester- UCLA (356)


Offense
It all starts at QB and I think Barkley is the best guy available. He is a pro-style, pure pocket QB so I will build the system around him. Like all pocket QB's he struggles with pressure straight up the middle, so I will take the New Orleans approach and build the O-line from the inside out. This is a very strong running team with Lattimore behind a quality run-blocking O-line and Michael Williams at TE. We have two big, versatile WRs on the outside who offer Barkley good targets all over the field, a talented slot WR and a long pass catching TE to round out the skill position players. This team will run it down your throat and kill you with play action.

QB- M. Barkley (1)
RB- M. Lattimore (5)
WR- D. Hopkins (2)
WR- D. Rogers (3)
TE- M. Williams (7)
WR- TJ. Moe (UDFA)/TE- J. Fauria (UDFA)
LT- C. Faulk (4)
LG- C. Warmack (1)
C- B. Jones (2)
RG- D. Thomas (3)
RT- B. Williams (5)


Defense 4-3 Under
Trying to copy Seattle's 4-3 Under defense. Up front we have two monsters in Lotulelei in the Red Bryant role and John Jenkins (slightly ahead of Jessie Williams) at NT. Bennie Logan is the 3-tech that will be matched up 1 on 1 with the weakside OG and Tank Carradine as the Leo. I love Vince Williams at Mike and like Ty Powel at WLB due to his coverage ability as a former safety. We also get extra pressure from SLB with Washington or Stewart, both would act as a 5th defensive lineman. The secondary is our weak spot but we have two underrated press man CBs who fit the system, an athletic SS and an extremely fast and active FS. Add in an interior DT and two CBs for sub packages and I think its a defense with potential.

5Tech- S. Lotulelei (1)
NT- J. Jenkins (2)
3Tech- B. Logan (5)
LEO- C. Carradine (3)
SLB- C. Washington (6)/W. Stewart (UDFA)
MLB- V. Williams (UDFA)
WLB- T. Powell (7)
CB- B. Wreh-Wilson (4)
CB- S. Commings (6)
FS- D. Williams (73)
SS- T.J. McDonald (4)

Sub Package Players
CB- N. Robey
CB- A. Hester
DT- Abry Jones

Overall I love the offense. I think they would be able to run the ball, control the clock and be deadly on play action. The defense has talent but the secondary isn't very strong, especially for this system. I think the front 7 is very good though and should be able to stop the run and get after the QB.

 

[manxman2601]

Does anyone want to try this game again?

Note. Credit to Everlong. He picked three Patriots on his team.

 

[SirApropos]

Does anyone want to try this game again?

Note. Credit to Everlong. He picked three Patriots on his team.

Sounds good to me.

 

[everlong]

Disclaimer that I don't love every prospect on my list but I wanted to use a 3-4 defense and the second DE position was tough and in some other spots I had to choose between two players I liked in the higher rounds and take a player in the later rounds who was a fit for the rules but a player I have reservations about.

QB Ryan Nassib 2nd round
RB Marcus Lattimore 4th round
OT Lane Johnson 1st round
OT Ricky Wagner 5th round
OG Omoregie Uzzi 6th round
OG Chris Barker UDFA
C P.J. Lonergan 6th
TE Travis Kelce 3rd
WR Mark Harrison UDFA
WR Denard Robinson 6th
WR Markus Wheaton 2nd

NT Gilbert Pena 7th round
DE Datone Jones 1st round
DE William Gholston 5th round
OLB Ezekiel Ansah 1st round
OLB Jamie Collins 3rd round
ILB A.J. Klein 5th round
ILB Nico Johnson 4th round
CB Darius Slay 3rd round
CB Leon McFadden 4th round
S Matt Elam S 2nd round
S John Boyett 7th round

Well at least I had Jamie Collins. :rocker:

 

[Sciz]

Well at least I had Jamie Collins. :rocker:

I think picking Chris Barker as an UDFA is much more impressive

 

[everlong]

I think picking Chris Barker as an UDFA is much more impressive

Thanks if he had ended up a Patriot that would have been really impressive.

 

[manxman2601]

Thanks if he had ended up a Patriot that would have been really impressive.

What am I missing? He did didn't he?