By John Sarianides The Patriots traded away their first and second round selections for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive end Kony Ealy. Barring a pre-draft trade, they won’t start picking until the end of day two. The Patriots have two third round picks (#72, #96), a fourth round pick (#131), a fifth round pick (#183), a sixth round pick (#200) and a seventh round pick (#239). There is a…

The rest of the AFC has a ways to go before they bridge the gap with bill Belichick and the Patriots.  By John Sarianides Its a race to keep up with the New England Patriots in the AFC. Here is what each team needs in order to get better and bridge the gap between them and the Patriots. AFC EAST Buffalo Bills: WR, CB, ILB, S, TE The Bills should…

By John Sarianides The quarterback class in the 2017 draft is a decent class but as it stands, there does not appear to be a franchise signal caller in the group. Despite that, as many three, maybe even four quarterbacks could go in the first round of this draft. Here are my top twenty quarterbacks in this class. 1. Mitchell Trubisky, North Carolina, 6-2 222, NFL Comparison: Jimmy Garoppolo Strengths…

By John Sarianides The 2017 NFL Draft is on Thursday. Here is my fourth of five mock drafts. My final mock draft will be revealed on Thursday. 1. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, DE Texas A&M: Forgot about the quarterback talk. The Browns are taking Garrett. 2. San Francisco 49ers: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford: The Niners would like to trade down. If they can’t, they’ll go local with Thomas. 3. Chicago…

By John Sarianides The running back position is loaded in this draft. The depth of this running back class is what is most impressive. Everyone knows Fournette, McCaffery and Cook but this draft is more than those guys. Teams could acquire a starting caliber running back well into day three. Here are my top twenty running backs in the 2017 class. 1. Leonard Fournette, LSU, 6-1 228, NFL Comparison: Adrian…

By John Sarianides With the NFL Draft one week from today, business is starting to pick up in terms of players and draft picks. Here are three thoughts I have on three of the top stories heading into draft week. 1. McCaffery Will Go in the Top 10: Personally, I wouldn’t take Stanford running back Christian McCaffery with a top ten pick but who the hell am I to make…

By John Sarianides The 2017 wide receiver class isn’t as “loaded” as we’ve seen in the last few years  but there is enough talent at the top that three to possibly four receivers should go in the first round.  Here are my top twenty receivers 1. Mike Williams, Clemson, 6-3 225, NFL Comparison: Michael Floyd Strengths – Big possession receiver who runs good routes and can separate from tight coverage…

By John Sarianides This is the best tight end class in the last ten years. The tight end position has been devoid of talent in recent years but this loaded class will put the position back on the map. As many as four tight ends could go in the first 60 picks. Here are my top twenty tight ends. 1. O.J Howard, Alabama, 6-6 251, NFL Comparison: Julius Thomas Strengths -Howard…

By John Sarianides I don’t buy the rumors that Florida State running back Dalvin Cook will be dropping out of the first round. How does a super productive running back (5,399 yards and 48 touchdowns) with that type of talent not go in the first round? I know he didn’t test well at the combine but give me a break! Cook is the best all around back in this loaded…

By John Sarianides Every year a handful of teams will discover that diamond in the rough in the draft that will change the fortunes of their team. Most of the time, that player is from a small school. The Patriots took a chance on an undrafted free agent cornerback from West Alabama named Malcolm Butler. Butler competed, made the team and the rest is history. Here are ten diamonds in…