Friday, December 20, 2013

Santa's Coming in May. Gifts NFL Teams will find in the Draft

There are 9 Reindeer, so for this article I'm going to find a gift for 9 struggling NFL teams. These gifts will all come from the same store, the 2014 NFL Draft.

Bridgewater was Big East Offensive Rookie
of the year in 2011 and Offensive Player
of the year in 2012
1. The Houston Texans: Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
Houston needs a quarterback, desperately. The Matt Schaub era is over. So the Texans make the smart decision here and take the best available quarterback in the draft, who is also one of the best overall players available. This is of course assuming Bridgewater declares for the draft this year. There has been speculation that he may return to Louisville for his senior season.




Matthews was a 2 time
First Team All American Tackle

2. St. Louis Rams: Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M
Thanks to their trade with Washington last season that brought Robert Griffin to the Redskins, St. Louis gets the number two pick in this years draft, along with another first round pick. With this pick, they should take Jake Matthews, the 6'5 305 pound tackle out of Texas A&M. He is the best offensive lineman in the draft and the Rams need an upgrade to their line, so this is a no brainer for the Rams. They may look to take another former Aggie in wide receiver Mike Evans later in the first round, in order to give quarterback Sam Bradford another weapon to pair with rookie receiver and return specialist Tavon Austin.


3. Oakland Raiders: Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
Clowney has 24 career sacks
a South Carolina
This pick is a toss up for the Raiders. They need a quarterback, badly. But Clowney is the best available player in the draft and could have easily gone number one overall in last years draft. He's that good. He's an athletic freak at 6'6 270 pounds. His issues at South Carolina this year along with the needs of the Texans and Rams are why he will likely be available at number three. The Raiders can either take a risk and take a quarterback such as Blake Bortles out of Central Florida or Brett Hundley out of UCLA, or they can take a sure thing in Clowney, who will give their defense an instant upgrade, especially considering the fact that they face Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers twice a year. They need a guy who can get after the quarterback.


Hundley passed for 22 touchdowns
and ran for 9 more in 2013
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: Brett Hundley QB UCLA
Blaine Gabbert is absolutely awful and Chad Henne is not the long term answer at quarterback for the Jaguars. So with the number four pick, the Jags will take a big, mobile quarterback in Brett Hundley. Whether Hundley comes out for the draft is another question, but we're going to assume he is right now. He can throw and run, and having MJD behind him at running back and last years second overall pick Luke Joekel at tackle coming back, Hundley seems like a good fit for the QB desperate Jaguars.


5. Atlanta Falcons: Anthony Barr OLD UCLA
Barr had 10 sacks for the
Bruins in 2013
Unlike just about every other team in the top 10, the Falcons don't have an issue at quarterback. They have Matt Ryan, and Julio Jones and Roddy White at receiver. So why did they struggle? Defense. The offense didn't do well either, but defense is what the Falcons must address in the draft, and they will do so by drafting arguably the best defensive player in the draft in linebacker Anthony Barr out of UCLA. Yes back to back UCLA picks. Great size at 6'4 248 pounds and quick, Barr is just what the struggling Atlanta defense needs rushing off the edge.


6. Cleveland Browns: Derek Carr QB Fresno St.
Carr's interceptions have gone
down each year he has been a
starter. 
Sorry Brandon Weeden but your time in Cleveland is over. The fans have spoken and they are angry, as usual. The Browns have had bad luck drafting quarterbacks in the past, so why not try again. Carr will get more buz around him as the Senior Bowl comes around, but this kid can throw. He threw for 4,866 yards this season with 48 touchdowns and just 7 picks on 605 passes attempted. He also completed 70% of his passes. Those are ridiculous stats. Fresno St. runs a vertical offense, so imagine Carr throwing down the sidelines to Josh Gordon. If I'm a Cleveland fan, while I'm still skeptical, I'm pretty excited about Carr at the same time. Until next time, stay angry Cleveland!


7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
Lewan is a 2 time First Team
All American Tackle
Mike Glennon has done enough to keep his job for now. So the Bucs will look to upgrade their offensive line with the best lineman in the Big Ten in Taylor Lewan out of Michigan. The two time Big Ten offensive lineman of the year, the 6'8 315 pound tackle will be a big boost to a struggling Tampa offensive line and will hopefully help Glennon and second year running back Doug Martin improve.






8. Minnesota Vikings: Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
Manziel improved his Passer Rating
by 15 points last season and was
a Heisman finalist for the 2nd year
in a row.
And finally, this is where my boy Johnny Football comes off the board. Hopefully he decides to stay in college for another year, where i think he can improve his draft stock, win another Heisman, and then be a number one overall pick, but lets assume he comes out. The Vikings need to give Adrian Peterson a quarterback. And with Johnny's improved poise as a passer, along with his ability to scramble and run, is the perfect fit. Not only will he help them on the field, but he will make them one of the most talked about teams in the league, which I feel would be good for the Vikings. Johnny wants to get paid and the Vikes look like the team to pay him. #HeilManziel





9. Buffalo Bills: Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama
Kouandjio was named a finalist for
the Outland Trophy in 2013
The Bills got their quarterback last year by taking former Florida St. quarterback E.J. Manuel 16th overall. This year they, like the Bucs and Rams, will look to upgrade their offensive line. At this point in the draft, the best available tackle will be Alabama junior Cyrus Kouandjio. A 6'6 310 pound two year starter, Kouandjio comes out of lineman facotry Alabama and should be a big boost to the Bills offensive line and should provide good protection for the possibly injury prone Manuel.







Most of these picks are based on these underclassmen declaring for the 2014 NFL Draft. Some may decide to return to school next year. One major theme of this years draft, like most years, is where and how many quarterbacks will go in the first round.

As always, let me know what you guys think.
NasDaddy










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