We’ve officially hit the 20s in our journey into an alternate universe, or as we’ve come to call it, the 2014 NFL Draft Re-Draft. The best of the best are already off the board, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some first round talent left to fill out our draft board. The combinations of teams and players could be infinite, but this is what I’ve settled on as I take a peak into that alternate universe. If you don’t like the re-do pick I make for your team, fear not. There could be another universe out there in the multiverse where you’d like them better.
Neil Degrasse Tyson should give you hope.
“Philosophically, the universe has really never made things in ones,” Tyson said. “The Earth is special and everything else is different? No, we’ve got seven other planets. The sun? No, the sun is one of those dots in the night sky. The Milky Way? No, it’s one of a hundred billion galaxies. And the universe–maybe it’s countless other universes.”
See? I’d like to think in that universe Jeff Fisher was never the coach of the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and we had two completely different presidential candidates last November. It helps me sleep.
To recap the draft re-do to this point; 1. Houston Texans – Aaron Donald, 2. St. Louis Rams – Jadeveon Clowney, 3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Khalil Mack, 4. Buffalo Bills – Derek Carr, 5. Oakland Raiders – Teddy Bridgewater, 6. Atlanta Falcons – Odell Beckham, Jr. 7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mike Evans, 8. Cleveland Browns – Blake Bortles, 9. Minnesota Vikings – Taylor Lewan, 10. Detroit Lions – Devonte Freeman, 11. Tennessee Titans – Zach Martin, 12. New York Giants – Kelvin Benjamin, St. Louis Rams – Jake Matthews, 14. Chicago Bears – C.J. Mosley, 15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, 16. Dallas Cowboys – Dee Ford, 17. Baltimore Ravens – Telvin Smith, 18. New York Jets – Deone Bucannon, 19. Miami Dolphins – Jarvis Landry, 20. New Orleans Saints – Sammy Watkins
If you’d like to read Part 1 you can click here, part two click here, part three click here and part four click here.
Let’s draft some dudes!
21. Green Bay Packers – Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
Original pick: Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Safety, Alabama
Like the other teams that lose their best possible pick, the Packers have to take a consolation prize and, in this case, there’s not much to complain about. While Shazier he has been injured off and on over the last two seasons, there’s no reason to believe on a different team in this alternate universe he’ll have the same struggles. And even if he does, Shazier for 34 games over three years is still more productive than Anthony Barr over 42 games in that same time frame. Clinton-Dix has developed into one of the five best safeties in the game for the Packers since he stepped on the field and this is another draft do-over screw job. But, like the Rams, Ravens and Cowboys, the Packers get a solid consolation prize.
22. Cleveland Browns – Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State
Original pick: Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
With their quarterback issue already solved, it’s time for the Browns to give Bortles a weapon to throw to. In 2014 Cleveland’s wide receiver depth chart looked like this; Josh Gordon, Nate Burleson, Miles Austin, Travis Benjamin and Anthony Armstrong. Gordon, of course, can’t stop smoking pot and getting kicked out of the league, Burleson and Austin are both retired now and Benjamin is the only one of these guys making an impact in the league and he’s doing it on another team, the Los Angeles Chargers.
Bringing in Cooks here solves the wide receiver problem the Browns have needed a draft and free agency to even come close to fixing. While Bortles is no Drew Brees, one thing he has done is put up yardage as a quarterback so there’s no reason to expect a speedster like Cooks would see a significant drop off in performance. In fact, as Bortles’ primary target he’d probably put up better numbers than the 215 catches, 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns he had in New Orleans. Not only do the Browns get the best receiver on their roster (that’s actually cleared to play in the NFL), they get rid of the final bust of the pre-Hue Jackson era in Manziel. He might as well be the symbol over everything the Browns have done wrong over the last 10 seasons.
23. Kansas City Chiefs – Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State
Original pick: Dee Ford, DE, Alabama
The Chiefs lose out on Dee Ford, but he’s a pick that really didn’t pay off for another three years. Robinson has no such trouble working his way into the starting rotation. are another team without a lot of glaring weaknesses so when you’re in that position, you need to beef up your offensive line. The 2014 Chiefs had a dumpster fire at wide receiver. Dwayne Bowe never got healthy and behind him on the depth chart you had Donnie Avery, A.J. Jenkins, Kyle Williams and Junior Hemmingway. Not a single one of those players is on an NFL roster today. Kansas City finally solved its problem in a couple of years through free agency and some late round draft picks, but Robinson takes care of that issue before it even raises its head. In his three years in the league, Robinson has 201 receptions for 2,831 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Robinson jumps into the first round from the second, originally picked at No. 61.
24. Cincinnati Bengals – Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
Original pick: Darquez Dennard, CB, Michigan State
While Dennard hasn’t had any injury issues with the Bengals, he’s heading toward solid bust territory with just three starts over his first three seasons in the league. Cornerback is one of the few real needs on Cincinnati’s roster and they continually draft guys high to solve it, only to see them waste away on the bench or in the trainer’s room. Again, since we’re playing in a different universe, we have every reason to believe Fuller wouldn’t tear up his knee last August and continue his rise to stardom. Even if he did, Fuller would be the best corner on Cincinnati’s roster this season. In his first two seasons Fuller started all but two games for the Bears, recording 118 tackles, 19 passes defended and six interceptions.
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