The 2018 XFL Mock Draft - Defensive End

In anticipation of Vince McMahon bringing the fun back to football (more concussions, woohoo!), Lukewarm Jonah and I went back and forth to do an XFL Draft. Instead of breaking this down round by round, we are going to go by position groups. Last time we hit the offensive line, so this time we’ll hit up the big guys on the other side of the ball, starting with defensive ends.

Defensive Ends
Jonah: Mario Williams, BJ Dubose, Cam Johnson, Damontre Moore 

Joe: Jon Jones, Da’Quan Bowers, Bjoern Werner, Jackson Jeffcoat, Michael Sam, Drew Ott

Joe: There were two guys that I was bound and determined to get in this draft, and they are both defensive linemen. We’ll get to one today, and as a hint, the other one is tomorrow and is also a former UFC Champion. First off, I acquired the greatest fighter ever, Jon “Bones” Jones. Part of the reason I was able to snag Jones is that he is suspended from competition for the next couple years at least, so he’s going to need something to do in the meantime. Why not give football a try? He has two brothers that are in the NFL, and the dude is a freak of an athlete. Although he fights at 205, his walking around weight is probably close to 240, and with his frame, he should have no trouble adding another 15 pounds. Jon Jones may be an awful human being, but if anybody could adapt to the XFL with zero football experience, it’s him.

Bowers, Werner, and Jeffcoat all can be classified as super productive college players who were never able to make it in the NFL. Each was an All-American and Bowers was the Bronko Nagurski Award winner for best college football defensive player. 

Michael Sam could fit into that above group, but he is more known as becoming the first openly gay player on an NFL roster. Not only do I think he can be productive, but this is obviously just a very good thing for the league considering I have purposely acquired racists, alleged women beaters, and Jon Jones, I could use an actual good person on my team. Again, it’s not my preferred method of doing things, but it’s the XFL baby!

Finally, it was time for my obligatory Iowa Hawkeyes pick of Drew Ott who was so good in college but got hurt at the wrong time and wasn’t able to latch on to an NFL roster. I still 100% believe in the guy playing well if given the chance.

Jonah: You win football games on the lines, everyone knows that.  That’s why my defensive line is headlined by another number one overall pick in the NFL draft Mario Williams.  He’s 32, but could easily still play in the NFL if the money was right.  The guy is a star, what can I say about him?  He’s a multiple time Pro Bowler and All Pro, he would dominate any XFL offensive line besides my own.

BJ Dubose is a guy who I got to see play in preseason games for the Vikings and he looked good.  He just went to a team that was stacked with star defensive ends.  He was hurt in the 2016 offseason, but that’s almost 2 years ago.  Rick Spielman knows how to scout defensive lineman, so I’ll snatch up Dubose and watch him transform into Danielle Hunter.

Cam Johnson is another one of my no name but solid picks.  He’s a solid five year NFL vet who’s great at forcing fumbles.  Those are game changing plays, and he’s good at getting in the backfield and making tackles for loss as well as forcing fumbles.

Damontre Moore is only 25 but has five years experience in the NFL.  He was supposed to be a to 10 pick but ran a bad 40.  I don’t care about my defensive lineman’s 40 times.  He has a substance abuse strike in the NFL, but again who cares?  This is the XFL baby, substance abuse was rampant when football was cool right?  Moore is a real sleeper that could make a huge impact.

Joe: Mario Williams is a fun pick, and I really can’t say he’s too old since I drafted Reggie Bush as my running back, and they were the top two picks in the same draft. Two of your guys are so boring that you are calling them boring, so I don’t really need to comment on either one of them. But I do like the Damontre Moore pick. At worst case, he was a high motor guy in college that can use that hustle effectively in the XFL. But the one thing that seems to be missing are UFC Champions. What happens when your team gets in a fight, because we know for damn sure that the XFL is going to promote fights.

Jonah: Williams could still play in the NFL and be pretty good.  By boring I just mean not a household name like Mario Williams or Jon Jones.  Speaking of Jones, there’s no doubt he’s an athletic freak but I think a transition to football is difficult for anyone.  Also, you have to make sure he doesn’t go completely insane as he is fond of doing.  Michael Sam is probably your best pick as he should be playing in the NFL, but if the NFL wasn’t willing to accept an openly gay player how do you think the XFL fanbase and ownership is going to react?

Joe: The XFL is 100% going make all gay players wear a rainbow patch. It’s going to be SUPER offensive and Trumpies are going to love it. And my only real concern with Jon Jones is that he gets distracted and starts trying to snort the yard lines. Outside of that, he should be good to go.

That’s all for today. Join us next time for the defensive tackles where you can bet your ass that I picked up Brock Lesnar.

In case you missed it:

Quarterbacks
Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Tackles

Offensive Guards

Center

Quick Thoughts on the 2013 NFL Draft

After quarterbacks, there is nothing I love looking at more than pass rushers. There's just a lot to watch, because even on plays where they do nothing, you can still learn things about them. I took a look at guys in no particular order, and it kind of worked out perfectly as we start on a bad note but end on a good one.

I wouldn't touch Ezekial Ansah from BYU. I watched his game against Hawaii, and had he not been circled on every play, I would have had no idea he was on the field. He may be a great athlete, but he has a far ways to go before he is a football player. He rushes straight up, is easily blocked because of that and just kind of keeps pushing forward as his only pass rushing move. He does not read plays well which makes him poor in run stopping as well. On top of this, he is not a good tackler, as he just kind of fell off guys multiple times. I would not touch him until the middle rounds where you can gamble on the upside and hope your coaching staff can help him develop.

On the bright side for BYU fans, even though he was not circled, number 3 jumps off the screen on defense. I looked it up to make sure I wasn't being an idiot, but no, it was Kyle Van Noy who was a third team All-American. That dude is fun to watch. I am very high on him for next year.

Dion Jordan has legit quickness, especially in his ability to change directions. He's got a lot of positive reviews for his ability to cover, and I can see why, because all the athletic gifts are there. He played well against Stanford, but I don't know if this guy is an elite pass rusher. He does a decent job of dipping his shoulder when pass rushing, but he never wowed me in his pass rush skills. I honestly didn't see enough to make a definite decision. I see first round athleticism but not sure if I would want to take him in the top 10 picks.

Bjoern Werner definitely doesn't have the athleticism of Dion Jordan. But he's got a motor. He blocked two guys after an interception against Miami. What really stands out are his instincts. He does a good job of reading and reacting to plays. He's not a guy who bit on things and he adjusted quickly to runs and passes. He's gotten grouped in with pass rushers, but this guy is a 4-3 Defensive End that should not be playing linebacker. Where he's got an advantage over the other guys is power, he was basically able to shuck Seantrel Henderson who is a legit offensive line prospect for next year's draft and get a sack. If I am a 3-4 team, I'm not as interested in Werner, but as a 4-3 team looking for a defensive end, this is my guy in this draft.

After Werner, I decided to watch another "slow" prospect and check out Jarvis Jones's game against Alabama. I love productive guys in college, because it usually translates pretty well to the next level, especially on things like pass rushing skills. Jarvis Jones has a motor. Honestly, he may not be the best athlete, but he is definitely quick. Straight line speed really doesn't mean shit when it comes to pass rushing. His best pass rushing move was using his quickness to the outside and dipping that inside shoulder. He does a nice job of making himself a small target for offensive linemen, which is a skill that definitely translates to the next level. I think he can be a double-digit sack guy at the next level.

Quick side note. Watch this Alec Ogletree play.

That's all I need to see from him for me to want the Bears to draft him.

I watched Barkevious Mingo's game against Clemson. This guy was the opposite of Jarvis Jones as the numbers never seemed to match the scouting reports. In this case, I am definitely going with the scouting reports. He pops off the screen and shows a rare ability to explode right at the snap. There were a few moments where I just went "Jesus Christ" while watching the film. Although his sack numbers were not there, the production was. He caused a ton of hurries and just faced a lot of teams with quick passing attacks where there wasn't much he could do. He's got a good bend when rushing to the outside and he's quick enough to cause havoc when looping to the inside. He also has the makings of a pretty solid spin move as he keeps his body pretty tight in it. If I'm getting a pass rusher in this draft, Mingo is my guy. He's not a traditional 4-3 defensive end like he played in college, but making him a 3-4 outside linebacker or a Leo in a 4-3, similar to Bruce Irvin, would lead to a ton of production. The only concern is his pass coverage skills, because he never had to in college, but the raw material is there for him to at least be passable from the start.  Some team is going to be very happy to get this guy on their team.

In full disclosure, I have to admit that I hated Aldon Smith coming out of college, but I feel I learned from my mistake of hating a guy for only making ankle tackles. If it's effective, there is no need to change, and he found a great scheme for his skillset. Still, I wrote this, and I can't completely ignore it, "I was in the middle of writing about Aldon Smith being the worst pick of the first round when, holy shit, Jake Locker got selected one pick after him." The second half of that comment was at least fine. I will still hold my head high on this one forever and ever. 

Also, one last note, I am going to try to live blog parts of the draft. Tonight, I am stuck at an event, but I will try to follow along and sneak in Twitter remarks (@HottJoe). Lukewarm Jonah expressed interest in live blogging the later rounds, so we may try and do that. Stay tuned.