McLafferty Mocks (himself) the 2014 NFL Draft, Going all 7 Rounds with the Cleveland Browns
Sep 28, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Carlos Hyde (34) stiff arms Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Chris Borland (44) during the first quarter at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Round – #35 Chris Borland ILB Wisconsin
Head Coach Mike Pettine used a 2nd Round ILB last year and turned him into one of the best defensive players last year, Kiko Alonso. I see the same with hard-nosed Chris Borland. Once QB and WR are taken care of I believe RB, OT, OG and ILB are the biggest places of need. (I think CB needs to be addressed but with Buster Skrine having a good season and Leon McFadden still looming it’s not in dire need of a starter). To me there really wasn’t anyone that made me have to grab him here at OT and OG and I know the RBs wouldn’t start coming off till later in the round so I went with Borland. Borland was a beast at Wisconsin. 7 of the 11 full games he played, he came with double digit tackles along with 4 sacks in the extremely physical Big Ten. He doesn’t have the best speed and size but he’s an old school LBs that will throw his body around and make you pay for coming his way. Great leader and would probably soon be captain of the defense. Sadly no relation to Al Borland
3rd Round- #71 Carlos Hyde RB THE Ohio State
Carlos Hyde to me, is the best back in the draft. As an Ohio State fan and alumni I’m especially hard when it comes to our players. I wasn’t a huge fan and thought he may have been a little overrated coming into the season but watching him explode this season was eye opening. He burst through holes, displayed great vision and awareness, had the toughness and strength to break tackles while (and this is what really stood out to me) making athletic plays in the open field. When you are able to run through AND put a move on them that will leave them dumbfounded like an Uncle Drew opponent, you have the upper hand because the defense doesn’t know how to attack you. They have to slow up for a minute to worry about the move and that’s when you can just over power them due to the lack of momentum. On the flipside if they come barreling in at you with everything they have expecting you to put your head down, a quick athletic move will leave the whiffing at air and you the open field. Hyde is Beast Mode Part 2. He’ll be one of the few 3 down backs in the NFL (though I think Dion Lewis will get some time as well due to his quickness and solid pass catching ability) and a monster behind the Kyle Shanahan offense.
3rd Round- #83 Keith McGill CB Utah(from Steelers for Shamarko Thomas, 2 games started, 29 tackles, O Sacks, 0 Pass Def, O Ints)
Earlier this week Pettine talked about bigger sized Corners due to the success of the Seahawks with that method and there is no bigger corner in this year’s draft than McGill. His size allows him to go up with the best receivers and play physical. Even if you believe Skrine is starter material, you’re going to always need depth here. More and more teams are using more than 2 WR sets, plus with the revolution of Tight Ends being more active in the passing game, you’re going to need 3-4 solid CBs. The other nice thing about McGill and his size is that ability to stay physical with Tight Ends if they move him over one.
4th Round-#102 James Hurst OT North Carolina
James Hurst is a solid addition to the offensive line that I think needs some help. One they’ll be moving into a more Zone Blocking Scheme due to Shanahan’s hire, and 2nd they need to figure out where all these young players fit. Is Schwartz cut out to be an offensive tackle, not likely, or will he succeed moving into the guard position. Also what to make out of the guards with Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao and their transition to a zone blocking scheme. Hurst has started all but 4 games for North Carolina since signing with the Tar Heels at LT. Some scouts believe he’ll be better utilized inside, either way he’s a great value in the 4th round where the hope would be to move him to RT, moving Schwartz inside to RG and giving us some flexibility and depth in case of an injury.
4th Round Continued and More