I Pretended To Be John Dorsey For ESPN: Here’s What Happened
For the last two years, in addition to writing a weekly column for Arrowhead Addict, I have also been representing the Nation as the official Kansas City Chiefs Superfan for the ESPN Football Today podcast. My role and importance as a Superfan fluctuated between the show’s changing lineup of hosts, but I always found it to be a fun exercise to get my two cents discussed in a wider forum.
Nonetheless, by far the most interesting and exciting event for us 32 Superfans was not getting our nonsense reactions to the latest games read throughout the season, but the three-round mock draft we took upon ourselves to act out every year.
This was not some ordinary mock draft. We, the designated Superfans, chosen through a lengthy application process, each year went through a live action draft complete with trades and arguments with our fictitious league commissioner. This year, I discarded my oversized suit jackets and thick-rimmed glasses for a sour expression and a pinnipedal cohort.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
In other words, I tried to think like the new regime and get the best I could out of our draft capital while following what seems to be their game plan. Here’s how it went down:
Pre-Draft
Like every Chiefs fan on the planet, I was looking to trade down. If I had the chance to stay within the top 5-6, I was pretty much willing to take any offer as there would definitely be a player there that I could take and I really wanted to recoup some mid-round picks. My second priority was – if I wasn’t going to land a major trade-down – to flip LT Brandon Albert for a 2nd and change.
I got plenty of offers to move up to #1 overall, but they all came from teams too far away for my liking. Then, the Buccaneers made a crazy trade to move up from #13 to Jacksonville’s spot at #2 in exchange for their 2014 1st and a late 2013 pick. The Jaguars must have been desperate to look to the future and gaining as much talent as they can next year because the trade was for far less than the draft value chart would call for. It also is a bit of an indictment of the talent at the top of this year’s class. Either way, I knew a mark when I saw one and told the Bucs Superfan/GM that I had been getting offers for the #1 spot and I wasn’t sure who those teams were going for, but if he wanted to get his guy – and clearly he did – all he had to do was part with a 3rd-rounder to move all the way to the top.
In the end, that was too rich for his blood, but I took a 4th off of him in the end and moved down to #2 overall. I then turned my attention to Albert. Like the real Chiefs, I was shopping him loud and hard. A couple of teams inquired, but I wanted to get a deal done before I had to actually make my pick. In the end, I took the Raven’s 2nd-round (#62) and 5th-round (#165) picks for our franchised left tackle. It would have been nice to get a higher 2nd, but this still gave the team plenty of capital.
At this point, through compensatory picks and trades, my Chiefs team had regained a 2nd and had two picks in rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6. But, that was to be short-lived.
We didn’t fully lay down the rules this year, and several of the teams complained that it made things too complicated to trade current players. I protested. The Philadelphia Superfan/GM then pointed out that Baltimore doesn’t have near enough space to pick up Albert’s contract in the first place and, while one could assume they would negotiate a cap-friendly long-term deal with him post-trade, that was just a bridge too far. The trade was voided.
In fact, only 12 teams have the cap space to be able to absorb Albert’s contract at the moment according to (the fabulous follow) the Film Room on Twitter. Those teams are: the Eagles, the Bills, the Pats, the Jags, the Cards, the Colts, the Jets, the Packers, the Bengals, the Browns, and the Bucs. All other teams would have to cut players to make space.
Unfortunately, the drama over the Albert trade erupted after I had already drafted his replacement – Luke Joeckel – 2nd overall. Still, if the Chiefs can trade down and still get either Jockel or Fisher, they should count themselves lucky regardless of what happens with Albert.
Feb 23, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas A
Thus, the Nick-led Chiefs would forego any picks in the 2nd round and it would next come around to us at pick #63.
Here’s how rounds 1 & 2 panned out overall.
Round 1
1 Tampa Bay via Kansas City via Jacksonville – CB Dee Milliner
2 Kansas City via Tampa Bay via Jacksonville – OT Luke Joeckel
3 Oakland – OT Eric Fisher
4 Philadelphia – OLB Dion Jordan
5 Detroit – DE Ezekiel Ansah
6 Cleveland – OLB Jarvis Jones
7 Arizona – OG Chance Warmack
8 San Diego via Buffalo – OT Lane Johnson
9 New York Jets – DE/OLB Barkevious Mingo
10 Tennessee – DT Shariff Floyd
11 Buffalo via San Diego – QB Geno Smith
12 Miami – CB Xavier Rhodes
13 Jacksonville via Tampa Bay – WR Tavon Austin
14 Carolina – DT Sheldon Richardson
15 Cincinnati via New Orleans – S Kenny Vaccaro
16 St. Louis – DT Star Lotulelei (steal of the day)
17 Pittsburg – OG John Cooper
18 Dallas – DT Sylvester Williams
19 New York Giants – ILB Alec Ogletree
20 Chicago – DE Damontre Moore
21 New Orleans via Cincinnati – DT Jesse Williams
22 St. Louis via Washington – WR Keenan Allen
23 San Francisco via Minnesota – DE Margus Hunt
24 Indianapolis – WR DeAndre Hopkins
25 Minnesota via Seattle – DE Datone Jones
26 Green Bay – S Matt Elam
27 Buffalo via Houston – WR Cordarrelle Patterson
28 Denver – DE Bjoern Werner (2nd steal of the day)
29 New England – CD Desmond Trufant
30 Atlanta – CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson
31 San Francisco – DT John Jenkins
32 Baltimore – ILB Manti Te’o
Round 2
33 Jacksonville – OT D.J. Fluker
34 Arizona via Kansas City through San Francisco and Minnesota – QB E.J. Manuel
35 Philadelphia – S Eric Reid
36 Detroit – LB Arthur Brown
37 Cincinnati via Oakland – RB Eddy Lacy
38 Minnesota via Arizona – Quinton Patton
39 New York Jets – TE Tyler Eifert
40 Tennessee – DE Tank Carradine
41 Houston – WR Justin Hunter
42 Miami – OT Menelik Watson
43 Tampa Bay – CB D.J. Hayden
44 Carolina – OT Reid Fragel
45 San Diego – OG Justin Pugh
46 St. Louis – S Jonathan Cyprien (STL was killin’ it)
47 Dallas – OG Larry Warford
48 Houston via Pittsburg – MLB Kevin Minter
49 New York Giants – CB Jonathan Banks
50 Baltimore via Chicago – S D.J. Swearinger
51 Washington – CB Jamar Taylor
52 Minnesota – WR Aaron Dobson
53 New Orleans via Cincinnati – OT Terron Armstead
54 Miami – DE Alex Okafor
55 Green Bay – DT Kawaan Short
56 Seattle – TE Zach Ertz
57 Pittsburg via Houston – DT John Hankins
58 Denver – WR Robert Woods
59 New England – WR Terrence Williams
60 Atlanta – DE Sam Montgomery
61 Tampa Bay via San Francisco – QB Ryan Nassib
62 Chicago via Baltimore – OT/OG Dallas Thomas
Sitting at the top of the 3rd round, I had a lot of choices and some good players had fallen. Obviously, ILB is the Chiefs only glaring hole, but it is also a position where you can find some good players later in the draft. When it comes to premiere positions where you want to load up on talent, I think pass rusher is the next place the Chiefs should add a body. With Andy Studebaker (who was no world-beater) gone, can you name the team’s #3 outside linebacker? Didn’t think so.
Mike Mayock’s 2nd-rated 3-4 outside linebacker is a guy probably few of you have heard of – not Barkevious Mingo, nope, he put Jamie Collins above him, right after Dion Jordon. Few know Jamie Collins because he was playing in the witness protection program down in Southern Mississippi, a team that didn’t win a single game in 2012. But, if you look at Collins’ tape, he definitely stands out as a high-motor, highly skilled guy with the speed to go all over the field as basically the only bright spot on that defense.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
We need a guy to rotate and develop with OLB’s Tamba Hali and Justin Houston because currently we have no depth and Tamba turns the big 30 this year. So, I grabbed Collins, who I think is a steal at that spot.
Later in the round, I was still able to get my ILB target. I know there are lots of Arthur Brown fans on this site, but Oregon’s Kiko Alonso looks to me like Manti Te’o, just underrated rather than overrated and with a real, live girlfriend.
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
This is how the 3rd round went overall:
Round 3
63 Kansas City – OLB Jamie Collins
64 Jacksonville – CB Darius Slay
65 Detroit – OT Kyle Long
66 Oakland – CB David Amerson
67 Philadelphia – DE William Ghoston
68 Cleveland – S Shawn Williams
69 Arizona – C/G Travis Frederick
70 Tennessee – CB Jordan Poyer
71 Buffalo – TE Gavin Escobar
72 New York Jets – S Tony Jefferson
73 San Francisco via Tampa Bay – TE Travis Kelce
74 Minnesota via San Francisco – DT Brandon Williams
75 Cincinnati via New Orleans – OLB Sio Moore
76 Baltimore via San Diego – -OT Luke Marquardt
77 Miami – CB Robert Alford
78 St. Louis – RB Marcus Lattimore
79 Pittsburg – RB Giovanni Bernard
80 Chicago via Dallas – LB Khaseem Greene
81 New York Giants – OLB Corey Lemonier
82 Miami – C Barrett Jones
83 Minnesota – S Phillip Thomas
84 New Orleans via Cincinnati – OLB Trevardo Williams
85 New York Jets via Washington – RB Jonathan Franklin
86 Indianapolis – OL Brian Schwenke
87 Seattle – WR Da’Rick Rogers
88 Green Bay – RB Montee Ball
89 Houston – QB Tyler Wilson
90 Denver – RB Le’Veon Bell
91 New England – WR Ryan Swope
92 Atlanta – TE Vance McDonald
93 San Francisco – RB Mike Millislee
94 San Diego via Baltimore – CB Leon Sandcastle … err McFadden
95 Houston – WR Markus Wheaton
96 Kansas City – ILB Kiko Alonso
97 Tennessee – WR Steadman Bailey
To see the full spreadsheet, plus explanations for the picks from the other Superfans, click here.
So what do you think, Addicts? Did I do the right thing? Who would you have picked?