Mock 2016 Offseason

Let's sign every good player out there at every position of need. By the time the draft gets here they can just throw darts to see who gets picked.

 

How have you not been offered to work in the front office yet????

Then I see your avatar and got to thinking..... maybe lose the earing? You want them to take you seriously you know.

 

This isn’t my final answer for the team – a lot can happen between now and training camp (combine, draft, free agency, etc). This also isn’t what I think WILL happen, but what I’d LIKE to see happen. I also haven’t had enough time to look at available free agents, so I only have us signing 3. I also haven’t given much look at the back end of the draft either. I’d probably add another CB and D-lineman to this in the back end.

Cut: Dexter McCluster, Brian Schwenke, Harry Douglas

FA sign: Al Woods, Marvin Jones , 1 of these 3: Cordy Glenn/Mitchell Schwartz/Andre Smith (happy with any of them)

Re-Sign: Delanie Walker

**Draft trade** w/Dallas. They get #1 overall, we get #4, their 2nd, and Travis Frederick

Draft picks:
#4: Jalen Ramsey CB/S – Florida State
1st: Ezekiel Elliott RB – Ohio State (after trading back into the bottom of round 1)
2nd: Will Fuller – WR Notre Dame
3rd: Jeremy Cash – S Duke
4th: Eric Striker – OLB Oklahoma

Defense:
Casey, Woods, Jones
Morgan, Woodyard, Williamson, Orakpo
Ramsey, Searcy, Cash, McCourty

Offense: (depending on alignment - I realize this is more than 11)
Line: Lewan, Poutasi, Frederick, Warmack, Glenn
QB: Mariota
RB: Elliott
WRs: DGB, Wright, Fuller, Jones
TE: Stevens, Walker

 

Nice job! Some good and interesting stuff but here's a few questions for you. Is it worth much of anything to cut Schwenke? I don't see the point of cutting him.

If you cut DMC, who's our punt returner? Kick returner?

Is it worth cutting Douglas as a 4th war only to sign Jones for that position? Considering we have Walker at TE, how often is our 4th war seeing the field besides injury?

Why not sign Benjamin to fill the 3rd wr spot as well as kr/pr? Means we could spend that 2nd pick on something else.

Walker is not a free agent. Did you mean sign him to an extension? Would you sign Wright to an extension?

The Dallas trade is interesting though Frederick is getting a huge amount of value (instead of picks). Might also consider La'el Collins as he could play RT or OG for us.

In your trade back into the end of round 1, what are you giving up and how far up are you going considering teams like Seahawks, Pats, Broncos and Texans could all be looking at RB?

You draft Striker in round 4. Where do you see him fitting in on this defense? I'm not busting your chops btw, cause he's a player that could make an impact in several different ways here. Want to get your thoughts.

 

Depth at OLB which I'm all for.

ESPN Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold believes there's "a chance" the team could move on from OLB DeMarcus Ware.

That's only if Ware retires or refuses to rework his deal, which includes a $7 million salary and a $3 million roster bonus. The Broncos would prefer to keep Ware, but there's a lot on John Elway's plate with Von Miller, Brock Osweiler, Danny Trevathan, and Malik Jackson all entering free agency. After his dominant postseason, it would be a huge upset if Ware didn't return to Denver.
Source: ESPN.com
Feb 21 - 8:51 AM

 

No worries! That’s what the forum is for – discussion and throwing out ideas.

Nice job! Some good and interesting stuff but here's a few questions for you. Is it worth much of anything to cut Schwenke? I don't see the point of cutting him. My cutting Schwenke is just out of pure frustration. There were a few times last year where he got man-handled and it drove me crazy. I remember one play he got blown up so bad he fell backwards into Mariota. He’s probably worth keeping as a backup if nobody else can step up.

If you cut DMC, who's our punt returner? Kick returner? I really like Cox in the return game, though he didn’t get to show much last year and it had been several years since he had done it. Go youtube some of his college highlights, he was great at it. I need to research it some more, but I also think Will Fuller returned punts at ND. So he could be an option in this scenario. Though they would never do it, I’ve always thought Kendall Wright would be a good returner because of how good he is after the catch.

Is it worth cutting Douglas as a 4th war only to sign Jones for that position? Considering we have Walker at TE, how often is our 4th war seeing the field besides injury? In my scenario, Jones would probably be the 3rd WR, not 4th. Fuller will probably need time to adjust to the speed of the NFL during the early part of the season, though I love his skillset. Douglas just didn’t do enough last year to justify his pricetag – cut him and give that money to Jones.

Why not sign Benjamin to fill the 3rd wr spot as well as kr/pr? Means we could spend that 2nd pick on something else. I have no issue with signing Benjamin – as long as he can find a spot on the offense. I hate assigning a roster spot to a guy just to return kicks.

Walker is not a free agent. Did you mean sign him to an extension? Would you sign Wright to an extension? I should have use the word “extend” instead of re-sign. I made it a separate category apart from the free agent signings. Since this is Delanie’s last year, I want to lock him up for another 2-3 years since he’s one of our only offensive playmakers. I would try to extend Kendall but not break the bank for him. He may want more money than the Titans will offer him.

The Dallas trade is interesting though Frederick is getting a huge amount of value (instead of picks). Might also consider La'el Collins as he could play RT or OG for us. Back before the lockout, draft day trades including players were more commonplace. During the draft after the lockout you couldn’t trade players, only picks that year. I like to include players in draft day trades as well as picks, since established players can come in and contribute immediately. I tend to agree with what Delanie said a while back, we need a veteran presence on the offensive line, that has a lot of youth on it. Wouldn’t mind Collins either though he’s young.

In your trade back into the end of round 1, what are you giving up and how far up are you going considering teams like Seahawks, Pats, Broncos and Texans could all be looking at RB? RBs usually fall farther than people think – last year notwithstanding. If we could get back in the 1st around pick 25 – that’s only 8 slots higher than our 2nd round pick, we probably wouldn’t have to give up much, maybe #33 and a future 3rd or #33 our 5th and future 4th. I don’t think it will cost as much as Ruston gave up to move up in the 2nd to get Hunter a few years ago (he got abused on that deal). I also don’t worry about the Texans at #22 taking a RB in the 1st round. My bet is they draft a QB, possibly Hackenberg from PSU to reunite with his college coach Bill O’Brien. So we only need to get ahead of SEA, NE, and DEN.

You draft Striker in round 4. Where do you see him fitting in on this defense? I'm not busting your chops btw, cause he's a player that could make an impact in several different ways here. Want to get your thoughts. I love Striker. I think he would be a 1st rounder if he were bigger. I’m a University of Tennessee fan and he’s killed us the past 2 years. He’s got a great motor and intensity – something our defense needs! He would be a great backup OLB on the plays Morgan or Orakpo need to come out. Bass is adequate as a backup but I think depth at OLB and Striker’s upside make him a great fit.

 

I fell in love with Matekevich during the senior bowl. Has speed limitations, but is instinctive as hell. Him over Striker to start at ilb over Woodyard.

 

He won't be cheap either after the showing he did at the SB.

 

Cox is 29yrs old. Fuller can probably do it but I think Fuller will get overdrafted unless he runs in the 4.2 range at the combine. I think the titans are afraid Wright will get hurt as he's been banged up just playing WR.

First, taking a WR in the 2nd round to play 4th wr is a bit of a waste unless you don't plan on keeping Wright and are grooming him to be the #2? But why would Jones come here to be demoted to #3WR? I agree that Douglas isn't doing enough to justify his salary, but I doubt the titans cut him with Robiskie as OC and installing Mularkey/Robiskie's scheme. They will like his leadership for DGB much as he and White mentored Julio. I'd rather just cut Douglas and sign Benjamin who fills the speed role of Fuller and is a dynamic returner too AND can carry more than his fair share of the offense when needed. What do you like about Fuller's skillset? Looks more like a shorter Torrey Smith with shaky hands.

Benjamin tripled his number of targets last year and had 68 catches for 966yards...on the Browns...with no QB!!! He can return kicks, punts, and give us that speed role when teams want to load the box against Mariota!

To be clear, to move up the 8 spots you suggest from 33 to 25, it would cost us our 2nd round pick THIS year and a 2nd round pick NEXT year. Next years 2nd is equivalent to a 3rd round this year. The numbers work but no way would I make that trade considering what we can get at 33 this year. I don't think the Texans would take Hack in round 1. More likely they take Elliot in round 1 and take Hackenburg in round 2 or 3 or 4...wherever they think they can get him. Who else would see Hack as a 1st round pick? I don't think we can get Elliot but I might trade up for Spence! Denver doesn't need him but NE or Seattle could take him! Course, that also depends on how much of a risk he is!

I actually think Striker could make a nice ILB with his speed and intensity as long as he has a thumper next to him (Williamson) and can be the gap shooting guy we were hoping from in Brown. Striker would also be a heck of a blitzer off the edge where he does his most damage. I don't think he could be a true backup OLB but they said that kind of thing about Robert Mathis and Elvis Dumervil! Guy with pass rush, intensity, and passion....I'll find a spot(s) for him!!!