I WAS RIGHT, I WAS WRONG

Posted on December 16, 2015

Jordan: Well Mike, we’re 14 weeks through the NFL season, and there have been many rookies that have major impacts in their first season. Both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have looked impressive thus far, and Winston has his Buccaneers in the playoff hunt. Todd Gurley and Amari Cooper have been as good as advertised as well.

Mike: That’s true, but there have also been those rookies that have not lived up to the hype. Vic Beasley has struggled to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, and Trae Waynes has been exposed in coverage for most of the season.

Mike (Cont.): Many websites show their evaluations of draft classes in the form of in-season letter grades or how they would change the draft, knowing what we know now. However, we decided to give you something a little different. Our philosophy at DraftStock.net is that our mock drafts are more along the lines of how we view players, and how they would fit with teams. That’s how we decide who should go where.

Jordan: With that in mind, Mike and I have decided to do our first annual, “I was right, I was wrong,” article. We will evaluate our views of the 2015 draft class and tell you which we think we were right on (based on their play), which we think we were wrong on, and which picks still need more time to evaluate. We think it’s also a good measuring stick for us to see how we did in terms of the information and predictions we presented to you, something other websites don’t do.

WE WERE RIGHT

1) The Entire Quarterback Class (Mike)- We both said throughout the entire draft process that not only were there two quarterbacks worth taking, but there were only two quarterbacks worthy of starting in the NFL in their first seasons. Jordan and I also were not in the group that questioned Winston’s character, or Mariota’s ability to translate. So far, both statements hold true.

2) Amari Cooper over Kevin White (Jordan)– Okay, this one is a little unfair because of White’s injury. It’s also unfair because I debated White over Cooper for about six weeks.

However, there were plenty that chose White as the top wide out in the class, and I’m willing to declare that wrong. Cooper looks like he will be one of the top receivers in the game for a long time, while White has an uphill battle to climb after the setbacks he has had this season.

3) Todd Gurley (Mike)- While we didn’t have Gurley going top 10, we both had Gurley top 10 on our big boards, and I had him top three. I think this one speaks for itself.

WE WERE WRONG

1) Vic Beasley (Jordan)- First off, we both feel that the jury is still out on Beasley. The Falcons front four is dreadful, and their entire defense not named Desmond Trufant have been inconsistent all season.

Having said that, we both felt Beasley’s impact would be immediately felt in the NFL, and that isn’t the case right now.

2) Shane Ray (Mike)- Ray hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time, but when he’s been in he’s shown why he was highly touted coming out of Missouri. While you could chalk that up to him playing opposite Von Miller, Jordan and I both felt he wasn’t deserving of a top 50 selection, a statement that isn’t true at this moment.

3) Eli Harold (Jordan)- This is probably our biggest whiff, because we have no reasons as to why Harold hasn’t produced yet. He’s not on a good team, so he should’ve seen more playing time by now. We also had him as a high-end first rounder, when, in reality, he fell to the third and has been relegated to special teams. Oops.

I WAS RIGHT (Mike)

1) Andrus Peat- Peat was a popular first round selection by many. He had the size and build of a strong right tackle, and played in a pro style system at Stanford. However, he appeared to have leverage issues on tape and didn’t have the greatest footwork. Going to New Orleans was probably not the best fit for him, but nevertheless, he’s struggled thus far.

2) Ronald Darby- Perhaps my best call from last year’s draft, Darby has shined from day one in Rex Ryan’s defense. I thought his man coverage skills made him one of the top corners in the draft. He also plays with an edge, something that all the shutdown corners possess. Buffalo appears to be set in the secondary for a while.

3) Henry Anderson- Anderson was incredibly productive until his ACL tear, which puts him near the top of my good calls. I had him as a high second round grade, and he has turned out to be one of the better day two selections.

I WAS WRONG (Mike)

1) Derron Smith- When you have a safety with a high second round grade and he doesn’t go in the first three rounds, you’re not off to a good start. When he falls to the sixth round and hasn’t done anything up to this point, it’s safe to call him a miss.

2) TJ Clemmings- Clemmings draft stock dropped due to an injury, and is development has been stunted by injuries as well. So while he may progress into the productive right tackle that Jordan and I thought he would be, right now he’s struggling with the transition.

3) Dorial Green-Beckham- DGB has shown every reason why his transition would be difficult into the NFL. His routes aren’t clean, he drops a fair amount of passes, and he’s struggling to get separation.

Now he may turn into a great free lance receiver one day, like Plaxico Burress was.

Unfortunately, I had him top 10 on my big board which doesn’t look good right now.

I WAS RIGHT (Jordan)

1) Stephone Anthony- My best call of the 2015 draft was having Stephone Anthony as one of my top players long before he was on the radar of other mock draft experts. Anthony was top 15 on my big board because of his playmaking ability at inside linebacker. He has been the lone bright spot on the Saints defense this season.

2) La’el Collins- I neglected all of Collins’ “character issues,” during draft time and not only had him with a top 40 player grade, but kept him in my first round. The Cowboys offensive line has become even more polish with the addition of Collins, even during a tumultuous season.

3) Tyler Lockett- Lockett was one of my fantasy football sleepers in 2015 for the same reasons that he was one of my draft day sleepers. He has dynamic speed, play-making ability with the ball in his hands, and he’s a better route runner than people thought. His season started off slow, but over the last month he has shown game changing ability.

I WAS WRONG (Jordan)

1) Jaelen Strong and Nelson Agholor- I grouped these players together because I think both the Texans and the Eagles have not used either player properly thus far, particularly Agholor.

However, both have struggled to see playing time, and Strong had troubles learning the playbook early on, which was well documented in “Hard Knocks.

Only time will tell whether they were busts, or just struggled to transition to the NFL

2) Landon Collins- Landon Collins has a bad case of the Calvin Pryor. The Jets tried playing Pryor at free safety last season, and it failed miserably. The Giants have tried to play Collins at free safety thus far, and it hasn’t worked.

Pryor moved from free safety to strong safety this year, and has been a key piece in the Jets secondary this season. Collins should see the same move next season. If he doesn’t, this pick is sure to be a bust.

3) DJ Humphries- I didn’t have Humphries as a first rounder like most, but I did think he would be a solid right tackle in the NFL.

However, he looked so dreadful in the preseason that he hasn’t dressed for a game the entire season. I’m willing to call this a whiff.