mock draft thread

MLD Woody

Well ya.... when you only copy and paste from the "Strengths" section for Devin Smith, that's the impression you'll get lol

MLD Woody

Smith:

STRENGTHS: Has quick strides to pick up steam in a hurry vertically with strong cuts in his routes to create some separation vs. defenders. Has made a career out of getting behind the secondary for big plays, using his deep speed and also contributing on special teams coverages.

WEAKNESSES: Frustrating prospect because he shows the striding speed to stretch the field, but also inconsistent tracking skills, which makes him late to adjust and leads to focus drops. Aside from go routes downfield, he is unproven as a route-runner. His speed is mostly straight-line and his lean frame looks near maxed out.

--Dane Brugler

Funchess:

STRENGTHS: Tall, athletic frame with smooth muscle tone throughout. Long arms and big hands to create a large catching radius. Snatches the ball away from his body and attacks with his hands.

Flexible freak with easy movement skills for his size and loose body control to make natural adjustments on the ball, turning downfield quickly after the grab. Long, full strides to reach his top speed quickly.

Very good leaping ability to float and attack jump balls. Not easy to bring down as a ballcarrier with his size to bounce off tacklers. Nice job finding soft spots over the middle.

Has experience at tight end and receiver, lining up inline, slot and outside. Matchup nightmare against linebackers and smaller cornerbacks with a size differential that isn't close in most cases. Good toughness to play through injuries.

WEAKNESSES: Very lean-muscled and lacks ideal bulk or sand. Room to get stronger to better beat press and match up with physical man defenders.

Too many drops off his hands on his resume and needs to be more reliable with his focus through the catch. Hand technique needs work, often caught with his hands turned the wrong way downfield.

Not a reliable finisher in contested situations. Tends to think too much about post-catch and will take his eyes off the ball before securing. Shows laziness in his routes and needs to sell patterns with more consistency. Inconsistent vision after the catch, struggling to leverage the field or read his blocks.

Doesn't consistently play up to his size as a ballcarrier and will brace himself for contact, not powering over smaller bodies. Effort is there as a blocker, but often caught off balance with erratic technique. Suffered ankle injury in Sept. 2014 and was hampered the rest of the season.

COMPARES TO: Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers - Like Benjamin, Funchess has the size and athleticism to create mismatches, especially in the red zone and on third downs, but inconsistencies could keep both from reaching their top potential.

--Dane Brugler

tiamat63

@mld-woody said:

Are you also one of those guys that constantly complains about how dumb Kiper is?

What in the flippity fuck does that have to do with anything?!? He had questionable hands in college including two drops against the Bucks his senior year. Have you no rebuttal?!

And for the record, I don't complain about Kiper because I know he's a dunbass. He and McShay had Jimmy Clausen as a top 10 prospect in the 2011 draft. That's all that ever needs to be said about them.

MLD Woody

But like I said, they're two very different WR prospects. Maybe a team wants him as a TE, though it will be more of an Hernandez/Graham type TE, not a "real" TE. In the right system, it seems like Funchess would have the higher ceiling. We'll just have to see which team drafts him and how they decide to use him. Just like Denard, the potential is all there is the offensive staff can utilize them correctly.

Mudfly

@mld-woody said:
But like I said, they're two very different WR prospects. Maybe a team wants him as a TE, though it will be more of an Hernandez/Graham type TE, not a "real" TE. In the right system, it seems like Funchess would have the higher ceiling. We'll just have to see which team drafts him and how they decide to use him. Just like Denard, the potential is all there is the offensive staff can utilize them correctly.

I guess I assumed we were talking about the Browns and how these 2 players would fit in.....

I dont have any big issue with Funchess(hands? some), so YES, I think he could be a good pick for someone wanting a project.

But as a straight up receiver, compared to Smith, I consider smith the better prospect and more pro ready. Thats all. Opinion.

And for the Browns and where these 2 will be picked(in the 2nd round?), id prefer a pro ready receiver over a project TE....

Simple really..

My prediction is Smith will rise and Funchess will drop. I say Smith goes late 1st or early 2nd, while Funchess looks like possibly a late 2nd or even 3rd rounder

MLD Woody

I'd love for us to take Funchess for my own homer reasons (same with every OSU fan here and Smith whether they admit it or not). I think he could help us in a position of need. As for Smith, we have speed guys already IMO.

Either way, I think Funchess would be much better off on a team like the Pats or Broncos. We don't have enough consistency to take full advantage of a high risk/high reward project type player. Higher floor, lower ceiling may be what we need.

Mudfly

@mld-woody said:

I'd love for us to take Funchess for my own homer reasons (same with every OSU fan here and Smith whether they admit it or not). I think he could help us in a position of need. As for Smith, we have speed guys already IMO.

I get it and understand why you like him.....

But for the Browns, Im only interested in a big play guy....a game breaker type to replace Gordon......and there are very few in this draft.

It could be a big guy or a strong fast guy.....as long as he can bust it open.....cause thats what we're missing

And the obvious ones I see are Cooper, White & Green-Beckham......though, if Farmer picks one later and he's still there, Smith could fit the bill.

So, as far as #1 receiver game breaker type potential, thats what I see....4 of em....

Tour2ma

@mld-woody said:

I'd love for us to take Funchess for my own homer reasons (same with every OSU fan here and Smith whether they admit it or not). I think he could help us in a position of need. As for Smith, we have speed guys already IMO.

Either way, I think Funchess would be much better off on a team like the Pats or Broncos. We don't have enough consistency to take full advantage of a high risk/high reward project type player. Higher floor, lower ceiling may be what we need.

Hard to think of a player who would not be better off on the Pats or Broncos...

As for speed guys... there's Benji and ??? Add that I think that Benji could well be gone. But I agree with Mud that Smith is on the rise, so he won't be coming our way.

miktoxic

while doing the fanspeak mock i saw white going to the jets @6. really?

anyways, about beckham. hasn't he got trouble written all over him?

MLD Woody

@tour2ma said:

Hard to think of a player who would not be better off on the Pats or Broncos...

As for speed guys... there's Benji and ??? Add that I think that Benji could well be gone. But I agree with Mud that Smith is on the rise, so he won't be coming our way.

That's true, almost every play would be better on their teams haha. I meant more of how they would utilize a "tweener" type player like Funchess. Especially the Pats, since they have been doing it for awhile.

Taylor Gabriel is also pretty fast.

MLD Woody

@miktoxic said:

while doing the fanspeak mock i saw white going to the jets @6. really?

anyways, about beckham. hasn't he got trouble written all over him?

A ton of trouble. He'd need to go to a place with proven veteran leadership, especially at WR. So, not the Browns.

MLD Woody

@mudfly said:

I get it and understand why you like him.....

But for the Browns, Im only interested in a big play guy....a game breaker type to replace Gordon......and there are very few in this draft.

It could be a big guy or a strong fast guy.....as long as he can bust it open.....cause thats what we're missing

And the obvious ones I see are Cooper, White & Green-Beckham......though, if Farmer picks one later and he's still there, Smith could fit the bill.

So, as far as #1 receiver game breaker type potential, thats what I see....4 of em....

Idk if I'd but Smith at the level of those guys...

But yes, obviously Cooper would be our first choice (or a Green-Beckham w/o issues). White is right after Cooper.

tiamat63

I'd be interested to see the drop percentage between Funchess and Smith, I have a feeling its not as high as one may think for the latter.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@mudfly said:

I get it and understand why you like him.....

But for the Browns, Im only interested in a big play guy....a game breaker type to replace Gordon......and there are very few in this draft.

It could be a big guy or a strong fast guy.....as long as he can bust it open.....cause thats what we're missing

And the obvious ones I see are Cooper, White & Green-Beckham......though, if Farmer picks one later and he's still there, Smith could fit the bill.

So, as far as #1 receiver game breaker type potential, thats what I see....4 of em....

Fast doesn't equal game breaker, though. We have speed. We need a guy with speed and the ability to find holes in the coverage. That's where the real game breaking ability lies.

Speed, size, hands, routes, or spectacular catches - you can only have 3...unless you're Megatron.

MLD Woody

http://instagram.com/p/zIJDvbtw3q/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video

I wish I knew how to embed that

tiamat63

@mld-woody said:

http://instagram.com/p/zIJDvbtw3q/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video

I wish I knew how to embed that

So.... He's 6'5 with long arms and a decent vertical. I'd be more worried if he couldn't dunk.

Mudfly

@mld-woody said:

Idk if I'd but Smith at the level of those guys...

I didn't.....I said take Smith later if we dont get one of the big 3....

@tiamat63 said:
I'd be interested to see the drop percentage between Funchess and Smith, I have a feeling its not as high as one may think for the latter.

Smith has great hands.....did have a few concentration drops.....missed a few easy ones, while making a ton of tough catches

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

Fast doesn't equal game breaker, though. We have speed. We need a guy with speed and the ability to find holes in the coverage. That's where the real game breaking ability lies.

dont think I said it did?....did i?.....

Hey, I think Smith shows big play potential simply because he makes big plays over and over and over again.....scores a ton too...speed, decent size, strength and good instincts if you ask me.....so I watch Funchess dunk, heres some Smith.....note the first catch....

MLD Woody

@mudfly said:

I didn't.....I said take Smith later if we dont get one of the big 3....

Hey, I think Smith shows big play potential simply because he makes big plays over and over and over again.....scores a ton too...speed, decent size, strength and good instincts if you ask me.....so I watch Funchess dunk, heres some Smith.....note the first catch....

I guess you said that. It wasn't exactly worded like that, but I'll take your word for it. As long as you aren't saying he's at there level.

If that video shows anything, its that Smith is very good at that one thing. Especially when the defender isnt there or falls over or something, lol. If he is going to be a legitimate #1 WR like that other guys you mentioned, he'll have to run a more diverse route tree.

MLD Woody

@tiamat63 said:
So.... He's 6'5 with long arms and a decent vertical. I'd be more worried if he couldn't dunk.

I would say the impressive thing there isn't the dunk, but that he can pretty much bite the rim

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@mudfly said:

I didn't.....I said take Smith later if we dont get one of the big 3....

Smith has great hands.....did have a few concentration drops.....missed a few easy ones, while making a ton of tough catches

dont think I said it did?....did i?.....

Hey, I think Smith shows big play potential simply because he makes big plays over and over and over again.....scores a ton too...speed, decent size, strength and good instincts if you ask me.....so I watch Funchess dunk, heres some Smith.....note the first catch....

I'm not saying you did. I'm tempering your statement in advance for the people who are going to say "we have speed already with Benjamin and Hawkins we don't need more speed".