Quarterback:
1. Jared Goff
2. Connor Cook
3. Dak Prescott
4. Carson Wentz
5. Paxton Lynch
6. Cardale Jones
7. Brandon Doughty
8. Jacoby Brisset
9. Christian Hackenberg
10. Jeff Driskel

Running Back
1. Ezekiel Elliot
2. Derrick Henry
3. Devontae Booker
4. Jordan Howard
5. CJ Prosise
6. Kenneth Dixon
7. Alex Collins
8. Paul Perkins
9. Tyler Ervin
10. Byron Marshall
11. Keith Marshall
12. Jonathan Williams
13. Daniel Lasco
14. Josh Ferguson
15. Kenyan Drake
16. Kelvin Taylor
17. Deandre Washington
18. Marshaun Coprich
19. Wendall Smallwood
20. Tre Madden
21. Peyton Barber
22. Dwayne Washington
23. Keenan Reynolds
24. Shad Thornton
25. Brandon Wilds
26. Aaron Green
27. Devon Johnson
28. Tra Carson
29. DJ Foster
30. Jhurrel Pressley

Wide Receiver Ranks
1. Corey Coleman
2. Josh Doctson
3. Laquon Treadwell
4. Leonte Caroo
5. Sterling Shepard
6. Will Fuller
7. Rashard Higgins
8. Pharoh Cooper
9. Tajae Sharpe
10. Keyarris Garret
11. Tyler Boyd
12. Mitch Matthews
13. Braxton Miller
14.Byron Marshall
15. Michael Thomas (Southern Miss)
16. Jakeem Grant
17. Hunter Sharp
18. Aaron Burbridge
19. Michael Thomas (OSU)
20. Nelson Spruce
21. Demarcus Ayers
22. De’Runnya Wilson
23. Cody Core
24. Geronimo Allison
25. Roger Lewis
26. Malcolm Mitchell
27. DJ Foster
28. Daniel Braverman
29. Mekele McKay
30. Dom Williams
31. DJ Foster
32. Charone Peake
33. Paul McRoberts
34. Bralon Addison
35. Jay Lee
36. Ricardo Louis
37. Kolby Listenbee
38. Alonzo Russell
39. Jalin Marshall
40. Jordon Payton
41. Devon Cajuste

Tight End
1. Hunter Henry
2. Austin Hooper
3. Jerrel Adams
4. Nick Vannet
5. Ryan Malleck
6. Kivon Cartwright
7. Tyler Higbee
8. Bryce Williams
9. David Grinnage
10. David Morgan

This class is disturbingly good.  Bama’ looks to add the nation’s top inside linebacker (Reuben Foster), receiver (Robert Foster), tight end (O.J. Howard), and offensive tackle (A’Shawn Robinson) to the mix with a class of twenty-six recruits who could play anywhere in the country.  I’m telling you to not believe the hype when it comes to Robert Foster, although he has great size (6’3, 190), he runs the 40-yard-dash in 4.82 seconds, which isn’t nearly fast enough to keep pace with a conference known for it’s agility and strength.

Here’s the thing, I understand how easy it is to pick the raining national champion to repeat, but ‘Bama has shown that they’re entirely capable of doing just that.  The SEC once again has unveiled a brutal schedule for many of its teams.  Look for the Texas A&M at LSU game (Nov. 23) to be critical for an A&M team riding high on Johnny Football.  It’s not that the Aggies have a tough schedule, with the only true road test being LSU (‘Bama is a home game), but I don’t see Manziel replicating his stellar season again, and I expect a significant drawback from the rushing attack that was 11^th best in the nation in 2012.  As for Georgia, I see them having the same problem as last year, just not enough offense and scoring to get them over the hump that is Alabama.  Not to mention, Georgia still has to get through a road test at Clemson (Aug. 31) and play host to South Carolina the next weekend (Sep. 7).

Expect Alabama to destroy a Virginia Tech team that’s coming off its worst season in over twenty years, and the game vs. Texas A&M (Sep. 14) to be another nail biter down the stretch.  I’m expecting another Alabama vs. Georgia matchup, as Florida’s schedule (toughest in the nation) may as well have taken them out of contention (games at Miami, LSU, Missouri, and South Carolina).

Over the last several months, draftniks and general football guys have been creating disemminating mock drafts at a before seen pace. Tonight, all of that hard work will come to fruition as we all sit down to watch the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. To enhance your viewing, I have compiled a list of many very, very good mock drafts, done by people I respect and admire. As you watch the draft, follow these mocks along to learn about the thinking process of the teams and learn about the players selected.

Rumford Johnny

• Final Mock
• Mock 7.0
• Mock 6.0
• Mock 5.0

Alessandro Miglio

• 7 Round Miami Dolphins Mock Draft
• First Round Mock w/ Trades
• Mock Draft w/ Player Highlights

Matt Miller

• Final Full 7-Round Mock
• Post-Combine Mock
• Early 7-Round Mock, pre-Bowl Season
• Big Board Rankings
• Mock Three Grades

Ryan Lownes

• November Mock
• Spread sheet with Mock Draft and Big Board

Eric Stoner

• Three Round Mock
• November Mock

Dan Kadar

• Week of the Draft Mock

Dane Brugler

• Final Mock
• Top 100 Players Big Board

Joe Goodberry

• Bengals 7-Round Mock
• Final First Round Mock
• Top 5 Positional Rankings

Andrew Parsons

• April 9th Mock

Mike Lokyo

• Final Mock Draft

Jerimiah Daniel

• March 1st Mock
• Mock 5.0

Josh Norris

• Full and Final 7-Round Mock

Evan Silva

• March 20th Mock

Greg Cosell

• Final Mock Draft

Sports Wunderkind

• Tate Omli’s No QB’s mock
• Mock Draft Edition 1

Strengths

-Runs one of the best ‘go’ routes in the class

-Has the ability to catch the ball in tight spaces

-Very quick, 4.34 40 time.

-Useful on reverses and other gadgets plays

Weaknesses

-Not particularly tall, built or strong.

-Very indecisive and hesitant in the open field

-As inconsistent as it gets, hands-wise

-Not physical, can get bullied by larger wide receivers

Metrics Perspective

Wideouts that are Wheaton’s exact height are not exactly hard to come by. What is interesting about Wheaton is the fact that he is really fast, running a 4.34 at his Pro Day, which is one of the reasons we are paying attention to him. To get a better idea of what Wheaton accomplished in college, I ran his numbers with 3 wide receivers of a similar stature: T.J Graham, a 3rd round pick to the Buffalo Bills, is the same height and one pound less, Vincent Brown of the San Diego Chargers and Emmanuel Sanders of the Steelers.

Graham provides interesting context because he was a relatively high draft pick, projected around where Wheaton will likely go this year. Vincent Brown was an interesting name for comparison because Brown has shown skills in limited playing time and has been a dynasty fantasy football favorite and Sanders has actually produced on field, enough to warrant an offer sheet by the New England Patriots.

Yards Per Target

So, first of all, WOW, Emmanuel Sanders. Even in Wheaton’s best season, he wasn’t able to match the numbers of Sanders or Brown and was basically even with the unexciting Graham. Yards per target was actually an area I was expecting Wheaton to excel in due to the large amount of deep targets I saw him get. Perhaps a better indicator would than be Market Share Of Yards.

Market Share Of Yards

Better, but not great. Sanders was, again, incredible but Wheaton was only okay; both Brown and Sanders clearly outperformed him.

Market Share Of Touchdowns

Wheaton pulls away here and that isn’t surprising from what I saw on tape. It is rather worrisome that his junior year was so lackluster, but his senior year was clearly his coming out party. The Red Zone numbers paint an even uglier picture, with his 25% Red Zone TD rate being his absolute best season.

Essentially, nothing about Wheaton’s numbers impressed me all that much. Vincent Brown and Sanders, two players who really haven’t made an NFL impact yet, came out looking much better than Wheaton. To justify Wheaton’s current ranking, his film would have to be off the charts impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5-DwyPWQj8

Film Observation

Wheaton’s game was so radically different from snap to snap that I don’t even know where to begin. On one snap, he could perfectly read the defense, beat his man and catch a 60 yard touchdown while a safety is draped all over him. On the next snap, he could get pushed off his route by a bigger defender and come nowhere near a ball that was intended for him.

My initial reactions to Wheaton proved to be correct. In his best game against UCLA, Wheaton beat the Bears secondary for a 60 yard touchdown. On that play, he caught the ball with the defender hanging onto his left arm with the ball slightly overthrown. That is the sort of play that you look for from a wide receiver who can play at the next level. Winning one on one matchups versus cornerbacks is something that an NFL receive who is playing starting snaps will have to do. At points, Wheaton showed an ability to do this.

On the other side of the coin, Wheaton didn’t always win those matchups. As a smaller player, cornerbacks were able to easily push him off his routes. That doesn’t worry me nearly as much as Wheaton’s indecision in the open field. Every time he caught apass, unless it was a screen where he caught the ball with momentum, he was completely lost and hesitant. Even if he had five to ten yards of space in which to work, his positive gains would be minimal. At the next level, a receiver of Wheaton’s stature simply can’t get away with the dancing feet.

Fantasy Football Outlook

My original stance on Wheaton remains the same. He is a tantalizing prospect due to his quicks and college production, but there are just to many ‘what ifs’ for me to believe he will ever be anything more than 3rd or 4th receiver on a team. The best case scenario for Wheaton will be to play a similar to Lance Moore for a team with a great passing game. He will have electric games where he finds the soft spot in the redzone and beat safeties deep, but he will also have plenty of James Jones-esque games with 4 targets, 1 catch and 10 yards. I wouldn’t spend any of my dynasty rookie picks on him, unless it was a particularly deep scenario.

]]> /nfl-draft-player-evaluation-markus-wheaton-wide-receiver-oregon-state-university/feed/ 0 /2013-free-agency-wide-receiver-class/ /2013-free-agency-wide-receiver-class/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 06:48:10 +0000 /?p=422 I’ve been keeping myself busy doing The Daily Fantasy Pulse and contributing over at Rotoviz, but I wanted to give you all my take on the wide receiver movement over the last several days. Percy Harvin Quick Hit: Harvin, already an elite, Top-10 option in my 2013 redraft rankings, upgraded his situation. While it is unlikely that he will see the same insane amount of targets that he did in Minnesota, the touches that he will get will be more valuable. I fully expect the…]]> I’ve been keeping myself busy doing The Daily Fantasy Pulse and contributing over at Rotoviz, but I wanted to give you all my take on the wide receiver movement over the last several days.

Percy Harvin

Quick Hit: Harvin, already an elite, Top-10 option in my 2013 redraft rankings, upgraded his situation. While it is unlikely that he will see the same insane amount of targets that he did in Minnesota, the touches that he will get will be more valuable. I fully expect the Seahawks offense to be top-5 league wide. Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Harvin in the read option is incredibly dangerous and none of the other receiving options on the Seahawks threaten to dethrone Harvin as the clear top dog. Wilson had a QB rating of 102.4 to his short left, 106 to the short middle and 104.6 to his short right; this means that Wilson is efficient in the area’s where Harvin needs the ball.

Danny Amendola

Quick Hit: Amendola finally replaces a player that he has been compared to his entire career. Amendola clearly has a 100 catch season within his skill set but has been unable to stay healthy and has played with Sam Bradford his entire career. Chances are that Amendola will end up getting very, very over-drafted in 2013 and won’t end up on any of my times, but if his ADP settles somewhere around the 7th round, he will return value.

Wes Welker

Quick Hit: Unlike Amendola, Welker is an incredibly durable slot wide receiver. Also unlike Amendola, Welker’s move clearly hurts his fantasy value. Eric Decker and Wes Welker both posted 70% catch rates in 2012 and Welker dropped 19 passes to Decker’s 12. Demaryius Thomas is still going to be a top 10 wide receiver, but Decker and Welker are going to be killing each others values all year. There will be weeks where Decker is a WR1, and so will Welker; but neither of them are going to end up on any of my teams.

Mike Wallace

Quick Hit: Not only did the Dolphins franchise sign a damaging contract that will restrict their ability to improve in the future, but they also hurt Mike Wallace’s fantasy value. I already don’t like Wallace as a fantasy proposition due to his subpar 52% catch rate and 19.4% catch rate on deep balls. There is some hope for Wallace to flourish, at least as WR2 in 12 team leagues due to Ryan Tannehill’s 43% completion rate on passes 20 yards down the field.

Donnie Avery

Quick Hit: Downgrading from Andrew Luck to Alex Smith basically makes Avery’s fantasy football value nonexistent. Even with Luck, Avery only posted a 52% catch rate. No metric suggests that Avery is an elite talent but as a WR4 in a deeper league, you could do worse.

The Denver Bronco’s offense underneath Peyton Manning is one of the most formidable units in the entire league. While Eric Decker often goes under-covered, he posted a 1,000 yard, 13 touchdown season. In the red zone, Decker has become a maneuverable chest piece that Manning uses to his advantage. Demaryius Thomas on the other hand is on the tips of everyone’s tongue when it comes to discussing. He is a tall, physical and fast receiver in the mold of Calvin Johnson who preceded him at Georgia Tech. These two wide receivers allow the rest of the bit players in the Bronco’s offense to fulfill their roles to perfect. While before Peyton had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, the two Broncos receivers are probably the most physically talented pass catchers that Manning has ever played with. While they didn’t play great competition during the last strcech of the regular season, it was beyond impressive how the 2 wideouts and Manning produced consistently week after week. Despite being called No-Show Moreno for the last 2 years, Moreno has actually been a productive cog behind Manning; because Manning runs such a quick, no-huddle offense, the lead back rarely leaves the field. Moreno has proven up to this challenge. It is the job of the aging Baltimore Ravens defense to attempt to stop this finely tuned machine.

With the slowing down of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and other aging members of that defense, Baltimore’s defensive strength is much more reputation than actuality. In the absence of an elite corner to match up with Thomas, the Ravens defense is going to have to employ a variety of schemes to contain the ultra-talented receiver; that isn’t easy to do. That means that it is on Joe Flacco to match Peyton Manning. Put those two in a boxing ring, and maybe you would choose Flacco. On a football field, it is Manning and it isn’t close. Despite an otherworldly game by Anquan Boldin last week against the Colts, the Ravens offense is blah at best. Most thought when Cam Cameron got fired that there would be a real commitment to giving Ray Rice the ball. Instead, the Ravens whimpered out of the regular season before beating an over-matched Colts team. The formula for the Ravens to win this game is alot of Ray Rice, around 25 or 30 touches, with some deep play action shots to Torrey Smith while working the middle of the field with Dennis Pitta. I have no faith in new offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell to put together such a gameplan effectively. This discussion of the offense leaves out the incredible performance of Von Miller and the Denver defense over the last two months. Despite an easy schedule, the team was absolutely suffocating to opposing offenses. The Ravens simply don’t have the firepower to hang with the Broncos. Final Score: Broncos 38, Ravens 21.

Houston Texans At New England Patriots

Well, I won’t go as far as saying that the Texans have no chance at winning like a certain Boston Globe columnist. However, the Patriots are the heavy favorites and they should be. With Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez both finally healthy, the Patriots will finally be able to run the offense the way they wanted too all season long. With those two healthy, an effective Wes Welker and a bruising running game, this is possibly the best offense that Bill Belichick has ever put together. Having Gronkowski on the field is a matchup nightmare for a team that lost its’ best linebacker, Brian Cushing, to an ACL injury. While the Texans run defense has fared okay, over their recent collapse, the pass defense has lost every single bit of its luster. Tom Brady will be targeting the tight ends and Welker in the intermediate game and definitely throw a couple deep strikes to Brandon Lloyd. With Stevan Ridley finally becoming the bell-cow running back that a Belichick offense needs to be incredibly successful, this is the most complete and lethal Patriots offense since 2007. There is no way to construct a defense to fully combat the Patriots offense and the Texans are a distinct disadvantage. Much like the Broncos-Ravens game, that means that the opposing quarterback is going to have much more responsibility than the average game script would call for.

Unluckily for the Texans, Matt Schaub has completed devolved. He isn’t making the right reads, the right throws, the right decisions. Quite simply, something is off. After 12 games, the Texans were 11-1. They finished the season 1-3 to lose home field advantage and generally combust. At the heart of this collapse was Schaub’s terrible play. Over the last 3 losses the team had, Schaub did not throw a single touchdown pass and wasn’t able to get over 275 yards passing. His terrible performance, coupled with Arian Foster’s struggles before his resurgence against Cincinnati made it impossible for the Texans to be effective. Against the Patriots, Schaub will not have margin for error. While New England’s pass defense is improved, it still isn’t great. That means that Schaub will have a chance to the get the ball to Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels; if the coaching staff is smart, they will also try to the get the ball to Lestar Jean and Keshawn Martin in space. The Texans whole offense is built on the Arian Foster stretch play; if the Texans aren’t able to make that play effective against the Patriots stout run D, the Texans chances of victory are minimal.

No matter how well Matt Schaub plays, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Tom Brady and Bill Belichick don’t head to a 2nd straight AFC Championship game. Fate demands another Brady versus Manning bowl. Final Score: Patriots 32, Texans 24

Andrew Luck:

The only 4,000 yard passer out of the bunch, Luck did more with less than both of the other quarterbacks. He took the Indianapolis Colts from a pathetic 2-14 to 11-5 with a cushy fifth seed in the playoffs. To say that he was great every game, however, just isn’t true. He did have spectacular games against the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers in combination with seven 4th-quarter comebacks, which ties an NFL record; however, Luck also turned the ball over 18 times in comparison to Wilson’s 10 and Griffin’s 5. Wilson and Griffin had Alfred Morris and Marshawn Lynch carrying the ball for them and threatening defenses; Andrew Luck had Donald Brown and Vick Ballard. Despite being selected ahead of Alfred Morris in the draft, Ballard proved himself to be a relatively mediocre talent while Lynch and Morris are elite or near elite level running backs. Luck’s receivers outside of Reggie Wayne were either rookies in T.Y Hilton, LaVon Brazill, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen or veteran retreads like Donnie Avery. It simply wasn’t a talented or polished offense outside of Luck and Wayne. The fact that they finished at 18th overall as a scoring offense is a mark against Luck as the OROY, but he is not to blame for all of it. Luck’s case for the award mostly relies on his late-game heroics and sheer volume in passing yards.

Those who will cast their ballot for Luck believe that quarterback is a position measured by intangibles as well as holding the belief that Luck had to carry much more of the load for his team, which resulted in a much lower completion percentage. Consecutive stinkers against Tennessee, Houston (the first time) and Kansas City really hurt his candidacy but even inside of that stretch, he submitted a convincing game winning drive.  Certainly, a case can be made for the hairier-than-average young man, but not one built on efficiency.

Robert Griffin III

For their entire careers, Luck and Griffin will be compared to one another. 25 years from now, some pundit will probably be using OROY and whoever won it as proof that either Luck or Griffin (or Wilson) is better than one or the other. If this award was doled out based on pure breathtaking ability or magnetism, RG3 would win running away. His 76 yard touchdown run replayed more times on ESPN than a Tim Tebow soundbite. His near-perfect four touchdown game against Philly was like watching someone play Madden on rookie after they had spent a year playing on All-Madden. His 4,015 combo yards, while not as many as Luck, came in much more stylish fashion. Now, none of this is to say that Griffin’s numbers were hollow. He obviously turned it up when it mattered and lead his team to the playoffs. Kirk Cousin’s late game replacement against Baltimore and victory against Baltimore hurt RG3’s case a little bit, but nothing like Luck’s 18 interceptions.

Perhaps more than anything, RG3’s ability to take care of the ball lead to his candidacy. The Redskin’s had the number 4 overall scoring offense, putting them in the same class as the Patriots and Broncos. Griffin’s stinginess with turnovers and in-completions enabled this happen. Griffin consistently marched the team down the field and through use of a power running game and play action, was able to complete an obscene 65.6% of his passes. Numbers like that are unheard from most NFL quarterbacks, let alone a rookie. On sheer per game production, Griffin has a very strong case to win the award. He rushed for more touchdowns than Wilson and took care of the ball far better than did Luck. The parts of the Atlanta and Baltimore game he missed combined with sitting out the Cleveland game hurt his overall resume for the award, however. If he does deserve to win, it’s based on the 800 valuable rushing yards and the high completion percentage and low interception rate.

Russel Wilson

Anyone throwing this out in August would have been laughed at; those who stored Wilson away as their last draft pick in their fantasy draft (as one certain sports writer here did) was mocked for wasting a pick. Then, Wilson proceeded to deliver one of the most hyper efficient rookie quarterbacking seasons that the league has ever seen. Unlike Griffin and Luck, Wilson had to deal with severe playcalling handcuffs at the beginning of the season. Another than the anomaly in his first game against the Cardinals, Wilson didn’t throw more than 27 passes until week 8 against Detroit. In week 8, a light switch went off for Pete Carrol and he realized the rookie he had tossed out there could actually play. After that point, Wilson was on fire, throwing multiple touchdowns all weeks but 3, with one 4 touchdown performance against the league’s best defense sprinkled in for good measure.

Part of the problem for Wilson is that his defense and running back were so good, he wasn’t allowed to compile numbers the way that Griffin and Luck were. The Redskins were so bad on defense that RG3 had to play all 4 quarters and put up points. Wilson had multiple games over the last month where the Seahawks were blowing opponents out so bad that Wilson had his beanie on five minutes into the 3rd quarter. The Colts were always behind so Luck got to chuck the ball all game long. Even with less playing time, Wilson threw for less than 90 yards less than Griffin and only ran for one fewer touchdown. When Carroll finally started calling designed runs or mixing in some zone read options for Wilson and Lynch, he was rewarded with 179 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns in 3 games to the tune of 7.5 yards per carry. While not the amazing display the Griffin had, Wilson was both very efficient as a passer and athletic as a runner.

Final Verdict: It may be an unpopular opinion, but my choice for Offensive Rookie Of The Year is Russell Wilson. Rather than choosing one of the wonder twins, Wilson is the choice due to his play over the 2nd half of the season. Once the training wheels came off, Wilson became the best quarterback of the three. Luck had his dramatic comebacks and RG3 had his win-and-get-in game against the Cowboys, but Wilson quarterbacked a team that scored over 50 points two weeks in a row and demoralized the best defensive team in football on National Television. Swagger matters to this award and Wilson has it. Despite being very short for the position, he is so technically proficient and mentally astute at all aspects of quarterbacking, that he is the best out of the three at this moment. If my life depended on it and I had to have one of these guys for one game to win, Wilson would be the pick.  He led a top 10 offense, completed 64% of his passes and made Pete Carroll look like a genius for benching a guy guaranteed 15 million dollars. Your 2012 Offensive Rookie Of The Year is Russell Wilson

Whoever does end up pulling the trigger needs to make sure that Matt Barkley is not the target. We have seen this movie before. It’s entitled “Carson Palmer: 8-8 Noodlearmer”. Many in the scouting community assume that Barkley has worked himself entirely out of the first round but this is the same front office that gave a USC backup big time money. Barkley is not the type of quarterback who can make all the throws and is cerebral enough to own an entire offense. To me personally, he is much more Christian Ponder than Andrew Luck. The Chiefs have had enough years of mediocrity or downright terribleness. Whoever they select with the first pick needs to be someone the new head coach has a distinct plan with, but also, has faith in. Choosing Barkley means more screen passes to Dexter McCluster and targets for castoffs like Steve Breaston or Terrance Copper.

Another popular rumbling by Chiefs fans has been the signing of Alex Smith, assuming that he is cut by San Francisco after the season. In my mind, there is only one way this is successful. They would have to draft a Wide Receiver like Justin Hunter or Corradelle Patterson in the first round, resign Dwayne Bowe, sign a top dollar free agent like Mike Wallace and that still might not be enough. Smith’s success was due to brilliant coaching and surrounding him with bit players who fit a specific role and fit it well. You can’t have Alex Smith throwing to Devin Wylie or handing off to Shaun Draughn and expect offensive success. So much would have to go into the signing that it would most likely not be worth it. I can see how signing a proving winning quarterback could have appeal, but this could very likely end up being Matt Cassel part two.

More than anything, the Chiefs cannot make the mistake of hiring a defense-first coach. It simply won’t work. The defense is fine and has enough playmakers and skilled guys to make it one of the better in the league. This was a team that beat the 13-0 Green Bay Packers in 2011 and held several high powered offenses in check. What ails the Chiefs is offense. A signing like Lovie Smith would make a splash, but it wouldn’t have the type of on field impact that Chiefs fans would want because Lovie’s skillset does not translate into offensive success. They should be aiming at someone like Ken Whisenhunt or Dirk Koetter, a coach who has an innovative offensive system and can correctly use players and their skillsets. There should never be a game where a coaching staff allows Jamaal Charles to have underneath double digit carries and it happened multiple times in 2012. Hiring a defensive guy leaves the Chiefs open to the same mistakes that they have been making for years.

Lastly and most importantly: The Chiefs cannot draft a defensive player in the 1st or 2nd round. Just cannot be done. Not with the holes on the team and not with public sentiment about the team. How Hunt or Pioli can take themselves seriously as football men and put out the product they did this last year, we will never know; what we do know, is that they would have to be totally asleep at the wheel if they do not get offensive players with their first several draft picks and if a quarterback who is not on the roster is under center for the first game in 2013. To do that to a fanbase that is already on the edge would not only be a miserable football decision, but a terrible business decision as well.

If you have any other suggestions, please tell me in the comments!

In lieu of a NFL week 17 Start or Sit, it is much more appropriate to make general predictions as well as note general points of interest. If you are still playing fantasy football question, you are asking yourself hopeless questions like “Should I start Matt Ryan?” or “Is LaVonn Brazil a legit week 17 sleeper?” There simply is no point in pulling your hair out in an attempt to understand the horrible coach speak that all of the various playoff clinched teams are going to dole out all week. Playoff seeding and individual performance with an eye towards next year are much more important in week 17.

The most interesting thing for fans who don’t have a playoff team to root for is going to be Terrelle Pryor’s first NFL start. The last several years, there has been a mobile quarterback revolution. Micheal Vick’s 2010 season forever revolutionized the way that fans and front offices think of the quarterback position. Cam Newton’s 2011 season changed minds even further and now with Robert Griffin III, Russel Wilson and Colin Kaepernick’s success, tremendously athletic quarterbacks are going to be part of the new NFL trend. Even Terrible Tim Tebow has won a playoff game and led an effective running offense. If Pryor shows any of the promise in a real NFL game that he did in the preseason when he was throwing bombs to Juron Criner and being mobile in the pocket, the Raiders might have the beginning of an effective read option offense with Darren McFadden. Given the success of the 49er’s, Redskins and the Seahawks in running the read option, the Raiders coaching staff needs to start paying attention. McFadden simply hasn’t performed in the zone blocking running game and Pryor could provide incentive to change. Pryor’s performance will be important to monitor.

The Indianapolis Colts are going to remind the Houston Texans who owns the AFC South. Since the Texans inception they are 4-17 against the Colts and have won two division titles, both coming in the last two years. This was Peyton Manning’s division, and Andrew Luck is about to make it his. With Chuck Pagano returning to the sideline for the first time after his bout with leukemia, there is not a chance that the Colts are not amped up for this game. They also realize that if they beat the Texans, it hurts their playoff seeding and general morale. The Texans have not been playing good football; even in their prior victory in week 15 against the Colts, the team looked sloppy and lacking the power running game and stellar defense that makes them a Superbowl contender. While 2 months ago, this prediction would have been totally outlandish, the Texans have played themselves down to a very beatable level. Final score: Colts 35, Texans 32.

C.J Spiller is going to ensure that whatever idiot replaces Chan Gailey knows that he is the lead back, not Fred Jackson. This week 17 Toiletbowl has a history of producing huge running games, as in 2010, rookie running back Joe McKnight torched the Bills for 32 carries for 158 yards and has really never been heard from again, other than the odd 3rd down defensive play or kickoff. Spiller however, is no such one year wonder. C.J Spiller is top 5 in terms of NFL running back talent with Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles and Marshawn Lynch. Spiller is going to torch the Jets defense for 200 combo yards and multiple touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground. Gailey’s replacement will not have a chance to bench Spiller, his performance this week simply won’t allow it.

The Dallas Cowboys are going to defeat Bob Griffin and the Washington Redskins. Now, as a Dallas homer, I actually want to pick against them. This is setting up perfect for the Tony Romo dagger to the heart interception in the 4th quarter, but Dallas has been playing tremendous football on the offensive side of the ball. Demarco Murray is helping the team set up play action passes, much to the delight of lead Cowboy’s fan and critic, Jonathan Bales. Dez Bryant is playing out of his mind and Washington’s depleted secondary doesn’t have much of a chance of containing him, Miles Austin or Jason Witten this time around. The Dallas defense is similarly banged up, but have the advantage of Demarcus Ware and Brandon Carr that Washington does not. The second time facing the read option offense and being more aware of RG3’s game is going to be an advantage for Dallas. Since the Jimmy Johnson era, this has been a game that the Cowboy’s have lost. No longer. Final score: Dallas 28, Washington 23.

In the battle of the anti-Superbowl, Kansas City is going to come out victorious. Thanks to the Texans choke job over the last month, both the Patriots and the Broncos have the ability to improve their seeding with a Texans loss. That means that the Broncos are playing their starters against the inept Chiefs, giving the Chiefs the #1 pick, which they will inevitably bungle.

Both Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson are going to achieve 2,000 yard performances. The truly interesting feat will be if Peterson is able to rush for 208 yards and break Eric Dickerson’s rushing record. Minnesota will be in the playoffs with a victory over Green Bay, and given that much match up, will probably be trailing at some point. Unless a few special teams or defensive plays go their way early, strategy would dictate that Minnesota should throw that ball. That mathematical strategy doesn’t account for the fact that Adrian Peterson can run for a first down at will and Christian Ponder has regressed into David Carr. If Peterson wants to get to 208 yards, he also needs Minnesota to win the game. Peterson’s record is in the hands of Minnesota’s defense; personally, I hope they come through.