Well in my family league, my defense is ridiculously stacked. Greg Hardy and Mario Williams at defensive end, along with Vince Wilfork, Geno Atikins and Lamarr Houston at defensive tackle. At linebacker I have Vontaze Burfict holding down the inside with Derrick Johnson and Alec Ogletree on the outside. In the secondary I have Jarius Byrd, T.J. Ward and Tyvon Branch at safety, along with Richard Sherman, Alteraun Verner, and Walter Thurmond III at corner back. With this stacked defense it gave me the opportunity to focus on offense and select which just might be the most realistic and electrifying offensive arsenal ever assembled with seven selections.
Granted I started with: 1 # 28, 2 # 60, 2#64, 3 # 73, 3 # 93, 4 # 127, 4 # 129, 5 # 168, 6 # 203, and 7 # 243 and usually I do not trade up to select players however this year I made an exception.
It all started with the plummet of Johnny Football going to my beloved Cleveland Browns, once he went there I had to have him, so I traded my 1 # 28 and 3 # 73 which beat the trade for the 1 # 22 to draft Johnny Manziel, the first piece of the puzzle. Watch the film this kid is something special he does not have to spend every second in a playbook to be great, which shows me he is a special talent.
The second pick is trading the 3 # 93 down to 4 # 105 and getting the 6 # 179. Granted I am not in an actual war room which I probably would have missed out on the extra 6 but anyway… I traded my 2 # 60 and 4 # 105 for the 2 # 41 (which beat the crap out of the trade made) for Jerry Rice’s nephew by blood Jordan Matthews out of Vanderbilt. This kid has every measurable you can ask for in the NFL and shattered every record imaginable in the SEC.
At pick 2 # 64 we have to give my boy Manziel some time to connect with his new favorite target Matthews, so we select Billy Turner who is the best kept secret in the 3rd round, watch for him to become one of the best Left Tackles in this year’s draft. On film he looks like one of the top three tackles available in this year’s draft.
Once again we trade up with the 4 # 127 and the 6 # 179 to select the best traditional running back in the draft Andre Williams, had this draft been ten years ago he would easily have been a first round pick. Now Johnny football has a bookend tackle, a number one wide receiver, and a punishing running back to go along with those pieces.
At pick 4 # 129 nothing crazy just take the best player available which is Cameron Fleming who can be plugged in at right tackle ASAP if necessary. With potentially two book end tackles along with all the skill positions you can see how this can be a game changer type draft for any team and the picks are realistic, it is not like I am talking about 4 first round picks here but so far there could easily be five offensive starters within the next year or two in this year’s draft.
At pick 5 # 168 I select the only defensive player in my draft which is defensive back E.J. Gaines. At 5’10” 195 Ilbs and a 4.45 40 it is hard to understand why this standout did not get selected higher. He has the athleticism for the NFL, and he has the production at Missouri to prove he can defend the NFL type receivers (watch him against Mike Evans). Gaines just might wind up being the complete steal of this year’s draft.
With picks 6 # 203 and 7 # 243 I traded with my father who initiated the trade talk for pick 6 # 186. Here I selected the wildcard of the draft Marion Grice running back out of Arizona State. Now here is an interesting prospect, the only prospect out of my draft class (in my opinion the rest are a shoe in to make an impact) who might not make it. Grice is incredibly versatile earning over 1,000 yards the past two years but half or more coming from receiving yards. Marion scored a ton during his two year campaign at Arizona State and he shows a rare ability to string together two or three jukes before lowering the boom on a defender to gain the touchdown or extra yards. The fact that he injured his leg before pro days hurt his draft stick a ton in my opinion, only able to run a 4.7 40 at his late modified pro day. Do not be surprised to see him being the Chargers 3rd down back this season and eventually becoming the next LaDainian Tomlinsonin a few years. The kid has great eyes, amazing moves, and has the ability to fight for extra yards.
So there you have it, I have been so focused on defensive in our family league my D became EPIC. This year I had no holes to fill on one side of the ball and decided to go FULL THROTLE on offense. Even though I have stand outs like Tom Brady and Alfred Morris, my offensive needed a kick in the pants and best believe we got it. This year was the most electrifying draft in my history; yes I am calling it that before any of them even take a snap. And yes I did draft Tom Brady fourteen years ago!
