Official 2015 Draft Discussion

[Yubaking]

Its early November. None of that means a bowl of soup right now. Absolutely nothing. I dont care, nor have i looked where any of these guys are rated because it is meaningless right now.

As a Senior at about this time of year, did you know Philip Rivers was rated like a 4th rounder? One guy even said he wouldnt amount to anything as a NFL QB and he should move to TE. TE!!!! Can you imagine that? LMAO

Yes, it is early and of course things will change as the college football season concludes, our season concludes, the Combine takes place and we get a month or so into free agency. All I can do is look at video clips, read articles, study player analyses and various projections and review our various needs. As others have noted before, even with all of that, none of us will ever have all of the information that the NFL teams have through their investigations. But it's fun to try to break it down even with all of our limitations, so I am trying and I know I will be changing my thoughts as further information becomes available.

As far as Rivers becoming a TE is concerned, were they planning on equipping him with a jet pack or did they not realize that one of the requirements for a TE was the ability to run?!

[Formula 21]

Yeah it's really early, but I have my eye on this guy. He has solid skills plus position flexibility.


Brandon Scherff, OT
School: Iowa | Conference: BIG10
College Experience: Senior | Hometown: Denison, IA
Height/Weight: 6-5 / 320 lbs.
Projected Ranking
Overall Position Proj. Rnd.
8 2 1




Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: His upper body strength, along with proper hand placement and good knee bend, make Scherff a force in the running game. Balanced with a naturally wide base and light feet, controlling his momentum well. Outstanding drive blocker with the punch to jolt and drive his man where he wants with above average hand use to attack rushers, keeping separation between him and his target.

Quickness is more functional than flashy. Pass drop from the snap is efficient and controlled rather than explosive. Shifts his weight well and can be a wrecking ball at the second level with an eager blocking attitude and the demeanor of a wrestler, taking down rushers.

Strong hands to latch on and control opponents when pass blocking. Impressive power, as he'll stop pass-rushers in their tracks at times.

WEAKNESSES: Some hip and joint tightness. Can get himself in trouble when relying upon his strength, occasionally settling onto his heels rather than playing on the balls of his feet, which makes him susceptible to speed rushes upfield and quick counters back to the inside. Occasional missteps in pass protection can be corrected with more experience.

Some question as to whether he will be able to stay on the left side in the NFL. Missed the second half of the 2012 season due to an ugly right leg injury, but appeared fully recovered in 2013.

--Dane Brugler & Rob Rang (7/23/14)
Player Overview
NFL scouts value Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's pupils as they generally play with grit and excellent technique and are as reliable in the passing game as they are when run blocking. Iowa's program has been an offensive line factory since Ferentz took over in Iowa City, but the Hawkeyes haven't had a draft pick at the position the past two years.

That will change with Scherff, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound senior. Scouts view him as one of the country's most pro-ready offensive linemen due to his size, strength and versatility.

While Scherff stars at left tackle for the Hawkeyes after moving from guard as a junior, he may not possess the elite athleticism NFL teams prefer as a blind-side pass protector.

[Yubaking]

Yeah it's really early, but I have my eye on this guy. He has solid skills plus position flexibility.


Brandon Scherff, OT
School: Iowa | Conference: BIG10
College Experience: Senior | Hometown: Denison, IA
Height/Weight: 6-5 / 320 lbs.
Projected Ranking
Overall Position Proj. Rnd.
8 2 1




Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: His upper body strength, along with proper hand placement and good knee bend, make Scherff a force in the running game. Balanced with a naturally wide base and light feet, controlling his momentum well. Outstanding drive blocker with the punch to jolt and drive his man where he wants with above average hand use to attack rushers, keeping separation between him and his target.

Quickness is more functional than flashy. Pass drop from the snap is efficient and controlled rather than explosive. Shifts his weight well and can be a wrecking ball at the second level with an eager blocking attitude and the demeanor of a wrestler, taking down rushers.

Strong hands to latch on and control opponents when pass blocking. Impressive power, as he'll stop pass-rushers in their tracks at times.

WEAKNESSES: Some hip and joint tightness. Can get himself in trouble when relying upon his strength, occasionally settling onto his heels rather than playing on the balls of his feet, which makes him susceptible to speed rushes upfield and quick counters back to the inside. Occasional missteps in pass protection can be corrected with more experience.

Some question as to whether he will be able to stay on the left side in the NFL. Missed the second half of the 2012 season due to an ugly right leg injury, but appeared fully recovered in 2013.

--Dane Brugler & Rob Rang (7/23/14)
Player Overview
NFL scouts value Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's pupils as they generally play with grit and excellent technique and are as reliable in the passing game as they are when run blocking. Iowa's program has been an offensive line factory since Ferentz took over in Iowa City, but the Hawkeyes haven't had a draft pick at the position the past two years.

That will change with Scherff, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound senior. Scouts view him as one of the country's most pro-ready offensive linemen due to his size, strength and versatility.

While Scherff stars at left tackle for the Hawkeyes after moving from guard as a junior, he may not possess the elite athleticism NFL teams prefer as a blind-side pass protector.

CBS has him ranked 8th overall and Drafttek has him ranked 5th overall. I am more optimistic about where we are going to be drafting. I am assuming that we will be drafting 20+ and that Scherff will not be on the board at that point.

Also, do we really need to go OT in the first round? My hope is that we extend or re-sign Dunlap (our best OL player), which will leave us with Dunlap and Fluker a starting OTs. I do not see a draft pick starting over them, so that would not give us any immediate on the field improvement for our first round pick. I also do not see a drafted OT cracking the starting lineup anytime for several years in that scenario in the absence of an injury. I think we need depth at OT because Smith is terrible, but we need starting talent at OG and C. That was why I suggested Corey Robinson in round 4. I think there will be good OGs and Cs available in rounds 2-3. How do you see that?

[Mister Hoarse]

Getcha Popcorn Here!

[Formula 21]

CBS has him ranked 8th overall and Drafttek has him ranked 5th overall. I am more optimistic about where we are going to be drafting. I am assuming that we will be drafting 20+ and that Scherff will not be on the board at that point.

Also, do we really need to go OT in the first round? My hope is that we extend or re-sign Dunlap (our best OL player), which will leave us with Dunlap and Fluker a starting OTs. I do not see a draft pick starting over them, so that would not give us any immediate on the field improvement for our first round pick. I also do not see a drafted OT cracking the starting lineup anytime for several years in that scenario in the absence of an injury. I think we need depth at OT because Smith is terrible, but we need starting talent at OG and C. That was why I suggested Corey Robinson in round 4. I think there will be good OGs and Cs available in rounds 2-3. How do you see that?

I'm looking at him more as competition for RT with either he or Fluker moving to OG and Watt as our C. That would also give us three guys with T capabilities when injuries occur. I don't think he projects as a LT which to me drops him out of the top 10.

And it's early, I'm not going to go with the 30th best player if I'm window shopping.

[Yubaking]

I'm looking at him more as competition for RT with either he or Fluker moving to OG and Watt as our C. That would also give us three guys with T capabilities when injuries occur. I don't think he projects as a LT which to me drops him out of the top 10.

And it's early, I'm not going to go with the 30th best player if I'm window shopping.

Your approach makes sense if Fluker is an OG as of 2015. I still like Corey Robinson as a swing OT because he has NFL size (6'7" and 348 pounds) and has multiple years of starting experience at LOT in the SEC. My thought is that he might be able to hold down the fort at LOT better than Fluker or Scherff if Dunlap were to get injured. I like the idea of having 4 guys that can play OT.

If we took both players in the draft and signed Iupati in free agency, would we even need to draft an OG at all? And if Watt can take over at C going forward, then we can avoid drafting there too. That would open up some possibilities as far as drafting defensive players is concerned.

Anyway, I think your approach is perfectly reasonable. We will have to see where Scherff is projected to go as the draft approaches.

[Boltjolt]

CBS has him ranked 8th overall and Drafttek has him ranked 5th overall. I am more optimistic about where we are going to be drafting. I am assuming that we will be drafting 20+ and that Scherff will not be on the board at that point.

Also, do we really need to go OT in the first round? My hope is that we extend or re-sign Dunlap (our best OL player), which will leave us with Dunlap and Fluker a starting OTs. I do not see a draft pick starting over them, so that would not give us any immediate on the field improvement for our first round pick. I also do not see a drafted OT cracking the starting lineup anytime for several years in that scenario in the absence of an injury. I think we need depth at OT because Smith is terrible, but we need starting talent at OG and C. That was why I suggested Corey Robinson in round 4. I think there will be good OGs and Cs available in rounds 2-3. How do you see that?

Like i said, it is early. So what that he is ranked 8th right now? Also he was a OG before this season and may not be a OT in the NFL. He is one to keep an eye on for sure but thats it right now. Fluker may have to move inside, we dont know what they are thinking. They may have no intention of doing that,..... we dont know. To many things to consider before the draft.

[Yubaking]

Like i said, it is early. So what that he is ranked 8th right now? Also he was a OG before this season and may not be a OT in the NFL. He is one to keep an eye on for sure but thats it right now. Fluker may have to move inside, we dont know what they are thinking. They may have no intention of doing that,..... we dont know. To many things to consider before the draft.

Okay, but we are still trying to look at things based upon the information available now. I don't think anyone is of the view that things are cast in stone at this point. We know that it is early and that things will change.

But based upon the early information that we have, it is a possibility that Scherff may not be available when we pick. That's why his being projected above where we draft could be relevant to the discussion. F21 gave a pretty good explanation in response about how he sees him potentially falling. That may well happen, but it isn't wrong for me to point out that draft boards suggest that he might not be available when we go to draft. That's a pretty routine issue that gets raised whenever we discuss mock drafts.

For example, concerning my own mock draft, walterfootball has Corey Robinson going earlier than round 4, so I would also raise that issue with respect to my own mock. And, in my discussion, I already noted that I think we would be fortunate to see Matias fall to where we will likely be picking in the 3rd round.

[Formula 21]

Anybody keeping JJ and Freeney for next year? If not, there's two more guys to replace, at least one has to be taken early. I hate to keep either of them, but if they leave, we're behind the talent curve again.

[Boltjolt]

Anybody keeping JJ and Freeney for next year? If not, there's two more guys to replace, at least one has to be taken early. I hate to keep either of them, but if they leave, we're behind the talent curve again.

Let them walk and sign Justin Houston. Draft another.

[Yubaking]

Anybody keeping JJ and Freeney for next year? If not, there's two more guys to replace, at least one has to be taken early. I hate to keep either of them, but if they leave, we're behind the talent curve again.

My thought was that we could sign Freeney for one more year as a pass rush specialist that we could spot in games. I had previously suggested the possibility of signing Houston, but I also have us targeting J. Thomas, Iupati and Revis. Clearly, we are not going to be able to sign them all, but we might be able to sign 1-2 of them.

The other thought I had was that we should draft another OLB early. I have suggested Hauoli Kikaha of Washington. This would give us Houston, Ingram, Attaochu, Kikaha and Freeney. We could keep Law as a 6th OLB or not. What I do not want us to do is to keep Tourek Williams. He makes tons of mistakes and adds very little to our defense in terms of plays made. I want him gone.

Then, in 2016, we can draft another OLB and let Freeney go. By then, Freeney will be pretty much done anyway. But I do like keeping Freeney around for one more year for quality depth and his tutoring contribution to the younger/youngish players, which would be pretty much everyone except Freeney at OLB.

I agree that we will be behind the talent curve at OLB going into 2015 and that we will have to do something about it.

[OhioBolt]

Anybody keeping JJ and Freeney for next year? If not, there's two more guys to replace, at least one has to be taken early. I hate to keep either of them, but if they leave, we're behind the talent curve again.

I don't think either one returns, Freeney took a pay cut and it was a wise move on our part he is no longer capable of being productive full-time player, and he has become that do to injuries, Johnson is no longer the player he use to be.

Free Agency Plan
NT and we have to be willing to pay the price
DE\OLB



Draft
ILB - Butler may need to be replaced and Teo can't stay healthy
OL - any one of the position T or G if T move Flucker to guard