Mock Monday! 3/8, Inspiring Krayfish edition.
The best post or so to appear on AA so far during the NFL’s free agency period hasn’t come from myself, Paddy, Adam, or anybody who actually writes for AA. It actually came in comments, unheralded, from the exhausted “krayfish,” who wrote what can only be described as a manifesto, replying to yours truly over why his impatience with the Chiefs is justified:
"When you cant even win a playoff game in the span of time it takes for an infant to become a full grown adult, there is something wrong with your way of doing business.Lamar may have been the man in an era where sideburns and Pintos with wood paneling were cool. But he got out evolved quickly. Athletes today don’t really and truly respect the athletes from back then the same way they do the athletes of today. The guys back then were mostly white, small and slow as a whole, compared to today.The game is played very differently. The way the NFL has changed and grown into a monsterous mega business is so much different than it was, even 25 years ago.Since then, teams like the Cardinals have been to their first SB. The Saints have too. I could go on. Other teams manage to do it. We don’t ever."
I would advise you to read the whole thing, as it is as passionate a piece as anything posted on AA in my short timespan here.
Krayfish, I hear you brother. I don’t think this has to be the offseason where we single-handedly atone for the sins of the Chiefs organization of the past forty years, but I can feel your frustration as vividly as mine. And I don’t think we’re alone.
So with that in mind, I’m diving all in this week. Enough of projecting mocks that I think are careful, crafted and conservative. This one is about the sizzle this team needs to make krayfish feel again. Let’s do it!
(After the jump.)
1. S Eric Berry, Tennessee
The #1 player on most Chiefs fans’ big boards manages to slip down to the #5 overall — Chiefs fans are ecstatic.
1 (formerly “2b” and our 3rd). NT Terrance Cody, Alabama
With San Diego releasing Jamal Williams, it is 100% that they will be targeting Cody with their low-first rounder. Let there be no mistake, Pioli desperately wants Cody to make it to his second pick. And if he believes Cody cannot make it past the Chargers, he will find a way. In this hypothetical, he trades two of our picks to make it happen.
2. OLB Jerry Hughes, TCU
A phenomenal pass-rushing prospect, it would be hard to imagine him falling to the 2nd if it weren’t for the four or five first-round worthy prospects that could likely push him to the second. Hughes is the ideal combination of size, power, and relentlessness.
3 (Derrick Johnson). C JD Walton, Baylor
Walton, as I’ve written before, is just a player that loves getting dirty and taking his aggression out on the defensive line. Walton is an All American 1st teamer, so while Pouncey is getting all the attention, the Chiefs utilize the 3rd they picked up by trading DJ to solidify the middle of their line.
4. WR Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech
Dreams do come true. This isn’t out of consideration for Thomas, who is an amazing physical specimen of Dwayne Bowe proportions, very athletic, phenomenal hands and decent (not great) speed. The Chiefs would love somebody faster but you cannot complain about Bowe, Thomas, and Chambers as a tall trio of receivers for Cassel. Red zones galore!
4 (Jarrad Page). ILB Sean Lee, Penn State
Yes, the Chiefs lost a 7th rounder in this trade for a 4th rounder, but ended up spending a 4th rounder for a first rounder! Now that’s what I call value. Sean Lee is an injury concern, but played amazing for Penn State and across the board has been recognized as first-round talent with dispcipline issues. Surround him in a Sea of Red, and you’ll see how focused a player can become for the game of football.
5. OLB Antonio Coleman, Auburn
Coleman, as I’ve drafted him before, is a speed demon off the edge with relentless pursuit. If this Draft had a Dumervil, it’s Coleman, who will love attacking opposite Hali, Vrabel, and Hughes. Wow.
5. KR/PR Trindon Holliday, LSU
The Chiefs return game: fixed. Holliday is one of the fastest players we’ve ever seen in a Chiefs uniform, and the slightest seam is all this guy needs to take it to the house.
5. OT Ed Wang, Virginia Tech
A multi-year starter with LT ability. No more will we have to suffer through the O’Callaghans, Richardsons, and Ndukwes who have all the power they need but lack athleticism. Very few passrushers can beat the athletic Wang around the corner. Plus: best name ever.
7 (compensatory). NT DeMarcus Granger, Oklahoma
Granger is a desperation pick for him and for the Chiefs. The Chiefs desperately need some NT depth behind Cody (so long Ron Edwards), and Granger is a physical mess with 1st round tools. He is a beast that could somehow be good if he could find a way to stay healthy. The Chiefs would be wise to just put him on IR immediately, give him a season, and bring him in 2011 and see what you’ve got.
New, inspirational depth chart. Krayfish, your thoughts:
QB: Cassel, Croyle, Gutierrez
RB: Charles, Jones (one assumes), Williams, Smith
FB: Castille
WR: Bowe, Chambers, Thomas, Wade, Lawrence
TE: Pope, Cottam, O’Connell
LT: Albert, Wang
LG: Waters, Harris
C: Walton, Niswanger
RG: Brown, Niswanger
RT: Wang, O’Callaghan
DE: Dorsey, Magee
NT: Cody, Edwards (Granger, IR)
DE: Jackson, Gilberry
OLB: Hali, Hughes
ILB: Lee, Belcher
ILB: Williams, Mays
OLB: Vrabel, Coleman
CB: Flowers, Carr, Washington, Leggett, Daniels
S: Berry, Morgan, Brown, McGraw
K: Succop
P: Colquitt
LS: Gafford
KR/PR: Holliday
Now tell me THAT won’t put some asses in the seats!