Trades made prior to draft:
- Traded 1(1) to SF for 1(3) 2(3) and 4(3)
- Traded 2009 1st and 2010 1st to ATL for 1(4) and 4(4)
- Traded 2009 2nd and 2010 4th to TEN for 2(12)
- Traded 2010 2nd and 2010 3rd to BUF for 2(6) and 5(5)
- Traded 2009 5th and 2010 5th to OAK for 5(1)
- Traded 2009 6th and 2010 7th to PIT for 6(5)
- Traded 2009 7th and 2010 6th to SF for 6(3)
- Traded 2009 3rd and 4th to PIT for 3(6)
This leaves me with:
1st – 3rd, 4th
2nd – 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 12th
3rd – 1st, 6th
4th – 2nd, 3rd, 4th
5th – 1st, 2nd, 5th
6th – 2nd, 3rd, 5th
7th - 1st
Draft:
Two QBs taken with first two picks. Select LT Bryan Clemons 3rd overall. Below average at run blocking but should be a monster protecting the QB on the pass rush. With the 4th pick, we like WR Harris Powell but hope for some more value. Traded 1(4) 5(5) and 7(1) to NYK for 1(8) and 2(13).
Three more QBs go in picks 4-7. Going to need to grab one soon before they're all gone. At 1(8) I grab WR Powell, who has scouted ratings all near the max. Now to find someone who can get him the ball.
I'm targeting Kim McGregor out of Penn State. He's only 16% developed, but has high ratings in all distance passes besides screens, high in accuracy, timing, and reading the D. He runs the two minute offense well and also scrambles. He was the 8th QB on the board so I figured he'd be there for my 2nd rounders, but with 6 gone already who knows. I'll hold out and only trade back into the 1st if another QB gets taken.
I have five 2nd rounders coming up. Looking around, there is a lockdown CB available, but really no one else who stands out as someone I should be giving up picks for. We'll sim slowly and see how it progresses.
The corner goes 10th overall. There is another very good CB available in Bo Granados. I'd love if he fell into the 2nd.
Jack Yoo, the QB ranked below McGregor, goes at 13. Bo Granados goes 17th. Bert Mayhem, the QB ranked above McGregor, goes 19th. We'll try to trade back into the 1st for McGregor.
We pull off a trade with NE, acquiring 1(20) and 4(17) for our 2(6) and 2(13). We select McGregor and hope he doesn't suck. We've addressed offense with our first three picks; we'll hope to get a DE and a CB with our 2(2) and 2(3), but obviously BPA rules.
The next 13 picks roll off, and no one takes a QB. Maybe I pulled the trigger on that deal too early, but I was nervous.
There's a RB sitting on top of the board in OJ Winters who looks pretty good, but my offense will probably be terrible anyway so I really need some defensive help. There's a real nice SLB sitting down the board in Raymond Turnbull. I'm going to hope he's available with my 2(12).
I take the top safety on the board in Lance Raymond. He's excellent both against the run and pass, so I figure if he's my leader out there, I'm off to a good start. I have the next pick as well. Dennis Dotson is a solid RT – excellent in run blocking, good at pass blocking. Hopefully this will be a nice complement to the LT I picked prior. I made him my 2(3) pick. I would have liked to go defense, but there wasn't a great pick there and OL play is important.
SLB Raymond Turnbull lasts to me at 2(13). Scouted to be excellent against the run, a big-time pass rusher, and great in M2M. His only weakness seems to be zone defense.
After 44 picks, we have six players on the roster: a QB, a WR, 2 OTs, a LB, and a S. Nice distribution. I have two 3rds and four 4ths coming up. There's a really nice looking DE available but seems to be underrated. I'm confident he'll last to the 3rd. I'd like to grab a RB, a corner or two, another WR, and another LB/DE. I'd also like to use a 4th to take another QB just in case.
At 3(1), I select the DE I wanted in Myron Riti. Scouted to be excellent against the run and has excellent pass rush technique. Not great strength though. We pick again at 3(6) and take CB Ray Connell. He's easily the best M2M CB available and is excellent and diagnosing plays, making INTs, and hitting people.
We sim down to the 4th round where we have three straight picks at 2, 3, and 4, to go along with the 17th as well. We take G Peter Coleman, who projects to be solid across the board. Then we grab DT Mike Newhart who I'm surprised I didn't notice before as his ratings are huge. We finish off the string with RB Derek Lawless, who despite his 6'3”, 230 lb frame, apparently can't run inside. Everything else looks nice. We grab ILB Eric Haslett with our last 4th.
We have the first two picks in the 5th. We grab our 2nd CB in Everett Zamora followed by G Billy Joe Ater. There's a few guys I am targeting that I'd be thrilled to get in the 6th where we have three picks. At 6(2) I grab OLB OJ Aschbacher. Not a big pass rusher but his other ratings look very good. I think he may have been a nice steal. Another guy I was hoping for is DE Willie Malcomson. Poor against the run but he's a monster pass rusher. Pairing him up with Riti should be nice. With my last pick in the draft, I grab WR Wendell Frederickson.
Heading into free agency, we still have a lot of work to do. We sign about 60 players to FA deals, most being 2 years at the minimum salary. Many will be cut after camp. Nothing major to report – the best guy I pulled looks like my starting center in Wayne Turnbull (any relation to our starting SLB?). He's projected at 20/62. Not bad for a UDFA.
A quick run-thru of what my drafted players look like before their first training camp:
LT Bryan Clemons 1(3) – 53/71
FL Harris Powell 1(8) – 41/79
QB Kim McGregor 1(20) – 9/47 -- ew
SS Lance Redmond 2(2) – 38/67
RT Dennis Dotson 2(3) – 25/65
SLB Ray Turnbull 2(12) – 32/69
RDE Myron Riti 3(1) – 12/63
CB Ray Connell 3(6) – 31/51
RG Peter Coleman 4(1) – 26/57
LDT Mike Newhart 4(3) – 23/54
RB Derek Lawless 4(4) – 29/46
WILB Eric Haslett 4(17) – 25/56
CB Everett Zamora 5(1) – 24/43
RG Billy Joe Ater 5(2) – 18/55
SLB OJ Aschbacher 6(2) – 20/54
RDE Willie Malcomson 6(3) – 26/49
SE Wendell Fredrickson 6(5) – 17/51
Looking at the numbers, I really don't know how well I did because of how long it's been since I played. McGregor will need to play well above his ratings if this team will ever have any success. I seem to have gotten some nice value from the 4th round and on. All my rookies are signed – the 1st rounders took 5 year deals.
After training camp, not much to report. WR Powell's future decreased from 79 to 72. LB Turnbull also so his potential decrease, from 69 to 62.
We trim the roster down to 46 active, 53 total and head to the preseason. McGregor will be our starting QB and will attempt to justify his draft position. We went 1-3, scoring 41 points and allowing 94. Not as bad as I expected.
We start the season 0-8, scoring 36 points and allowing 195. Selected stats:
QB McGregor – 115 for 234 for 899 yards, 2 TDs and 11 INTs. QB rating of 42.3
RB Lawless – 68 rushes for 351 yards (5.1) 0 TD
RB Hoffman – 75 rushes for 385 yards (5.1) 1 TD
RB Fling – 15 rushes for 95 yards (6.3) 0 TD
WR Powell – 29 catches for 273 yards on 69 targets. 0 TD
WR Frederickson – 20 catches for 183 yards on 37 targets, 2 TDs
RB Hoffman – 13 catches for 103 yards on 14 targets
I've returned 11 punts in 8 games. Doesn't say much about my defense.
Tackles Leaders: SS Raymond – 59, OLB Turnbull – 53, ILB Haslett – 37
Sacks Leaders: DE Williamson – 3, OLB Turnbull – 2, OLB Aschbacher – 2
INT Leaders: One each for CB Connell, Zamora, and S Gomez
We're 0-15 heading into 7-8 Washington for the last game of the season, and we pull out a stunning 7-3 victory thanks to a 6 yard Cedric Hoffman TD.
To go along with our 1-15 record (92 points for, 423 against – this tied with 3 other teams for worst in the NFL), some stats:
QB McGregor – 225 for 442 for 1835 yards, 3 TDs and 21 INTs. QB rating of 44.2
RB Lawless – 162 rushes for 738 yards (4.6) 0 TD
RB Hoffman – 108 rushes for 508 yards (4.7) 2 TDs
RB Fling – 73 rushes for 330 yards (4.5) 1 TD
WR Powell – 51 catches for 475 yards on 118 targets. 0 TD
WR Okobi – 42 catches for 493 yards on 80 targets, 1 TD
WR Frederickson – 38 catches for 357 yards on 76 targets, 2 TDs
Now up to 26 punt returns in the 16 games. My number one returner (Lawless) averaged 4.2 yards. Both my kick returners averaged under 20 yards per.
Tackles Leaders: SS Raymond – 94, OLB Turnbull – 89, ILB Anhalt – 73, ILB Haslett – 71
Sacks Leaders: DE Williamson – 3, DE Cassidy – 3, OLB Turnbull – 2, OLB Aschbacher – 2 (looks like I picked up at most 5 sacks in the second half of the season).
INT Leaders: Zamora – 2, one each for CB Connell, ILB Anhalt, and S Gomez