Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense

[AirFlacco]

If Bowman were to hit the market he would be one of the TOP Fa's out there, you would be bidding against all but 2 or 3 teams. No way the Ravens would get him anyway.

Espcially when they sign Joe. If he gets his $100M, there won't be
room for anyone else. We already lost 5 guys last year cause we
were so close to the cap ceiling and even more will leave this
year.

UGH!

[wickedsolo]

True, I just really like the pressure he brings up the middle, and it's something that we are severely lacking.

And I disagree somewhat that ILB is a bigger need than DT. As Arnie_UK has said before on these boards, you put any LB there, and they are going to be ineffective with the Dline we have. When we had Cory Redding for example, it's funny how Jameel McClain looked a lot better than he has this year. I think ILB is one of the biggest needs on this team, but for me, NT or 5 technique is the number 1 need this offseason, followed closely by OT, we need to improve the trenches. History shows that you can get a good ILB in a later round, or sign a good player in FA for a reasonable price. DT/NT/OT's are much harder to draft or find.

I a a big fan of Jon Jenkins, Louis Nix, Sheldon Richardson, and even Jesse Williams. It's a favorable draft for DT's this year for sure. As good as CJ Mosely is, I'm not sure there are any ILB's I'd take in the first round other than Manti Teo, and I felt the same way this year when Hightower was on the radar. Are ILB's really worth it no matter how good they are when you can get a really good one in the second or third rounds? These are questions that I always consider when I personally project where an ILB may end up going. Lets take a look at Bobby Wagner who went in the second round for example, he's right now perhaps the favorite to win defensive rookie of the year, and has played much better than either Luke Kuechy (who went 8 overall) and Donta Hightower who went 25th overall.

I don't disagree with you that DT/DE isn't a need. It definitely is a need. I'm not going to disagree with you there, but I think because this draft has a lot of quality DL'man then you can potentially value an ILB like Mosley a bit higher than a DT or a DE. Especially if in the 3rd round you could be looking at guys like Casius Marsh, Jessie Williams, Datone Jones, or even Margus Hunt. Plus, we have absolutely no idea how these guys are going to look in December. Sometimes the light just clicks on after a bit and guys look completely different in December and January than what they did in September. I'm hoping that maybe this could happen with one or more of the guys on the DL right now.

However, I do disagree with you that no ILB outside of T'eo is worth a 1st round pick. I think T'eo and Mosley could definitely be round 1 picks.

Did Jameel McClain look better last year? Yea, but so did Cody, Art Jones, Kruger, McPhee, Jimmy, and Cary. I think losing Chuck Pagano hurt A LOT more than losing Corey Redding and JJ (not to say that those two losses don't have an impact). I just think Pags knew how to get the most out of the talent that he had on defense and right now Dean Pees isn't sure how to get that same performance. I refuse to believe that ALL of those guys regressed over the off-season. It is far more likely that Dean Pees is having a hard time figuring out how to use everyone to their strengths. I mean, we can see that in the secondary by having both Jimmy and Cary playing 8-10 yards off when last year they were successful by playing press coverage and jamming the WR's at the line of scrimmage. That is a change in scheme and defensive philosophy, not a drop-off in talent.

I will say that even with McClain playing better last year, he still was never very good in coverage and in today's NFL you need a MLB who can cover.

[bmorecareful]

I wouldn't take any ILB in the 1st this year outside of Manti Te'o. I like some of the guys who will be around in the 2nd or 3rd, though.

I really think the Ravens can't go into 2013 without picking up a major FA defender, either a LB, 5-tech DE/DT, NT, or S. They just have so many holes at those positions and I can't think Ozzie will want to go into the draft with no depth missing starters at ILB, S, and potentially NT (if Kemo is not brought back).

One thing to remember is that they do have Bryan Hall and DeAngelo Tyson as young talent on the DL. We may get a chance to see them audition for bigger roles in the next few weeks. They also have Ryan McBean coming back from injury in 2013, a guy who I would think would be locked into the rotation if not starting.

I rank the defensive needs as: S, ILB, and NT.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

True, I just really like the pressure he brings up the middle, and it's something that we are severely lacking.

And I disagree somewhat that ILB is a bigger need than DT. As Arnie_UK has said before on these boards, you put any LB there, and they are going to be ineffective with the Dline we have. When we had Cory Redding for example, it's funny how Jameel McClain looked a lot better than he has this year. I think ILB is one of the biggest needs on this team, but for me, NT or 5 technique is the number 1 need this offseason, followed closely by OT, we need to improve the trenches. History shows that you can get a good ILB in a later round, or sign a good player in FA for a reasonable price. DT/NT/OT's are much harder to draft or find.

I a a big fan of Jon Jenkins, Louis Nix, Sheldon Richardson, and even Jesse Williams. It's a favorable draft for DT's this year for sure. As good as CJ Mosely is, I'm not sure there are any ILB's I'd take in the first round other than Manti Teo, and I felt the same way this year when Hightower was on the radar. Are ILB's really worth it no matter how good they are when you can get a really good one in the second or third rounds? These are questions that I always consider when I personally project where an ILB may end up going. Lets take a look at Bobby Wagner who went in the second round for example, he's right now perhaps the favorite to win defensive rookie of the year, and has played much better than either Luke Kuechy (who went 8 overall) and Donta Hightower who went 25th overall.

I get the need for a D lineman and I hope we come out with one in one of the first 2 rounds.

I don't and the Ravens hopefully won't take an inferior D lineman if there is a better ILB sitting there.

I happen to be a HUGE Mosely fan...put me down for starting his bandwagon before he blows up late in the college postseason and pre draft workouts.

Watch, that guy is going to be a big name by the end of the bowls.

I just don't buy the "well, our DL stinks so we shouldn't take a linebacker" way of thinking. It's the same nonsense that I have read/heard regarding taking a QB without a good OL. If the guy is worth the pick, you take them...you don't pass because another aspect of your team isn't up to par.

I look at it as DL/LB being our 1a and 1b needs.

[wickedsolo]

I get the need for a D lineman and I hope we come out with one in one of the first 2 rounds.

I don't and the Ravens hopefully won't take an inferior D lineman if there is a better ILB sitting there.

I happen to be a HUGE Mosely fan...put me down for starting his bandwagon before he blows up late in the college postseason and pre draft workouts.

Watch, that guy is going to be a big name by the end of the bowls.

I just don't buy the "well, our DL stinks so we shouldn't take a linebacker" way of thinking. It's the same nonsense that I have read/heard regarding taking a QB without a good OL. If the guy is worth the pick, you take them...you don't pass because another aspect of your team isn't up to par.

I look at it as DL/LB being our 1a and 1b needs.

I agree with this. Definitely.

Mosley is one of those guys who I think will just develop into one of the top LB's in the league in a very short time. He is REALLY good.

[wickedsolo]

I wouldn't take any ILB in the 1st this year outside of Manti Te'o. I like some of the guys who will be around in the 2nd or 3rd, though.

If they don't go ILB in round 1, then I'd hope they go for Gerald Hodges or maybe Shane Skov. I'm just not 100% on Skov as a pass defender yet. He is a good run defender though.

That said, I think if Mosley is there when the Ravens pick in round 1 then they would be dumb to not go for him.

I really think the Ravens can't go into 2013 without picking up a major FA defender, either a LB, 5-tech DE/DT, NT, or S. They just have so many holes at those positions and I can't think Ozzie will want to go into the draft with no depth missing starters at ILB, S, and potentially NT (if Kemo is not brought back).

I agree 100%. I think this off-season they need to really do some spending (within reason and if they can) and bring in some better talent. If anything, it should at least light a fire under the asses of those who are currently here to do better and work harder to get better.

Some guys (IMO) who could be interesting FA's...
Alan Branch
Shaun Cody
Ricky Jean-Francois
Tony McDaniel
Randy Starks
Brandon Siler
Daryl Smith
Jason Trusnik

One thing to remember is that they do have Bryan Hall and DeAngelo Tyson as young talent on the DL. We may get a chance to see them audition for bigger roles in the next few weeks. They also have Ryan McBean coming back from injury in 2013, a guy who I would think would be locked into the rotation if not starting.

I rank the defensive needs as: S, ILB, and NT.

I agree that Ryan McBean probably was going to be a big factor in this defense and probably would be starting right now at DE. We'll see how Hall and Tyson do. They could turn out to be decent players. Who knows at this point.

[leachisabeast]

Especially if in the 3rd round you could be looking at guys like Casius Marsh, Jessie Williams, Datone Jones, or even Margus Hunt. Plus, we have absolutely no idea how these guys are going to look in December.

Yeah, that's another guy I was looking at Magus Hunt from SMU. He's like an extremely raw version of JJ Watt, I think he'd be a worth while pick in the third. He's like 6'8 and is very much a pass rushing 5 technique, he would probably have to sit for one or two years though coming in as a rotational guy though because he is still pretty raw.

However, I do disagree with you that no ILB outside of T'eo is worth a 1st round pick. I think T'eo and Mosley could definitely be round 1 picks.

CJ Mosley is still IMO a second round pick. He's very fast and physical, and can cover well, but I'm just not sure if I'd pick him over a John Jenkins or a Louis Nix. It's not that his talent isn't first round worthy, it's just that there are plenty of ILB's in this class that can be taken in the 2nd round who will offer close to the same value as Moseley.

Did Jameel McClain look better last year? Yea, but so did Cody, Art Jones, Kruger, McPhee, Jimmy, and Cary. I think losing Chuck Pagano hurt A LOT more than losing Corey Redding and JJ.

Well this is what I've been asking my self, and it's quite a big debate right now that I'm in two minds about. I too question that all of those players could regress so much in just one season, because nearly all of them looked to have solid futures as Ravens.

We could always sign a FA LB like a Daryl Smith who is really good IMO. The two main problems with Smith is age and price.

[wickedsolo]

Well this is what I've been asking my self, and it's quite a big debate right now that I'm in two minds about. I too question that all of those players could regress so much in just one season, because nearly all of them looked to have solid futures as Ravens.

We could always sign a FA LB like a Daryl Smith who is really good IMO. The two main problems with Smith is age and price.

It is definitely something that anyone who is a Ravens fan should be thinking about, or at least considering.

I like Daryl Smith and you're right that he may be looking for a decent contract, but I'd love to see him come here on a 3 year deal, draft another LB and then keep Jameel and Ellerbe as depth guys.

I am also strongly hoping that maybe Dean Pees will pull a Mattison and "take another job" elsewhere. He's just not getting it done with this group of guys and I just have a difficult time accepting that all of these guys played exponentially better last year and this year look about as average/mediocre as you can get. I mean, McPhee and Jimmy Smith were playing on a borderline pro-bowl level as rookies. Then all of a sudden after an off-season with the team and in their 2nd year they stink? I've heard of a sophomore slump, but a sophomore slump for multiple folks? That just seems strange to me. If it was just Jimmy or just Art or just McPhee, then ok...it's probably just them...but damn near everyone? That's a pattern IMO and that pattern is directly a reflection of Dean Pees.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Yeah, that's another guy I was looking at Magus Hunt from SMU. He's like an extremely raw version of JJ Watt, I think he'd be a worth while pick in the third. He's like 6'8 and is very much a pass rushing 5 technique, he would probably have to sit for one or two years though coming in as a rotational guy though because he is still pretty raw.



CJ Mosley is still IMO a second round pick. He's very fast and physical, and can cover well, but I'm just not sure if I'd pick him over a John Jenkins or a Louis Nix. It's not that his talent isn't first round worthy, it's just that there are plenty of ILB's in this class that can be taken in the 2nd round who will offer close to the same value as Moseley.



Well this is what I've been asking my self, and it's quite a big debate right now that I'm in two minds about. I too question that all of those players could regress so much in just one season, because nearly all of them looked to have solid futures as Ravens.

We could always sign a FA LB like a Daryl Smith who is really good IMO. The two main problems with Smith is age and price.

Regarding Mosely, I get that he isn't a clear cut 1st rounder right now, but in reality, once you get past the first 20 or so picks, most of the final 10 picks are guys that could be considered 2nd round value guys in "most" drafts.

I don't think Jenkins is a clear first rounder either...or Nix. And frankly, I'd rather give Cody some more time to get his stuff together than go another season with McClain and Ray who are getting worse not only against the run, but may be the 2 worst LB's in pass defense in the league. We need to get some guys in here who at least look competent when they are dropping into coverage and playing in space.

[Lime in the Coconut]

Dean Pees was a bad choice to begin with. We just got out of the whole Mattison mess, a younger, fiery guy in Pagano came in and guided our D back into being one of the elite ones in the league. He gets hired away and then they go right back into the same type of guy in Pees. You really have to start questioning some of the decisions that are made and why our players suddenly dropped off harshly as Wicked Solo stated.

I like CJ Moseley a lot as well. He's a physical guy who also gets good pressure when he blitzes up the middle. However, that said, Manti Te'o would obviously be my preferred choice. He's just a beast and has a high motor. I don't know if this is the year where they trade up for someone of his ilk or if they sit tight as usual to select some solid players, but Te'o plays the game the way it should be played.

I don't know about the DL. I think we need improvements, but the biggest shock has to be the rapid drop off of guys like Cody and McPhee.

[wickedsolo]

Dean Pees was a bad choice to begin with. We just got out of the whole Mattison mess, a younger, fiery guy in Pagano came in and guided our D back into being one of the elite ones in the league. He gets hired away and then they go right back into the same type of guy in Pees. You really have to start questioning some of the decisions that are made and why our players suddenly dropped off harshly as Wicked Solo stated.

I like CJ Moseley a lot as well. He's a physical guy who also gets good pressure when he blitzes up the middle. However, that said, Manti Te'o would obviously be my preferred choice. He's just a beast and has a high motor. I don't know if this is the year where they trade up for someone of his ilk or if they sit tight as usual to select some solid players, but Te'o plays the game the way it should be played.

I don't know about the DL. I think we need improvements, but the biggest shock has to be the rapid drop off of guys like Cody and McPhee.

It is very strange how they went from thinking these guys could be legit players to Kemo starting over Cody and Kruger, Art, McPhee, Jameel, Jimmy, Cary, and Ellerbe are all ineffective.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Despite a very small dropoff in yardage, Mattison's defenses gave up the same number of points as Pagano's

Personally, i don't think coaching is responsible for the dropoff...I think JJ and Redding were just that good against the run and frankly, everytime you have midround picks having to play a bigger role, not all of them make the jump. Everybody knew Kruger was going to struggle against the run. McPhee has a knee injury and was forced to play a much bigger role that the staff probably wanted and the same with Jones.

McClain was never good despite people trying to say he would start on many teams...I don't think he'd start for more than 4 or 5 teams in this league. He was a UFA and nobody...nobody wanted him and he could have been had for a solid price for a starting ILB. And everybody hear likes to clown Bart Scott and how he wasn't that good after he left...Bart Scott is 10 times the player that McClain is and it showed when we had to use 2-3 people to replace the things that Bart did for us.

[Terpsfan82]

Dean Pees was a bad choice to begin with. We just got out of the whole Mattison mess, a younger, fiery guy in Pagano came in and guided our D back into being one of the elite ones in the league. He gets hired away and then they go right back into the same type of guy in Pees. You really have to start questioning some of the decisions that are made and why our players suddenly dropped off harshly as Wicked Solo stated.

I like CJ Moseley a lot as well. He's a physical guy who also gets good pressure when he blitzes up the middle. However, that said, Manti Te'o would obviously be my preferred choice. He's just a beast and has a high motor. I don't know if this is the year where they trade up for someone of his ilk or if they sit tight as usual to select some solid players, but Te'o plays the game the way it should be played.

I don't know about the DL. I think we need improvements, but the biggest shock has to be the rapid drop off of guys like Cody and McPhee.

[leachisabeast]

Despite a very small dropoff in yardage, Mattison's defenses gave up the same number of points as Pagano's

Personally, i don't think coaching is responsible for the dropoff...I think JJ and Redding were just that good against the run and frankly, everytime you have midround picks having to play a bigger role, not all of them make the jump. Everybody knew Kruger was going to struggle against the run. McPhee has a knee injury and was forced to play a much bigger role that the staff probably wanted and the same with Jones.

McClain was never good despite people trying to say he would start on many teams...I don't think he'd start for more than 4 or 5 teams in this league. He was a UFA and nobody...nobody wanted him and he could have been had for a solid price for a starting ILB. And everybody hear likes to clown Bart Scott and how he wasn't that good after he left...Bart Scott is 10 times the player that McClain is and it showed when we had to use 2-3 people to replace the things that Bart did for us.

The Ravens had one of the worse pass rush in the league while Mattison was in town. Yes they were pretty stingy in terms of yards allowed etc, but they blew a lot of games in the Mattison era that our offense kept us in. The Atlanta Falcons game comes to mind back in 2010, we almost lost in Houston who went 5-11 that year because of our defense, and who can forget about San Diego who had close to 500 yards of offense back in 09.

That defense was not as bad as todays, but I think that probably has to do with not having Suggs for a few games, aswell as no Jarret Johnson or Cory Redding.

[wickedsolo]

I don't think anyone could really argue that losing Redding and JJ didn't or is not impacting this defensive unit. Definitely is. Especially JJ. Redding - as good as he was/is - did miss some time last year and Art Jones and McPhee split time there and this D was still getting the job done.


I just think Chuck P did a much better job at getting the most out of these guys and Dean Pees is more of a traditional 3-4 and isn't quite sure how to use the talent to the best of their ability.

Case and point: The cornerbacks. If you know that 2 out of your top 3 corners are at their best when they are at the LOS and jamming receivers...then why line them up 8-10 yards off? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[leachisabeast]

I don't think anyone could really argue that losing Redding and JJ didn't or is not impacting this defensive unit. Definitely is. Especially JJ. Redding - as good as he was/is - did miss some time last year and Art Jones and McPhee split time there and this D was still getting the job done.


I just think Chuck P did a much better job at getting the most out of these guys and Dean Pees is more of a traditional 3-4 and isn't quite sure how to use the talent to the best of their ability.

Case and point: The cornerbacks. If you know that 2 out of your top 3 corners are at their best when they are at the LOS and jamming receivers...then why line them up 8-10 yards off? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Especially when you seen Jimmy and Cary do a pretty good job jamming receivers last year, Pagano had them doing that a lot.

[wickedsolo]

Especially when you seen Jimmy and Cary do a pretty good job jamming receivers last year, Pagano had them doing that a lot.

I thought that the entire reason why they drafted Jimmy was BECAUSE he was such a good press-cover corner.

Jamming WR's at the line of scrimmage (when effective) can disrupt the passing temp and timing, which also can give your front 7 more time to get to the QB. That's the whole point.

You either make the QB hesitate and force him to take a sack or throw the ball away. OR he throws a bad pass and gets picked off.


Why Dean Pees isn't doing this, I cannot fathom.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

The Ravens had one of the worse pass rush in the league while Mattison was in town. Yes they were pretty stingy in terms of yards allowed etc, but they blew a lot of games in the Mattison era that our offense kept us in. The Atlanta Falcons game comes to mind back in 2010, we almost lost in Houston who went 5-11 that year because of our defense, and who can forget about San Diego who had close to 500 yards of offense back in 09.

That defense was not as bad as todays, but I think that probably has to do with not having Suggs for a few games, aswell as no Jarret Johnson or Cory Redding.

Let me first say that I did not like Mattison at all. And I agree with the pressure thing, but you also have to remember that instead of Webb playing at pro bowl level, 1st round pick Jimmy Smith and a 6-1 CB who can run like the wind, Mattison was having to deal with Frank Walker, Fabian Washington (who couldn't find another job anywhere else), Chris Carr (who can't find a job anywhere else), and Dawan Landry playing huge roles in his secondary...you can't do a lot of creative things when your secondary is that suspect. Plus, he had Suggs coming in one year incredibly overwieght and out of shape.

And the Atlanta game in 2010...how did the offense keep us in a game that they didn't score a point until midway through the 3rd quarter? I happen to think the defense kept us in that game as our offense couldn't get out of its own way for 2 and half quarters. And the Houston game....yes they should have done a better job of holding them, but did our offense get a single first down the second half? And the defense did come up with the big play to win that game. San Diego...well, Chuck's defense didn't do much to slow the Chargers down either last year.

Again, I'm not a fan of Mattison, but I think part of the disgust with him and Pees is that we are used to seeing a lot of blitzes with success with Rex. I think Pees and Mattison are "average" DC's...they aren't very good, but I don't think they are the car wreck that many try and make them out to be.

I don't think anyone could really argue that losing Redding and JJ didn't or is not impacting this defensive unit. Definitely is. Especially JJ. Redding - as good as he was/is - did miss some time last year and Art Jones and McPhee split time there and this D was still getting the job done.


I just think Chuck P did a much better job at getting the most out of these guys and Dean Pees is more of a traditional 3-4 and isn't quite sure how to use the talent to the best of their ability.

Case and point: The cornerbacks. If you know that 2 out of your top 3 corners are at their best when they are at the LOS and jamming receivers...then why line them up 8-10 yards off? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I think you are underestimating the amount of plays Redding was in there. Sure he was part of a small rotation, but there is a huge difference between Jones playing say, 15% of our defensive snaps to 65%. Same with McPhee who pretty much only came in on passing downs and replaced Cody as opposed to Redding.

[Rxdoxx]

Did Jameel McClain look better last year? Yea, but so did Cody, Art Jones, Kruger, McPhee, Jimmy, and Cary. I think losing Chuck Pagano hurt A LOT more than losing Corey Redding and JJ (not to say that those two losses don't have an impact). I just think Pags knew how to get the most out of the talent that he had on defense and right now Dean Pees isn't sure how to get that same performance. I refuse to believe that ALL of those guys regressed over the off-season. It is far more likely that Dean Pees is having a hard time figuring out how to use everyone to their strengths. I mean, we can see that in the secondary by having both Jimmy and Cary playing 8-10 yards off when last year they were successful by playing press coverage and jamming the WR's at the line of scrimmage. That is a change in scheme and defensive philosophy, not a drop-off in talent.

I will say that even with McClain playing better last year, he still was never very good in coverage and in today's NFL you need a MLB who can cover.

Agree!

I have come to my own conclusions as to why.
Pags had players playing to their strengths,
We lost some very functional pieces, not superstars, but players who forced offenses into some patterns and out of others.
Water under the dam to discuss in detail, but Redding when he lined up in the middle was pass rush penetration.
And JJ shut down the edge.

When Redding was middle, Ed could gamble as we saw him do this year....but without Cory's pressure, the QB could flick his eyes and spot a WR alone in the endzone.... with Cory, he throws the ball to where Ed is heading.

Likewise last year we could see Kruger/Ray flip and Ray rush while Kruger provided pass defense.
This year Kruger has moved into JJ's role and Ray is even more exposed in middle coverage.

With the pieces that departed, Pags system will no longer work as it did. I'm not saying that Pags couldn't tweak it and re-configure it.
I really believe he could. Pags set things so that he had his players playing in their strengths and their weakness covered as much as possible. And we saw players playing impressively.

Pees has come in and because of the workmanlike players lost, cannot use Pags old system, and Pags is gone and not going to offer advice on what new tweaks should be started.
Pees has an ok system of his own, but we have run into OCs that are able to expose and exploit the weakness(s) we have (and we have a bunch). We have seen one half-time tweak of changing where the DL lined up, and a second half shutdown, so Pees is better than Mattison (IMO).... and in fairness, injuries have hurt him, as has has what bmorecareful said on page 1

The Ravens have already depended on those two to anchor the defense one year too long.

We need a Dc who can play 3 card monty and we don't have one.
Pees needs some new players and healthy players, and players to step up with increased responsibility improvement.

That is the key to what we are seeing in the plummet down the chart in D standings. It doesn't look like anyone of the players we were impressed with last year have added anything more... McClain is McClain, Ellerbe is Ellerbe et al and this year OC are exposing their weaknesses instead of having to play into their strengths.

[wickedsolo]

For anyone interested, here is my 3rd round:

Round 3
63. Jacksonville Jaguars – Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia (5’9” 177lbs). Austin is small, but he is a home run threat every time he touches the ball. Jacksonville needs play makers.

64. Kansas City Chiefs – Jessie Williams, DT, Alabama (6’4” 320lbs). Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey have never lived up to their 1st round status. Romeo Crennell could look for 3-4 components and Williams has been a starter at NT in Alabama’s 3-4.

65. Cleveland Browns – John Simon, DE, Ohio State (6’2” 265lbs). Cleveland really needs to consider getting someone opposite of Jabaal Sheard. Simon is a good pass rusher and plays the run well.

66. Oakland Raiders – Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma (6’4” 229lbs). Jones has a solid arm with good accuracy, but he has struggled this year and it is going to reflect in his draft stock. Still, he’d be a good guy to stash on the bench and sit behind Carson Palmer for a year or two.

67. San Francisco 49ers – Margus Hunt, DE, Southern Methodist (6’8” 285lbs). Ricky Jean-Francois and Isaac Sopoaga are free agents, so there may be a need to address depth guys who can fit into a 3-4 scheme. Hunt is really raw, but has a tremendous amount of upside.

68. Indianapolis Colts – Sanders Commings, CB/S, Georgia (6’2” 209lbs). Chuck Pagano loves physical cornerbacks and the Colts really have struggled in their secondary this year. Commings is a big corner with nice cover skills and uses his size very well.

69. Buffalo Bills – Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma (6’1” 189lbs). Stevie Johnson is the only real receiver on the Bills right now. They need to consider adding someone who can start opposite of Johnson. Stills is a crisp route runner and has nice ability with the ball in his hands.

70. Tennessee Titans – Dion Sims, TE, Michigan State (6’5” 275lbs). Sims is a solid all-around TE. He blocks well and he has nice soft hands for a big guy. Jared Cooks has asked the Titans for a trade and unless they tag him it seems unlikely that he’ll be back next year.

71. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Oday Aboushi, OT, Virginia (6’6” 310lbs). Aboushi is a pretty underrated player. He’s a good run blocker and he is a solid pass blocker. After this season the Bucs may want to consider some different options to replace Donald Penn with because of how badly he has played.

72. Cincinnati Bengals – Matt Elam, S, Florida (5’10” 208lbs). Taylor Mays commits way too many penalties and the Bengals have been playing with Nate Clements at strong safety. They need an upgrade and Elam is excellent against the run.

73. New York Jets – Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M (6’1” 207lbs). Unless the Jets can land someone like Tyler Wilson or Tyler Bray in round 2, I think that poor Jets fans will suffer through another season with Mark Sanchez. Some feel that he just needs better weapons. We’ll see. Swope brings nice skills to the table as a slot receiver with great hands and above average speed.

74. St. Louis Rams – Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State (6’1” 225lbs). Any help the Rams can get on defense should be welcomed with open arms. Some folks are comparing Brown to Lavonte David, who has been a solid rookie contributor for the Bucs this year. Brown is a tackling machine and has nice upside.

75. Miami Dolphins – DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama (6’6” 335lbs). Fluker is enormous, but he really just doesn’t have the footwork to play tackle, so dropping him down to guard might suit him best because he is a monster run blocker. The Dolphins are probably going to look for a replacement because both Richie Incognito and John Jerry probably should be depth players.