FanPost

Position Outlook: Mid point Mock


Welcome Back ya'll. This is the Second installment of the Position Outlook: Mock Drafting Series. Before we get into the Mocking up here is the explanation for this:

I will using my Position Outlook series as a basis for a series of Mock Drafts based on how I profiled the Cowboys roster. Please note that I will not be making any changes prior to Free agency to the position posts, but I will update them in the mock draft. Basically what I am saying is that IF Dallas makes any moves that would increase/decrease any rankings I will be notating them in this "series". (Edit: in fact I did a full Fanpost on it, and revised the ranking system in the process, Click Here to go to the Ranking Revision post if you haven't already seen it)

For this Series of posts I will be using the Draftek Online Draft Simulator as my method of mocking. Bear in mind that this is based on Drafttek's Big Board and may not be how you rank the prospects. I will of course offer up to three different Mocks in each posts, one standard mock, which will be the Drafttek settings, the outlook mock, which wil be using Draftteks big board + my position outlook setting, and finally My BPA mock, in which I will possibly grab a player that I think would be a better pick.

Now How many posts will there be? Well I will obviously have this one which is right after the Combine concludes but before FA. I plan to do two more, one mid way from the start of FA(March 13th) till the draft(April 26th), and one shortly before the draft(hopefully about a week prior. this is of course subject to change, and will Replace my "How Will They Fit" series. Sorry to all those that wanted me to do those. I will say that this series will incorporate the Combine and Pro Day Information that was the basis of that series, and may include other Elements.

For Reference here is the Rankings:

QB-5 Stars

Tackle- 4 Stars

Guard- 3 Stars

Center- 2 Stars

Corner Back- 4 Stars

Safety- 2 Stars

DL- 3 Stars

ILB- 5 Stars

OLB- 4 Stars

RB-5 Stars

WR- 4 Stars

TE- 4 Stars

So to under stand how the Drafttek priority codes work and how they align with my rankings, Click here for an explanation of the Codes.

I would suggest you read them because here is how I work the Codes with my rankings:

1-2-3 stars- priority codes 1-2-3 respectfully

4- stars- codes 4-6: this depends on how I feel about the depth players for instance, OT and CB =code 4; WR= code 6; TE position= code 5

5 stars- code 9(pure BPA)

So On to the First Mock. Bear in Mind that this is a Straight "base line Mock" using Drafttek's "priority codes". So if you use Drafttek alot like I do you should recognize it:

14 Whitney Mercilus OLB34 Illinois

45 Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina

82 Philip Blake OC Baylor

113 Chris Givens WRF Wake Forest

144 Jeff Allen OT Illinois

175 James Hanna TE Oklahoma

205 Chigbo Anunoby DT34 Morehouse College

Now I like this Mock for several reasons, A) 2nd round CB in Stephen Gillmore. This kid is very good and probably won't make it to the second round so IF Dallas could get him here, Hellava steal here. B) Has you may note in my Outlooks series both the TE and OT positions could use some depth, Allen and Hanna fit the Bill here. C) get a young DT in the 7th who will provide Competition for Brent at the NT position.

However, I don't Like Mercilus in the first, and am kinda meh at Blake and Givens in the 3rd/ 4th rounds. While I will admit that with the way the ODS played out the draft, , taking all the "blue chippers" before the 14th pick, Mercilus was the BPA at this point. Also I dislike the drafting of Given in the fourth as I feel that Dallas has enough players already at the WR position, and doesn't need to draft any. Also Blake in the third is a little high for him and honestly seems like a "need" pick with his numbers (6-2 311 with bad "explosion numbers" @ 29.5 vert, and 8' 9" broad respectfully).

So lets move on to My position Outlook Mock:

14 Whitney Mercilus OLB34

45 Stephon Gilmore CB

82 Philip Blake OC

113 Brandon Taylor SS

144 Matt Conrath DE34

175 James Hanna TE

205 Mike Daniels DT43

So as you can see my outlook mock ans the Drafttek mock are almost identical, However mine in more Defensive oriented, eschewing the WR and OT positions for a SS and a DE....I am still not happy with the Mercilus and Blake picks. So lets see if we can change those and how that will affect the draft:(Note: I do wish to thank OCC for helping me with this last mock, due to a technical issue. Thus I am unable to answer any questions about the mock. Thank you for your understanding.)

14 Dre Kirkpatrick, FS


45 Stephon Gilmore, CB


82 Audie Cole, ILB


113 DaJohn Harris, DE


144 Matt Conrath, DT


175 Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, DT


205 Garth Gerhart, OC

Now this is a Mock I can get behind. While Kirkpatrick may be a Reach here at 14, his skill set translates nicely to the Safety position, and could shore up a consistent position of Weakness for Dallas. Add in getting Gillmore in the second round, plus the Signing of Carr, and Dallas has almost completely revamped it's Secondary. Then With Dallas getting Audie Cole in the third, who at 6-4 246, is a little taller than Dallas likes their ILB's but could put on 15 lbs(bringing him to 260) and play as the OLB(replacing Spencer)...DaJohn HArris seems to be a decent pickup in the fourth, though he does have a Heart condition. Here is the Report via NFLDraftScout.com:

Former USC defensive tackle DaJohn Harris was not allowed to work out at the NFL combine last month because doctors found a small hole in his heart during a physical examination in Indianapolis, Harris revealed Wednesday at USC's pro day. Harris, projected as a mid-round pick in April's draft, visited an Arizona cardiologist with agent Joe Panos shortly after the combine and found that the hole was normal and natural. He said his doctor has since emailed the all 32 NFL teams, alerting them of his status and permitting him to work out as usual. Harris, a two-year starter for the Trojans, has a condition known as a PFO, or patent foramen ovale, discovered after NFL doctors ordered him to undergo an EKG and echocardiogram in Indianapolis. The condition is a small hole located in the heart that all humans have until birth that assists with blood flow. Most holes close upon birth, but in roughly 25 percent of humans, the hole never completely closes naturally and for those people it is not typically treated as an issue.

Getting him in the 4th round seems to be a good pickup. Conrath, Kitchen and Gerhart would be good Competition Fodder in Camp, though it is unlikely any of them would unseat a current player, and would likely be a Practice squad player. I could see Dallas getting a Day one Starter in Dre, with both Gillmore and Cole taking over in year two, with two of the remaining 4 becoming solid rotational players......

Well that is it for this edition, I will be back one more time roughly a Week before the Draft to finish this up. As Always I welcome any Comments and Critiques that you guys may have, so Feel free to do so. Thank you for any input that you may have.

Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.