***THE OFFICIAL 2015 NFL 1st Round draft thread ***

[patsinthesnow]

@wasram: According to @RapSheet the @ChicagoBEARS are in contact with Titans to move up to 2nd overall to draft Mariota. #Bears #2015NFLDraft

@AdamSchefter: Multiple teams have removed LSU's OL La'el Collins from their draft board. In one week, has gone from potential 1 to off some boards.

 

[Deus Irae]

Belichick drafting a guy somehow involved in a murder investigation right after Hernandez conviction? Talk about balls of steel

My evil laughter would be heard from miles around.

 

[Kontradiction]

@wasram: According to @RapSheet the @ChicagoBEARS are in contact with Titans to move up to 2nd overall to draft Mariota. #Bears #2015NFLDraft

@AdamSchefter: Multiple teams have removed LSU's OL La'el Collins from their draft board. In one week, has gone from potential 1 to off some boards.

You mean the Bears may finally be coming to the realization that Cutler sucks? I think they'd make an equally big mistake selling the farm to get Mariota.

 

[Deus Irae]

You mean the Bears may finally be coming to the realization that Cutler sucks?

I consider the trading of Marshall as proof that the Bears' higher ups have finally figured out that Cutler's never going to get it.

 

[farn]

The starting point (Brady) our team has is such a huge advantage. Cutler in an anchor. They are being slowed by him.

 

[fnordcircle]

Josh McDaniels was right.

 

[Kontradiction]

Josh McDaniels was right.

Most people, except Broncos fans, knew that in 2009. But then we know that Broncos fans aren't exactly the brightest bunch out there.

 

[Deus Irae]

The starting point (Brady) our team has is such a huge advantage. Cutler in an anchor. They are being slowed by him.

Brady has been Belichick's biggest personnel advantage over the league since about 2004-2005, IMO. He allows BB to alter his approach to all 3 personnel avenues (FA signings, player retention, drafting).

 

[Deus Irae]

BTW, in all seriousness, the Collins situation screams out for the Patriots using one of their late 3rds/early 4th to pick him. They can always cut him loose later.

 

[farn]

...and to think that the INTs and cranky pants attitude Cutler seems to relish aren't even as bad as his contract. Brady is not only better - he is a relative bargain.

 

[farn]

BTW, in all seriousness, the Collins situation screams out for the Patriots using one of their late 3rds/early 4th to pick him. They can always cut him loose later.

I agree completely : but will Kraft veto the move if it's suggested. I know he lets BB "do his thing" - but I know I'd be VERY reluctant to go that route and risk needing to answer the questions that would ensue - not to mention the possibility Collins is in the wrong....

 

[TBR]

I'm hoping the Browns get outbid for the #2 pick by Philly or Chicago. Then the Browns, desperate, offer us Joe Haden for Garoppolo.

 

[Kontradiction]

BTW, in all seriousness, the Collins situation screams out for the Patriots using one of their late 3rds/early 4th to pick him. They can always cut him loose later.

Definitely agree. Collins is arguably a top 10 talent. If you can get him in the 3rd or 4th, given the need at guard, you definitely do it.

 

[Deus Irae]

Definitely agree. Collins is arguably a top 10 talent. If you can get him in the 3rd or 4th, given the need at guard, you definitely do it.

Yep. If I'm BB, I look to Kraft and say "Bob, we cut Christian Peter after drafting him. We can do it with Collins, if we have to."

 

[primetime]

BTW, in all seriousness, the Collins situation screams out for the Patriots using one of their late 3rds/early 4th to pick him. They can always cut him loose later.

Yeah. He isn't getting into the supplemental draft. The CBA says, very specifically: "No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a Supplemental Draft."

The difference between drafting Collins and, say, DGB (re: Kraft and DV) is that DGB has known red flags and Collins' are still very murky. He's a person of interest but not a "suspect," which could mean anything from they're building a case to they're doing due diligence on investigation. If it turns out the former is true, you cut him. The Patriots didn't catch any flak when they cut loose Hernandez straight away, and a late 3rd or early 4th is is worth the risk.

 

[Deus Irae]

Yeah. He isn't getting into the supplemental draft. The CBA says, very specifically: "No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a Supplemental Draft."

Exactly. He's either going to get drafted, or he's going UDFA. Why battle with 31 other teams (assuming he's in the clear), when you can just use what is, in effect, a bonus 3/4 pick on a first round talent?

 

[crownontherocks]

FOX's Jay Glazer reports the agent for LSU G/T La'El Collins is trying to have him declared ineligible for this week's draft so he can clear his name in a Baton Rouge murder investigation, and then enter the Supplemental Draft.

 

[varjao]

The girl was 8 months pregnant and the last time he saw her was in September right?

I hope it ends like this

 

[Peachhead]

What is there I don't know about Collins to warrant this?

Police have said he's not a suspect, they want to talk to him about murder - if he's innocent of any wrongdoing then the poor kid has seriously probably just lost a few million dollars over someone else's crime.

The police say someone "is not a suspect" or is "just a person of interest" before they arrest them all the time. I think there are legal reasons behind that. After they openly call someone a "suspect" they have to treat them differently and it makes their job harder.

 

[primetime]

FOX's Jay Glazer reports the agent for LSU G/T La'El Collins is trying to have him declared ineligible for this week's draft so he can clear his name in a Baton Rouge murder investigation, and then enter the Supplemental Draft.

This seems highly unlikely given that the draft starts in 3 hours and the CBA explicitly forbids a player eligible for the draft to enter the supplemental draft in the same year. I don't see why "being a person of interest in a murder investigation" is the kind of thing that an exception should be made for; it would be an alarmingly poor precedent for the NFL.