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Having fun on first-pick.com for old times sake.
Let me see yalls best first-pick mocks(only 1 trade allowed)
I'm interested to see who yalls favorite Casey replacement picks are.
Javon Kinlaw would be a dream.
AJ Epenesa is my favorite pick at the moment, but if we trade back or go corner in the 1st, we will probably have to target someone else in the 2nd.
My top 3 after Epenesa are
Texas A&M's Justin Madubuike,
Missouri's Jordan Elliot and
TCUs Ross Blacklock with
Marlon Davidson 4th.
Justin Madubuike seems to have a pretty high floor. He's consistently projected as a 1-2 rd pick from a wide range of sources(pff, walter, espn, etc) . Great combine numbers, good tape/production. My only question regarding him...Is he the disruptor this defense needs? I still like Epenesa alot more for us, but Madubuike wouldnt be a bad plan b.
As for
Jordan Elliot, he's flying under the radar in most mocks because his production was meh and his combine performance didn't stand out. HOWEVER, PFF has him graded higher than any other dlineman this year including Kinlaw and Derrick Brown(and PFF is known as a pretty reliable source). This caught my eye so I watched some of his tape. They weren't wrong, he is a disruptive player with good size, athleticism and motor. When you watch him, it seems like the offense probably game planned for him...alot. He got alot of double teams because he played alot of 1 tech, and he still managed to be disruptive because of his size and athleticism at that size. I think he could fit much better as a 3 tech in a 34 opposed to a 43 DT like he played at mizzou. Elliot might not be as safe a pick as a guy like madubuike, but i believe he has a much higher ceiling potentially.
Ross Blacklock is going to he a good player in the NFL. His instincts and ability to get off blocks is special. He's good against the run and offers a wide arrange of pass rush moves. I honestly hadnt watched him at all before i wrote any of this, but now he may be higher on my board than Elliot and Madubuike. Only issue for me is, does he fit the 3tech or is he better fit on the inside of a 43. After watching him i think he might be able to do both.
I wasn't impressed with
Marlon Davidson honestly...he just doesn't stand out to me. I think you can make a strong argument that D Brown and that auburn d made him look alot better than he was. He played the edge at auburn which wouldn't work at all for him in the nfl. Again, we need a disruptor, and i don't think he's it.
Honorable Mention:
Neville Gallimore is extremely underwhelming to be projected in the 1st. Rated much lower from NFL.com and pff compared to the aforementioned prospects. It's easy to look good when the only teams you play all season are terrible. That and the fact that he's a one trick pony are why he's not in my top 6. His finesse moves are nice but he gives up too much in the run game. While guys like blacklock can finesse the oline while also getting leverage in the run game with powerful hands.
My rankings(after writing the article):
1) Javon Kinlaw
2) Derrick Brown
3) AJ Epenesa
4) Ross Blacklock
5) Jordan Elliot
6) Justin Madubuike
If we don't get one of these guys(or clowney) our defense is going to feel it....
Please let me know how you would rank your favorite Casey replacements! Always interested to hear your guys' takes.