To Draft Or Not To Draft: 5 Questions Before Draft Day

Jan 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Chargers offensive tackle

against the Denver Broncos during the 2013 AFC divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

So let me start by saying that I too got caught up in the awesome draft simulator over at fanspeak.com.  If you haven’t tried it yet, and you want to lose half a day, you should go check it out.  Anyway, below are my picks based on the simulator (not my perfect mock draft, just a simulated draft).

R1 – DT Louis Nix (Notre Dame)
R2 – WR Kelvin Benjamin (Florida State)
R3 – CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (Nebraska)
R4 – RB DeAnthony Thomas (Oregon)
R5 – DE Morgan Breslin (USC)
R6 – G Wesley Johnson (Vanderbilt)
R7 – CB Chris Davis (Auburn)

In round one I filled one of our two biggest glaring needs with Nix.  Then Benjamin fell to me in the second.  I know he has some work ethic issues but that talent and size was just too hard to pass up at the end of the second.  Jean Baptise in the third fills our other glaring need.  He’s rising quickly up draft boards in a very deep cornerback class.  I selected Thomas in the fourth purely based on Telesco wanting to add speed (ran a 4.39 at his pro day).  The last three rounds added depth at positions of need.

So, now that’s out of the way, let’s move on to five questions Bolts fans might have before the draft kicks off on May 8th.

#1 – CB or DT?

These are our two biggest areas of need.  In my opinion we need to go this route in the first round.  Of course it all depends on how the round plays out, but I think we can all agree we need help at these positions and we’re likely to get a solid player at pick 25.  So which one?  Well, who knows how many teams are going to take corners before us but there is likely to be a great corner available at 25 (guys like Verret, Fuller or Dennard).  There are also a couple of solid DTs that are probably going to fall to us because, like running back, teams just don’t seem to need them all that bad right now.  Aaron Donald and Louis Nix are tackles that might be available here.  I believe that the cornerback market is deeper in this draft than tackle, which is why I picked Nix in the draft above.  I think we get the keystone for the middle of our defense first, then we can go out and still get a solid corner in the 2nd or 3rd.

My opinion: DT