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Lukayyy is striding to the podium, and he has the Cardinals' first round pick in his hand.
With the 20th in the 2014 BRB Mock Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE--Washington).
The Arizona Cardinals are the forgotten team of the NFC West. Sure, you have your Seattle and your San Fran, but the Cardinals are just as dangerous as either of those two. Hell, they even beat Seattle in Seattle. They are a 10 win team that didn't make the playoffs.
Going through their roster, it's kinda hard to find a glaring weakness within this team. Their run defence was ridiculously good last year, ranking No.1 in YPG with 86. While that defence might have just lost its more productive player in Karlos Dansby (122 tackles), they are by no means weak at that position with second year ILB Kevin Minter ready to step in to play alongside the coverage god of inside linebackers in DARYL FREAKING WASHINGTON. Add to this the fact they have one of the best slot corners in the league in Jerraud Powers (PFF stats here) and Tyrann Mathieu returning from injury, and it's reasonably safe to say that the Cardinals are doing okay on defence.
While a lot of people are looking towards the offensive line as an area that needs help, I'm not so sold on the idea. They have last year's first round pick, Jonathan Cooper, returning to play guard after he lost his rookie year due to injury. They've added a solid addition at LT in Jared Veldheer. Simply put, they've done enough to not make me feel like I need to reach for an OT here. Of course, Taylor Lewan is still on the board; while he may seem incredibly charming in TV and radio interviews, the off-field issues are ones I just don't feel comfortable with. That and the fact that the next two OTs on the board both have health and form issues (Cyrus Kouandjio in the Sugar Bowl, Antonio Richardson versus South Carolina) just makes taking an OT here something that I'm not entirely sold on. Add in the point that nobody selects OGs in the first unless the draft is incredibly weak or the prospect is really really good; while Xavier Su'a Filo, David Yankey and Cyril Richardson are all terrific prospects, there is nothing really stopping me from coming back in the second round and potentially having the chance to take one of the three.
Which leads me to Austin Seferian-Jenkins. I have made no attempt at hiding my love for the Washington tight end. He's strong, versatile and anchors well as a run blocker, something which Washington used him in quite a bit as a lead blocker at the FB position. Add into this the lowest drop percentage of any of the main TEs in this class (Amaro, ASJ, Ebron and Niklas), and you have a lethal weapon on your hands. Not to mention the fact he's also played basketball for the Huskies. So what we have here is a 6'5", 262 lbs. in-line TE who is athletic and versatile enough to line up in multiple positions (at the LOS, in the backfield, and out wide), be used in a variety of ways (deep seam routes and quick screens against smaller corners), and has potential to help a red zone offence that ranked 21st last season.
How'd I do?
Well? Answer the man!
As is customary around these parts, we'll now hit the pause button on the draft for the weekend. The Green Bay Packers' pick, courtesy of gyeager, must be submitted to me by 7 p.m. on Sunday for posting on Monday morning.
Recapping...
1. Houston Texans--Sammy Watkins (WR--Clemson)
2. St. Louis Rams (from Washington)--Jadeveon Clowney (DE--South Carolina)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars--Johnny Manziel (QB--Texas A&M)
4. Cleveland Browns--Teddy Bridgewater (QB--Louisville)
5. Oakland Raiders--Khalil Mack (LB--Buffalo)
6. Atlanta Falcons--Anthony Barr (LB--UCLA)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Eric Ebron (TE--UNC)
8. Minnesota Vikings--Greg Robinson (OT--Auburn)
9. Buffalo Bills--Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S--Alabama)
10. Detroit Lions--Mike Evans (WR--Texas A&M)
11. Tennessee Titans--Justin Gilbert (CB--Oklahoma State)
12. New York Giants--Aaron Donald (DT--Pittsburgh)
13. St. Louis Rams--Jake Matthews (OT--Texas A&M)
14. Chicago Bears--Timmy Jernigan (DT--Florida State)
15. Denver Broncos (TRADE WITH STEELERS) --C.J. Mosley (LB--Alabama)
16. Dallas Cowboys--Morgan Moses (OT--Virginia)
17. Baltimore Ravens--Marqise Lee (WR--USC)
18. New York Jets--Calvin Pryor (S--Louisville)
19. Miami Dolphins--Zack Martin (OG/OT--Notre Dame)
20. Arizona Cardinals--Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE--Washington)
21. Green Bay Packers--gyeager
22. Philadelphia Eagles--gm.in.waiting
23. Kansas City Chiefs--MrCatPants
24. Cincinnati Bengals--hlc1221
25. San Diego Chargers--f22a4bandit
26. Cleveland Browns--FreedomRide
27. New Orleans Saints--H&Hguy
28. Carolina Panthers--Nashmeister
29. New England Patriots--37bp
30. San Francisco 49ers--TexansDC
31. Pittsburgh Steelers (TRADE WITH BRONCOS) --Steel Blue Crew
32. Seattle Seahawks--UprootedTexan
33. Houston Texans--bhsman