Pickin’ Bolts: 2016 NFL Draft – Live Blog
Excited to get started. Please follow me on Twitter: @PickinBolts
I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the draft (all 3 days/nights).
Early rumors have Chargers taking Ronnie Stanley but since then we’ve seen hints that they may take Stanley but only if they trade back…it’ll be exciting!
5:03 PM and there’s a tweet out there that shows Laremy Tunsil smoking a face-mask/pipe…probably a hacked account but it’s almost certainly him. This will be a story.
5:16 No surprise it’s Goff, LOVE his abilities but I did think Wentz was a better fit for Rams w/ Gurley & Wentz experience in a run-heavy offence.
#ChargersShadowDraft barring trade: my first round pick is @JalenRamsey – it would have been Tunsil but not after drug issues. #NFLDraft2016
— Peter Friberg (@PickinBolts) April 29, 2016
5:24 5 minutes until pick needs to be in – will they trade?
5:30 Joey Bosa! Wow. If you’re going DL. He’s fantastic. Chargers play a 3-4 but he’ll move around. And they play 4-2-5 about 50% of the time. He’s solid. Solid. SOLID. I wanted Tunsil but with drug issues.
5:35 I went Ramsey because I can get a DL in 2nd. But Bosa is NICE player. Solid-solid pick.
5:43 I never thought we’d get Bosa but I love it. Jags are going to love Ramsey.
5:53 Stanley is first OT off board. How far will Tunsil slide?
5:58 I was wondering if ESPN would talk about Tunsil video. Sad. I cannot imagine what Tunsil and his camp are going through. I wonder if he’ll slide into 2nd…
6:05 Tunsil is in freefall. Conklin is a solid pick but wow. Just wow.
6:21 So Bears now run a 3-4. Floyd is a solid pick. Fangio & Fox will do nice things w/ the Von Miller-lite-Floyd.
6:23 I think Ramsey is a safety more than a CB as such I think Hargreaves is the #1 CB, I have Apple at like #5 for the position. HUGE reach. Decent player but not a top 10 guy.
6:43 So Tunsil finally comes off the board. I can’t help but wonder if Miami is the best scene for him. Obviously his group of friends is not the best influences. Tunsil is a north Florida kid. I hope he is able to choose better influences and friends who will keep him straight.
6:50 Raiders to Chargers, “Remember Eric Weddle? Here’s our answer.” Not gonna be fun to face him twice a year.
6:58 I like…LIKE…Coleman. But I don’t think his hands are as reliable as others’. Give me Treadwell or Michael Thomas.
7:07 Atlanta takes a great athlete and a thumper but he’s not really a coverage safety. Might be a reach or might be a monster in the modern S/LB hybrid.
7:29 If Myles Jack is on the board at #35, do we take him? I say YES!
7:50 WR run in full effect…Cinci will take one too, my guy, Michael Thomas?
7:59 Looks like Broncos will be getting Paxton Lynch. HUGE upside but he’s also the furthest from reaching it. Broncos will not be good in ’16. Speaking of being good…the AFC West teams are putting together really good defenses.
8:08 Paxton Lynch is a solid pick for Denver, and I don’t say this because I dislike Denver – though I do dislike them – but Lynch has tremendous upside but he may have the highest bust likelihood of any player drafted so far. There is LONG way between where he is now and where he needs to be to be an effective NFL QB.
8:20 VERY smart trade by KC. I do not get spending that much to trade up for a guy who’d probably be there when you pick. Panic move by SF.
8:34 GREAT value pick by Panthers. Vernon Butler is a solid pick. NICE player. There are so many quality interior DL in this draft. FREAKISHLY deep DL draft. Amazing players still on the board.
8:46 That’s the wrap on the first night. Lots of really REALLY good players on the board. We’ll do this again tomorrow afternoon/evening.
Thanks for following along with me!
Day 2
3:58 We’re back folks! Chargers have 2 picks tonight but are rumored to be looking to trade back. Will they draft Myles Jack? Will they go for a Center; Nick Martin? Will get the top TE, Hunter Henry? Trading back ALMOST ALWAYS works out in that team’s favor. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am. Thanks for spending your evening with me.
4:00 The first picks to start the 2nd & 3rd days are the THE MOST LIKELY PICKS TO BE TRADED. Teams & front offices get antsy and cannot be patient so they panic and move up. This will be fun.
4:15 No trade! That’s the big news. I like Ogbah quite a bit. I think he’s a solid DE. Tennessee on the clock, they are an interesting team – prob going OT – Spriggs?
4:20 No, no Tunsil jokes…further defensive help for Titans and NO TRADES!
4:22 And Jaylon Smith comes off the board before Jack. Amazing.
4:28 Of course the first time they go to commercials and miss a pick it’s w/ SD. Ugh. Henry is a SOLID pick. But what could have been! Myles Jack was sitting there. Hmmmm…. Henry really does help the team though. Can’t say they didn’t address a need in a really good way.
My pick would have been Chris Jones. I took Ramsey to be a Safety in the 1st so Myles Jack is superfluous.
— Peter Friberg (@PickinBolts) April 29, 2016
4:40 Not gonna like having to face Chris Jones 2x/year.
4:50 Love the Chiefs’ pick…not so much the Baylor CB to Miami…
4:54 Do the Giants like their WRs short? Cruz, OBJ, and now Shepherd…
5:03 Austin Johnson to Titans, solid pick – but surprising given players still on board.
5:13 Hard to keep up doing 3 things: watching, tweeting, & live-blogging…REALLY impressed w/ what our rivals to the north, the Raiders, have been doing under McKensie…turned around that franchise VERY quickly.
5:25 Saints drafted my fave WR in the draft. LOVE his upside. Athleticism, size, sure-handed…GREAT pick.
5:28 Spriggs is a GREAT tackle prospect. Love the pick other than trading up. But I REALLY like Spriggs.
5:41 Seahawks apparently don’t rebuild, they reload. Reed is basically a Mebane clone. Good pick.
5:43 Nick Martin comes off the board…Chargers still need a Center.
5:47 And we finally have a QB taken. Hackenberg. What?!?!? Wasted pick. 5th round pick…
5:58 I love the 2nd round – so many teams reach…really good players fall into the 3rd round. Good stuff. Can we get a QB run?
6:32 I am not an Ohio State fan – in fact, I dislike them – but they just tied a record for the most picks ever in one draft (in common draft era) and we’re only in the 2nd round. So impressive. So I mis-heard that…still very impressive day by Urban Myer and his staff
6:41 Teams in the AFC West are loading up on D-talent. Gonna be some rough & physical games this year.
6: 46 Max Tuerk will be a nice pick. He’s played a lot of dif OL positions including LT. Solid C pick.
6:50 Telesco is having a real nice draft. Bosa was the best or one of the best defenders. Henry was the best TE in the draft. Now they Tuerk who was among the best Centers in the draft prior to his injury. Solid, solid draft. Gotta give Telesco credit.
7:00 Lots of talent still on the board. Teams are taking “their guys” and quality players are falling. Telesco loves to trade away 4th round picks…watch him trade his 4th & a 6th (he has 2) to move into the end of the 3rd…
7:18 I like Shawn Coleman. Nice guy, great story. I hope it works out for him.
7:33 The 2nd TE just came off the board, Hooper, from Stanford, I really like the WR who projects as a TE, Cajuste though probably not after we got H2.
7:35 So Urban Myer was just on NFL Network, was just saying how you build a college team is the same way you build an NFL team as he’s learned, “…the past 2 days…” – Sorry Coach, but that’s crap. You build an NFL team w/ a QB who is a good decision. You (specifically you) build college teams w/ athletes at QB who are automatons and just do what you and your staff tell them to do. It’s why, despite your collegiate success, you haven’t produced a legitimate NFL QB.
8:15 Sorry I didn’t post more in the last half hour…I’m feeling a bit fried… Let me just say. The way you excel in the NFL draft is by not reaching and not panicking. The Chargers reportedly had a 1st round grade on Arkansas TE Hunter Henry. They could have panicked that someone was going to take him and traded back up into the first round to get him. But they did not. They stayed where they did. The other way to win is to trade back. Teams that trade back almost always make out. The Chargers were reportedly looking into doing just that but apparently could not find a team willing to match their asking price. So they took the talented player that was in their need and at the right value-spot. They did that in the 2nd round with Hunter Henry (though I admittedly wanted Myles Jack) and they did it again in the 3rd with USC C Max Tuerk. This has been a very good draft by Tom Telesco and his staff.
Thanks for reading. We’ll do it again tomorrow.
Day 3
9:15 Cook will be a nice developmental prospect. I think his leadership style is someone who won’t come in and command the room but he’ll develop relationships slowly and build up his leadership cachet. This is a good landing spot for Cook to sit and learn and be insurance in case something happens with Carr.
9:25 Lots of people thought SD needed some ILB help. I certainly thought they would probably draft one (LBs make up the lion’s share of your special teamers). It’s not a real big need for SD but Perry is a solid value pick.
9:27 Jacksonville is having an AMAZING draft with Ramsey, Jack, and now Sheldon Day. Wow.
9:42 This is why you don’t trade up in the NFL Draft. I love the Higbee pick for Rams, but no 2nd, no 3rd… this can kill a franchise.
10:00 I cannot stress how impressed I am with Georgia’s WR, Malcolm Mitchell. Great person, overcame difficulties, athletic, decent size, great hands. Patriots picked a GREAT one in 4th.
10:15 Still a lot of SOLID talent left on the board. I am so impressed with how Tom Telesco is playing it. He isn’t trading up. He’s letting the good players he likes fall as other teams reach up to get “their guys.” SOLID, solid draft by Chargers so far.
10:57 I really like the Chargers draft so far, but I think Bears and Jaguars are having the best drafts overall so far (without looking real deeply, will do further research later).
10:59 I’m a big Dak Prescott fan. Not of where he is now, but he’s smart. He’s such a good dude (yes, I know, the DUI) but he’s a great leader. He improved throughout his career. And now he can sit and learn without pressure. Great pick.
12:03 Sorry for the lack of posting…I am amazed at some of the guys still on the board particularly WRs Keyaris Garrett, Mike Thomas (So. Miss)…the LB from Temple Tyler Matakevich…so interesting.
12:54 LOVE that Moritz Boehringer was drafted and that Keenan Reynolds was as well. GREAT guys, GREAT stories. These guys & their stories is why sports are so cool! Love it!
Believer, husband, father, friend, football fan, car nut…
