Well, the James and Travis mock drafts find us in a very strange and different situation than last year but the one thing that still reigns true is that we both almost got as many picks right last year as Kiper and McShay did in their mock drafts. While we used to have aspirations of being draft experts on TV it seems this year won't be the year but our maybe our goal was too low as Travis and I will be drafting like real general managers this year as we will both be drafting from our couches just like the real general managers. Maybe this is our year to prove our value to a NFL team because we both have a lot of experience making draft picks from our couch as we are veteran fantasy football general managers, I mean we couldn't do worse than some have done in year's past. In all honesty though we wanted to keep up our yearly mock drafts to give everyone something fun to read while we’re all quarantined and looking forward to the end of this virus. So without any further ado, here is the Quarantine 2020 Mock Draft and since I had a little extra time it also includes a second round but the descriptions are cut way down, as in none at all. Round 1 1. Cincinnati – Joe Burrows, QB, LSU SHOCKED!! I know this one just shocked you all because no one saw this being my first overall pick or maybe you just said “duh!” of course. Honestly it just seems like too obvious of a choice with him being from Ohio and I’m not going to worry about explaining this one past that. 2. Washington – Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama NOW YOU ARE SHOCKED!! I know right now if Travis is reading this he just threw his phone against the wall. It’s not the obvious pick here and I honestly think it could not be the Redskins taking him but I do believe he goes at this pick. Just one year ago he was the sure fire number one pick and there are a lot of teams needing quarterbacks including the Redskins. If he stays in Washington I can see it being a good fit for them because Ron Rivera will want his own quarterback and who better to select than a guy Tua who ran a similar offense at Alabama. It could be a gamble to draft a quarterback again but who better to take that gamble than Riverboat Ron himself. 3. Detroit – Chase Young, DE, Ohio St The Lions are the biggest fan of the Redskins pick as they pick up the person many believe is the best player in the draft. The Lions offense is pretty solid when healthy so Patricia being a defensive guy is thrilled when he gets a pass rusher that can terrorize quarterbacks in the NFC North for the next decade especially with passers like Rodgers and Cousins being on the other side of the ball four games out of the year. 4. NY Giants – Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville The Giants need to find someone to protect Daniel Jones unless they want to see a David Carr like scenario in Houston play out before them in New York. Dave Gettleman believes in having a strong offensive line and seeing his quarterback get hit constantly can’t sit well with him so while it may be a reach he gets who many consider the best tackle in the draft to protect his franchise quarterback for the next decade. 5. Miami – Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon Miami finds their quarterback of the future even though it’s not the quarterback they had originally planned on it being. With the top two quarterbacks gone off the board the Dolphins grab Herbert who brings a strong arm and mobility to the Miami offense and keep intact their picks to help build around Herbert going into the 2020 season. 6. LA Chargers – Jordon Love, QB, Utah St The Chargers have to find their replacement for Phillip Rivers because you don’t let an All-Pro quarterback leave just to go with a journeyman quarterback. Love has been rising up the boards and some experts believe he may have more upside than most of the quarterbacks in the draft. With the possibility of Taylor or even Cam Newton starting next year at quarterback it will give Love plenty of time to get acclimated to the NFL before taking over late in 2020 or to start the 2021 season. 7. Carolina – Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson When Luke Kuechly retired at the end of last season it was a shocker to everyone in the NFL and to the Panthers organization as well. With Simmons the Panthers pick up probably the most athletic defensive player in the draft and will be a great tool for the new Carolina defense. Dave Tepper comes from Pittsburgh who built around solid defensive players and they get just that with Simmons along with a great leader to replace Kuechly on that side of the ball. 8. Arizona – Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa The Cardinals need to find some help to protect Kyler Murray and find that with Wirfs as he will give Murray plenty of time to find DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald downfield along with helping pave the way for Kenyan Drake and Murray running out of the backfield. Arizona’s offense could really be something to watch this season. 9. Jacksonville – Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio St After trading Jalen Ramsey to the Rams the Jaguars have never really been able to fill that whole on the defense and with Okudah they get the best defensive back in the draft to fall into their lap. With the run of quarterbacks early in the draft it causes one of the best players in the draft to fall farther than some thought but it’s a welcome sight for Jacksonville. 10. Cleveland – Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia It is rare in recent drafts for the Browns to have a clear need but that’s the case this year and my friend Jed is thrilled to finally read those words. The Browns need to find an answer at left tackle because they haven’t been able to find a replacement since Joe Thomas retired. With Thomas they get just that and find someone to protect Baker Mayfield and run block for Nick Chubb, another former Bulldog now calling Cleveland home. 11. NY Jets – Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama When Robby Anderson left for Carolina it took away a key weapon for Sam Darnold and the Jets will have to find a way to replace him in their offense. Jeudy is a very similar wide receiver to Julio Jones and should be able to team with Darnold to give the Jets a strong combo for the next decade or so. 12. Las Vegas – CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma With this pick the Raiders add another weapon for Derek Carr to pair with Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller. Lamb is an exciting player who averaged over twenty yards per reception and brings that flash to Vegas as the Raiders settle into their new home next season. 13. San Francisco f/IND – Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama After falling just short in the Super Bowl the Niners find another weapon to add to Kyle Shannahan’s playbook. Ruggs adds some more speed at the wide receiver position and gives defenses a matchup nightmare against San Francisco when lined up on the field at the same time with Deebo Samuel. 14. Tampa Bay – Josh Jones, OL, Houston Last season Jameis Winston was sacked A LOT which probably played into him throwing thirty interceptions. While Tom Brady is a legendary quarterback and a key pickup for the Buccaneers they are going to need to find someone to protect him as Jones is just the player to do that. If Jones can give Brady time to find the numerous receivers for Tampa Bay they could be doing some celebrating come February in the bay area. 15. Denver – Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson With a young quarterback with a strong over taking over the reins of the Broncos offense last season and going 5-0 to end the season Denver has to be wanting to add some weapons around him. With Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon in the backfield and Noah Fant at the tight end position it’s going to be key to add a tall target to aim at in the red zone and that’s where Higgins enters stage right. Higgins was a key contributor in Clemson’s offense and will be that same type player for Denver next season. 16. Atlanta – Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn The Falcons saw Vic Beasley leave town and are in need of an upgrade on the defensive line and a combination of Brown and Grady Jarrett on the inside of the defensive line would make it tough for opposing defenses to run the ball. Atlanta lucks up by having one of the strongest players in the draft fall to them here because some people seemed to have concerns from his combine performance. 17. Dallas – K’Lavon Chaisson, DE, LSU Dallas adds some help to their defensive line giving them a young pass rusher off a championship team at LSU. In what has been a weak division the last few seasons a pass rusher like Chaisson could be the difference maker in getting the Cowboys to the playoffs in the 2020 season. 18. Miami f/PIT – Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin During free agency the Dolphins added Jordan Howard at the running back position but they’re going to need another running back to help them take pressure off of Herbert. Also, when the best running back in the draft is sitting there and you have three first round picks you have the ability to take a chance on what Taylor may become in the NFL. A combination of Taylor and Howard would be a pretty good one-two punch to bring into what looks to be a competitive AFC East. 19. Las Vegas f/CHI – AJ Terrell, CB, Clemson Jon Gruden it seems has been a big fan of college football the last few years and he must have watched Clemson play a good bit as he has added many Tigers off their pretty impressive run the last few years. While Terrell had one bad game against LSU last year (not many people had good games against their offense) he has been a pretty reliable player the last three years including a great game against Alabama last year. Gruden goes back to the Clemson well looking for another steal at the twenty-ninth pick and he’ll either look like a genius or the insane person Travis acts like he is in his mock draft. 20. Jacksonville f/LAR – Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina The Jaguars added Okuah at the ninth pick and add to their defensive depth by getting Kinlaw here at the twentieth pick. Kinlaw is a tough player to judge as at times he looked unblockable and then at times you forgot he was on the field. Jacksonville will hope that the first player is the one that shows up and helps solidify the Jaguars defense against a strong AFC South. 21. Philadelphia – Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU When the end of the season came around last year the Eagles lack of depth at wide receiver was apparent. Jefferson had an impressive game in the national championship and will give Carson Wentz another reliable target while giving the Eagles depth at a much needed position. 22. Minnesota f/BUF – Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU This offseason has been a tough one for the Vikings secondary and they will look to replenish their losses at secondary with the lead cornerback off a LSU defense that held a strong Clemson offense in check for most of the national championship game. Fulton will be a very welcome sight to the Vikings defense. 23. New England – Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma Belichek is without Tom Brady for the first time in years but I don’t think he’s going to panic to find a new quarterback and instead just build his team like he always does, with defense. Murray is an impressive linebacker out of a conference not known for playing a lot of defense and it just seems like a Patriot’s type pick. 24. New Orleans – CJ Henderson, CB, Florida In a division that has the look of the Big 12 when it comes to offensive firepower every team is going to need some extra help in the secondary. Henderson comes from a strong defense in the SEC and will be ready to step up when his number is called upon next year against some tough competition. 25. Minnesota – Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama Just a few picks later the Vikings continue to add more pieces to their secondary by getting another strong defensive back in Diggs. 26.Miami f/HOU – Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama The Dolphins add to their secondary and use their third first round pick of the 2020 draft to add depth to their defense as they continue to look to fill in pieces that go along with their signings during free agency. McKinney was a key piece of the Alabama secondary over the last three seasons. 27. Seattle – AJ Epenesa, DE, Iowa With Jadeveon Clowney possibly heading elsewhere in free agency the Seahawks will have to look to add to their pass rush and they get a steal as Epenesa falls to them here at the twenty-seventh pick. Epenesa was a bright spot on the Hawkeyes defensive line last year and should be a key addition to the Seahawks defense this year. 28. Baltimore – Cesar Ruiz, OG, Michigan When you need to make additions to your offensive line and you’re not really able to do a lot of scouting in person, you go with someone you trust like your brother who was Ruiz’s college coach. The Ravens want to add some strength to their offensive line and Ruiz fits just the type of player that they are looking to put on their team. 29. Tennessee – Austin Jackson, T, USC After an amazing run in the playoffs last season the Titans were bound to lose some players and one of those was tackle Jack Conklin. They will need to look at replacing him and they find Jackson who may not completely replace him but will be a quality replacement. 30. Green Bay – Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor Aaron Rodgers always seems to make whatever wide receivers he has work but it’s time for the Packers to invest in another option for Rodgers and that is Mims. Mims brings an explosive dynamic to the Green Bay offense and at 6’3” a nice target for Rodgers in the redzone. 31. San Francisco – JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio St Dobbins brings a tough running back to the 49ers offense who impressed many in the playoff game against Clemson before getting injured. Adding the lightning to the team earlier in the draft they add the thunder here and find a player that will help San Francisco control their ground game. 32. Kansas City – D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia The Super Bowl champions add another playmaker to their offense that took them to a championship last season. Swift comes from a long line of strong running backs from Georgia and hopes to carry that success into next season. Round 2 33. Cincinnati – Patrick Queen, LB, LSU
34. Indianapolis f/WAS –Laviska Shenault Jr, WR, Colorado 35. Detroit – Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma 36. NY Giants – Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU 37. LA Chargers – Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin 38. Carolina – Antoine Winfield Jr, S, Minnesota 39. Miami – Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Penn St 40. Houston f/ARI – Marlon Davidson, DL, Auburn 41. Cleveland – Grant Delpit, S, LSU 42. Jacksonville – Ashtyn Davis, S, California 43. Chicago f/LV – Isaiah Wilson, OL, Georgia 44. Indianapolis – Jacob Eason, QB, Washington 45. Tampa Bay – Cam Akers, RB, Florida St 46. Denver – Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU 47. Atlanta – Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Auburn 48. NY Jets – Prince Tega Wanogho, OL, Auburn 49. Pittsburgh – Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina 50. Chicago – Bryce Hall, CB, Virginia 51. Dallas – Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah 52. LA Rams – Julian Okwara, Edge, Notre Dame 53. Philadelphia – Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio St 54. Buffalo – Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona St 55. Baltimore f/NE via ATL – Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU 56. Miami f/NO – Lloyd Cushenberry, OL, LSU 57. Houston – Terrell Lewis, Edge, Alabama 58. Minnesota – Kyle Dugger, S, Lenior-Rhyne 59. Seattle – KJ Hamler, WR, Penn St 60. Baltimore – Jordan Elliot, DL, Missouri 61. Tennessee – Troy Pride Jr, CB, Notre Dame 62. Green Bay – Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian St 63. Kansas City f/SF – Cameron Dentzler, CB, Mississippi St 64. Seattle f/KC – John Simpson, OL, Clemson
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March Madness is over, now it’s time for APRIL CRAZINESS!!! If you’ve ever read Travis’ mock draft you’ll know why it’s called April Craziness. I mean he’s literally probably going to compare some player to a rhino and use a reference that no one understands but will use it more times than is necessary. It seems that ESPN, Fox, and NFL Network don’t appreciate the genius of our mock drafts and have dodged being a part of APRIL CRAZINESS so far so this year we’re hoping PBS will soon call realizing our genius and want to get into the NFL Draft coverage game. So by next year we should be the host for PBS NFL Draft coverage and hopefully they won’t think we’re talking about some falcon rescue organization or something.
Anyways it’s almost time for James’ Mock Draft 29. Why mock draft 29? That’s because it’s the number of Press Awards the members of the Piedmont Pick’em Show won this year and I feel like that’s something worth celebrating. So without further nonsense, because Travis will have five more paragraphs of that for you, here is the 2019 James Mock Draft 29: 1. Cardinals – Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma Why does this make sense? I don’t really know but did hiring Kliff Kingsbury as a NFL head coach make sense at the time they hired him? I think most people would say no but the Cardinals do what they want, they don’t answer to anyone!! Well, not unless this whole thing doesn’t work out and fans quit buying tickets. Anyways, I think Murray has a lot of talent with a great arm and amazing speed. He has the talent to play in the league and I think the only question will be his size against other NFL players. That question is something that can only be answered a few years from now and we will see along with all of the Cardinals fans. 2. 49ers – Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio St Bosa seems to be the person most people believe in the best talent in this draft and the 49ers have to feel lucky that he falls to them at number two in the draft. Yep, that’s about it. 3. Jets – Josh Allen, DE, Kentucky The Jets have done pretty well over the last few years drafting defensive linemen and here they get to choose the best edge rusher in the draft behind Bosa. After focusing on solidifying their quarterback position in last year’s draft the Jets go back to what they know best, drafting defensive linemen. 4. Raiders – Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio St Am I the only one that misses Jon Gruden’s quarterback show before the draft? I have to feel like Gruden misses it too and will have every quarterback in just to relive his old days at ESPN and will decide at some point he needs another quarterback to run the show with the Raiders despite Derek Carr having pretty good success. Haskins will be the face of the Las Vegas Raiders after one more year of Carr in Oakland. 5. Tampa Bay – Quiennen Williams, DL Alabama With quarterback whisperer Bruce Arians now running the show in Tampa Bay, he hasn’t found a quarterback he doesn’t think he can make great and he will try to work that magic on Jameis Winston. With that being said, what’s the best way to help your offense? It’s to have a strong defense and the Buccaneers help that side of the ball by drafting one of the best defensive lineman in the draft. Williams who was talked about as a possible number one pick is too good of a value to pass up here for Tampa Bay. 6. Giants – Jonah Willams, OT, Alabama As a Panthers fan for years I have learned one thing, David Gettleman is all about investing in the offensive line. A coincidence that the Giants really need some help at that position and Williams is just sitting here waiting for his name to be called. The Giants will wait for next year or later on in the draft to find Eli’s eventual replacement unless they can work out a trade for Rosen but this year they’ll find someone who can at least protect Eli and his replacements blindside for the next few years. 7. Jaguars – Devin White, LB, LSU The Jaguars hope they have found their franchise quarterback by getting Nick Foles and that hopefully fixes their biggest problem on the team now it’s time to help strengthen the best part of their team, the defense. Adding a linebacker with the skills and football knowledge like Devin White can only make the Jaguars defense that much better. 8. Lions – Ed Oliver, DT, Houston The Lions could use some help on the defensive line and with Matt Patricia in his second year with Detroit needs to show Lions fans why he was hired and adding a talent like Oliver on the defensive line should help show that. The Lions offense is in good hands with Matt Stafford, now it’s time to add a dominant defensive lineman like they used to have with Suh years ago. 9. Bills – Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson Buffalo needs help on the interior of the defensive line and they are well known for drafting Clemson players in the first round of the draft. Lawrence will give the Bills a player that can be disruptive along their defensive line for years to come and should flourish in a Sean McDermott led defense. 10. Denver – Drew Lock, QB, Missouri John Elway learned his lesson about not having a replacement behind Peyton Manning when he retired. With Flacco hopefully taking on the role Manning had a few years ago he also adds a strong armed quarterback that he hopes can learn from Flacco and be ready to take over when Flacco’s days in Denver are over. 11. Bengals – Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida Cincinnati needs some help on their offensive line and with Taylor they get that help. Taylor will immediately be able to help protect Andy Dalton and add a strong presence at the right tackle position to help with the running game. 12. Packers – TJ Hockenson, TE, Iowa The Packers are always looking for more weapons to help Aaron Rodgers and with Hockenson they get the best catching tight end in the draft who is used to making catches in frigid temperatures that are similar to the ones that they see at Lambeau Field. With Hockenson, the Packers offense will be that much more lethal and will be an even bigger nightmare for the NFC North defenses 13. Dolphins – Greedy Williams, CB, LSU Miami is a team with a new head coach that could really go any direction with this pick but with Flores coming over from New England I’m pretty sure he knows well they’ll need to be able to stop the Patriots passing game at some point and the first way to do that is by drafting the best corner on the board. Plus with a team that may struggle some this year how much fun will the marketing team for the Dolphins have with a defensive back named Greedy. 14. Falcons – Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson The Falcons have a need for help on the defensive line and Wilkins will not only bring that but a great leadership to the team. Wilkins was known for his great leadership skills with Clemson and I think that will be just as big of bonus as his abilities on the field. 15. Washington – DK Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss Washington loss two quarterbacks last season to injury and while most people think they’ll draft a quarterback I just don’t see one here that’s a lot better than they could get in the second or third round. With that being said whoever quarterbacks the Redskins this year will need targets to throw to and with the numbers that Metcalf put up at the NFL Combine the Redskins get hopefully their number one wide receiver for the next ten years. 16. Panthers – Garrett Bradbury, C, NC State As a Panthers fan I feel like the team could really use a pass rusher here but I feel like they could find that in the second round. A talent like Bradbury could be a staple on the Panthers offensive line for years to come though and he has experience in blocking in an offense similar to Carolina’s offense. Bradbury also had a great showing at the NFL Combine. 17. Giants (from Cleveland) – Daniel Jones, QB, Duke The Giants were planning on waiting until next year for their replacement for Eli but Jones just fell perfectly to them in this mock draft. With Williams taking over at LT with the fourth pick the Giants can now use this pick to get Jones and allow him a year to sit under Manning before taking over the reins of the New York offense next season. 18. Vikings – DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia Minnesota could use a running back here to team with Dalvin Cook after he has struggled with injuries early in his career but there isn’t a running back to take at this spot. So the Vikings will turn to another need and add to their defensive backfield by adding a keystone of Georgia’s defense the last few years with Baker. He should help solidify a Vikings secondary that has to face the Green Bay and Detroit offenses twice a year. 19. Titans – Noah Fant, TE, Iowa It’s rare to see two players from the same position from the same school be drafted in the first round but Iowa had the two best tight ends in the country play for them last year. The Titans could really use another weapon for Marcus Mariotta and Fant could be that weapon. Fant will give Mariotta a go to target similar to Greg Olsen for Cam Newton in Carolina or how Gronk has been for Brady in New England. 20. Steelers – Devin Bush, LB, Michigan The Steelers have to feel great that a player like Bush falls to them this far down in the draft and fills a need for the team. Pittsburgh for years was known for their defense but recently has counted more on their offense to win games. With this pick the Steelers bring their focus back to the defensive side of the ball. 21. Seahawks – Montez Sweat, DE, Miss St Sweat put up huge numbers at the combine but has had some red flags that I believe will cause him to fall this far in the draft. The Seahawks need some help on their defensive line and if Sweat can produce like he did at Mississippi St then he could be the start of the rebuild of that once impressive Seahawks defense. 22. Ravens – Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson Ferrell was a part of one of the best defensive lines in college football history and while he falls a little further in the draft than he may want, he may end up in one of the best situations. Ferrell leaves a Clemson team that hung its hat on defense and joins a NFL team that takes the same approach. If you’re a defensive player you have to be happy if you end up with the Ravens. 23. Texans – Andre Dillard, OT, Washington St Houston has their quarterback of the future and now it’s time to find his blindside blocker for the next decade. While Dillard may need some work at run blocking he comes from a school that has him quite skilled at pass blocking and that’s exactly what the Texans need. 24. Oakland (from Chicago) – Jeffrey Simmons, DT, Miss St After drafting his franchise quarterback of the future Gruden uses his pick for Khalil Mack to address his defensive line and get Jeffrey Simmons to solidify the middle of the Raiders defensive line. 25. Eagles – Byron Murphy, CB, Washington The Eagles need help in the secondary and Murphy is the best cornerback still on the board. Jim Schwartz is one of the best defensive coordinators in the game and this just adds him another weapon to help get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. 26. Colts – Rashan Gary, Edge, Michigan For years many mock drafts said that the Colts should draft a pass rusher despite their offensive line having more holes than a poorly built dam but now that they have addressed that in the last few drafts they can now address their pass rush. Gary was a huge recruit coming out of high school and had a good career at Michigan despite some people believing he was playing out of position. With his natural talent the Colts take a chance that they’re getting a steal here at this pick that can help their pass rush for many years to come. 27. Oakland (from Dallas) – JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford The Raiders addressed their defensive line with the pick they got for Mack and will now address their wide receiver spot with the pick they got for Amari Cooper. With Whiteside the Raiders get a big physical wide receiver with good speed that can block and out jump most defensive backs for the football. He will automatically become a scoring threat for whoever lines up at quarterback for the Raiders next year and years to come. 28. Chargers – Dre’Mont Jones, DL, Ohio St The San Diego, I mean Los Angeles, Chargers offense is still the best part of the team as Phillip Rivers and his band of wide receivers put up big numbers once again last year. If the Chargers are going to get to the Super Bowl though they will need to address their defense and they do that here by drafting Jones to hopefully add a piece that will help against a tough AFC West. 29. Chiefs – Brian Burns, Edge, Florida St Kansas City has their franchise quarterback and many offensive weapons but this offseason have loss some important players on the defensive side of the ball. The Chiefs will look to restock their pass rush depth by drafting Burns whose stock has fallen only because of the lack of success his Seminoles teams have experienced in recent years. In the AFC West with lots of quality quarterbacks the Chiefs will need a pass rusher who can disrupt some of those passers. 30. Packers (from New Orleans) – David Montgomery, RB, Iowa St The Packers have pieced together their running back position for many years and it’s time for them to address that need in the draft. Montgomery is a tough runner between the tackles and can also catch the ball coming out of the backfield. Green Bay has for years counted on Aaron Rodgers making players better, now it’s time to give him some weapons to make his job a little easier. 31. Rams – Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma Before I even start this pick it’s hard to find a glaring weakness on this Rams team and when you’re in a case like that you tend to have to look for something really hard. With the high powered Rams offense being kept in check during the Super Bowl it can never hurt to add another weapon to your offense so the Rams add Kyler Murray’s favorite target Marquise Brown and hope he becomes Goff’s favorite target. 32. Patriots – Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina Another year and the Patriots have won another Super Bowl but this year they’ll be coming into a season without Gronkowski as Brady’s go to target. In fact this year the Patriots will have to find that target this season and Samuel could be that player. He was hurt at South Carolina a lot but when he was healthy he was dangerous including on kickoff returns which would be an added bonus for the Patriots. When you’ve been as good as New England lately you can take a chance like this and hope it really pays off. Well there you have it, the 2019 James Mock Draft 29. Did I have NFL Insiders I talked to about this? Sure, why not? I mean I asked Siri to call “NFL General Managers” but I think she misunderstood because I got a list of pizza restaurants. If you hate who I picked for your team don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Anyways, that’s it for this year’s mock draft and I hope you all will be around friends or family enjoying the draft whether it’s making fun of your friend’s team for making terrible draft picks (we really hate that Jed’s Cleveland Browns have started doing things that make sense) or cursing and cheering your own team’s picks. We’ll see you here next year or hopefully on the PBS coverage of the 2020 NFL Draft. So, funny thing….ESPN didn’t contact me and Travis last year about becoming their new draft experts, something about Kiper and McShay already being under contract for quite a few more years. While we’re disappointed they didn’t want us to join the mothership we’ve still got high hopes and this year we’re expecting we’ll get a call from NBC Sports after they read these mock drafts, they need some true draft experts right? Anyways it’s that time of year again, it’s time for JAMES AND TRAVIS’ MOCK DRAFTS and the great thing about ours is that you don’t have to pay to be an Insider to read them!! You may want to savor reading them for free one last time this year because next year I’m sure some major network will want you to be paying for this kind of insight, I mean I think we’ve spent a combined zero hours talking to NFL executives about what they’re going to do this year in this draft, unless you count Jed and Richard as executives for the Browns and Vikings.
Anyways, without further ado here is James’ Mock Draft .303 and I bet you’re wondering why I named it that. The .303 Draft is the lifetime batting average of Braves great Chipper Jones and it gives me a chance to congratulate him on being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame!! See, now Chipper Jones is reading my mock draft, there’s no way NBC Sports doesn’t add us as their draft experts now!! 1. Cleveland Browns – Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State The Cleveland Browns in the past have always been an interesting draft slot to watch and while they still are it’s for a different reason this year. In year’s past you would always watch the Browns picks just to see what dumb move they were going to make (while we laughed at poor Jed, at some point we finally just started feeling bad for him about his team’s terrible draft picks) this year seems a little different especially with how well they have been doing in free agency. I know a lot of people are projecting them to go quarterback, I’m not sold that any of these top three quarterbacks are that much better than the other one and if that’s the case one of them will still be available at the fourth pick. If the Browns feel the same way that I do then you have to take the best player in the draft and that seems to be Saquon Barkley. He put up some amazing numbers at Penn State and then backed up those with an amazing performance at the combine. At some point the Browns have to start using their draft equity to bring in players that are difference makers and that starts with this pick. 2. New York Giants – Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming If there is one team that no one seems to be able to predict, it’s the NY Giants. With a new coaching staff and a new GM there isn’t a lot of information to go on with their thinking about this team towards the draft. While I am a Carolina Panthers fan I do know that Dave Gettleman loves to invest in the offensive and defensive lines but there are a lot of people that seem to think it’s way too early for any of the lineman in this draft. I’m expecting Gettleman to trade back from here but since we agreed to no trades in our mock drafts, I’m going to say the Giants will draft Josh Allen and give him a few years to develop behind Eli Manning much the way Rivers did with the Chargers behind Brees. In case you were wondering what I really meant by all that, the Bills will probably trade up to two and take Josh Allen but I didn’t predict a trade. 3. New York Jets from Indianapolis Colts – Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA My good friend Dan Minkin was thrilled when he saw a report that the Jets are already preparing for the 2019 free agency season, I mean there’s no better ways to sell season tickets for this season than to start preparing for the next!! Anyways, with that thought process in mind you don’t trade up to the third pick unless you have a player in mind and I think that’s exactly what the Jets have done. The rumors that the Jets were high on Rosen has been rampant since last season so why else would they trade up unless they were almost sure they could get him, I mean unless they think it’s the 2019 NFL Draft of course. 4. Cleveland Browns from Houston Texans – Sam Darnold, QB, USC The Browns, the geniuses of the draft!! No, I really don’t mean that as a joke. I mean I don’t know if Darnold is the answer but what I do know is the Browns have to finally get this right at quarterback and with Tyrod Taylor penciled in at quarterback for next season it will finally give them someone who can take the pressure off the Browns from rushing a young quarterback along. Also, with Barkley already in the fold, and if he lives up to expectations, it should make the job a little easier for Darnold when he finally takes over the reins of the team a year from now. 5. Denver Broncos – Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State I keep seeing everyone projecting Baker Mayfield here but I really don’t know if he’s an upgrade over Case Keenum. I know the Broncos need to sort out who the quarterback of the future is going to be but I think the Broncos really need to work on improving their defense and what better way to do that than to draft the best pass rusher in the draft. When the Broncos were winning games with Brock a few years ago it was because they had a dominant defense, something they didn’t have last year. While Keenum may not be Peyton Manning I think he’s good enough to win if your defense gives you the chance and with this pick I think they’re taking a step in that direction. 6. Indianapolis Colts from New York Jets – Quenton Nelson, OL, Notre Dame While I keep seeing Chubb being mocked to the Colts, I think missing out on him may actually be helping save the Colts from themselves. The Colts have been all about drafting pass rushers but what they should have been doing is protecting Andrew Luck from other people’s pass rushers. With this pick the Colts get the best offensive lineman in this draft to team up with Ryan Kelly to start forming a good offensive line around Luck. If I were the Colts I would even use some of the picks I got from trading back to get back into the first round to draft another offensive lineman later on. 7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama Tampa Bay seems to need a lot of help in the secondary and anytime that I read a team needs help in the secondary that means they could use help at just about any one of those positions. With that in mind I decided that they would probably be best served with the most versatile secondary player in this draft and that’s Minkah Fitzpatrick. I mean it’s kind of hard not to draft a defensive player from Alabama right? 8. Chicago Bears – Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio St. The Bears seem to be a team that could use help in many different areas but there doesn’t seem to a lot of players available this high that fit their team needs. In that case, it’s probably best to build up an area where you lack some depth and with Denzel Ward the Bears get the best corner back in the draft and help to give them some depth at the cornerback position. 9. San Francisco 49ers – Derwin James, S, Florida St When the 49ers drafted Eric Reid at safety a few years ago I thought they were getting a steal and I still think he’s a very good football player but the team doesn’t seem to agree with me. I guess that’s why they’re NFL executives and I’m writing on a website that talks about football and barbeque. Anyways, since the 49ers decided to move on from Reid it only makes sense that they draft someone to be his replacement and get the person who I believe is the best defensive back in this draft. 10. Oakland Raiders – Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia Gruden is finally back on the sidelines!! I’m not sure if I’m happier that he is back coaching or that I won’t have to hear the LITERALLY HUNDREDS of rumors about where he will be coaching next year (I think he was rumored to Tennessee twenty of those times). With Gruden back for another go around with the Raiders I think he learned in Tampa that having a strong defense leads to championships and with this this pick he’s getting a player who can help solidify a defense that is already pretty good. With Smith he’s getting someone who seems to love to play football and is an impressive linebacker. 11. Miami Dolphins – Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma I know lots of people are predicting that Mayfield will be drafted in the Top 5, I’m not sure I’m sold on that. Heck, I’m not really even positive about it here but I think the Dolphins have to find someone that can be an insurance policy just in case Tanneyhill isn’t quite right when he returns and can be an option to be his replacement maybe in a few years. Mayfield may be a great quarterback in the league or he may not be, just like any other quarterback that is drafted, but I think being drafted here doesn’t put as much pressure on him to be great and may be worth the risk for the Dolphins. 12. Buffalo Bills from Cincinnati Bengals –Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama The Bills in this mock draft didn’t have enough picks to get up to the number two pick to draft Allen so they are stuck at twelve. If you moved up this high it seems like you should at least get the best player at some position and it just so happens that they do just that as the best wide receiver in this draft is still available. While the Bills weren’t able to get high enough to get their quarterback of the future, they do give their current quarterback AJ McCarron a valuable offensive weapon. 13. Washington Redskins – Vita Vea, DT, Washington When I consider who the Redskins should draft every year I often consult Travis and I often get the same response, “Some large person to play on the defensive line” and most years his beloved team just disappoints him and drafts someone he doesn’t understand why they were drafted. The year 2018 is different for Travis though, this year he won the Journalist of the Year in South Carolina, his paper won for the best weekly newspaper in South Carolina and now his beloved Redskins draft the type of player he has wanted for years. After Hurst had the medical red flag at the combine Vea has become the best defensive tackle on most lists and pairing him up with a healthy Jonathan Allen should give the Redskins a formidable defensive line next year. 14. Green Bay Packers – Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa While it seems that Aaron Rodgers could make Green Bay’s offense go no matter what skill players are around him, the defense hasn’t been as lucky. With the defenses struggles the last few years the Packers fired Dom Capers and will now implement a new scheme. One of their biggest problems over the years has been in the secondary and here the Packers try to fix that problem with Jackson, a player that is used to playing in conditions very similar to those he’ll face in Green Bay. Now, if he can find a wide receiver named James Van Der Beek to match up against, the Green Bay marketing team will be thrilled (It’s a Dawson’s Creek reference, I know it was terrible). 15. Arizona Cardinals – Mike Hughes, CB, UCF I keep seeing that everyone wants to mock the Cardinals drafting Lamar Jackson but I just can’t see drafting someone people aren’t sold will play quarterback in the NFL all on the desperation to have a franchise quarterback. While I think Jackson will surprise people and be a pretty good NFL player I don’t think him going here is ideal for him nor the team. What the Cardinals do need to address though is their secondary and with Steve Wilks being a former defensive backs coach it only seems like a perfect fit to draft Hughes, a key player off of the defense that some like to refer to as the National Champions. 16. Baltimore Ravens – Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech The Ravens have always been known for their strong defense and one of the reasons they are known for that is because they invest into making it a strong part of their team. With Edmunds the Ravens are picking up a strong linebacker from a college that is the mirror image of the Ravens because they build around defense and have just enough offense to win. In other words, the Hokies love defense and the Ravens love defense, Edmunds should fit in just perfectly. 17. Los Angeles Chargers – Mike McGlinchery, OT, Notre Dame The Chargers are very similar to the Colts, they need help protecting their franchise quarterback and in this case they both get help from the same university. The Chargers have been needing to solidify their offensive line for years and drafting McGlinchery should help in that goal. 18. Seattle Seahawks – Will Hernandez, OL, UTEP 19. Dallas Cowboys – Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan I really should have consulted some of my friends who are Cowboys fans on this pick but like I mentioned earlier, the zero hours of talking to NFL executives really cut into my research time. Before the medical red flag at the combine it was pretty much a given that Hurst would be drafted near the Top 10 but since that red flag his stock has fallen somewhat. The Cowboys have been known to be willing to take a chance on players that other teams have gotten scared away from, while sometimes it has worked out and sometimes it hasn’t the Cowboys are hoping this time it will be the prior and help them sure up their defensive line. 20. Detroit Lions – Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma The Lions not too long ago invested a lot of money into Matt Stafford and their new head coach comes from an organization that understands how important it is to protect your franchise quarterback. While the franchise may assure their new coach that they have people already in place that can do just that Patricia will probably want to be sure that they do have the right person. Brown is projected as the best left tackle in this draft by some and the Lions will hope he turns out to be just that. 21. Cincinnati Bengals from Buffalo Bills – Connor Williams, OT, Texas The Bengals resigned Marvin Lewis in the offseason after several reports that he was fired, it was almost like they were trying to impersonate Cleveland from recent years. Anyways, the Bengals never found a replacement for Andrew Whitworth when he left for the Rams and I think last season showed them that they need to make sure to address that position. With Williams the Bengals get a very good offensive lineman who they hope can make the Whitworth absence a lot less visible this season. 22. Buffalo Bills from Kansas City Chiefs – Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma St Earlier in the draft the Bills missed out on getting one of the top four passers in the draft but did draft the best wide receiver. With their second pick of the first round the Bills get the quarterback that I believe actually may be the best one in the draft. I saw Rudolph play in high school and lots of people tried to find flaws in his game but he went on to win a state title and the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. While people are trying to find flaws in his game now he leaves Oklahoma State as the school’s leading passer and I think may be the steal of this draft. If he becomes the quarterback I expect, the Bills will have found their franchise quarterback and kept a lot of draft picks. 23. New England Patriots from LA Rams – Harold Landry, LB, Boston College The Patriots need to address a very weak defense that seemed to struggle in the last few years. Was it Patricia's defensive scheme or was it the lack of players? We'll see this coming season but I don't see the Patriots front office leaving a chance for them to get blamed. With Landry they get a strong linebacker that could be a defensive anchor of the front seven for the next few years. 24. Carolina Panthers – Justin Reid, S, Stanford When I look at mock drafts I see a lot of people that believe the Panthers have to draft a wide receiver or offensive lineman but I think their free agency signings have helped address some of those needs. The one thing that I see when I look at the Panthers is that they really need to solidify the secondary, a place that the Panthers have been piecing together options over the last few years. The Panthers haven't had a true franchise safety since the days of Mike Minter but they may finally find one here with Reid. 25. Tennessee Titans – Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M The Titans are a team that is young and only seems to be getting better but playing in a division with a defense like Jacksonville should make the team want to give Mariotta as many weapons as possible and with Christian Kirk the Titans add that weapon. Kirk put up some pretty impressive numbers at Texas A&M in their high powered offense which is to be expected but when Kirk was on the field it always seemed like he was the best player on the field. 26. Atlanta Falcons – Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA Even though the Falcons defense collapsed in the Super Bowl two years ago they came back last season and had a pretty good season. In the offseason it always seems like the Falcons are looking for another pass rusher and this offseason has been no different than the rest. With Davenport the Falcons get a player who in a lot of people’s opinions is the best pass rusher behind Chubb in this draft. I imagine Falcons fans hope this is the answer for another pass rusher or this will be like Groundhogs Day and we’ll be repeating this same conversation all over again next year. 27. New Orleans Saints – Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina It seems that the Saints offense hasn’t been the same since Jimmy Graham left. They have tried to replace Graham with many options but none have seemed to work out. As a Clemson fan it pains me to mock a South Carolina player ahead of any Clemson players but sometimes you just have to put a rivalry aside for the hopes of a better mock draft. Hurst I think answers the Saints questions at tight end. 28. Pittsburgh Steelers – Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville With Ben Roethlisberger getting older it may be time for the Steelers to start looking into a possible replacement for him. With the Steelers Lamar Jackson will find the perfect situation as he will have plenty of time to sit and learn the NFL game behind a Pro Bowl quarterback before taking over the offense in a few years and giving the Steelers a dynamic player at the quarterback position. 29. Jacksonville Jaguars – James Washington, WR, Oklahoma St. The problem with being a successful team is that when free agency begins a lot of teams come after your players to try and help improve their team. The Jaguars felt that pain this offseason and lost some important wide receivers. They try to fill that void with Washington who was a favorite target of Rudolph’s at Oklahoma State. 30. Minnesota Vikings – Isiah Wynn, OL, Georgia After an impressive run to the NFC championship game the Vikings decided to really improve a team that had little room for improvement when they signed Kirk Cousins to be their quarterback next season. With that move the Vikings left little weaknesses on their team but the one place they could use a little help is at the offensive guard position. The Vikings address that need by drafting Wynn, a man that helped pave the way for Nick Chubb to run for a whole lot of yards against some pretty good SEC defenses. 31. New England Patriots – Kolton Miller, OL, UCLA It never seems that the Patriots make a splashy draft pick so it only seems appropriate that they would draft an offensive lineman to replace Nate Solder who left to join the Giants in free agency. Miller has been protecting Rosen at UCLA and supposedly impressed a lot of scouts at the combine. It would very much be the Patriots style to find a Pro Bowl left tackle at the thirty-first pick in the NFL Draft. 32. Philadelphia Eagles – Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota St. Philadelphia just won the Super Bowl, do their fans even care about the draft? If so, they probably need to replace Burton at tight end and Goedert seems like a perfect option to just that. So there you have it James Mock Draft .303!! I am just sitting here now waiting for the executives at NBC Sports to read this and realize they need draft experts like Travis and myself. Speaking of there is an alert on my phone, it must be NBC………….never mind it’s just a text message from Travis wanting me to remind everyone to stay tuned for our MOCK DRAFT PODCAST!!! It’s going to be different from these mock drafts and we think you and all the people at NBC Sports will love it!!! Ok, maybe you’ll at least just listen to half of it but hey, at least you read all of this. On Saturday afternoon I got to live out a life long dream and drove a stock car around Charlotte Motor Speedway to celebrate my birthday. As a kid growing up in Spartanburg I developed a love for stock car racing from my grandfather who spent many Sunday afternoons either at a race track or in front of a television watching a race. In fact, watching races on Sunday became a family tradition as myself, my dad, mom, brother and my grandfather all cheered on a driver that drove a black number three car while my uncle Keith pulled for Davey Allison (or whoever was driving a Yates Ford) and my uncle Eddie would pull for Mark Martin to finally win that championship that had eluded him. I remember fondly as a kid sitting around and watching those races on Sundays with family and a large table of food for lunch that my grandmother had fixed. I can also remember my grandfather telling me the stories about all the legends from Spartanburg in NASCAR and how we were related in a way I can't remember now to NASCAR Hall of Famer Cotton Owens. I can always remember as a kid wondering if I would ever get the chance to be a NASCAR driver and be the next David Pearson or Dale Earnhardt.
In 1995 I lost my grandfather to cancer and in years since both my uncles have passed away as well. This past Christmas my little brother bought me maybe one of the greatest presents I have ever been bought, a chance to drive a NASCAR stock car with the NASCAR Racing Experience. When I read the letter telling me that I was going to get a chance to live out a life long dream I couldn't help but be reminded of all those Sunday afternoons as a kid and smile. Finally on Saturday I got the opportunity that I had been waiting on for so many years. My dad, mom and little brother all went with me to Charlotte because they were almost as excited about this opportunity as I was. I arrived at eleven and between going through a driver class and waiting on some drivers ahead of me I didn't get to climb into the race car until almost two o'clock. After you sit in the car and get buckled in you have a few minutes to sit there until it's your turn and it was at that moment it truly hit me what I was going to get to do. As I glanced over at my family and saw how excited they were I realized how cool this was and began to think of what my grandfather would be thinking. When I saw my families faces though I knew that's the same reaction he would have and was probably smiling down with that same look of excitement. I didn't get long to think about it though as my spotter soon came on the radio and said, "James, you got me?" "10-4" "Alright then, let's get that car rolling." It was then that I got my opportunity, I had five minutes to do what I had been waiting thirty-four years for, drive a NASCAR race car. I was finally living out my dream. It’s that time of year again: the birds are singing, the weather is getting warmer and of course James and Travis are releasing their infamous mock drafts. Since we’re professional mock drafters like Kiper and McShay, as in Travis is some old guy that yells at you about why his opinions are right and I’m just the other guy, we have to name our mock drafts something creative to show you how much work we’ve put into them. I’m naming mine Mock Draft 12:24 as in, I decided to start working on this at 12:24 AM because I couldn’t sleep and we’re supposed to have them done in like five days, pretty creative huh? Also we’re still waiting on that call from ESPN about being their new draft insiders but no luck yet. Anyways without further ado I bring to you, the waiting masses, the JAMES MOCK DRAFT 12:24!!!
1) Cleveland Browns – Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M Is there really anything else to say about this pick that hasn’t already been said? Garrett really impressed at the combine, he seems like the obvious choice to be the number one pick and the only thing that could change that is a dysfunctional front offi……….ummmm well for our friend Jed’s sake let’s hope this is the pick. 2) San Francisco 49ers – Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson Everything I keep hearing is that the 49ers are going to wait for Cousins to be a free agent next year but can you really keep putting off having a franchise quarterback or having your hunt for a franchise quarterback be determined by what the Redskins front office is going to do? I think Brian Hoyer is a capable fill in quarterback and will be the perfect option to buy Watson some time before he is ready to take over the starting role. Watson will be the perfect quarterback for a new regime in San Francisco and will soon be a fan favorite in the Bay area. I also wouldn’t rule out seeing this pick traded to the Redskins in return for Cousins but I believe in that scenario it would just be Watson heading to the Nation’s Capital instead of the west coast. 3) Chicago Bears – Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio St If there is one thing I know about watching a John Fox coached team, he’ll take all the quality defensive players he can get. The Bears could really use some help in their secondary and the best way to fix that is to draft the best secondary player in the draft and a shutdown corner. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them draft a receiver to replace Alshon Jeffery but I imagine that will be a little later in the draft. 4) Jacksonville Jaguars – Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State The Jaguars are in need of a running back that can help take the pressure off of Bortles. With the Jaguars tendency recently of drafting players from local colleges and their need for a running back it only seems logical that they’ll draft Cook. Now granted the Jaguars have almost become like watching the Raiders draft in the past, you never know what they’ll do come draft day. There are some that will argue that Cook may be the best running back in this draft, I’m not sure that’s true but I think he will be able to really help the Jaguars offense. 5) Tennessee Titans (from LA Rams) – Jamal Adams, S, LSU The Titans really have two areas that they need to address: the secondary and wide receiver positions. With Jamal Adams sitting here it’s going to be tough for the Titans to pass up drafting him. The Titans will have a chance to draft their wide receiver at pick eighteen but with arguably the top safety in the draft sitting here it could be a pick that will shore up their secondary for the next decade. 6) New York Jets – Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford The Jets have a very quality defensive line but when a talent like Thomas falls to them here they have to make this the pick. In all honesty I think Thomas falling this far down the draft board really saves the Jets from themselves. It gives them a player that can be a star of their defensive line and keeps them from drafting a quarterback out of desperation. I’m not sure how Jets fans will react to this pick but they have to be happy to not be drafting another quarterback right? 7) Los Angeles Chargers – Mike Williams, WR, Clemson The Chargers have survived for many years on Phillip Rivers’ ability to make wide receivers look better than they may really be at times. Last year alone he lost pretty much his whole first string of wide receivers. Mike Williams is a bigger and faster version of DeAndre Hopkins in Houston and when you pair him up with Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry, Melvin Gordon, and the always reliable Antonio Gates the Chargers are going to have quite an array of offensive weapons. It’s also the first year in LA, let’s hope they take more time on this draft pick than they did that first attempt at a new logo. 8) Carolina Panthers – Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU The Panthers drafting a running back at number eight can make some fans a little worrisome because the last time it happened they skipped over a guy named Eddie George for Tshimanga Biakabutuka. I can still remember my uncle calling me after that pick and saying, “We passed up on Eddie George for who?” The good thing for the Panthers this time is that the best running back in the draft has fallen into their laps again at number eight and they can make it up to a lot of their life long fans this time. The combination of Fournette, Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton in the same backfield will keep a lot of defensive coordinators in the NFC South up late at nights as they’re going to have to find a scheme to stop what could be a dominant rushing attack. Also, it’s going to take a lot of pressure off of Cam Newton having to be the main rushing option so often. 9) Cincinnati Bengals – Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama The Bengals have to be happy that a guy who was projected as a possible top two pick falls to them at the ninth spot. The Bengals could use a little help with the pass rush and the fact that Allen is here just makes too much sense for them not to draft. They could use some help at the tackle spot on the offensive line but there’s no value at tackle that they can use the ninth pick on. Also wouldn’t be surprised to see them trade down to find that tackle their looking for though. 10) Buffalo Bills – Malik Hooker, S, Ohio St With Sean McDermott taking over the reins of the Bills, it only makes sense that with him being a defensive guy that he would want to make sure to solidify his defense. The secondary for the Bills could use some work especially with the departure of Gilmore and with Hooker still being available it shouldn’t take the Bills long to turn their card in on draft day. With Hooker the Bills also get a player that is used to playing in the weather that Buffalo deals with on a yearly basis being from Ohio State. 11) New Orleans Saints – OJ Howard, TE, Alabama After trading Brandin Cooks to the Patriots the Saints need to refill the cupboard for Drew Brees. The Saints have made a lot of signings this offseason to help their defense and it’s time to help out the offense. New Orleans and Brees were almost unstoppable when Jimmy Graham was lining up at tight end and that has been a weakness for them since he was traded to the Seahawks. They fix that problem by drafting the best tight end in this draft. 12) Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia) – Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina The Cleveland Browns drafted the best player in the draft with their first overall pick, it was an obvious pick. It’s these type picks that drive my good friend and beloved Browns fan Jed crazy though, the one where there are all kinds of options. The Browns can’t help themselves sometimes when they pick and seeing an Ohio kid that could possibly be their franchise quarterback is going to be something they just can’t pass up on. The last time it didn’t work out for them but for the sake of all the loyal Browns fans out there I hope it works out for them this time. 13) Arizona Cardinals – Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama I know that everyone thinks that the Cardinals have to be desperate to find a future replacement for Palmer but I don’t think Arizona is as desperate to find that replacement as people believe. With the fact that they could really use an inside linebacker and Foster falls to thirteen it just seems to be a perfect match. Also it will put their worries about finding a possible Palmer replacement on the back burner for now, at least until the second round starts. 14) Philadelphia Eagles (from Minnesota) – Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan The Eagles signed Alshon Jeffery in the offseason but they’re not done putting talented wide receivers around their franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. If Cooks or Fournette had fell to this spot I believe they would be the pick. Since they didn’t though, adding a 6’3” wide receiver to help your young quarterback isn’t a bad consolation prize. 15) Indianapolis Colts – Christian McCaffery, RB, Stanford The Colts have to find a way to keep from having Luck getting sacked so often and having a solid running game is a good way to keep that from happening. Frank Gore had a good season for the Colts this year but it’s time to find a long term solution to what has become a long term problem. McCaffery is a solid running back that tends to always get positive yards. The ability of McCaffery to always get positive yardage should open up a lot of passing lanes for Luck and Hilton. 16) Baltimore Ravens – Takkarist McKinnely, DE, UCLA The Ravens need to find an outside pass rusher and McKinnely fits that bill. The Ravens tend to find diamonds in the rough and make everyone else feel dumb for not seeing what they saw. This may be a little high for McKinnely especially being projected ahead of Barnett but it just feels like something the Ravens will do and make us all wonder why we didn’t realize it too, four years from now. 17) Washington Redskins – Jabril Peppers, S, Michigan Travis is a diehard Redskins fan and all offseason he has told me how badly the Redskins need a defensive lineman. Since the Redskins never seem to consult Travis prior to the draft I decided to mock the one position Travis says isn’t a necessity because that’s usually how the Redskins draft. It’s going to drive Travis mad on draft day but I think the Redskins are picking up a very versatile defender who could play safety or linebacker and with the way defenses are having to match up against offenses nowadays it’s great to have a player like that. I feel like this could be a steal for the Redskins. 18) Tennessee Titans – John Ross, WR, Washington The Titans finally pick up their wide receiver. They had to be sweating it out thinking that the Redskins or Ravens might draft a wide receiver but when both of them pass they get their deep threat with their second pick of the first round. Ross really impressed at the combine with his speed and should really help out Marcus Mariotta. The Titans finish their first round picks really bolstering two areas of weakness, the secondary and wide receiving corp. 19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee The Buccaneers really need to find someone to help with their pass rush and have to feel really lucky that a player that passed Reggie White on any kind of sacks list is available at the nineteenth pick. Barnett was very disruptive off the edge for the Volunteers registering 33 sacks and the Buccaneers will hope that he can replicate that type of success at the next level. 20) Denver Broncos –Ryan Ramcyzk, OT, Wisconsin The Broncos are in need of a left tackle. An offensive tackle from one of the best blocking schools in the country is available. Being a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback John Elway understands that a quarterback can only be successful if he has a good offensive line in front of him and he’s going to do his best to make that happen, whoever the quarterback will be next year. 21) Detroit Lions – Taco Charleton, DE, Michigan The Lions are very similar to the Buccaneers in that they really could some help in the pass rushing area and with those type players starting to really come off the board they take a gamble on the next available, Taco Charleton. I’m not sure what kind of player he will be for the Lions but I think they will have one of the best promotional opportunities available. ‘If Taco registers a sack, bring your ticket stub from the game to your local Taco Bell location to receive a free Dorito shell taco while supplies last.’ Yep, it’s genius. 22) Miami Dolphins – Dan Feeny, OG, Indiana The Dolphins need help on their offensive line especially up the middle. This is the part of the draft where you don’t always see the biggest named player getting drafted but you see players that could be one of the most valuable for a team for many years to come. The Dolphins need a guard and Mr. Feeny is the best one available. If this doesn’t work out he could always be a high school teacher in Philly. 23) New York Giants – Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami Eli Manning is still an elite quarterback but he’s getting older. If you calculate how long Peyton played, Eli should have about three or so more years left. It’s time for the Giants to start looking at what their plans will be after Eli and while Kaaya hasn’t always been the greatest quarterback, he has shown flashes of greatness. If Kaaya can sit behind Eli for a few years and learn the NFL game from a Super Bowl winning quarterback, the Giants may find themselves in a perfect position whenever Eli hangs up his cleats and joins Peyton as a spokesperson for Papa John’s pizza. 24) Oakland Raiders – Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan St With Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin bringing a pass rush that the mere thought of can make NFL offensive coordinators invest a lot of stock in Tums, it’s time that the Raiders invest in shoring up the interior of their defensive line. Malik McDowell is considered by many as the best defensive tackle in this draft and would be a perfect fit with the Raiders. 25) Houston Texans – Deshone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame The Texans invested a lot of money into a guy named Brock around this time last year. That didn’t work out so well and he, as of the time I’m typing this, is now Cleveland’s problem (Yay for Jed). Bill O’Brien never seemed thrilled with the idea of Brock in Houston but that still means they’re in need of a quarterback. Depending on what you read Deshone Kizer could end up just about anywhere in this draft depending on whatever unnamed scout has been quoted this week. The Texans need a quarterback and this is going to be their guy. The connection he already has with current Texans receiver Will Fuller should help in his transition to the NFL. 26) Seattle Seahawks – Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama If you watched a Seahawks game last year you know one thing: their offensive line struggled. Usually when an Alabama kid is being drafted teams seem to fall all over themselves to draft them but Robinson just hasn’t had quite that buzz. While Robinson may not be a star, he will be a quality NFL lineman and it’s time for the Seahawks to invest in some offensive line help for Russell Wilson and put to rest the ideas of converting defensive tackles into offensive lineman. 27) Kansas City Chiefs – Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt The Chiefs need some help at linebacker and should feel really good that Cunningham is still available for them at the twenty-seventh pick. Cunningham is a very athletic player that could play either the middle or outside linebacker positions. Cunningham is used to playing quality opponents each week in the SEC and should be able to step in and help the Chiefs defense from day one. 28) Dallas Cowboys – Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama Dallas plays in a division that has a lot of quality quarterbacks and they’re a team in need of some secondary help. Some people have Humphrey ranked as high as the second best corner in this draft and Dallas has to feel great about their luck of having him fall to them here. Humphrey was a key player on Alabama’s defense last year and is used to having high expectations. That will bode well for him as the expectations of Cowboys fans are very similar to those of Alabama fans, they expect to win. 29) Green Bay Packers – Teez Tabor, CB, Florida With all the first round level running backs drafted the Packers will look to fill another need and fill a whole in their secondary. When Humphrey goes to the Cowboys, the Packers will draft the next best cornerback on their board and Tabor is that guy. As poorly as the Packers cornerbacks performed last year they will be happy to be adding a possible shutdown corner to their secondary. 30) Pittsburgh Steelers – TJ Watt, OLB, Wisconsin The Steelers have made a living on having really good defenses and they’ll look to help add to that reputation by adding JJ Watt’s little brother. With James Harrison getting older it’s only a matter of time that the Steelers will need to start finding a replacement and they’ll start that search here. While Watt will be compared to his older brother, if Watt can give the Steelers just half of what JJ has given to the Texans it may be TJ being the first brother with a Super Bowl ring. 31) Atlanta Falcons – Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky We all know about the Super Bowl 51 collapse and it could be easy to say they need a defensive player here. If you remember though it was the lack of being able to run the ball and sacks of Ryan that gave New England the opportunity to win that game. The Falcons are in need of some help on the offensive line and take the best lineman on the board. 32) New Orleans Saints (from New England) – Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech With their first pick the Saints found some help for Drew Brees but with the second pick they find the possible replacement for Brees. NFL scouts are amazed by the arm strength of Mahomes but it’s the technical things that he struggles with and going to New Orleans could be the perfect arrangement for him as Sean Payton is said to be a quarterback guru. It must be true because he wears a visor and all quarterback gurus wear visors right? Well there you have it, MOCK DRAFT 12:24!!! Is it the most educated mock draft? No. Is it the most informative mock draft? No. Is it the funniest mock draft ever? Probably not, but is it the only mock draft in 2017 done by James? You’re damn right it is. I hope you all had fun reading my yearly mock draft and if you haven’t read Travis’ yet go ahead and give it a read. You never know, next year you may have to be an insider to read such great material. When Saturday morning rolls around there will be a lot of people in Boiling Springs waking up looking forward to the 5A football state championship game but few will be as excited as Adam Gosnell. If you’ve been to a Boiling Springs athletic event over the last decade you know two things are certain, the Bulldogs will be taking the field and Adam will be there to cheer them on. When I sat down with Adam and his father Danny Gosnell on Friday morning I got a chance to find out more about Adam’s devotion to the Bulldogs.
Adam, now twenty-four years old who also suffers from down’s syndrome, started his love for Boiling Springs athletics in junior high school when he first met Bulldogs head baseball coach Jeff Lipscomb and Bulldogs offensive line coach Joel Goff. Danny Gosnell says that “Those guys and some of the kids who went to school with Adam like Dylan Thompson, Issac Lawrance, and Reece Thompson really looked out for Adam and took care of him. They took a real interest in him and he in turn took a real interest in them and the sports that they were all playing.” Adam because of that took a real liking to the athletics at Boiling Springs and Mr. Gosnell says that it has just blossomed from there. “He always tells me when there is a game, ‘Dad we’ve got to be there to support them’ and his energy for that just inspires me.” It’s not just the football or baseball team that Adam has been devoted to but it’s the entire athletic program, as Danny says, “whenever the schedule is released for a team at Boiling Springs, Adam immediately downloads it and posts it on our fridge so that we don’t miss a game. We haven’t missed but I think only one football game in the last decade.” After games at Boiling Springs you can always see Adam there greeting the players to give them a hug, handshake, or a pat on the back thanking them for their effort on the field that day. The players always welcome the appreciation with a smile and a return gesture. You can tell that the players truly appreciate the support from Adam as many have returned the favor by going to cheer him on at his own Miracle League games. Mr Gosnell says “Those guys will come to see him play and it just tickles him to death when they’re able to make it to his games. They’ve been really supportive of his endeavors.” Mr. Gosnell says that he has a great thanks for the support that Adam has received from the administration, coaching staffs, and athletes at Boiling Springs. When I asked Adam what it would mean to him if Boiling Springs were to claim the state championship on Saturday he said, “It would be great!” Win or lose on Saturday though I know one thing is for sure, Adam will be there at the end of the game as the players walk off the field to thank them for their effort and he’ll be there at the next Bulldogs’ athletic event because “we’ve got to be there to support them.” When the sports season comes around there is always a saying or a rallying cry that a team adapts for that season. In some rare instances though a saying becomes more than that, it becomes something different, it becomes an attitude that can overtake a whole community similar to the way the Clemson football program has adapted the phrase ‘All In’.
When the football season ended last year with a tough loss to Fort Dorchester, the Boiling Springs football program adapted a new motto when they reconvened during offseason conditioning and it has become the motto for this season, ‘Here We Go’. In the years that I’ve watched Boiling Springs football there have been teams that were capable of being really good but it always seemed like there was something that held them back from getting to the lofty goals and expectations they had coming into that season. With the success that the Bulldogs football team had last season and with so much talent coming back this year I was constantly asked by people, “Are the Bulldogs going to be as good as we hear?” It was a question that I could only answer with, “The talent is there, we’ll just have to see how it goes.” It’s not that I didn’t have the confidence in the team, it was the worry of the unknown that had always seemed to cause the Bulldogs problems in the past. As this season has continued on my fear of the unknown has started to fade and the attitude of ‘Here We Go’ has taken its place and it’s a feeling that has begun to spread amongst the whole Boiling Springs community. It was a motto that started as a motivational tool for the football team but it’s one that has started to take over every sports program at Boiling Springs. With the success of the football program it could be easy to overlook the success that has overtaken the whole athletic program. The end of last season saw Boiling Springs’ baseball and softball teams’ battle for region championships and the men’s golf team capture their third straight state championship. The success has spread into the fall also with the girl’s golf team, the competitive cheer team, the men’s cross country team and boy’s swimming team all capturing Region III-5A championships. When talking with coaches at the school, the success of the other teams has inspired their players to work harder in the offseason as they all want to be a part of the winning atmosphere. The ‘Here We Go’ phrase started as a motto for one team but has turned into an attitude of an entire athletic program. Where did the ‘Here We Go’ saying come from? The phrase was a creation of Bulldogs associate strength coach Joey Hawkins when he started working with the football team regularly in January. “It’s something that I just found myself saying a lot while the guys were going through our four quarter offseason training. A lot of teams adopt mottos for their seasons and I just realized that ‘Here We Go’ just fit the mindset and attitude that our players were bringing into offseason training each day. No matter how tough the training was each day, we would focus on getting better and each new day was a new opportunity and here we go.” When asked how he feels about the saying taking over the program Coach Hawkins said, “All the kids in the athletic department have really bought into the motto and rallied around it. Every sport has bought into the fact that they are just as good as any other team that they step on the field of play against. With the phrase ‘Here We Go’ each team gets its own name, the football team is the DPG (Dawg Pound Gangsters), the cross country team is the Long Haul Dawgs, the basketball team is the Hardwood Dawgs, the softball team is the Yellow Ball Dawgs and so on.” Coach Hawkins added that he has even given the community a nickname of its own and it’s the DST (the Dawg Support Team). When asked about how all of this support and pride has risen from one phrase Coach Hawkins said, “It’s like a tree and the ‘Here We Go’ was the first seed that was planted and has become the roots. The trunk of the tree is the DST because they are the ones that have helped support and be the source of strength for all of our athletes. The limbs of the tree are each of our teams and the leaves are the successes that each of our teams accomplish. Our football team is still alive for a Region championship and this Saturday the Long Haul Dawgs will be competing for a state championship.” Coach Hawkins also added, “All of this wouldn’t be possible if the coaches and players weren’t willing to embrace the meaning of ‘Here We Go’ and put the words into action. The fans also don’t know how much their support means to the coaches and the players because every time any Bulldog team walks onto the field and sees the support they have in those stands they just feed off that energy.” ‘Here We Go’ has not only become the rallying cry for a team but has become the attitude of a team, a program, a school, and a community. Before I get too far into this blog, this isn't a Behind the Music type of thing, especially since only one of the members of this blog was ever a member of a band, right Travis? Anyways, with it being a few weeks into high school football season it's getting to that point in the season where I'm either standing on the field or sitting in the press box and we start getting into the type of conversations where people are comparing players we're watching currently to a player that used to play there and the conversation always ends with "You know I wonder where _________ is now." It's kind of crazy, living in Spartanburg County I've had the honor to watch a lot of great players play football in this county and often times there are so many players that play at the next level it gets hard to keep up with where everyone is playing now. When Jason Gilmer wrote his book a few years ago he titled it "Where Champions Play: Spartanburg County Prep Football" but he could have easily titled it "We Have Truckloads of College Football Players: Spartanburg County". Alright, that second title may not be quite as catchy but it's very true because at my last count there are currently 94 players from Spartanburg County's nine public schools playing college football. I know I didn't include the private schools but we have a guy that covers them and when he decides to write his next blog he may let you know about those. As I type this on my computer I already know there is someone I am missing and when you look at this list and if you realize that someone is missing please let me know so that I can include them. The next time I get asked the question "You know I wonder where _______ is now?" I hope that I can answer that question. Without further ado, here is my list of current players that I know of from Spartanburg County that are playing football collegiately and once you read the list of these players go check out the college websites and see how all our local kids are doing on the next level, I imagine there are a lot of college coaches glad that they've recruited this county over the years.
BOILING SPRINGS Eddie Gordon Louisiana-Lafayette SR OL Noah Green Clemson FR OL Collin Reed Appalachian State FR TE Jason Hill Wofford FR WR Ethan Ray Charleston Southern FR LS Daniel Thompson Elon SO QB Shaquan Burney North Greenville SR LB Jalene Kennedy Tusculum FR DB Phillip McDowell Carson-Newman FR OL Mason Sanders North Greenville JR WR BROOME Nick Taylor Wofford SO OL BYRNES Shuler Bentley Old Dominion JR QB Chavis Dawkins South Carolina FR WR Rashad Dillard Troy SR DE John Guthrie Air Force FR OL Isaiah Hill Miami of Ohio RS FR RB Avery James South Carolina JR DB Lyrics Klugh Towson SO DB Shaedon Meadors Appalachian State JR WR Tavin Richardson Kentucky SO WR Braylin Collins Gardner-Webb RS FR WR Noah Dawkins The Citadel SO LB Jaylan Foster Gardner-Webb FR WR Dallen Jones Coastal Carolina SO OL Colton Korn Charleston Southern SR WR Tyriek Lyles Wofford SO DB Sydney Martin The Citadel RS FR OL Isaiah Pinson The Citadel JR OL Shane Samuels Western Carolina RS JR DB Ben Clark Carson-Newman JR OL Thomas Cook Limestone FR K DJ Crosby Wingate FR S Tyson Holcomb Central Missouri RS JR DL Tyler Jenkins Limestone FR OL Zach Talley Carson-Newman FR DB Micah Young Carson-Newman FR QB Ray Miller Campbell FR LB Di'Shawn Browning Dean College FR LB CHAPMAN Malik Gray East Carolina JR WR Debo Samuel South Carolina RS SO WR Drew Copeland Wofford FR DL DaShawn Davis Presbyterian SO WR McArthur Scott The Apprentice School FR DL Michael Scott The Apprentice School JR LB CHESNEE Chase Mills Wofford FR DL Bobby Foos North Greenville SO TE/P Cameron Stepp North Greenville RS SO OL Keon McCallum Campbell FR WR DORMAN JJ Arcega-Whiteside Stanford SO WR Collin Hill Colorado State FR QB Brandon Pinckney Appalachian State JR DB Caleb Batchelor Charleston Southern JR DL Caleb Brannon Charleston Southern RS FR OL Zach Cooper Presbyterian RS SO OL Ross Hammond Wofford SO LS Johnathan Jackson Elon JR DL Trey Robinson Furman SR S Aron Spann The Citadel SO DB Dalton Sullivan Wofford RS FR OL Shanard Bain Limestone FR RB Keshaun Gray Mars Hill FR DB Rodney Landrum North Greenville FR DB Bobby McBride Mars Hill FR DL Jordan Pryce Carson-Newman JR DL Wesley Robinson Limestone FR DB Azariah Vasquez Carson-Newman FR DL SPARTANBURG Tavien Feaster Clemson FR RB Cedarius Rookard Troy SO S Austin Scott Eastern Kentucky FR QB Justin Bridges-Thompson Charlotte SR LB Dequan Means-Campbell Charleston Southern RS FR WR Adrian Kollock SC State JR QB Mike Murphy Western Carolina FR DB Alex Thompson Charleston Southern RS SO OL Caleb Bynum North Greenville FR TE Simeon Byrd North Greenville SR RB Jeron Dawkins Wingate FR S Travante Jackson Limestone FR DB Rashaad Miller North Greenville RS SO DL Jaquille Oden Newberry SR DL Louis Rogers Wingate FR DL JT Wynn Limestone FR OL WOODRUFF Blake Bone Kentucky JR WR BJ Johnson Georgia Southern RS SR WR DJ Jones Georgia Southern SR DB Bryan Bailey Hampton SR QB Javarius Leamon SC State JR OL Caleb Smith Gardner-Webb RS SR OL Caleb Adkins North Greenville SR DL Ken Drummond Tusculum SO WR Devario Holly North Greenville SO OL Chris Leamon Mars Hill JR LB Demajiay Rooks North Greenville SO WR Braxton Peavy Palmetto Prep SO WR On Friday night I got an opportunity to do something I don't get a chance to do a lot during football season and that was to just go watch a football game without having to worry about reporting the game. I'm not complaining about reporting games, in fact I love getting to do that, but when you are reporting a games you can tend to get caught up in reporting a game and sometimes you don't get to appreciate the performances that you are seeing.
On Friday night I decided to go and watch the Chesnee at Broome game, it has almost become my Week 0 tradition as my Bulldogs rarely play that week. As I was on my way to the game I had an idea of what type of game I would see, a game that would last about two hours and I would be meeting everyone at Papa's Breakfast Nook by around 10:00, and boy was I wrong. A game that I was expecting to be a quick low scoring game turned into a 47-42 scoring fest. The game that I watched had two outstanding performances from Chesnee quarterback Isaiah Ellis and Broome's D'Marco Jackson. I am sure you have all heard about the performance from Ellis this week as he has won a lot of local player of the week awards, and deservedly so, but the performance I want to talk about is that of Jackson. I have been told a lot by people that I trust that Jackson, an Appalachian State commitment, is a player that I needed to go see play a football game. When I went to watch the game I was expecting to see Jackson running the ball well but it was his overall performance that amazed me the most. First of all, watching a lot of 4A (now 5A) football over the years I am used to players playing only one position in a football games and you rarely see the type of players that people have often referred to as an "ironman" type football player. An ironman football player is one that plays both offense and defense and rarely sees the sidelines during a game. D'Marco Jackson is one of those type players. On Friday night Jackson not only started at running back but he also started at linebacker on defense. A lot of times you see this happen because a team doesn't have enough players to be competitive without a player doing this but with Jackson it seems he is such a great player on both sides of the football that it would be tough to justify not having him on the field. After the game Friday night I knew that Jackson's numbers would be impressive but when I figured the stats up I had to double check my math to just make sure that my Boiling Springs math was correct. Jackson on Friday night rushed for 244 yards on nineteen carries with five touchdowns plus twenty yards receiving and if his offensive performance wasn't great enough on its own, on defense he also had sixteen tackles, two sacks and one interception. SIXTEEN TACKLES!!! The performance on offense or defense would have been worthy of player of the week honors but the ironman performance he displayed on Friday night was one of the best performances I've seen in a while and this was just Week 0. If this performance was indicative of what Jackson is going to do this season, then the Broome fans have a lot of great performances ahead of them to look forward to. In fact, if Friday night was a precursor to the football I'm going to get watch this season I can't wait to see how this season plays out. Football season has officially begun and if its anything like Week Zero, it's going to be one heck of a season!!! Well, it’s that time of year again….nope, not the Masters….nope, not baseball season….this could take a while so I’ll just say it, IT’S TIME FOR JAMES AND TRAVIS’ NFL MOCK DRAFTS!! Before we got started on this year’s versions I reviewed our mock drafts from last year and realized one important thing, we got just about as many right as every other “draft expert”. We were so successful last year that I am literally waiting by the phone for ESPN to call us, I’ll let y’all know if they do. With Kiper and McShay they release about 37 mock drafts a year and they all have different titles but since we don’t get paid like those guys or have the time to create 37 mock drafts, I am going to just call my Mock Draft, Mock Draft Pi or Mock Draft 3.14159 because it makes it sound all intellectual and what not. With a mock draft name that creative, I know ESPN has to be dialing my phone by now but just in case they’re not I’ll go ahead and start my mock draft and just wait for that phone call:
1 Los Angeles – Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota St. Alright, I have to admit that we put a lot of work, scratch that, some effort into these mock drafts only to have the Rams come in and mess them up by trading for the number one pick four hours later. I decided since I had a few minutes this morning to at least edit my mock draft somewhat, even though Travis and I are definitely not fans of the Rams today. The Rams gave up a lot to move up to number one and when you do that you have to think the player you're drafting is a franchise changing player, and for the Rams sake they better be right on this one. Wentz is the pick and the Rams have their franchise quarterback of the future. 2 Cleveland – Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida St You know we all have that friend that when you’re at a party or event you are just waiting for them to do something stupid, well when it comes to the NFL Draft that has become the Cleveland Browns. I remember when I was a kid that team used to be the Raiders but over the last five years it has become the Browns, the same team that has drafted a quarterback in the first round probably more times than any team in draft history. I don’t think anyone is fooled by the signing of RGIII, it was a nice try to hide their draft intentions but the Browns want to draft Wentz, they just can’t help themselves. I decided to leave what I originally wrote for the Browns pick because I don't think there is anyone more surprised or thrown off kilter by the Rams trading up to number one that the Browns. The good thing for the Browns though is the Rams may have saved them from themselves and now they can draft the best player available since they truthfully are more than just a quarterback away. I think that Ramsey would be a safe pick here or if they wanted to get some hometown love they could draft Bosa. I think that Ramsey should be the pick but I will be disappointed if the Browns don’t do something to make this pick interesting to watch, like drafting Goff instead. I just hope they wait until closer to draft day so they don't mess my mock draft up again. I know that Travis and I will both be waiting by our phones to text Jed about it if they do. 3 San Diego – Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss Who benefited the most from the Rams trading up to number one? The Chargers of course!! If you watched the Chargers play last year you’ll understand why this is a no-brainer. San Diego’s offensive line was battered with injuries last year but the addition of Tunsil will improve this line immensely. The best offensive lineman in the draft is heading to the place that needs him the most. 4 Dallas – Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio St The Cowboys have been looking for a pass rusher the last few years and they actually luck up that the person a lot of people consider the best player in this draft falls to them and plays the position that they have been desperately trying to fill. The addition of Bosa helps improve a defense that will pair with what can be a pretty impressive offense, especially if Romo comes back fully healthy. I know Travis, being a Redskins fan, is already prepared for Alfred Morris to run for 2,000 yards this season since he has now signed with the Cowboys. 5 Jacksonville – Myles Jack, OLB, UCLA The Jaguars offense actually looked pretty good last year behind Blake Bortles but their defense at times let them down. With Dante Fowler coming back next season and Myles Jack being added to their linebacker corps, the Jaguars are adding two Top 5 draft picks to their front seven on defense and should help improve their defense and allow them to catch up with their improving offense. 6 Baltimore – Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama I know this pick is different than a lot of other mocks but I think it’s an Ozzie Newsome type pick. Ragland is a physical inside linebacker who can stuff the running game and he was an all-everything linebacker at Alabama. When I think of the successful Ravens teams over the years, it was always centered on a strong run stopping linebacker named Ray Lewis, I think Ragland can be very similar. I may be wrong here but I think the Ravens may surprise everyone and make this their pick. 7 San Francisco – Jared Goff, QB, Cal The Chip Kelly Show has packed up and moved back to the West Coast. It was an interesting experiment in Philadelphia but one the ownership seemed to tire of very quickly. Luckily for Kelly he will be given time in San Francisco to prove his system can work in the NFL. While they keep trying to act like they really want Kapernick back in the bay area, I feel like by draft day he’ll be humming a John Denver song in Colorado. With that being the case, I don’t think Blaine Gabbert is the long term solution and Kelly gets his quarterback of the future here with Goff, a California quarterback for a California team. 8 Philadelphia from Miami – Ezekiel Elliot, RB, Ohio St You remember that time when Chip Kelly spent all that money on a running back he never used? It seems like so long ago but maybe because last season seemed like it lasted three years for the Eagles and their fans. I think with Pederson taking over as head coach he will have his offense looking very similar to the one that was in Kansas City the last few years and that one was led by a great running back. The Eagles will get their version of Jamal Charles here with Elliot and hope he produces the way Charles has with the Chiefs. 9 Tampa Bay – DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon The Buccaneers seem to always be looking for quality defensive players every offseason. Sometimes the ones they get work out and sometimes they don’t. I think when they look at the board and see Bucker is still there it will be too good of a deal for them to pass up. 10 New York Giants – Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame The Giants have a new head coach but they still are the Giants. They have always liked to build around strong players on the offensive and defensive lines and unless that has changed this will be their pick. With Eli getting older I think that protecting him in the pocket is going to become key and Stanley is the best lineman still on the board. 11 Chicago – Vernon Hargraves, CB, Florida As a Panthers fan I know one thing about John Fox, he takes pride in his team’s defense playing well. With this pick you could choose just about any defensive player but I believe the chance to draft a lockdown corner to go opposite Kyle Fuller on the other side is too good of a deal for the Bears to pass up. I could also see them making a play for Treadwell here but I think they already have a Treadwell type player in Alshon Jeffery. 12 New Orleans – Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson The Saints have been looking to improve their defense over the last few years as it always seems to be their downfall. They drafted themselves a pretty good middle linebacker from Clemson last year in Stephone Anthony and I believe they might dip into the Clemson waters again and find their pass rusher of the future in Lawson. As a Panthers fan I would like to see them let Lawson fall to #30 but I don’t believe I’ll be that lucky this year. 13 Miami from Philadelphia – Darron Lee, LB, Ohio St I imagine about right now that with the way the Dolphins have been scouring free agency for running backs, they are absolutely sick thinking they traded picks with the Eagles and the Eagles then took Elliot. With the signings the last two offseasons of Suh and Mario Williams, the Dolphins have made their front line pretty solid, now they work to sure up the rest of their front seven with one of the best linebackers in this draft. Lee should be able to help the Dolphins run game defense especially with the quality push that will be coming from the Dolphins front four. 14 Oakland – Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan St The Raiders are picking in the middle of the NFL Draft, my inner child is not used to this type of success from the Raiders. In all honesty though, the Raiders have been steadily improving the last few years and have found a really good quarterback in Derek Carr and a true number one wide receiver option in Amari Cooper. Now, it’s time to find someone to protect Carr’s blindside and the perfect player falls right into their laps with Conklin. No matter what your view of the Big 10 is, one thing is for sure and that is they produce good offensive lineman. The Raiders will make this pick simple and draft the player they need. 15 Denver (Projected Trade with the Titans) – Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis The Titans have proven that they are willing to trade and I figured why not have them trade again. I think that with the trade the Rams made people will start getting nervous and all hell will break lose on draft day, if not before then. If the Broncos can't make a deal for Kapernick they are going to be desperate to have a young quarterback in waiting and I think they make this trade especially if Lynch is still on the board at 15. He was a very impressive player at Memphis and put up some big time numbers, now the only question is, can he do it in the NFL? 16 Detroit – Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss With the retirement of Calvin Johnson the Lions have to look for another outstanding receiver to pair with Golden Tate. I think that the Lions have to look at this as a lucky break that Treadwell has fallen this far down in the draft and pounce on this bit of good luck, something they have seemed to lack over the last few years. Treadwell is not Calvin Johnson but he could help to take away some of the sting of losing such a dominant wide receiver. 17 Atlanta – Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson The Falcons are a lot like many of the other teams in this draft that are looking for a pass rusher especially in a division that has to face Cam Newton, Drew Brees, and Jameis Winston twice a year. After drafting Vic Beasley from Clemson last year I think the Falcons draft goes through Tigertown again, this time drafting Dodd to play opposite of Beasley in pass rushing situations next year. They once were on the number one rated college defense together and I think Coach Quinn and the Falcons hope that they bring that same success to the NFL next year. 18 Indianapolis – Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio St If you watched Indianapolis play last season, their offensive line play was not very good. The team signed a lot of veteran players last year to make a run at the title but that plan was a failure especially with Luck getting hurt. The left side of their line seems to be a little bit more stable than the right side, so I believe the Colts draft Decker to help add a physical presence to the right side of their line and to help protect Luck because they don’t want to see him keep taking hits like he took last year. 19 Buffalo - Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame Jaylon Smith is a player that a lot of people believe had he not gotten hurt could possibly be a Top 10 if not a Top 5 draft pick. The Bills are coached by the Ryan brothers and if we know anything about the Ryan family, they usually coach pretty good defenses. Smith is a player that could be a difference maker and defensive coaches love players like that, especially when they play on their side of the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Buffalo possibly take a chance on drafting Connor Cook here but I think they draft defense over offense this time around. 20 New York Jets – Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor The Jets seem to be pretty set at defensive tackle, so why not just add another one? With Billings coming in at 6’1” and 310 lbs, it’s hard for the Jets not to take him even with their surplus of defensive tackles. I believe that after making this pick the Jets may use some of that depth to either move back into the first round or to add more picks throughout the draft, either way you can never have too many run stopping defensive tackles, just ask the Panthers five years ago. 21 Washington – Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville With a draft this deep at defensive tackle it’s not going to surprise me to see a run on defensive tackles towards the end of the first round. The Redskins over the last few years learned how important not trading all your first round picks away is and they are going to take advantage of the ones they have now by drafting a guy that can help their pass rush from day one. In last year’s draft they upgraded on the offensive line and this year they do the same on the defensive side of the ball. I do know that no matter what this pick will be, Travis will not be happy because there will be someone else he would of rather had still available, I will look forward to his text messages on draft day. 22 Houston – Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor Now that Houston has found their franchise quarterback with Brock Osweiler, it is time to start putting some more weapons around him. With DeAndre Hopkins secured in as the number one wide receiver it is time to get him some help on the other side and Coleman is just that. After an impressive college career at Baylor, Coleman won’t be traveling far and will be looking to take advantage when defenses try to double up on Hopkins next season. 23 Minnesota – Josh Doctson, WR, TCU The Vikings will look to add even more weapons for Teddy Bridgewater as he continues to show the talent and quarterback play to explain to the rest of the NFL why the Vikings chose to move back up into the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to make sure they got him. With Doctson they get a quality wide receiver that will be able to complement with Diggs and force people not to focus on Adrian Peterson. 24 Cincinnati – Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame The Bengals lost a lot of their wide receiver depth during this offseason and they have to start to add back to that depth with this pick. Fuller was a standout player at Notre Dame and with his 4.3 speed will require enough attention to hopefully free up AJ Green on the other side. He may not be the only wide receiver that the Bengals take in this draft but he will definitely be the one they will be counting on next season. 25 Pittsburgh – Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas The Steelers lost Heath Miller, a staple of their success over the years, this offseason to retirement. They have added Ladarius Green to try and take his spot but I believe that with Henry sitting here they won’t be able to pass up a player that may remind many of a younger Heath Miller. Henry at Arkansas would often line up at tight end or in the slot as a wide receiver and with the success of Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham and Greg Olsen, the tight end position is becoming very valuable again, something that I don’t think will be lost on the Steelers. 26 Seattle – Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama When watching the Seahawks play last year you could tell that they were struggling on the offensive line. While everyone talked last year about what the Saints lost with Jimmy Graham being gone I think the Seahawks may have lost more with Max Unger being gone. The value of a quality starting center is never really understood until you don’t have one, I think Seattle will look to fix that problem and draft the best one in this draft from a university that tends to produce pretty good offensive lineman. 27 Green Bay – Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky With Julius Peppers getting older it is going to be important for the Packers to start grooming his replacement and that’s what they’ll be hoping to get with Spence. Spence is considered to be one of the better pass rushers in this draft but off the field issues have frightened teams away from picking him. I think that this late in the first round though the Packers can take a chance on a player with off the field issues because for them he could turn out to the diamond in the rough. It seems the Packers have had success before drafting a player late in the first round that everyone else passed up on, I can’t seem to remember his name…..Aaron something. 28 Kansas City – Eli Apple, CB, Ohio St The Chiefs could use some help in the secondary and with this pick they get just that. They have to feel pretty good about this pick as it helps bolster their secondary and they get a player that some projections had as a Top 15 player in this draft. 29 Arizona –Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss The Cardinals have been known to take players with “character issues” and turn them into outstanding players and fix whatever those issues people claim that they have are. With Nkemdiche the Cardinals get a player that had it not been for that incident in Atlanta may have been a Top 15 pick but the Cardinals will be happy that he drops this far as Coach Arians will get another strong player for his already strong defense. 30 Carolina – Mackenzie Alexander, CB, Clemson The Panthers have to be feeling like they are getting a steal if Alexander slips all the way to them at #30. While the Panthers are still negotiating with Josh Norman on a long-term deal it will be nice to know that they have a player that could possibly take his place if that deal never materializes. If it does materialize the Panthers will have to feel good about its secondary having guys like Norman, Alexander, Bene Benwikere, Kurt Coleman, and Tre Boston. Alexander adds to the Panthers another shutdown corner to an already stellar defense, as he was able to shutdown the number one receiver from opposing teams that Clemson played last season. 31 Tennessee (Projected Trade with Denver) – A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama If this mock draft works out like I have it, the Titans will have moved from the top to the very bottom of the NFL Draft but will have accumulated more draft picks than I think they are actually allowed to use. With this pick I think the Titans get a chance to strengthen their defense by adding a defensive tackle that many ranked as high as the Top 15 in overall players in this draft. Now, with Robinson solidifying their defensive line, the Titans can use their stockpile of picks to address their secondary needs and hopefully find some more offensive lineman to help protect Mariotta and pave the way for Demarco Murray. Well there you have it, James’ 2016 NFL Mock Draft Pi (adjusted for the Rams trade). I already know as I post this I am going to miss quite a few of these especially because at some point Roger Goodell is going to say the phrase that messes up all mock drafts, “We have a trade” (I’m looking at you Cleveland). We don’t do these mock drafts to look smart but mostly just to have something to debate. Also, in case you were wondering, ESPN has still not called my phone yet, there must be some bad cell reception in Bristol, Connecticut today or something. Oh well, I hope that you enjoyed reading this mock draft and, if any of you have Jed’s number, that you are ready to text him like we are when Cleveland makes this draft entertaining. You can ask most people that I know, I'm not really a person who can tell you what they are doing a month in advance. I usually tend to just play everything by ear but that changed on November 7 at about 8:00 PM, because as soon as Clemson defeated Florida State to basically win the ACC Atlantic my plans for December 5 were set, I was going to be going to watch my beloved Tigers play for the ACC Championship in Charlotte that day.
In a season that has been a special one for Clemson, there was only one way to finish out an undefeated run through the ACC regular season and that was to take home the trophy from Charlotte. I had never been to an ACC Championship game before, in fact the closest to a game of this magnitude I had been to was when my brother and myself watched Clemson claim the ACC Atlantic Championship in Death Valley against Virginia in 2009. This game was different though, the Tigers were rolling into Charlotte undefeated with not only an ACC Championship on the line but a chance to get into the Playoffs for a chance at the National Championship. We, myself, my brother and his girlfriend, arrived in Charlotte at around 3:30 on Saturday afternoon as all of downtown Charlotte had turned into one big party. With all of the rowdy Clemson and North Carolina football fans dominating most of downtown Charlotte, I could only imagine what the people arriving for the Billy Joel concert just down the road at Time Warner Cable arena were thinking. We parked about six blocks from the stadium but the whole walk to the stadium saw us passing tailgates (mostly Orange clad ones) and just groups of people excited to be in Charlotte for the game. As we got to the stadium there was even more excitement as the ACC Fest had begun. The first thing I noticed was an autograph session of ACC Legends was going on where I saw Tony Dorsett (Yes, I know he never played in the ACC but it's a NFL Hall of Famer five feet from me, like you would care at that point either), Bobby Ross, Warrick Dunn, and former Spartanburg High and Clemson great Anthony Simmons. After seeing them I heard a large roar come from across the street from the Dr. Pepper viewing area and people were cheering as Florida had just taken a 7-2 lead over Alabama. After a few free samples of Dr, Pepper (okay maybe I was rivaling Forrest Gump on how many Dr, Peppers I had drank but they were just handing out free samples) it was almost time to enter the stadium for the game. On the walk to the stadium gates I got a picture with the Duke Blue Devil, who clearly was not pulling for UNC, but got into a conversation with a Tarheel fan. I don't remember a lot about our conversation, it was a lot of compliments and jabs at the other team, but the one thing I remember him saying was "Hell, I had to come to this game, you never know when it's going to happen again" and that's when it hit me, instead of being that Clemson fan that worried about what might go wrong, it was time to just start enjoying this season. We arrived at our seats in the upper deck above the Clemson endzone just in time to see the start of warm-ups and the hopes of Florida get diminished on the big screen as Alabama took a commanding lead. It started becoming obvious as the crowd filed in that this game was going to be like a home game away from Death Valley for the Tigers, with over 80 percent of the crowd being decked out in all orange. When it was finally game time, the Tigers took to the field to Tiger Rag and were welcomed by the large contingency of their fans spelling out Clemson that had to echo throughout all of Charlotte. I can see it now just down the road, Piano Man with background vocals from the Clemson fan base. I'm not going to recap the whole game for you, as I figure if you're reading this you probably either watched the game or know what happened, but more capture a few moments from the game. One moment I remember vividly was the targeting penalty getting called and needless to say the whole fan base was not in favor of that call and one gentleman even suggested what the ACC could go do to itself. I also remember how the whole fan base as one held our breath and then cheered as DeShaun found Leggett in the endzone to give us the lead at halftime after a very stressful first half. I can still hear the sigh of relief that was breathed when we all realized that DeShaun had returned to the game after the injury scare. The one thing I remember the most though is the excitement and jubilation from all the Clemson fans as we realized that we had just won the ACC and were going to the playoff for a National Championship. There were fans high-fiving and hugging people they had never met before but we were all members of the Clemson fan base and we had all gone through the trials of this season and game together, it was time to enjoy this victory. After the game had been over for about fifteen minutes we decided to start making our way out of the stadium and I began to look around as the excitement from every Clemson fan was obvious, as the whole way down the escalator you could hear the continuing cheer of "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, C-L-E-M-S-O-N, T-I-G-E-R-S, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!" When we made it out to the street there were Clemson fans still just wandering around the streets, high-fiving and cheering. It was like nobody wanted to leave that moment and just soak it all in, we were finally on our way back to compete for another National Championship. As I walked back to the car I began to think how glad I was that I had made it to this game and got to watch my team play its way to an ACC Championship and a chance at the National Championship. I was glad that I made those plans early and decided to come to this game. I then was reminded of the words from the North Carolina fan as I continued to celebrate my teams victory, "Hell, I had to come to this game, you never know when it's going to happen again." The other day I was going down Broadcast Drive in Spartanburg when I saw out of the corner of my eye something that grabbed my attention, it was the old WSPA radio building with the call letters still sitting over the entrance to the building. The building with the call letters still standing strong, was being hidden behind a lot of trees and overgrowth, a lot like how radio in Spartanburg has become. It seems that over the last few years that more and more local radio stations have disappeared to the point that Spartanburg no longer has a radio station that broadcasts from inside the city limits and I can’t pick up a signal from Gaffney without using tin foil while standing on the highest point of the roof on my house. When I was younger the airwaves seemed to be filled with local programming, whether it was listening to Awake with Drake in the mornings or whether it was listening to someone selling a slightly used George Jetson thermos on Swap and Shop, local programming held a special place in the community and it was something that we could all embrace. While we may not have known any of these people personally that hosted the shows, they were all a part of us and a part of our community. As a kid I can still remember dialing in to the Awake with Drake show and winning a free breakfast for being the first caller from the ‘School of the Day’. It was a really cool feeling knowing that when dialing that number that I had a chance to win something, not like now days when calling into these regional stations and you are battling 5,000 people in the region to try and win free concert tickets. I hear people saying that they no longer want to listen to the radio because it doesn’t appeal to them but I believe it’s because we have lost that local connection. As much as people want to shoehorn the whole upstate into the same demographic, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Union, and Cherokee counties all have their own different identities and things that bring them together. In January of 2014, the last remaining local radio station in Spartanburg was taken out when ESPN Spartanburg’s radio tower was knocked over by a person cutting down a tree, an event that at the time I didn’t realize how serious it would be. While you may or may not have always agreed with what was said on every show, it was still a location that you could still air your local sports grievances or enjoy listening and talking about your local teams. Whether you wanted to listen about the local racing scene with Dale and the boys on “Dropping the Hammer”, discuss high school football with the guys on “The Piedmont Pick’em Show”, tell Smitty, Hauser or Hawk on “Open Mic Daily” why you agreed or disagreed with their opinion of your favorite college team, or even wanted to listen to the church services that would be broadcasted on Sunday mornings, it still felt like it was your radio station and it was a part of your community. It seems that over the years as local stations have been forced to sell out to larger corporations, or been forced off the air for other reasons, we have lost a piece of our communities and a little bit of our souls. While there are stations that still broadcast music and such that claim to be from Spartanburg, stations that actually broadcast from Spartanburg have disappeared. While our friends at Upstate Prep Cast are doing a great job at trying to keep shows that are Spartanburg sports related available over the internet, it is truly sad to me that there is no longer a terrestrial radio station broadcasting from Spartanburg. As I continue to see downtown Spartanburg take shape and become a destination spot through revitalization, I would love to see the same thing happen to the radio market in Spartanburg. In the modern day of music, it seems like we are limited to about five genres of music and we have to shoehorn all songs now into one of those categories (you know so the Grammys won’t last for seven hours, I guess). Growing up in Spartanburg though, there is one genre of music that is very important to our history but for some reason has seemed to disappear from the music world. The disappearance of a whole genre has left me worried and left me asking one important question: whatever happened to southern rock?
Southern rock by definition is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana, it was developed in the southern United States from rock and roll, country music, blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals. That definition alone is what bothers me about the shoehorning of music into general genres now days. Instead of having a genre like southern rock, a lot of these musicians are either placed in rock n’ roll or more frequently they’re placed in the country music genre. It seems now days that because of the lack of the southern rock genre existing we now have a lot of people that would normally be classified as southern rock playing “country music” and in turn forcing the disappearance of the genre that I’ve always known as country music. Now to be honest I love both genres, I just don’t want to see the lack of one kill off the other and take its place. Being from Spartanburg I grew up listening to both genres, from listening to Hank Williams sing “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” to Spartanburg’s very own Marshall Tucker Band singing “Can’t You See”. I love listening to both but they’re both two different genres of music. Some country music artists that I hear now days that I believe are more southern rock are: Travis Tritt, The Zac Brown Band (who recently sang at the Grammys with one of the greatest southern rock singers of all-time Greg Allman) and Jason Aldean. I also believe some groups over the years that have had to fight their way through the rock genre over the years that should have been classified as southern rock were: Hootie and the Blowfish, Collective Soul, and Kings of Leon. By allowing a whole genre of music to disappear I believe that we are letting a lot of great music go along with it. There are a lot of great southern rock songs that will never make the list of 100 greatest rock songs or the 100 greatest country songs of all-time lists that are done by some of these music publications and because of that some of these songs and bands will start to be lost with time. The thoughts of people not knowing the songs of The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Pure Prairie League, and the Charlie Daniels Band would be a huge tragedy for all of music. There are enough artist left out there now that are still doing the southern rock sound that it could still be a viable genre and I think it’s time for that genre to find its way back again. If I had one thing to say to the southern rock genre wherever it is currently, I would have to paraphrase some lyrics from a Marshall Tucker Band song, “Take the highway, Lord knows you’ve been gone too long.” Want to read more about the Southern Rock genre? Read the book "Rebel Yell" by Michael Buffalo Smith I was sitting at the house this past weekend looking for something to watch on television, when I came across AMC showing the movie “The Natural” with Robert Redford. It only had about thirty minutes left in the movie and for anyone that has ever watched the movie you know that is the best part. Not to spoil the movie if you’ve never seen it, but in the end he knocks the cover off the ball hitting a homerun to win the game, sorry if that spoiled the movie for you but seriously the movie was made in 1984, it’s over thirty years old, it was bound to happen.
Anyways, as I watching the movie it reminded me of a conversation that I had with my brother a few years ago where we debated who would be on your team if you were to make a baseball team out of movie characters from baseball movies. One of the stipulations though was that the players you picked couldn’t be real baseball players or my whole list would have come straight out of “Pride of the Yankess”, “61*”, “Eight Men Out”, and “Field of Dreams”. I mean those movies contained Hall of Famers, it would be hard not to just pick all of those guys. I also tried to limit myself to only using a max of three players from a certain movie or movie franchise (aka Major League). With all of that in mind, this was my team that I put together: Catcher – Crash Davis, Durham Bulls, from the movie Bull Durham I mean when you start looking at your options of catcher it really comes down to three; Crash, Jake Taylor and Dottie Henson. I decided to go with Crash because he brings a sense of leadership to the team, he proved in Bull Durham that he was good at helping a young pitcher learn how to pitch in the big leagues. Also, Crash was the all-time leading home run hitter in the minor leagues, you may look at him spending his whole career in the minors (except for those 21 days he spent in the majors) as a negative on him but I look at it as a negative on the MLB scouts, you’re telling me the California Angels were so good back then they couldn’t have taken a chance on him? First Baseman – Lou Collins, Minnesota Twins, from Little Big League When choosing my first baseman it was between Lou Collins and Jack Elliot from Mr. Baseball. After I compared their situations in the movies, it wasn’t hard to decide, Lou was a MLB All-Star and Jack Elliot was having a hard time getting hits in the Japanese Baseball League at one point in the movie. While Lou was benched at one point during the season it was mainly because he was dating the manager’s mom (never a good idea) and really had nothing to do with his on-the-field performance. Second Baseman – Marla Hooch, Rockford Peaches, from A League of Their Own I’m going to be upfront and honest about this selection, when you watch a lot of baseball movies, there isn’t a lot of stories about the middle infielders, they are usually just some goofy, quirky person and you barely get to know anything more than their first name. Anyways back to my pick, I know there are some drawbacks to picking Marla (like she quit in the middle of the season to get married) but the positives far outweigh the negatives. In the movie she shows there is a lot of power with the bat, a quality you don’t find a lot in the second base position and a skill that her dad believed would have had him talking to the Yankees if she was a guy. My only other consideration for this position was Miguel Agilar from the original Bad News Bears as he wasn’t the best player but his short stature made it tough for pitchers to throw strikes which would lead to a very good on-base percentage. Shortstop – Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, Los Angeles Dodgers, from The Sandlot My whole rant from earlier about middle infielders in movies also applies here but the fact that The Jet not only can play shortstop but also the facts that he outran The Beast and stole home in a major league game makes him a clear choice as my starting shortstop. They say that the jet has lost a step but he’s still got enough talent to start on my baseball movie team. Third Baseman – Roger Dorn, Cleveland Indians, from Major League I know I complained about the middle infielders but the talent pool in movies for third basemen isn’t much better. I know what you’re saying, with Dorn you may have to deal some of that Ole’ Bullmess, but we’ll make sure that he is aware early on that he will be traded away for a worse player at the end of the season or to make sure Jake has a talk with him at some point, either way we expect to get the All-Star level Dorn, not that Ole’…..well you know. Left Field – Kelly Leak, Bad News Bears, from The Bad News Bears When you start getting to the outfield position in movies, there seems to be a lot more of a talent pool to pull from, it’s like movie directors only know about outfielders and pitchers. It must be a Hollywood thing, I’ll tell Travis to talk his sister Lynly (she works there in Hollywood) into making more baseball movies about infielders to make this a little easier next time. Anyways, you can’t turn down a player like Kelly Leak, he’s a natural team leader (just his presence made the Bad News Bears better) and he’s a true clutch hitter. The only flaw to having him on our team is he that he is known my some locals to be and I quote “a little punk”. We don’t trust the lady that told us that though, she seemed to be a little biased in her rooting interests in that final game. Center Field – Willie Mays Hayes, Cleveland Indians, from Major League First of all, he plays like Mays and runs like Hayes, those are some pretty good comparisons if I do say so myself. If that isn’t enough to hook your interest though, what if I told you that in Spring Training he not only caught but passed two other players in a 40-yard dash in his pajamas after giving them a ten yard head start. It’s like the old saying says, speed kills and Willie Mays Hayes has more than enough to be our center fielder and leadoff hitter. Right Field – Roy Hobbs, New York Knights, from The Natural I know that if have you read this far it seems like a long time ago since I first started talking about this movie but the man hit a homerun that knocked the cover off the baseball. If that’s not enough, he hit it into the stadium lights that caused them to short circuit, when was the last time you have seen anyone do that? He’s a little old in his thirties to be a rookie but the power that he shows at the plate is second to none. As an owner I will ask him to try and keep the short circuiting of the light system to a minimum but if it’s to win a pennant then we can make exceptions I guess. Pitcher – Henry Rowengartner, Chicago Cubs, from Rookie of the Year Ever since that surgery, he seems to have great control of that 100 mph fastball that he can suddenly throw. While the fastball is the key pitch it’s the other intangibles that made me pick him as our starting pitcher. First of all, his off-speed pitch is pretty good too, I mean it nearly made the feared Mets’ hitter spin himself into the ground trying to hit it. We will probably need to work on the delivery though as the ‘float it’ pitch will become evident to major league hitters when you keep throwing It from a slow pitch softball stance. The other thing we really like is that he has good smarts for a young pitcher, at the age of 12 he was able to trick a major league runner into trying to steal second base while he was still holding the baseball, who needs a good pickoff move when you can do that? Closer – Rick Vaughn, Cleveland Indians, from Major League I mean did you really think it was going to be anyone else? Rick single handedly started making it cool for major league pitchers to enter the game with theme music, which “Wild Thing” is still one of the coolest entrance songs there is. In the movies, Rick was often a starting pitcher who struggled but would often flourish when put into the closer’s role in big game situations, which leads me to question how good of a manager Lou really was, why not just let him be the best closer in the game and quit trying to make him a starter!! Manager – Morris Buttermaker, Bad News Bears, from The Bad News Bears Is there a better manager for a team with some decent talent? He didn’t lose but one game once he got Amanda pitching and Kelly Leak playing left field. I debated between Lou Brown (which I disclosed my worries about him in the last entry) and Jimmy Dugan (has been known to have a drinking problem which effected his managing) also but in the end neither had anything on Buttermaker. So there you have it, my starting nine from baseball movies (plus the closer) and the manger to guide that team. The best thing about a blog like this is that it opens up a fun debate you can have with your friends, family, and co-workers. Travis and I even discussed who our team announcers would be with Harry Doyle winning out just barely over the announcer from Bull Durham. What did you think of my team and how would your team be different? Just a few weeks ago I wrote a blog about our love of baseball and how we must appreciate the game for what it is, and then as we were all waiting for Opening Day it happened, THE BRAVES TRADED CRAIG KIMBRELL!!! Just as the Braves had finally started to get us to buy into their plans during the offseason, they do this to us!! Or at least that’s what a lot of text messages from friends of mine read. After the trade was announced, my phone blew up with text messages of “I’m done with the Braves!!!”, “The 2016 season can’t get here fast enough!!” and a few other texts that were worded in a familiar fashion.
Now, I can’t say that I wasn’t shocked by the revelation that the Braves had just traded our all-time leading closer, but the second part of my ESPN notification was the one part that surprised me the most. Not only had the Braves just traded Kimbrell but we were able to get someone to take on Upton’s contract? “They must mean like 50% of the contract.” I said to myself. “Nope says they’re paying the whole thing.” “Wow”, I thought. “I guess the only bad news is for them to take Upton, we had to trade Kimbrell and we get nothing back in return. Wait, what does that say? We got their number one prospect and a Top 50 draft pick?” By this point I had almost forgot that we had traded Kimbrell but then I got a phone call. “Man why did we just trade away Kimbrell, the heck with the Braves!!! I won’t watch them all year!!” my friend on the other end of the phone said. In response I replied, “Man, I know it sucks giving up Kimbrell but Melvin or BJ or whatever his name is now was traded too and we got prospects in return, that was a pretty slick trade on our part.” The response on the other end of the phone wasn’t a lot of positive answers but in all honesty all of Braves nation was still in shock over one of our beloved players being ripped away from us one day before we were to start a new season, one in which we were having to convince ourselves to think positive about in the first place. After a night of turmoil it was finally Opening Day for the Braves. We had just lost Kimbrell the day before but the season goes on and we have to at least see what this new team looks like. Well, the first game had turned into a 2-1 nail biter through the first eight innings, but we had learned one thing so far, this was a scrappy team and they seemed like they were going to fight until the last pitch was thrown. As all good storylines go though, it figures that the main drama from the day before would be put to the test on Opening Day, as the Braves had to call on new closer Jason Grilli, the man that was forced to take the spot of Kimbrell. As he took to the mound most of Braves’ nation was unsure of who this guy was, but he had actually been a pretty good closer for the Pirates just a few years ago, and was no stranger to this situation. As he fanned through the three batters the Marlins sent up, including their star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, all of Braves nation took a giant sigh of relief, “Maybe we’ll be okay even without Kimbrell.” Then came Tuesday as the Braves were able to win 12-2 and then Wednesday where our new star pitcher from the Cardinals Shelby Miller was able to shutout the Marlins 2-0. The Braves are now sitting at 3-0 with a two game lead on the “predicted World Series champions” Washington Nationals and going into their opening home series against the NY Mets. While the sting of the Kimbrell trade was tough, just like the Heyward one before it was, we all still tuned into the game because it’s what we do in the South during the summers, we watch and pull for the Braves. It’s that history and connection that still brought us back and will continue to bring us back every year. Well, I’m getting a text, I guess I should probably end this blog now……hey it’s my friend from earlier, and he just wanted to say “Our Braves are 3-0!!! When are we heading to Atlanta for a game?” |
JamesBoiling Springs native, lover of sports and food. 15x SC Press Association Award Winner. I do some sports writing and radio every now and then. Archives
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