BTB Community Mock: Arizona, Green Bay And Philadelphia Draft Professionals

The Cardinals, sporting two stud defensive tackles, lead the NFL in rushing defense last year.  Where the Cardinals were often debased was on the back end.  The Cardiac Cards found themselves on the wrong end of too many shoot-outs.  They address that today with Clinton Dix, arguably the best cover safety in the draft.

Although the redbirds possess the electrifying Patrick Peterson,  they  have more queries than remedies at the safety position.  Tyrann Mathieu impressed at free safety but is also returning from ACL and LCL surgeries and the 35 year old free agent Yeremiah Bell will not be invited back. Tony Jefferson and Rashad Johnson make the switch to strong safety.  The folks at revenge of the Birds are jumping for Joy as the Cards sprint to the podium to grab their safety and instantly improve their secondary.

Okay, since most will be unfamiliar with the needs of the playoff contender Packers, I'm going to lay it out here for a bit of background, then I'll get to the pick.

Offensively, they are set at QB with Rodgers, but also have just re-signed Matt Flynn as backup.  They have young RBs in Johnathan Franklin and Eddie Lacy both on their second seasons.  John Kuhn is a staple at FB.  At WR they still have Jordy Nelson, but lost James Jones in free agency who had 817 yards and 3 TDs on 59 receptions.  They do still have Boykin and Cobb who will move up to 2 and 3 respectively, but if a WR2 is available, the Packers will likely take one.  At TE, they just lost Jermichael Finley who had 300 yards and 3 TDs on 25 receptions but only played 6 games.  Andrew Quarless filled in for him but was only adequate, and nothing like as good as Finley So if an outstanding TE is available, they will grab him.  They could use an upgrade at OC, but that is definitely a lower priority.  Rodgers needs targets, and that is the priority on the offense.  So in order, TE, WR2, and C.

Defensively, playing a 3-4, Datone Jones and B.J. Raji  and Jerel Worthy will man LDE and NT and RDE respectively.  At linebacker, they just signed Julius Peppers as a pass rushing OLB to go with Clay Matthews on the other side.  Inside A.J. Hawk has one ILB spot nailed down.  The RILB spot is manned by the badly overmatched (Packers fan's words) Brad Jones.  AT CB they've got Sam Shields and Tramon Williams and Davon House holding down the top three spots.  At safety they have Morgan Burnett and Chris Banjo, but Burnett has been playing out of position at FS and is a more natural SS in the box.  So, FS and ILB are their greatest needs on defense.

As for special teams, lol, this is the first round, doofus.  Besides they have Mason Crosby.

Overall ranking of needs I would put at TE, FS, ILB, WR2, C.  I hate taking 1st round TEs regardless just because they generally have less or far less impact on the game than other positions, and with Ebron off the board I'm not looking at Amaro in the first round.  Both of the possible safeties I would consider (Pryor and Clinton-Dix) are already off the board, and I would have some doubts they would be great there but would have to consider them if they were still available.  I could take Beckham but this is a WR-deep draft and I have a higher ranked talent still on the board anyway.  Fortunately this draft fell directly into my lap in a case of talent meets need almost exactly correctly.  I would sprint to the podium to turn in my card bearing the name:  C.J. Mosley 6'2" 234 lbs.

I'm astounded Mosley has slipped so far (legit top 10 or 15 talent, imo) and see Mosley turning the Packers already formidable front seven into a holy terror.  That's a linebacker corps of Hawk, Clay Matthews, Peppers, and now Mosley.  Mosley could come in and be surrounded by talent to bring him right along to NFL level production.  He would be in the right situation filling the right need for the right team to be almost instantly successful, and probably go deep in the playoffs as an added bonus.

That, along with the addition of a WR2/3 (in a very deep WR draft) like Moncrief, Martavis Bryant, or Jordan Matthews and Amaro in the next couple rounds should get them right back into the Super Bowl picture.  The Packers already have very few holes, and the rookies could come in and start without the weight of the entire offense or defense having to run through them.  That's the picture of a successful team.

The Eagles have plenty of issues on their defense. Last season they have spent draft picks and FA resources on defensive backs and linebackers, but could still use upgrades to their safeties, a dominant 3-4 lineman, and even a true speed rusher at OLB. With Pryor and Dix off the board, the Eagles could look to someone like Dee Ford to solve some edge rushing issues, or even look to someone like Jernigan or Hageman to help cause issues in multiple fronts.

But Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman understand the stakes. With the loss of DeSean Jackson, the young Foles facing growing expectations and a head coach known for creating offensive magic...the Eagles look to keep their offense the driving force of the team (and the fans from rioting) and drafts to fill their needs at receiver, where they are desperate for someone to compete with Jeremy Maclin for the #1 spot.

And so the pick is Odell Beckham, Jr. The talented receiver is a smooth athlete with 4.43 speed and a touch under six feet. Beckham is a slightly more physical DeSean Jackson, with some of the same short comings crossing the middle and blocking, but providing some of the same dangers in space and with the ball in their hands. Bonus, Beckham is younger, won't cost 10mil, and isn't a malcontent.