TMG DraftZone 2013 NFL Draft Grades: NFC East

The 2013 NFL Draft has come and gone, my vacation is over and it's time to hand out grades to the teams. I posted in a blog earlier this draft season that without the big names at the top, with loads of depth and with players at 15-35-55 that would wind up having similar talent and value, that it would be tough for any team to really screw up their draft. I was right on that point. I was wrong on my very early prediction that 5 quarterbacks would go in the first round. For this year, Panic In The Draft Room did not take over. But it did hit in Round 4. The quarterbacks in this draft may end up being quality players, but teams went for what they saw as the moer sure thing and waited to take the signal callers. When Round 4 came around, the quarterbacks went off the board. But 2013 was all about The Big Uglies. 6 offensive lineman taken in the first 11 picks. 3 defensive lineman in the first 6 picks. Even Travis Frederick, seen by many as a third round pick, went in Round 1 to Dallas. No running backs selected in the first round, and only one quarterback. What in the name of Russell Erxlaben is going on here? My team draft grades will be followed by key selections and sleeper picks. So here is the TMG DraftZone team grades for the 2013 NFL Draft, starting with the NFC East: NFC East Dallas: C Gavin Escobar (TE) Joseph Randle (RB) Frederick will move into the center position and plug up the revolving door there, but he could have been gotten in late Round 2 or even Round 3. Escobar will give Tony Romo an excellent target, and Randle could get his chance to carry the ball if the Dallas backs keep getting injured. NY Giants: B+ Johnathon Hankins (DT) Damontre Moore (DE) New York looked to shore up their offensive line with the pick of Justin Pugh. His running mate from Syracuse, quarterback Ryan Nassib, may not get much of a chance to play but he gives the Giants a solid backup to Eli Manning. Hankins is a load who can tie up the middle of the defensive line and free up the Giants pass rush from the ends. And if Moore plays like the one who racked up 12 sacks last year at Texas A&M instead of the player who looked like he took his future for granted at the combine, he could have a big impact down the road. Philadelphia: A- Matt Barkley (QB) Jordan Poyer (CB) The Chip Kelly Era starts with the building block of the most athletic tackle in the draft with Lane Johnson. Zack Ertz will give the Eagles quarterback a big target down the middle, and I believe that the quarterback who will be throwing the ball to Ertz, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and others will be Barkley. I don't believe he will begni the year as the starter, but I can see Barkley finishing the year taking snaps. Jordan Poyer was seen as an early round pick, and he fell all the way to the seventh round. With the Eagles porous pass defense, Poyer could get a chance early. Washington: B David Amerson (CB) Phillip Thomas (S) Washington surrendered their first round pick last year to move up and take Robert Griffin III, and that move worked out very well as the Redskins won the NFC East. Washington beefed up their pass defense early and often with the picks of David Amerson in Round 2 and later on with Phillip Thomas in Round 4. Jordan Reed gives Griffin another target to throw to when he finally learns that he will last a lot longer in the NFL by not running as much as he did last year.

DSA Player Rankings 6.0--2013 Final Edition

It is time for the final edition of the TMG DraftZone DSA Player Rankings for 2013. I normally post this the day of the draft, but this year I'm going on vacation and leaving my computer and research behind. There may be a surprise player move up, but I don't see the top of the draft changing much at all. Geno Smith is the biggest drop at the top, falling four spots down to #9. With a clean bill of health, Star Lotulelei looks to be a near certain Top Ten pick, and he moved up 3 positions in the final DSA's. Tavon Austin is the premier playmaker on offense in the draft, and he jumped up 4 spots to #14. Safety is one position that is deep with very talented players, and I can see a run on the top players at the position come Thursday night. Kenny Vaccaro is the top rated safety at #17, but Matt Elam jumped 9 spots to #21, and Eric Reid and Jonathon Cyprien but made a huge move up the charts. Both players gained 16 positions in the DSA's, up to #28 and #29, respectively. And it seems that the fall of Damontre Moore is nearly complete. Once seen as a possible #3 overall pick to Oakland, Moore was shut out of all the mock drafts I researched for the final DSA's. In all the time I've done this, I've never seen that happen. Moore might still get a surprise call in Round 1, but if not I do not see him lasting too long in Round 2. There is too much talent there for teams to pass him by for too long on Day 2. So here is the final TMG DraftZone DSA Player Rankings for 2013: 1) Luke Joeckel 1.60 2) Dion Jordan 3.10 3) Eric Fisher 3.90 4) Sharrif Floyd 5.50 5) Dee Milliner 6.40 6) Lane Johnson 6.60 7) Ezekiel Ansah 7.20 8) Star Lotulelei 8.80 9) Geno Smith 11.30 10) Chance Warmack 11.30 11) Barkevious Mingo 11.80 12) Jonathon Cooper 12.30 13) Xavier Rhodes 13.80 14) Tavon Austin 14.30 15) Sheldon Richardson 14.80 16) Jarvis Jones 15.90 17) Kenny Vaccaro 16.60 18) Cordarrelle Patterson 20.50 19) D.J. Fluker 22.00 20) Alec Ogletree 22.60 21) Matt Elam 24.10 22) Bjoern Werner 24.30 23) Tyler Eifert 24.50 24) Sylvester Williams 24.50 25) Keenan Allen 25.90 26) Desmond Trufant 26.00 27) Manti Te'o 27.00 28) Eric Reid 30.10 29) Jonathon Cyprien 30.50 30) Cornelius Carradine 31.40 31) Datone Jones 31.40 32) Justin Hunter 31.40 33) Robert Woods 31.90 34) Menelik Watson 32.60 35) Kevin Minter 32.60 36) Zach Ertz 34.40 37) DeAndre Hopkins 34.50 38) Jamar Taylor 35.40 39) Margus Hunt 36.40 40) Eddie Lacy 36.80 41) D.J. Hayden 37.80 I look forward to the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft on Thursday. Without a sure fire lock at the top, is could very well be one that people will be debating for a long, long time.

DSA Player Rankings 5.0--The Post Free Agnecy Edition

Greetings and Salutations to All. The TMG DraftZone is back after a brief hiatus. Too much work and not enough time to write is making your favorite NFL Draft Blogger a very worn out, very dull boy. But I've been able to accumulate the latest NFL Mock Draft data to compile The Post Free Agency DSA Player Rankings, Version 5.0 In the time since free agency started, what have we learned in regards to the 2013 NFL Draft? The more teams change their roster, the more their draft needs stay the same. Kansas City still needs a bookend tackle who can eventually replace Brandon Albert. Jacksonville still needs a pass rusher and a franchise quarterback. Oakland needs a defensive tackle, and just about everything else, including a quarterback. Just because they traded for Matt Flynn, are getting rid of Carson Palmer, and still have Terrelle Pyror on the roster don't count the Raiders out of the Geno Smith Sweepstakes. Flynn may be a change of direction, but if you keep changing your direction by turning the same way all the time, all you do is keep going in circles. The DSA Player Rankings 5.0 shows not a lot of movement at the top. Luke Joeckel is still the choice of mock drafts everywhere to go #1 Overall to Kansas City. The Jaguars need to get a pass rusher has moved Dion Jordan up to #2, Oakland still looks like the landing spot for Sharrif Floyd at #3, and Chip Kelly would love to have Eric Fisher anchoring his offensive line in Philadelphia, and Fisher is the pick of many to land with the Eagles with the fourth pick. One casualty of free agency appears to be Cordarrelle Patterson, who looked to be a lock to go no later than #12 to Miami, until the Dolphins went out and signed Mike Wallace. As Patterson falls seven spots, Tavon Austni rises seven as well. Patterson might still be targeted by Buffalo at #8, and Austin looks to be in the sights of St. Louis at #16, but this draft is truly shaping up to be one for The Big Uglies up front. No running backs look to go in Round 1, many see only 1 quarterback going in the first 32 picks (although I still see a major Panic In The Draft Room epidemic breaking out), and though as many as 4 receivers could go in round 1, none look to go in the first seven selections. This is going to be an interesting draft to say the least. So here is the DSA Player Rankings 5.0, the Post Free Agency Edition: 1) Luke Joeckel 1.70 2) Dion Jordan 3.90 3) Sharrif Floyd 4.10 4) Eric Fisher 4.20 5) Geno Smith 5.10 6) Dee Milliner 5.30 7) Lane Johnson 9.40 8) Ezekiel Ansah 9.90 9) Barkevious Mingo 11.00 10) Xavier Rhodes 11.90 11) Star Lotulelei 12.30 12) Chance Warmack 12.70 13) Jarvis Jones 14.10 14) Jonathon Cooper 14.40 15) Sheldon Richardson 15.10 16) Bjoern Werner 15.80 17) Cordarrelle Patterson 18.20 18) Tavon Austin 18.20 19) Kenny Vaccaro 18.40 20) Alec Ogletree 22.90 21) D.J. Fluker 24.20 22) Desmond Trufant 25.80 23) Datone Jones 26.90 24) Keenan Allen 27.40 25) Tyler Eifert 27.50 26) DeAndre Hopkins 29.60 27) Matt Barkley 29.70 28) Sylvester Williams 29.80 29) Manti Te'o 30.30 30) Matt Elam 31.00 31) Johnathon Hankins 31.40 32) Robert Woods 32.60 33) Cornelius Carradine 32.90 34) Arthur Brown 33.30 35) Jesse Williams 34.70 36) Eddie Lacy 34.70 37) Justin Hunter 34.90 38) Damontre Moore 35.30 39) Menelik Watson 35.60 40) Margus Hunt 35.60 41) Kevin Minter 35.60 42) Johnathon Banks 35.70 43) Kawann Short 36.90 44) Eric Reid 38.10 I listed the top 44 players on this edition of the DSA Player Rankings, because that is how many players are getting solid looks at going in Round 1. It doesn't look like there is going to be a Chandler Jones or Shea McClellan this year, a player who appears to come out of nowhere late to make his way up into the first round. But this draft is so deep that players who have been getting grades to go around #25 will be going late in Round 2. Eric Reid is at the end of the list at #44, but a very strong Pro Day at LSU will make him to be this years best candidate to surprise in Round 1. And every year there is one player whose stock falls so far all you hear is the Hollywood Wilhelm Scream and he disappears from sight. So to honor the player who looks to be the biggest faller on the draft boards, I'm going to name this the Da'Quan Bowers Stone Drop Award. Bowers went from the early presumptive #1 Overall Pick in 2011, until concerns about his knees dropped him all the way to Tampa Bay at #51 in the 2011 NFL Draft. The year's recepient is Damontre Moore, the defensive end from Texas A&M. When the first DSA Player Rankings were released, Moore was a solid #3. Then the NFL Scouting Combine happened. Moore showed a surprising lack of strength and speed, and his draft stock has increasingly dropped. DSA 2.0 had Moore 9th, 3.0 at 19th, 4.0 seemed to signal a halt at 20th, but the 5.0 DSA Player Rankings have Moore at #38. It does not appear that Moore will be rising up the ranks any time soon. With the depth of defensive lineman, why should a team take a flyer on a player who doesn't look to have the motivation to show teams that his performance at the Combnie is not the player they will be getting in the draft. Moore has the talent to be an impact pass rusher in the NFL, and if he plays with the chip on his shoulder to prove everyone wrong he will be just that. Let's hope for the team that takes Moore that that chip is there from Day 1. I'm sure the next DSA Player Rankings will be the Geno Smith Show. With all the quarterback moves taking place, the big mock draft debate will be who is going to take Smith and where. It's going to be an interesting 23 Days up until the 2013 NFL Draft.

DSA Player Rankings 2.0

You can call this version of the 2013 DSA Player Rankings the Pre-Draft Combine Edition. The Annual NFL Draft Combine started today, and for many players it is wonderful opportunity to impress coaches and front office personnel as to why they should be selected by their teams and how high in the draft they should go. I was very interested to see who the movers are in the latest DSA Player Rankings. Those who are getting to love from the mock drafters and those who are seen as being on the outs. The three biggest advances were Sharrif Floyd, who moved up nine spots to #12, and Floyd can very easily move up even more. He is getting very high draft slots, and quite a few are projecting the defensive tackle to go as high as #3 overall to Oakland. The next two players who made the biggest gains were Datone Jones and Kawann Short, both of whom were not even listed on the first DSA Player Rankings of 2013, but a little research showed that they each improved eight positions. I can see both moving up along with Floyd, and I can see Jones maknig a move into the top half of the first round. The biggest drops came from two different players for different reasons. Big Drop #2 came from Manti Te'o, as questions concerning his off field behavior in his catfishing episode and, most importantly, his on field performance against Alabama in the BCS Championship Game, have many wondering how effective he will be as a pro. But the biggest drop came for Damontre Moore. Even though Moore was listed as the #3 overall pick in half of the mock drafts I sampled, he was listed at #21 in one and not in the first round in another. Moore is still in the top 10, but a drop of six spots came about due to those low draft slots. I can see Moore making his way back up to the top 5 in no time. But the players who are not getting any love at all are the quarterbacks. Geno Smith fell one spot to #3, and not as many people are convinced that Kansas City will take the signal caller at the top. But Smith was the only quarterback in the top 32. I'm still convinced there will be a run on quarterbacks in Round 1, but it looks more and more it will be at the bottom of the draft through trades and teams moving up. So here is the 2013 DSA Player Rankings 2.0, the Pre-Draft Combine Edition: 1) Luke Joeckel 2.50 2) Bjoern Werner 3.70 3) Geno Smith 4.80 4) Star Lotuleili 6.50 5) Eric Fisher 7.50 6) Jarvis Jones 7.60 7) Barkevious Mingo 8.60 8) Dee Milliner 9.30 9) Damontre Moore 10.20 10) Chance Warmack 10.40 11) Dion Jordan 11.80 12) Sharrif Floyd 13.50 13) Lane Johnson 14.70 14) Cordarrelle Patterson 15.10 15) Kenny Vaccaro 16.50 16) Sheldon Richardson 17.60 17) Ezekiel Ansah 18.20 18) Keenan Allen 18.50 19) Jonathon Cooper 22.90 20) Xavier Rhodes 23.00 21) Johnathon Hankins 23.90 22) Alec Ogletree 24.20 23) Manti Te'o 25.60 24) Kevin Minter 26.00 25) Desmond Trufant 27.50 26) Tavon Austin 28.00 27) D.J. Fluker 29.50 28) Johnathon Banks 30.40 29) Datone Jones 30.70 30) Kawann Short 31.00 31) Zach Ertz 31.70 32) Tyler Eifert 33.30 The NFL Draft Combine concludes on Sunday. I'll put up my Post-Draft Combine Edition of the DSA Player Rankings right afterwards. It will be interesting to see who has made the biggest and best impressions on the mock drafters with their performance this weekend ni Indianapolis.

TMG DraftZone 2013 NFL Mock Draft 1.0

My first DSA Player Rankings showed a nearly even result as to who the #1 pick in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft will be. Will Kansas City go with a quarterback, presumeably Geno Smith, or the top rated player in most eyes with tackle Luke Joeckel? With my first mock draft for 2013, and as I have stated previously, I believe that the player the Chiefs will take #1 is going to be Geno Smith. If that is the case, then Joeckel should go off the board next, but Jacksonville and Oakland need help on the defensive side of the ball, especially getting to the quarterback. So Philadelphia looks to get a gift and the left tackle they need with the 4th overall selection. Normally, I would only be releasing one or two mock drafts a year, but this isn't a normal year. No true standouts at the top of the draft and a host of good, solid talent that could very easily go anywhere in Round 1. I have also posted before that I believe 5 quarterbacks will go in the first round, and you will notice that I only have two listed. I look for the bottom of Round 1 to be dominated by trades on draft day, and since there is no way of guessing who will be trading with who I'll hold off guessing where the quarterbacks will be drafted. So here is the first TMG DraftZone mock draft for 2013: 1) Kansas City--Geno Smith (Quarterback) 2) Jacksonville--Jarvis Jones (Outside Linebacker) 3) Oakland--Damontre Moore (Defensive End) 4) Philadelphia--Luke Joeckel (Tackle) 5) Detroit--Dee Milliner (Cornerback) 6) Cleveland--Bjoern Werner (Defensive End) 7) Arizona--Eric Fisher (Tackle) 8) Buffalo--Tyler Wilson (Quarterback) 9) NY Jets--Barkevious Mingo (Defensive End) 10) Tennessee--Star Lotulelei (Defensive Tackle) 11) San Diego--Dion Jordan (Defensive End) 12) Miami--Cordarrelle Patterson (Wide Receiver) 13) Tampa Bay--Xavier Rhodes (Cornerback) 14) Carolina--Sheldon Richardson (Defensive Tackle) 15) New Orleans--Ezekiel Ansah (Defensive End) 16) St. Louis--Chance Warmack (Guard) 17) Pittsburgh--Kenny Vaccaro (Safety) 18) Dallas--Manti Te'o (Middle Linebacker) 19) NY Giants--Lane Johnson (Tackle) 20) Chicago--Jonathon Cooper (Guard) 21) Cincinnati--Sam Montgomery (Defensive End) 22) St. Louis--Keenan Allen (Wide Receiver) 23) Minnesota--Sharrif Floyd (Defensive Tackle) 24) Indianapolis--Johnathon Hankins (Defensive Tackle) 25) Seattle--Tavon Austin (Wide Receiver) 26) Green Bay--Eddie Lacy (Running Back) 27) Houston--Kevin Minter (Middle Linebacker) 28) Denver--Tyler Eifert (Tight End) 29) New England--Robert Woods (Wide Receiver) 30) Atlanta--Kawann Short (Defensive Tackle) 31) San Francisco--Matt Elam (Safety) 32) Baltimore--Barrett Jones (Center) One player I did not have in my mock draft was Alec Ogletree, the talented middle linebacker. His off the field problems continue this weekend, and a player with the talent to go in the top 10 looks to be falling a long way down the draft boards. A lot of people will tell you that to succeed in the NFL you need a quarterback and to get to the quarterback. I can see defense ruling the day at the draft. My mock draft has 18 defensive players going in Round 1, and of those 12 are lineman or linebackers whose job it is to get the quarterback and put him on the ground. Last year Seattle made quite a reach in Round 1 to get Bruce Irvin to do just that, and we will have to wait and see if a team will risk doing that this year. But there is a lot of talent to go around, and I for one will not be surprised to see a player that gets overlooked suddenly pop up out of nowhere to go in the first round. With the NFL Scouting Combine next week, the stage is there for a player to shine and move his way up. We shall see.