Tracking the Mocks

[Raveninwoodlawn]

I don't understand why so much stock gets put into this kind of thing. Nearly all of those guys know a lot less about this team than we do.

:word

[lobachevsky]

The only problem with trading down is do we really need more picks? We already have 12. They're almost have to trade up or trade into next year to get value out of that many picks. There is no point in drafting 12 or more players if only 6 to 8 will actually make the team.

Oz has 8 picks to play with. I'd guess that if things are falling right for it, he could conceivably trade back to mid-2nd round for an additional higher 4th, use the original movable 4th to move the 3rd-round pick up into the top half of the round, & package the remaining movable 4/5/6/6/7 in some combination to get another 3rd rounder. That would leave the Ravens at worst with 4 picks in the first 96--for FS, ILB, WR plus a LT prospect--plus at least the comp picks in rounds 4-7 for sleeper trolling.

(Not that trading for high picks in 2014 is necessarily a bad thing--presuming they can patch up enough holes for this year in FA & camp cuts.)

[Raveninwoodlawn]

The only problem with trading down is do we really need more picks? We already have 12. They're almost have to trade up or trade into next year to get value out of that many picks. There is no point in drafting 12 or more players if only 6 to 8 will actually make the team.

Trading down doesn't mean that we are just taking more players.

It's more ammo to move around.

Frankly, the 7th round picks are close to irrelevant to me...I doubt they have any chance to make the team, and won't be worth much in moving up.

I'm sure Ozzie would like more picks in the 2nd-4th round...that is the meat and potatoes of this draft. He can use those picks to move around in those rounds.

[JimZipCode]

They're almost have to trade up or trade into next year to get value out of that many picks.

They're going to trade up in the first to grab Menelik Watson.

[Darksouleyez]

They're going to trade up in the first to grab Menelik Watson.

I was hoping they get this Leon Sandcastle guy everyone is talking about hehe

[Shas]

The only problem with trading down is do we really need more picks? We already have 12. They're almost have to trade up or trade into next year to get value out of that many picks. There is no point in drafting 12 or more players if only 6 to 8 will actually make the team.

Trading down doesn't mean that we are just taking more players.

It's more ammo to move around.

Frankly, the 7th round picks are close to irrelevant to me...I doubt they have any chance to make the team, and won't be worth much in moving up.

I'm sure Ozzie would like more picks in the 2nd-4th round...that is the meat and potatoes of this draft. He can use those picks to move around in those rounds.

Yes, when I say that I think they will trade down I completely couple that assumption that they will also move up so that in the end they actually pick something like ten players but with multiple picks in the second and third rounds, or at least moving up higher in those rounds. I've become convinced there is a sweet spot in the 40-80 range where they could get three or four starters.

This seems to have been a frequent strategy for them in the recent past. Recall that Joe Flacco, Courtney Upshaw, Bernard Pierce, Jah Reid, Sergio Kindle, Ray Rice, and Tavares Gooden all were acquired in this style.

(I'm not saying it always paid off, just that they often move up and down, both)

Hell, if you want to go back far enough, that's how they got Ray Lewis, by trading out of their first round pick.

[ursula]

Hey Shas- This is real good and a little later I wil add a few for you. One question though and an observation. It seems like mockers are moving away from Minter and the other ILBs for the Ravens over the last week or so. (Not completely but it sure seems like in general we are getting other players mocks to us lately.) So are your mocks the latest iteration of those mockers picks?

[ursula]

Here's a few more mocks from highly rated mocks at the Huddle Report:


Matt Elam, FS, Florida

Matt Fairburn/Dan Kadar joint mock for Mocking The Draft



Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU

Scott Wright, Draft Countdown-3/22, James Christensen, NE Patriots Draft-4/15, Ricky Dimon, FF Toolbox-4/2


Menelik Watson, OT Florida St

Doug Martz, Draft Board Guru 3/26


Manti Te’o, ILB, Notre Dame

Al Fronczak, East Coast Sports News-4/17, Sam Farmer, LA Times-4/6, Ben Standig, FF Toolbox-4/12


Quinton Patton, WR Louisiana Tech

Ryan McCrystal, Draft Ace-4/7

[alien bird]

I am guessing he's unaware....

That's how it is with most of these guys. They really don't know the subtleties of a team and just see it on the surface. If a team loses a guy, they must need that position, because these prognosticators lack understanding of what's already on the roster.

[Spider Webb]

Well Oz did say if the BPA is a corner, they'll draft him, you can't have too many corners or pass rushers.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/r...0,611563.story

I really hope we don't. I wouldn't question the decision, but we just drafted Jimmy in the 1st round. We found great value with Webb. If Jimmy plays like a 1st round player should and Webb is back to his form or better...I think a 1st round CB at the 3rd depth chart spot would be a luxury selection.

But now that I think about it with all this passing it would be great to have 2 high end starters and another quality starter on the roster. Ugh In Oz We Trust

[Shas]

Hey Shas- This is real good and a little later I wil add a few for you. One question though and an observation. It seems like mockers are moving away from Minter and the other ILBs for the Ravens over the last week or so. (Not completely but it sure seems like in general we are getting other players mocks to us lately.) So are your mocks the latest iteration of those mockers picks?

I had checked websites as of the day I added the posts. ESPN, the bastards, think that their guessers are too precious to hear from for free, so I had to infer what Kiper and McShay's latest picks are from other sources, but those might have changed.

[Shas]

I don't understand why so much stock gets put into this kind of thing. Nearly all of those guys know a lot less about this team than we do.

That's 100% true. With a caveat. I do think there is value in looking at the entire collection of guesses because I do think it gives a fair sense of which players may go where. By no means can you use it to predict whom the Ravens will take, but you can use it as a loose guide to anticipate who their options may be. I think it makes watching the draft a little more interesting if you have a pre-determined sense of who is supposed to go where, and who you might root for being there at 32 (or at 36 in the case of rooting for a deal to trade back).

And, of course, when we post the mocks and then shoot holes in the picks the professional pickers make, I get a better sense for evaluating prospects just based on the very good insights my fellow posters here add to the discussion.

If guys like Olgletree or Te'o, or Elam, or Minter are sitting there in the late twenties, I think it adds interest to the draft, so I can start to play the mind game of whether I'm rooting for one particular guy to be there for them. Otherwise, watching the draft is completely boring waiting for that 32nd pick to finally come up.

In short, it may all be bullshit, but it does provide some context to what transpires.