CJ's Mock Draft

ceejay · Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:16 pm Post subject: CJ's Mock Draft

I have done pretty well in getting to know a lot of the prospects this year. Just want to give a shout out to Mike Mayock and the NFL Network crew! Just kidding. I have done a lot of research and I will probably still mess up. Here is my Raven's Mock.

Ravens Trade 1st and 5th to move up to 26. (I have the draft value opened but it doesn't show value's after comp picks. We could owe more I'm not 100% positive.

Round 1 (26) - Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

A lot of analysts have him falling. He could make it passed a few teams based on their team needs. If he makes it within a few picks of us, I have no doubt that Ozzie would be aggressive in attempting to trade up and get him. He is physical at the point of attack and is just a violent player. Has that Ravens swagger you look for. He has said he would like to be a 4-3 end. He has the ability to be a 3-4 LB or put his hand in the dirt. It makes him a versatile guy and a match made in heaven for our defence

Round 2 (60) - Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

He is almost 6'2. He can separate from defenders. Mayock thinks a lot of his balls with be contested in the air, and I believe he can win a lot of the battles. He had a great vertical and can cause match up problems in the end zone. He is an Anquan Boldin type player. He isn't going to dazzle you with his speed but he can get the job done and is very physical.

Round 3 (91) - George Iloka, S, Boise State

This could be a little wishful thinking. He could be gone by this point. He is a 6'4 Safety with a 4.66 40 time. Some say he can also be used at linebacker. I like him better as a physical Safety who can learn from one of the best. I would like this pick a lot.

Round 4 (130) Robert Turbin, RB, Utah State

He is a big physical runner. A great compliment to Ray Rice and could be used in goal line situations. We had a hard time punching it in this year if I remember correctly. He could bring a new dynamic to the O.

Round 5 (169) Vontaze Burfict, ILB, Arizona St

A player who slides due to character concerns. Horrible interviews, bad combine and bad pro day. He has a lot of hype to him. He has made a lot of good plays and can be worked with. Ray could take him under his wing. If he doesn't work out. We didn't take him early so it's not as bad of a blow.

Round 6 (198) Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado

Good size, very raw. Good athlete for his body structure. A definite project and probably wouldn't start until 2-3 years if at all.

Round 7 (236) Justin Francis, DE, Rutgers

Don't know a lot about the guy. Have seen a few games with him involved. He is Raw but I see potential. Luckily that means absolutely nothing.
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BrandonK · Joined: 07 Mar 2012 Posts: 14

This would be amazing

dcfields · Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 415 Location: Coral Springs

I love Turbin! Burfict is the next Maurice Clarett. I hope the Ravens don't even have him on their board. The Ravens may have to address the o-line a little sooner than the 6th. Possibly through a trade. That said, I would sleep well if this was our draft.

FlaccoForever · Joined: 12 Jul 2011 Posts: 280

diamondbull424 · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 10018 Location: Baltimore, MD

Good effort mock to include a breakdown of the player.

That said, I'm not a fan of the mock. I like Courtney Upshaw, but I don't feel he nor any edge threat in this draft is worth trading up for. If he falls and there are no better options available and we can't trade back, then and only then would I take Upshaw. I don't agree with spending yet again another high level draft resource on the OLB spot in the last 3 years. Kindle is coming back and has a full offseason to get into football shape and get comfortable within the defense. Paul Kruger simply made plays when he was given playing time. I don't see the value in using a first round pick on our pass rush.

Mohammed Sanu is another pick that I don't like simply because he doesn't fit our scheme. We run a vertical offense that is predicated on receivers having the game-breaking speed to get behind the defense, utilizing longer distanced routes. These are long developing routes... only with more speed, they take less time to develop and less time for the line to need to block. Mohammed Sanu doesn't have that type of speed to work on the outside in our offense. He's probably a slot receiver- like Boldin anyway... and we already have Boldin who should be in the slot to be best utilized... we also have Tandon Doss, who is a slot receiver type. He's more TJ Houshmanzadeh than Anquan Boldin (like Sanu), but he has terrific hands and agility to get quick separation (but not separation on longer routes.)

George Iloka is another guy I don't think we need. We have Bernard Pollard and just added Corey Graham to be a CB/S. I think we can roll into the season with just another cheap veteran option. Or if we go safety, I'd rather address that with an undrafted free agent... because this safety class is incredibly weak from top to bottom for the most part.

I like Robert Turbin... but on tape, I've seen nothing from him that I didn't see from Anthony Allen. They're the same kind of player and I'm not even sure Turbin is the better runner.

I don't mind Burfict. He has upside. Ryan Miller seems to be falling for whatever reason, I have no idea. But that's a good value on a guard late. But I'd hope we could get some help to that position a little sooner, if possible.

Haven't followed Francis.

So again, I like the players in the mock, I just don't like that we've taken them. I think the value isn't there and/or it's the wrong fit with our team.
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Blind arrogance sows the field of it's own destruction. - Commander Greil, Fire Emblem

ceejay · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:03 pm Post subject:

NJ Raven · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:13 pm Post subject:

Two guys from RU? I'm in.
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SnA ExclusiVe · Joined: 01 Jun 2011 Posts: 10614 Location: Spokane, WA

I like Burfict in the 5th round. Low risk, high reward especially if he can straighten out in the NFL and commit himself to being great.
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diamondbull424 · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 10018 Location: Baltimore, MD

coordinator0 · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 5873

I'm not really in favor of trading up to get Upshaw or any LB in the 1st round unless it's Kuechly but only moving up a few spots and using one of the 5th round picks to do it isn't so bad. To me he's a very good replacement/upgrade for Johnson. If the teams goes into the season with Kruger/Kindle at OLB and McPhee/Jones at DE I think there will be a very noticeable regression in the run-defense and getting Upshaw would be a nice option to counter that. He adds more than that though and the pass-rush will be improved as well. He weighed in at 278 at his pro day though and that seems a bit strange to me.

Sanu would be a good value but a bad fit. Like db424 said he's a terrible fit in Cameron's vertical offense and one of the most criticized things about Sanu is his inability to separate. A lot of the balls thrown his way were contested because he couldn't get away from the defender and that's not going to change against NFL defenses.

I'm coming around on Iloka. That's about where his value is in my opinion and he's not as tight-hipped as I originally thought. Still might not be an ideal fit for a center-fielder type of role that the Ravens need their FS to be if Pollard is going to be the starter at SS.

Turbin would be a nice addition in the 4th. He's lower on my list than guys like Pead and Pierce but I don't think they'll last that long either.

Burfict isn't bad in the 5th round but I would still probably pass on him. Everything we've heard about his performance in the combine/post-season interviews has been negative and that was a big sticking point for me. I just read that he hasn't been scheduled for any team visits and that's not something you like to see.

Miller probably won't last that long. I think he would be a nice pick if the 4th or 5th round so getting him in the 6th would be great. I'm not getting my hopes up about that though.

No idea who Francis is.

I wouldn't be upset with this draft. It hits a lot of needs with players and values I like.

bmore4life815 · Joined: 22 Nov 2010 Posts: 3427 Location: Climbing up M&T

I like this draft, ceejay.

Turbin is also a guy that's caught my attention recently. I expected for us to pursue a downhill runner like Jackie Battle in free agency, but Turbin's acceleration and top-end speed makes him much scarier IMO; definitely a dark horse in this class, and one I'd certainly be happy getting.
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