Thursday, March 23, 2017

Throwback Thursday: 2016 Flea Flicker Mock Draft

Mock Drafts are a look forward. Once the real draft has passed mock drafts are tossed. Likely forgotten. How about a look back at the final Flea Flicker Mock Draft of 2016?

1.   Los Angeles Rams-Jared Goff, QB, Cal
2.   Philadelphia Eagles-Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota St.
3.   San Diego Chargers-Laremy Tunsil, T, Mississippi
4.   Dallas Cowboys-Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida St.
5.   Jacksonville Jaguars-Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
6.   Baltimore Ravens-Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio St.
7.   San Francisco 49ers-DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
8.   Cleveland Browns-Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio St.
9.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
10. New York Giants-Ronnie Stanley, T, Notre Dame
11. Chicago Bears-Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
12. New Orleans Saints-Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville
13. Miami Dolphins-William Jackson III, Houston
14. Oakland Raiders-Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama
15. Tennessee Titans-Jack Conklin, T, Michigan St.
16. Detroit Lions-Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi
17. Atlanta Falcons-Darron Lee, LB, Ohio St.
18. Indianapolis Colts-Taylor Decker, T, Ohio St.
19. Buffalo Bills-Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama
20. New York Jets-Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
21. Washington Redskins-A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
22. Houston Texans-Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
23. Minnesota Vikings-Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia
24. Cincinnati Bengals-Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
25. Pittsburgh Steelers-Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
26. Seattle Seahawks-Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Mississippi
27. Green Bay Packers-Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
28. Kansas City Chiefs-Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
29. Arizona Cardinals-Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson
30. Carolina Panthers-Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
31. Denver Broncos-Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi St.

For reference, here's the actual draft.

1.   Los Angeles Rams-Jared Goff, QB, Cal
2.   Philadelphia Eagles-Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota St.
3.   San Diego Chargers-Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
4.   Dallas Cowboys-Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
5.   Jacksonville Jaguars-Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida State
6.   Baltimore Ravens-Ronnie Stanley, T, Notre Dame
7.   San Francisco 49ers-DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
8.   Tennessee Titans-Jack Conklin, T, Michigan St
9.   Chicago Bears-Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
10. New York Giants-Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
12. New Orleans Saints-Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville
13. Miami Dolphins-Laremy Tunsil, T, Mississippi
14. Oakland Raiders-Karl Joseph, S, West Viriginia
15. Cleveland Browns-Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
16. Detroit Lions-Taylor Decker, T, Ohio State
17. Atlanta Falcons-Keanu Neal, S, Florida
18. Indianapolis Colts-Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama
19. Buffalo Bills-Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
20. New York Jets-Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
21. Houston Texans-Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
22. Washington Redskins-Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
23. Minnesota Vikings-Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi
24. Cincinnati Bengals-William Jackson III, CB, Houston
25. Pittsburgh Steelers-Artie Burns, CB, Miami
26. Denver Broncos-Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
27. Green Bay Packers-Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA
28. San Francisco 49ers-Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford
29. Arizona Cardinals-Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Mississippi
30. Carolina Panthers-Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech
31. Seattle Seahawks-Germain Ifedi, T, Texas A&M

I hit on a few but missed wildly on far more.

Right player, right team
Jared Goff
Carson Wentz
Myles Jack
DeForest Buckner
Vernon Hargreaves
Leonard Floyd
Sheldon Rankins
Jack Conklin

Jared Goff and Carson Wentz don't really count. Everyone knew that those quarterbacks were the targets of the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles when they traded up to the top of the draft. The mystery of the 2016 draft started with the third pick and the San Diego Chargers surprised just about everyone with the terrific selection of Joey Bosa. I was right that the Jaguars would select Myles Jack but was way off on when they'd make that selection. Due to injury concerns they were able to grab him with the fifth pick of the second round. Not counting the easy predictions of the quarterbacks, DeForest Buckner and and Sheldon Rankins were the only picks I got right in terms of when and where. The Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers flipped spots in the real draft but still selected the players that I predicted in their new spots. The Bears selected Leonard Floyd earlier than I thought that they would. and the Buccaneers selected Vernon Hargreaves later than I thought that they would. The Tennessee Titans traded up seven spots to insure that they had Jack Conklin. I had them staying put and still getting their tackle.

Not even close
Myles Jack
Reggie Ragland
Jarran Reed
A'Shawn Robinson
Mackensie Alexander
Kevin Dodd
Chris Jones
Andrew Billings

I had all of the above being selected in the first round. None were. That means that there are corresponding number of players that I didn't have as first round picks that were. One could say that I missed badly on 16 players. Or just over half of the first round. I'd rather not look at it that way. All but Andrew Billings were second round picks. I wasn't even close with my expectations of Billings. The Cincinnati Bengals were able to pluck him in the fourth round.

Instead of the misses I prefer to remember my astute predictions for Buckner and Rankins as well as the dedication that the Bears and Buccaneers showed for Floyd and Hargreaves. That's some fine mocking. 

No comments:

Post a Comment