UTH Rookie Draft: Mocking Round 2

The UTH Rookie Draft continues on after a lively Round 1 installment. Now, the ‘no rules’ section got moving into Round 2. In addition to the picks, we traded commentary and a few snarky comments along the way. Here are the results:

Rookie Draft: Round 2

2.01 Tevin Coleman

Patrick Kerrane: A lot of the focus on Coleman this draft season has been on what he doesn’t do well.  He doesn’t break tackles, he doesn’t run with power, he doesn’t make guys miss.  First of all I think he does make guys miss, just not in the fun shake and bake style of a LeSean McCoy.  Coleman makes guys miss with devastating one cut ability and burst.  Which brings us to what Coleman does well: he’s an explosive one cut back with NFL size and speed.  If he lands in a good situation for his skill set, he has as much upside as any non-Todd Gurley RB in this class. The fact that he’s available in this range just proves the depth of the class.

2.02 Ameer Abdullah

Justin Huestis: With out the fumbling issue, he would be higher on my board. He’ll be one of the more used smaller backs in the league. FREAK agility and explosion.

Chad: Do you think Abdullah is big enough to be more than a COP+ at the NFL level? (Not saying that isn’t enough to be a weekly FF starter considering the direction the position is moving towards…)

2.03 David Johnson

Chad Parsons: Thought Doug would go for him a few picks ago…

Katie: 8 used to be my favorite number.  I would choose it for my uniform number in whatever sport I was playing, mainly because of Carl Yazstremski and Troy Aikman.  But being 8th in a draft behind Chad Parsons with no ability to trade up or back, I am beginning to loathe the darn number…

2.04 Mike Davis

Katie Flower:  I consider the first half of the 2nd round to be RB alley, lots of great talent to be had, each with their own positives and negatives.  I chose Davis because he is a pretty solid all around back, he can catch and has great hands, has power and a big body, and he played in the SEC (yes, I do have SEC bias).  It is questionable on whether he will become a good enough pass blocker to be a 3 down back in the NFL, that is a big question mark for many of these backs.  He has also been slowed by injuries and is a little older than I like a rookie RB to be.  Cobb was a close consideration here as well.

2.05 Duke Johnson

Jordan Spires: I was a big fan pre-combine but his athleticism was overhyped and he fell down my board a bit. I think his film does have some bright spots and think he could be a slasher type of runner. He finds a type of runner that fits his style he can be a RB2. Also, some smaller backs that came out of Miami (Frank Gore and Lamar Miller), both added weight since coming into the NFL and have earned starting roles, of Duke can do that, he’s a great value at 2.05.

Chad: The metrics love Duke. Agree on the flashes. Could fit the ‘New NFL’ well… Like a Gio type.

2.06 Jameis Winston

Tim Torch: I am surprised that he fell this far to me. He is, by all predestined accounts, looking like the first pick in the NFL draft, going to a situation that will have Mike Evans, VJax, and ASJ.Winston had also been compared mentally to Peyton Manning.  I am not usually a big drafting a QB guy, but if you have a guy with this much potential here and you might not have to worry about QB for the next ten years count me in.

Katie: Boom!  Just like that Tim can rename his team “Problem Child” #offfieldissuesnoproblem #draft-flash-trade

Chad: More than anything it’s what can Winston be worth if he is just ‘okay’. Quarterbacks just don’t carry value.

Tim: I am thinking that his ability with the weapons on that team he can be great.  That is a lot of guess-work and if he does pan out I know that I will have a guy that I can carry long-term.  Might be worth a Tannehill.

2.07 Tre McBride

Tyler Huggins: After Duke it’s a bit of a tier drop for me. Even though there isn’t much tape available on this kid, I love what I’ve seen. He has a very clean release & a great ability to ‘go get it’ when the ball is in the air. This pick fits my swing for the fences approach to a ‘T’.

2.08 Phillip Dorsett

Doug Veatch: I actually pondered him at 1.12 and now I’m glad I didn’t pull the trigger. He is a sure handed speedster who is going to give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares. Also has a chance to be a late first round pick in the NFL draft. I love the value here.

2.09 Marcus Mariota

Patrick Kerrane: Selecting Mariota pre-draft feels like a game of Press Your Luck, because his talents could wasted if he goes to a Whammy team on draft day.  (No Titans! No Titans! No Titans! No Titans!)  However, if Mariota goes to a team with a modicum of creativity on offense, his college production and duel threat ability indicate he could become a fantasy star at the QB position.

Jordan: I absolutely love Mariota and if it weren’t for NFL coaches refusing to adapt to QBs skill sets, there would be more teams that would succeed without Andrew Luck/Aaron Rodgers at the helm. So many times NFL teams run QBs out of the league because instead of highlighting things they excel at they want to force them into systems that don’t fit them. RG3 is a prime example.

Chad: Right – the whole ‘where do they win’ concept from Josh Norris. Sculpt a player’s role around what they can actually do. I am still intrigued by an offense that goes full ‘Tim Tebow’ at quarterback with 2-3 rushing options and sticks with that approach of <20 passes a game and built around running and defense. For a team without a passable traditional QB, that has (no pun intended) legs to work.