San Francisco 49ers pull draft night shocker: Illini WR A.J. Jenkins

April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

a.j. jenkins

The Seattle Seahawks made the first big shocker on NFL Draft night by taking Bruce Irvin DE/OLB from West Virginia. The San Francisco 49ers created another big surprise when they took WR A.J. Jenkins out of Illinois with the 30th pick. It marks the first time two Illini have been selected in the first round of an NFL draft since Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice in 1996.

Illinois now has 5 first round picks in the last five years, the most in the Big Ten. That’s a very surprising stat isn’t?

The Niners defense was so strong last year, you knew they were going to go offense this draft. And now they have plenty of pass catchers: Mario Manningham, Vernon Davis, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree etc.

[Read more...]

Houston Texans take Illini Whitney Mercilus, DE slips to #26

April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

whitney_mercilus

He came out of nowhere to win the Ted Hendricks Award as the best Defensive End in all of college football. He rose from obscurity to become an All-American at Illinois. Now Whitney Mercilus is a member of the Houston Texans, joining fellow Big Ten alum J.J. Watt of the Wisconsin Badgers as the men who will fill the pass-rushing void left by the departed 2006 #1 overall draft selection Mario Williams.

Mercilus story is an uplifting one. Watch this moving GIF of the celebration at his house when he got the call.

[Read more...]

Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill’s model wife: Lauren Ufer photos

April 26, 2012 By 1 Comment

lauren_ufer

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill is a fringe NFL draft prospect for this year’s class. He has the measurables, but the woeful underachievement of his A&M Aggies on the field has hurt his draft stock immensely.

Playing terrible and losing to arch-rival Texas Thanksgiving night on national television, in what maybe the last meeting between the two teams for awhile, didn’t help.

However, he has a lot going for him off the field. Like his fiance Lauren Ufer, a budding model.

h/t Big Lead

[Read more...]

Final 2012 NFL Mock Draft 4-26

April 26, 2012 By 1 Comment

Final 2012 NFL Mock Draft 4-26 2nd round

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

NFL-DRAFT

The NFL draft is here! We’ve made some final changes in our last mock, moving quite a few guys around. See you Thursday night!

Go here for the FIRST ROUND of this mock

And here for our 2013 NFL Mock Draft

We also had last year’s overall #1 most accurate NBA mock draft. check out the current one here

[Read more...]

2012 NFL Mock Draft – Stephen’s Take

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the NFL Draft (or as I see it, Christmas day) later this week, it’s time to start projecting. I’ve finished my positional rankings for the draft. To view those, click the position to see the rankings: DB, DL, LB, OL, WR/TE  QB/RB . Now, as for the mock draft — and with all due respect to my colleagues here at TSB — this is how it’ll go down.

[Read more...]

Indianapolis Colts 2012 NFL Draft preview: Andrew Luck, then what?

April 26, 2012 By 3 Comments

New Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson made official Tuesday what we all pretty much knew back in January: the franchise will select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in today’s NFL Draft.

Luck is billed as the most pro-ready quarterback prospect to enter the league since Peyton Manning, the man he’s succeeding in Indianapolis. Some would go even further back and call Luck the surest thing since fellow Stanford great John Elway.

While I personally think such opinions are a bit overkill, I do think very highly of Luck, and I believe he can be the Colts’ next franchise signal-caller for many years to come. Given the recent organizational overhaul in Indy, however, quarterback is far from this team’s only thin spot. The Colts could use talent upgrades everywhere.

The fun, analytically speaking, starts with the No. 34 pick.

[Read more...]

Confused Robert Griffin III thinks he met Alex Morgan; actually Tobin Heath

April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

alex-morgan-body-paint

Robert Griffin III will go second overall to the Washington Redskins on Thursday when the NFL draft commences. His new boss Daniel Snyder hopes that RG3 will be better at identifying open receivers than he is at identifying U.S. women’s soccer players. The Heisman trophy winner took to Twitter to brag about meeting hottie striker Alex Morgan.

Only it was actually Tobin Heath. Here’s the timeline correspondence:

[Read more...]

New England Patriots: most interesting team in 2012 NFL Draft?

April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

asante_samuel

Doesn’t it seem like the New England Patriots go out of their way EVERY season to trade down and acquire more picks? Every year, they’re a fun team to watch on draft day, because they always seem to end up with more picks than anyone else. In 2012, even more so, because they have four picks in the first two rounds.

And even though they were just one Wes Welker drop, or perhaps one inexplicable Tom Brady interception, away from winning the whole thing, they still have a ton of needs (as losing to the worst world champion in sports history taught us). First and foremost are DB, pass rushing in the front seven, depth at OT and OG, and maybe another running back.

[Read more...]

New England Patriots 2012 draft preview: breaking it down

April 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

Previewing the Green Bay Packers 2012 NFL Draft

April 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to a Week 15 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs (only loss of the regular season), the Green Bay Packers looked like they were on an unstoppable path to back-to-back Super Bowls.

That was until the league’s opposing teams figured out how to slow down the NFL’s premier offense just enough to out-shoot them as the eventual World Champion New York Giants did in a divisional playoff bout in front of a stunned crowd at Lambeau Field.

Even though the loss was shocking to some, it’s not hard to figure out where the Packers went wrong last season. Their defense allowed an NFL-record 4,796 passing yards despite being one of the league leaders in blitzes (a.k.a no pass-rush).

And that is why it’s almost a no-brainer that GM Ted Thompson should and will bolster a 3-4 defense which is badly in need of a pick-me-up after a disappointing season.

[Read more...]

Minnesota Vikings’ Draft Needs

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings had a very disappointing 2011 season, finishing 3-13 and last place in the NFC North. Their poor performance landed them the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 draft. They have a lot of needs to fill before the 2012 season starts. Let’s see where the Vikings need help the most. [Read more...]

« Older Posts
Newer Posts »