2014 Official Draft Thread

[Bolt-O]

There was a thread for this?

[Fleet]

Merged.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Good merge, I forgot we aleady started one.


Will the 2014 NFL Draft be similar to 2013?

A pair of O-Linemen will be in high demand.

Print This JUNE 20, 2013, 02:00 PM EST

In this past NFL Draft, we saw something we have never seen before. Three offensive tackles were drafted in the top four, five offensive linemen in the top 10 and nine overall offensive linemen in the first round.

The main reason this happened was because the best offensive linemen were the strength of the draft. There wasn’t a group of top QBs that were worthy of a high first-round pick. The value of a good lineman was shown.

If a club lacks strength in the offensive line they can either draft and develop a player or buy one in free agency. But it’s a lot cheaper to acquire one via the draft and sometimes a better solution.

Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel and Lane Johnson were top players and worthy of their high draft status. But the 2014 Draft will have two offensive tackles who are arguably better players than Fisher, Joeckel and Johnson. You can watch tape of Taylor Lewan from Michigan and Jake Matthews from Texas A&M and come away saying these guys are better players.

I did tape work on both during the 2012 season thinking that both would be entering the 2013 Draft. My grades on Lewan and Matthews were higher than I had on Joeckel, Fisher and Johnson. Both Lewan and Matthews are big, strong, athletic and competitive. They are just what clubs are looking for at the tackle position. Lewan has played left tackle most of his career but 2013 will be the first year that Matthews will be playing on the left side. Switching sides will not hurt Matthews' draft stock. Lane Johnson played right tackle in 2011 before moving to left tackle last year and he got picked fourth.

I have talked to other scouts who have looked at all of these players and they also feel Lewan and Matthews could be better prospects. Does that mean they will go 1-2 in next year's draft? No, because how that draft looks as far as talent at the top of the board has not been determined yet and won’t be for about another nine months.

If South Carolina defensive end Javedeon Clowney enters the Draft, he may jump to the top. Premier pass rushers always have great value. UCLA’s OLB/DE Anthony Barr had 13.5 sacks in 2012. He too could be a top pick because of his ability to rush the passer.

While we didn’t have a top QB in the 2013 Draft that might not be the case in 2014. Alabama’s AJ McCarron might not look that great from a physical point of view, but all he does is win games and he does so in an NFL style offense. Georgia’s Aaron Murray has the size and arm strength that clubs covet and Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater gets better with every game. With strong 2013 seasons all of these players could be very high draft picks just because of the value of QB position.

The point I’m making is that even though Lewan and Matthews may be better players at their position than the three players that went 1, 2 and 4 in the 2013 Draft that doesn’t mean it will be the same in 2014. Quarterbacks and pass rushers have higher value to most clubs and if there are top players at those positions in next year’s Draft they may get picked higher. It will be interesting to see how all these players play this coming college football season.

[Bolt-O]

I think the 2013 OL top heavy draft was due to a lack of significant playmakers available, but this next draft shouldn't be...I think a lot of underclassmen will be coming into this daft too. I don't plan on the Chargers being in the in the top five picks, but we'll know pretty quickly how realistic that can be after the Houston game. I'm sure the 'duh fans are not thinking they will have the overall #1 either, but everyone else seems to think that way, and they will have lots of holes to fill. In any case, if Clowney is available when the Chargers pick, I think he's a guy you just can't pass on, unless PR follows his current downward trend.

[Boltjolt]

I think the 2013 OL top heavy draft was due to a lack of significant playmakers available, but this next draft shouldn't be...I think a lot of underclassmen will be coming into this daft too. I don't plan on the Chargers being in the in the top five picks, but we'll know pretty quickly how realistic that can be after the Houston game. I'm sure the 'duh fans are not thinking they will have the overall #1 either, but everyone else seems to think that way, and they will have lots of holes to fill. In any case, if Clowney is available when the Chargers pick, I think he's a guy you just can't pass on, unless PR follows his current downward trend.

Ill agree but he may not have the season next year he had this year. Happens all the time. We still need a LT badly. Starks isnt that good and neither is Dunlap.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Unless we see a big improvement from the teams that drafted Oline early we could see some franchise left tackles go outside the top ten. Considering the QBs comming up and lack of all skill positions at the top of this last draft teams will be hungry for top WRs, CBs, PassRusher, RBs QBs and big dlineman. Assuming we pick 11 again we will have good options.

[Mister Hoarse]

Time to start this 2015 Draft threads

[Formula 21]

This is one reason why trading up for a superman like Clowney scares me. God just doesn't make many supermen.

American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay, who had promoted himself as a clean athlete, tested positive for a banned substance and said he will pull out of the world championships next month in Moscow.

Gay wouldn't reveal the substance in a phone conversation from Amsterdam on Sunday, but he said he was notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency late last week that a sample came back positive from a May 16 out-of-competition test. He said he will have his "B" sample tested soon, possibly as early as this week.

A triple world champion in 2007, Gay was healthy again this season after being constantly plagued by hamstring and groin ailments, along with a surgically repaired hip. He won the 100 and 200 at nationals last month, setting up an anticipated showdown with Usain Bolt at worlds.

But that's been scrubbed. Gay, who has the fastest 100 time in the world this season, also said he will pull out of a meet in Monaco and fly back to the headquarters of USADA in Colorado Springs, Colo., to be on hand when his "B" sample is tested.

Gay is the second high-profile track athlete to makes headlines for doping in the last few weeks. Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning 200-meter world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, was suspended by her national federation last month pending an investigation into a positive drug test. Jamaican officials said Campbell-Brown, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion in the 200, tested positive for a banned diuretic at a meet on the island in May.

Gay is good friends with Campbell-Brown and said at the time: "We're all accountable for what goes in our system or what goes in our body. But at the same time, sometimes mistakes do happen."

A few years ago, Gay was part of USADA's program called "My Victory," in which athletes pledge to compete clean. In his testimonial on the website, Gay said, "I compete clean because I really believe in fairness, and besides that, my mom would kill me! Just being honest."

Former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and Jamaican teammate Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent.

Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. The news came the same day that American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay revealed that he also failed a drug test.

"I want to be clear in saying to my family, friends, and most of all my fans worldwide that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules," Powell said in a statement. "I am not now -- nor have I even been -- a cheat.

[Mister Hoarse]

Time to keep up with this Bolt

[Savage Lizard]

Time to keep up with this Bolt

516 posts and probably 300 of them are "Time to..." Is there an expiration date on that?

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Lol, time to zip it!

[Boltjolt]

516 posts and probably 300 of them are "Time to..." Is there an expiration date on that?

Lol, so im not alone on this.