Yahoo Sports Mock Draft: Taylor Lewan at 19. Wait...19?!?!?!?!?!
You're joking right? Taylor Lewan...really THAT Taylor Lewan falling all the way to the Dolphins at 19? I'm shocked they have THREE OT's ahead of him. Ridiculous I say! Bring on the clown music! (No - not Clowney music!)
We’re not naïve to suggest that owner Stephen Ross will lean on GM Jeff Ireland (if he still has a job) to take a Michigan Man here, but considering it’s coincidentally a position of need, the fit makes some sense with Jonathan Martin unlikely to return. Perhaps Florida State’s Cameron Erving has the higher upside. But Lewan would help solidify a need spot and give them a poor man’s version of Jake Long.
December 19th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^
This mock draft stuff is garbage IMO. Especially 4! months before the draft. Things will change every day from now through all the senior bowl games, combine and draft day trades.
December 19th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^
very very early...but always interesting to me how the Lions might plan to screw up the draft this year. :)
December 19th, 2013 at 4:56 PM ^
I'm guilty of analyzing them too whenever I notice a new one has come out.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:53 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^
Just getting Warford in the 3rd last year was probably good enough for that entire draft. Ziggy looks like he'll be very good as he plays more football. Definitely not a bad draft last year at all. In fact, it was probably one of the better drafts to be honest.
December 19th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^
That seems reasonable to me. He's still in the first round. Just because he wore #77 doesn't mean he is a carbon copy of Jake Long.
December 19th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^
you really feel there are 3 OT's that should go ahead of him? And the posit in the article is a FOURTH maybe is a better fit at 19?
This was a pretty much consensus Top-5 pick who came back to school. Can't believe he's regressed THAT much.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:02 PM ^
At least 2 should go ahead of him. Jake Matthews and Cyrus Kouandjio. You have to remember that NFL GMs make their decisions without emotions. We are emotionally attached to Lewan sinced he played at Michigan. Plus he could have been a top 5 pick in 2013 but 2014 is different and teams needs are different. I could see an Aaron Rodgers scenario here where he falls to the late first round.
December 19th, 2013 at 7:59 PM ^
From what I've seen of Cyrus, admittedly not much, he seems to be rather false start prone
December 19th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 6:20 PM ^
And even that turned out to be way too high...
December 19th, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^
One guy from CBS Sports had Lewan at #14 and the 4th OT taken actually, but a quick survey of some other sites find picks for Lewan generally sitting in the #8 to #14 range and generally the second to fourth OT taken. The way things look right now, it seems like this is going to be another draft full of pretty good offensive tackles and Lewan could go in a fairly wide range of picks. It is things like that which make mock drafts fun to compare, if nothing else.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:21 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^
Lewan may have not had as impressive as a year compared to last year but the senior bowl and the combine will help him improve his stock.
Oh and his game film. Which I doubt a high majority of these "mockers" watch.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:26 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
I expect that NFL scouts are smart enough to be able to evaluate him independent of the rest of the line.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:07 PM ^
He'll do fine. Get paid. Etc. Taken before 19th.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
Can't really put stock in these things yet. Lewan has several opportunities to improve that spot. Unfortunately, a little drop for him is probably the outgrowth of the offensive line struggles for Michigan this year.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^
It's obviously great to be drafted early given the money associated with being a high pick. But being taken 19th also means you are likely to play for a better team. It's a trade off that might be worth it to some.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
Yahoo even has GERG ahead of Lewan.
December 19th, 2013 at 5:43 PM ^
Going to the Dolphins won't be that bad. When they have the last pick in the first round without a trade.
Go Fins!
December 19th, 2013 at 6:08 PM ^
when Lewan is on an O-Line with top notch talent, and not playing next to a sieve, is where scouts will see that he's certainly a lot better than #19.
Teams will trade up if they can grab him after the top 8 spots (somewhere between 9 and 14 is where I think he'll go). You don't find 6'8" OTs with a nasty streak very often, and a 4 yr starter.
A poor man's Jake Long would be someone like Adam Stenavich.
As for Aaron Rodgers, part of the problem is that NFL teams don't want to pay for a franchise QB unless they need one AND are comfortable that the guy isn't a product of the system. Jeff Tedford was a offensive mind, so there was some concern about Rodgers not being able to adapt to the NFL offense. Turns out Alex Smith should have been the 2nd QB drafted, not Aaron.
December 19th, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 8:38 PM ^
December 19th, 2013 at 8:10 PM ^
I think his analogy of being a "poor mans" anything would of been better suited for his pick of David Carrs brother at #5.
December 19th, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^
ITT people take a mock draft as gospel
December 19th, 2013 at 10:25 PM ^
Considering most experts and scouts have him pegged as the 2nd or 3rd best OT in the draft (behind Jake Matthews and close to Cyrus Kouandjio) that seems entirely reasonable to me.
December 19th, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^
Steelers will draft him before the Dolphins. They need a LT badly.
December 20th, 2013 at 10:21 AM ^
And mock drafts are mind numbingly stupid.
December 20th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
This isn't a player ranking. You're taking need into account. It doesn't mean Lewan is the 19th best player.
December 20th, 2013 at 12:30 PM ^
December 20th, 2013 at 2:02 PM ^
Not to mention Lewan's draft stock could go up pending a great showing in the Senior Bowl or an impressive combine performance.
December 20th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^
I do think that the UM bias is showing a bit with the surprise, but at #19 Lewan does feel like a steal. Of course, this is still the same draft that looked at Teddy Bridgewater and figures he will be an NFL star because, I don't know, he beat up on some AAC teams and lost to the one ranked team he saw all year. I think he'll be a decent QB, but these mock drafts almost seem overly reliant on buzz compared to actual measurables after the combines and workouts.