2014 NFL Offseason Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

Did they show him kiss his boyfriend on ESPN? I kept expecting the Network to cut away, but they showed it twice.

[HC]

Did they show him kiss his boyfriend on ESPN? I kept expecting the Network to cut away, but they showed it twice.

Yes. They showed them kissing about three times or so. No big deal. Of course people on some of the other forums I'm reading are bitching about how "disgusting" it was already.

[HC]

And just to add on, I'm very happy for MS, but ESPN is going to be very repetitive over the next week or so. It's a big deal yes, but I don't even think they showed the other draftee's highlights after he was chosen.

[The Buscher]

No Longhorns drafted for the first time since 1937.

[Rafael]

Cairo Santos!

[VerbalPuke]

I know I'm the only one that gives a shit, but I'm going to give the Lions draft class a solid B. I'm going to go through a quick (lol no it wont) analysis of each pick and my thoughts, also I'll throw in bonus thoughts from what I've read from our incredibly intelligent fan base (haha yeah right).

1. Eric Ebron (TE) - Before the draft I screamed that this was an awful pick. We didn't need another tight end, fuck no, get defense. We drafted Ebron, and I hated it. Then I read more about him and I really started to like this pick. He's not going to be another TE, yes on paper he is a TE, but he plays more like a WR and that will help this team. I was concerned that he has a bad habit of dropping passes, and it seems most scouting reports said the same. Here is some food for thought, he dropped FOUR passes in 2013, that's not too fucking bad really. You know what player on the Detroit Lions dropped too many passes last year? Calvin Johnson. The pride of Detroit also has dropped a lot of passes in his day but we forgive him because of how fucking good he is. Speaking of Calvin, Ebron is going to benefit Calvin as much as he benefits Stafford. The thought is he can take a lot of pressure away from Calvin, who has taken a fucking pounding the last few years due to double and triple teams.

Lions fans: LOL MAYHEW IS MILLEN JR. HE GOT WEAPONS FOR JOEY! WE GOT A TIGHT END WHEN THERE WERE GREAT DEFENSIVE PLAYERS WE'VE NEVER SEEN PLAY AVAILABLE!

2. Kyle Van Noy (OLB) - No secret that I love this pick. No secret that I have said for days that I liked this guys months ago, and have actually seen him play. He immediately makes our LB corp very good, and possibly the strength of our defense. He's a good pass rusher, he is instinctive, and once again, has a rapport with our DE standout from last year Ziggy Ansah (and if some of you remember, I did not like that pick initially. Oh Puke, you silly fuck).

Lions fans: WE GAVE UP TOO MUCH (a fourth and seventh rounder...while getting a fifth back) TO TRADE UP FOR VAN NOY. LOL MAYHEW SUCKS.

3. Travis Swanson (Center) - I will never bad mouth an offensive lineman as a draft pick. It's not flashy, it's not sexy, but anybody that knows football knows that the game is won in the trenches. I like this pick, we know Raiola is 35 and has all but said he will play one more season. Perhaps they could have done better than a center that will probably sit his first year in the league, but I'm fine with that. Starting a rookie center may not be the best option when center is the most cerebral position of offensive lineman, he will benefit from learning under Raiola, a guy with 15 seasons under his belt. His concern is athleticism, but he makes up for that with intelligence, good size, and played at a pretty good school. Also, Jeremiah Washburn appears to be a fucking guru of offensive line coaching.

Lions fans: THIS GUY WONT EVEN PLAY, AND HE SUCKS ALSO. WE COULD HAVE DRAFTED YET ANOTHER DEFENSIVE PLAYER I'VE NEVER HEARD OF! MEL KIPER AND TOD MCSHAY HATED THIS PICK (which means jack shit). WE WONT MENTION THAT TRENT DILFER RATTLED OFF A TON OF DIFFERENT CENTERS THAT HAD GREAT CAREERS WITH LIMITED ATHLETICISM.

4. Nevin Lawson (CB) - He's 5'9, yeah he's not a big dude. But he's very fast, and by all accounts has very good fundamentals, and seems to have all the right intangibles you would want out of a CB. His ceiling might only be a very good nickel corner, but that's not too bad for a late fourth rounder.

Lions fans: WE DRAFTED A SMURF, HE WAS A SEVENTH ROUNDER (according to nfl.com, and nfl.com really had awful projections. Most other sites had him as a 3rd to 4th rounder, nevermind the fact that a lot of corners are sub six feet tall).

4. Larry Webster (DE) - Freak of an athlete, the only DE that was a better athlete in terms of speed, leaping, etc. etc. was Clowney. He is a project, he is raw, but in the late fourth round there is nothing wrong with getting a guy like this. He also fits the mold of long, athletic defensive ends we have targeted the last two years.

Lions fans: ANOTHER TIGHT END!!!! HE'S GOING TO PLAY TIGHT END!!! LOL! (No he's not. Some scouts mentioned tight end because his school would occasionally line him up for jump balls on the goal line. It's a horse shit statement by a horse shit group of fans).

5. Caraun Reid (DT) - We needed some depth at DT, especially with Suh and Fairley having uncertain futures in Detroit. He has good size, good motor, and also blocked seven kicks in college.

Lions fans: Were actually positive about this one. Still....LOL PRINCETON.

6. TJ Jones (WR) - Meacon gave me a good analysis on this guy. Good hands, good speed, good route runner? I love that. Not much of a blocker? Fine, he's a WR, I can live with that. A good leader and good citizen? Love that, we don't need anymore shit bags.

Lions fans: Positive again for once.

7. Nate Freese (K) - Great time to grab a kicker honestly. If you can turn a seventh rounder into a likely starter, even if it is a kicker, you did very well. The Lions were spoiled with Jason Hanson for twenty years, so it's nice that they got a good young kicker. He was 20/20 last year on field goal attempts, and 86% overall in college. I would think playing in a dome with Detroit should benefit since he was an outdoor kicker most of the time being from Boston College. He was also one of the higher rated kickers in the draft.

Lions fans: A FUCKING KICKER!? HE WAS THE 18TH RATED KICKER (where the fuck did our fans get that one from) LOL MILLEN MILLEN MILLEN.

So yeah, I think we did good overall.

By the way, our fans attribute every good pick with Brian Xander (our assistant GM brought in last year) and every horrible pick with Mayhew (we all know him now). I fucking hate Lions fans sometimes, they are some of the most insanely optimistic people on the planet, but my god, when they are negative, it's always negativity in the wrong places.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm very happy Michael Sam got drafted to shut up a bunch of people but how is he going to make the Rams roster? They have a very deep defensive line. Of course if he shows up in camp and preseason and dominates they could leverage one of their guys into help elsewhere I suppose. Seemed like an unlikely destination for him.

[VerbalPuke]

He might be able to carve a niche with special teams early on. From most things I've seen, he's a hard worker that is willing to learn, and a guy like that should be able to find a spot on an NFL roster, even if the Rams cut ties with him after the preseason.

[The Heartbreak Kid]

I wanted the Jets to draft WR TJ Jones. But we didn't. You guys (Lions) have a solid WR in him. He's one of my personal favorites.

I'll give my NYJ draft analysis later, when I sober up.

[gunnar hendershow]

Ravens were really boring and just drafted guys at positions they needed to draft guys at.

BOOOORRRIIINNNGGG

[VerbalPuke]

By the way, good for Michael Sam, good for that guy. I just watched the video of him getting drafted and that was touching, that was a wonderful moment to see him on the phone, with a team confirming his dream of becoming an NFL player had come true. Nevermind the whole "oh hey, first openly gay guy drafted ever!!", you can't help but love seeing somebody getting a phone call knowing they have achieved something they had always dreamed about. Good for him man, I hope he makes it as an NFL player, he has come across as nothing but a wonderful gentleman in every interview I've seen of him. Go Michael Sam go, kick some fucking ass in the NFL dude.

Edit - And fuck all the the stupid ass fucking retards on the facebook "mass debaters" page I am on. Ugh, god damn, it's a facebook group I am on because my brothers friend created it for discussion purposes, but some of the most disgusting fucking idiot bigots chime in on there. It's so weird, some of them pretend to be all about civil rights but when it comes to somebody that is gay, all that shit flies out the window. Fuck off all of you piece of shit anti gay fucking bigots, worry about something else you fucking pieces of shit. Sorry, I don't mean to get so heated, but people that slander gays because "ADAM AND EVE NOT ADAM STEVE" bring my blood to a fucking boil

[HC]

What annoyed me most about the Sam bashers were the ones(as in multiple yes) brashing ESPN for showing him kissing his boyfriend and calling it disgusting but at the same time covering their ass by claiming they'd feel the same way if it was a man and a woman. Bullshit. Lots of draftees kiss their SO in a moment of happiness like that. One guy said he made his son leave the room because he couldn't stomach ESPN's "disgusting gay agenda". Gay agenda!? What in the fuck. I'll be the first one to admit watching two guys kiss isn't visually appealing to me, but why the fuck should that matter? They have a right to show affection just like a straight couple. It's not like they started fucking on the floor or some shit. This whole Michael Sam thing has brought out a lot of ugliness in people.

[syck]

The two things that overly irk me about the Colts draft is we needed a safety and didn't get one. Not sure if it was because the safeties that they wanted were off the board and the rest of them didn't stand out as guys who can contribute more then the guys that are already on roster, but the lack of taking a safety made me cringe just a little bit. The other thing that irked me was the fact we took a linebacker in the sixth round over more pressing needs(mostly safety like I said) so maybe this is just one giant thing that kinda just annoyed me.

I do love some of our other draft picks. I'm always glad to see my team investing in the offensive line(even in the seveth round) and LOVED the Moncrief pick. He's a little bit raw, but he seems to be a good overall wideout that blocks decently. Even though Wayne's in the final year of his contract, he's damn close to retirement and I honestly do not want to see him wearing another jersey. Hicks only signed a one year deal and I'm unsure if they'll want to keep him around of if he'll look for a bigger deal elsewhere if he has a good season. Totally hoping that Hilton/Moncrief becomes a dangerous duo.

[Dan]

We just came away with 2 of the best WRs in the draft, hopefully our franchise Qb and his college running back, some interior o-line help and 3 senior bowl defensive players that have worked with our coaches before.

I'm more than happy with that.

[The Buscher]

I'm absolutely gutted that Octavias McKoy from WCSU didn't go anywhere. As a Division 3 player I knew it was very unlikely that a team was going to invest a draft pick on him, but I figured he'd at least be one of the dozens of guys signed right after the draft. All I see when I search his name on Twitter are tweets before the draft, so if he did sign somewhere none of the beat writers for that respective team have bothered to report it. I'm guessing he may still get brought in on a tryout basis for a team, but sucks that he didn't get signed. Whether he made it to a 53 man roster or not, just seeing a guy from WCSU in the NFL somewhere would have been a big boost for the program.

[The Buscher]

Anyway, I'll provide my thoughts on the Giants draft class:

1. Odell Beckham, Jr., WR, LSU: The Giants absolutely needed to get Eli another weapon for this draft, so Beckham does accomplish that. Mike Evans was the guy I really wanted in this draft, but I knew there was virtually no chance of getting him unless they jumped ahead of Tampa, and I'm struggling to remember the last time the Giants traded up. I'm not sure they ever have since I've been following them. So Evans was never really an option. They also reportedly had zero interest in Eric Ebron and he went before the Giants picked anyway. I do think Taylor Lewan was who the Giants really wanted, but when the Titans grabbed him Beckham was next on the board. It was a very deep class for WRs so part of me wanted to go Zack Martin instead and grab a WR round 2, but Beckham does have a very high ceiling. He's not very tall, but I think he should be able to be a good outside threat and will allow Cruz to move in and play the slot on 3-WR sets, which is where he thrives the most. He could also be a very good return option if Trindon Holliday has a case of the drops like he did in Denver last year.

2. Weston Richburg, C, Colorado State: Since they passed on Martin, the Giants were always going to go O-Line on Day 2, and I don't think they were particularly pleased that Joel Bitonio went to the Browns when everybody assumed the Browns would go WR in wake of the Josh Gordon news. The Richburg pick was a head scratcher initially, if only because he was projected as a 3rd-4th rounder and many had Marcus Martin, who went in the 3rd, as a higher rated center. But the more I read up on Richburg, the more I like him. He is undersized, but many feel he is the kind of guy who could be a 10+ year starter in the NFL. The Giants just gave J.D. Walton a 2 year contract to play center, but you don't draft a center this early if you aren't planning on giving him a shot. It'll be an interesting competition between those guys in preseason.

3. Jay Bromley, DT, Syracuse: This definitely felt like more of a reach than Richburg. Bromley is an intriguing prospect but he was grading out at 4th-5th in nearly ever mock I've seen. I feel like they really could have traded back or something and still got him. As it is he clearly looks to be the #5 DT on the roster behind Johnathan Hankins, Cullen Jenkins, Mike Patterson, and Markus Kuhn. Tom Coughlin loves Syracuse though, so I don't doubt he scouted the hell out of this guy and knows something an average schmoe like me doesn't. He also has an incredible rags-to-riches backstory so I wish nothing but the best for him.

4. Andre Williams, RB, Boston College: Coughlin's other favorite college. I really loved this pick. Williams was an absolute monster last year en route to being named a Heisman finalist. The Giants did need to get another RB behind Rashad Jennings and Peyton Hillis, since David Wilson is decidedly unreliable and can't really be counted on to return from his neck injury, anyway. Williams seems like another guy who can help on special teams, but more importantly he looks like he might be the most dependable short yardage back they've had since early-career Brandon Jacobs. Loads of potential with this one and great value for a 4th rounder.

5. Nat Behre, S, San Diego State: Again the Giants drafted for need here, as they needed some more insurance since Will Hill appears to have gotten his stupid self suspended again. Behre seems good in stride-for-stride coverage, but at 5'10" there is definitely a size disadvantage in coverage. He was a tackling machine in college, so I imagine he'll primarily be counted on to be a key contributor to kick and punt return coverage. At this point in the draft, special teams are what everybody is trying to fill.

5. Devon Kennard, LB, USC: Another guy who probably has special teams as his ceiling, which is fine for where he was picked. He played both LB and DE in college, so the versatility is definitely something that is appealing to Coughlin. It's worth nothing that Kennard is one of 5 Giants draftees this year who were team captains. It's obvious they are going for guys who will actually keep their head straight, unlike the aforementioned Will Hill.

6. Bennett Jackson, CB, Notre Dame: I don't have much to say here. I don't know much about him, and the Giants already seem pretty stacked at CB. DRC, Prince, Thurmond, and McBride would all seem to be locks for the roster. I can't see them giving up on Jayron Hosley this early, and they even have Zack Bowman in the fold too. Barring Jackson having a monster pre-season or the Giants' secondary falling victim to injuries, it would seem Jackson is a fairly safe bet for the practice squad and not the 53-man roster.

[Meacon Keaton]

If Jackson makes your final 53, I'll be floored. He has a shot if you guys get hit with the injury-hammer at corner, but other than that, I'd bet he's practice squad bound. He's another high character kid, but his tackling is quite poor and his coverage skills are really nothing special. I love the kid, but any time the ball was thrown in his direction, it was a safe bet that the receiver was coming up with it.

[Plubby]

I think the Falcons are going to be pleasantly surprised by Geraldo Boldewijn.

[gunnar hendershow]

Well with a name like that...

[Plubby]

Bold-eh-wine