Mock Draft Monday 10/21 '24
6 Gawd
6 Gawd
- Jets vs Steelers
- NFL Building a Board
- Auburn Hoops
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Drake’s 6 God because it’s the next song on the album in chronological order every Monday. This was around when he started calling Toronto the “6” because it’s in the area or zip code. Anyway, let’s go to the Jets…
Jets @ Steelers
Pregame
- Watched the earlier slate of games at Finnegan’s celebrating the Yankees and preparing for the Jets. The Mets have just jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning.
Quarter 1
- Pittsburgh gets the ball 1st and after seeing the Jets defense’s Sunday Night Football player intros, I can see why this team is 2-4. The Steelers go up 3-0 early on their opening drive.
- WR Davante Adams makes his Jets’ debut and drops the first Aaron Rodgers pass thrown his way. They have to punt the ball away 3 plays later. This team stinks.
- The Jets pick up their first 1st Down of the night on a BS unnecessary roughness personal foul call. The NFL is a joke but we’ll take it. Breece Hall leads the way for most of the drive and eventually scores one 13-yard rushing TD behind Tyron Smith. 7-3 NYJ
- Defense then forces a 3-N-Out as they make Russ Wilson look a bit rusty. Unfortunately, the offense can’t keep the momentum going as Rodgers throws 2 straight bad passes and they need to punt.
Quarter 2
- The Steelers and Jets open up Q2 by punting the ball to each. Eventually, Russ Wilson finds George Pickens over the top of the Jets’ defense for 44 yards. The Steelers still have to settle for 3 as the score is 7-6 NYJ.
- Rodgers and the offense start to get things cooking as he finds Adams on a vintage slant for a 1st Down. Breece Hall then takes a screen pass and goes 56 yards out of nowhere. Tyler Conklin scores and after a Pittsburgh flag while trying to block the XP, the Jets go for 2 with Rodgers finding Garrett Wilson. 15-6 NYJ
- After the Jets defense forces another Pittsburgh punt, the Jets’ offense takes the field with a lot of momentum. Rodgers finds Allen Lazard for 20 yards down the sideline as the clock hits the 2-minute warning. Breece Hall then runs for 6 yards as the Jets look to be driving. Then, Aaron Rodgers throws a lame duck 15-yard pass right over the middle that gets picked off.
- The Steelers capitalize on their final drive before the half, as Wilson finds Pickens on an 11-yard TD. 15-13 NYJ at half. The Dodgers have a commanding lead over the Mets as well.
Quarter 3
- The Jets get the ball first at the half. On the very first play, Garrett Wilson commits a false start to put the offense back 5 yards. Rodgers finds Wilson twice for 2 catches combining 26 yards, but they need to punt. Pittsburgh has an 11-play drive where Pickens again picks up a key 1st Down. The Steelers drive to the goal-line where they eventually kick FG. 16-15 PIT
- This was the turning point of the game. On the 2nd play of the 2nd drive out of the 2nd half, Aaron Rodgers finds Garrett Wilson 20 yards down the field on the left sideline only for the ball to bounce off his chest and land into the Steelers’ hands for an interception. Pittsburgh nearly even brought it back for a Pick-6. Was the dropped pass tipped? Who cares.
- Russ Wilson scores a QB sneak to put the Steelers up 23-15.
Quarter 4
- The Jets might as well hire Rex Ryan and give him full access to the buffet.
- After Pittsburgh blocks a FG, the Steelers then score 2 more TDs as the Jets get their asses kicked 37-15.
- This team sucks and their season is over by Halloween. Go Yankees.
Back to building on to the ‘25 Draft Board, I’ll have to update it at some point but here’s what we got so far…
Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami
Xavier Restrepo is from Coconut Creek, Florida, where most recruiting outlets rated him a three-star prospect. He chose to play from Miami over offers from Georgia, Boston College, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Oregon, Rutgers, and Texas. As a true freshman in ‘20, Restrepo redshirted as a backup punt returner and reserve WR. In ‘21 he made 24 catches for 373 yards and 2 TDs. After a foot injury made him miss most of ‘22, Restrepo had a career-high 85 catches for 1,092 yards and 6 TDs in ‘23. This earned him All-ACC 1st Team recognition. Now a 5th-year senior with Cam Ward as his QB, Restrepo is once again on his way to pace his career-high stats as he’s caught 39 passes for 686 yards and 6 scores in 7 games thus far. He projects as a slot WR with reliable hands and a quick twitch in the NFL>
Hollin Pierce, OT, Rutgers
Hollin Pierce is from Trenton, New Jersey. He played high school football at Trenton Central High School, before playing one season at Fork Union Military Academy in ‘19. During the COVID pandemic, Pierce began sending his workout tapes to Rutgers, his dream schoool. He asked for an opportunity walk-on to the Scarlett Knights football team knowing that he had to drop his weight down from the 400 lbs he was at. Rutgers HC Greg Schiano said the Scarlett Knights would take a chance on him if he could get to work. Schiano said, “When he came on the team we talked to him about what he’d have to do nutrition-wise and training, and he did it to the letter of the law. Just an unbelievable commitment.” By the end of the ‘20 season, Pierce made his collegiate debut on field goal protection. By ‘21, Hollin Pierce was the starting RT for Rutgers while also earning Academic All-Big Ten honors as well. As a redshirt sophomore in ‘22, Pierce made 12 more starts at RT and his play had made a name for himself enough to be a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy, which goes to the most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on. In ‘23, Hollin Pierce moved from RT to LT, becoming Rutgers’ all-important blindside and he earned Honorable Mention for the All-Big Ten Team. So far this season, Hollin Pierce has graded out on PFF College as one of the nation’s best tackles, not allowing a sack in 7 games. Pierce at 6’8” and 344 lbs., is certainly an NFL-caliber prospect as well as a cool walk-on story.
Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana
Kurtis Rourke is from Oakville, Ontario. Tabbed a 3-star prospect out of high school, Rourke was however the top Canadian recruit of his class. His older brother Nathan went to Ohio University and even made the Jaguars as a backup QB. Kurtis Rourke decided to follow in his older brother’s footsteps, redshirting behind his older brother at Ohio University in ‘19. The younger brother made 3 starts for the Bobcats in ‘20, before taking over the starting role entirely in ‘21 as a sophomore. His breakout season at Ohio came his junior in ‘22, as Rourke threw for 3,256 yards and 25 TDs with just 4 INTs. Rourke was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year in ‘22. He returned as a senior in ‘23, making 11 more starts for the Bobcats as he threw for 2,207 yards and 11 scores while rushing in 4 more. After graduating from Ohio University, Kurtis Rourke transferred to Indiana this spring. The redshirt senior has been excellent for the Hoosiers this season, playing a huge in the program’s first 7-0 start since 1967. In 7 starts thus far for the Hoosiers, Rourke has thrown for 1,941 yards and 15 TDs. Unfortunately in the Hoosiers’ latest blowout victory over Nebraska, Rourke sustained a right thumb injury and is questionable as the Hoosiers get set to take on Washington. As an NFL prospect, Rourke has a ton of college experience as a starter and a quick-release. While he may not land as a Day 1 Draft Pick, Rourke could have potential as a Day 2 or Day 3 developmental QB.
Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
Jalon Walker is from Salisbury, North Carolina. Considered by most recruiting sites as a 4-star prospect, Walker was the ‘20 North Carolina Gatorade Football Player of the Year. He joined the Georgia Bulldogs as a freshman in ‘22 but only saw limited playing time on the defense as he was primarily used on kick coverage in special teams. Nonetheless, Walker made the most of his limited special teams playing time by blocking a punt that went for a safety. In ‘23, Jalon Walker was once more not a starter but he saw much more opportunity in certain packages as a versatile linebacker. Despite not being a starter, Walker led the Bulldogs in sacks with 5 and forced 2 fumbles. This season, Jalon Walker is a star on the Georgia Bulldogs defense. On Saturday against the Texas Longhorns, Walker had a career-high 3 sacks and 8 tackles, his best game to date. The Bulldogs use the speedy linebacker as both a blitzer up the middle and a pass rusher on the edge, he can do both at an elite level. It remains to be seen if the NFL decides to use Jalon Walker similarly or if a team will want him to just focus on rushing the passer, if it’s the latter he’d have a somewhat of a similar profile the way Micah Parsons was used at Penn State.
Zy Alexander, CB, LSU
Zy Alexander is from Loreauville, Louisiana. At Loreauville High School, Alexander played QB, WR, and Safety in football while batting leadoff for the school’s baseball team. After not being on the D1 recruiting radar, Zy Alexander chose to play for Southeastern Louisiana in Division I-AA. Alexander was a standout as a freshman in ‘21, earning FCS All-American status by picking off 6 passes. He followed up his strong start at Southeastern Louisiana with a sophomore campaign that landed him 1st Team All-Southland Conference honors with 3 INTs, 2 of which he returned for scores. In ‘23, Zy Alexander transferred to the LSU Tigers and he immediately became a starter. On his first career interception with the Tigers, Alexander suffered a torn ACL that held him out the final 3rd of the ‘23 season. After rehabbing his way back this spring and summer, Alexander was again the opening day starting CB for LSU. The 6’2” long and rangy corner has caught 2 INTs this season, both coming on passes thrown into the end zone. Given his size and playmaking ability, Alexander has some real potential to be a starting outside corner in the NFL.
Previewing possible College Basketball starting 5s for this upcoming season. So far it’s been Duke, UConn, St. John’s, Kansas, Alabama, Houston, Gonzaga, UNC, Arkansas, Baylor, and Arizona. This week it’s the Auburn War Eagles.
Johni Broome, F, Senior
Johni Broome is from Plant City, Florida, where he was the Hillsborough County Player of the Year as a senior in high school. His first stop in college was at Morehead State where as a freshman he immediately made an impact becoming the OVC Freshman of the Year as he averaged 13.7 points and 9 rebounds per game. During his sophomore year at Morehead State, he put more emphasis on defense as he averaged an absurd 3.9 blocks per game while winning the conference defensive player of the year. That year he also averaged a career-high 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Broome transferred to Auburn for the ‘22-’23 season and has been an excellent addition to the War Eagles ever since. As a junior, Broome averaged 14.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game while being named 2nd Team All-SEC. He followed that up with an even better season in ‘23-’24, as he became the 14th player in Auburn Hoops history to be named an All-American. Broome averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game as he became the 40th War Eagle to score 1,000 career points with the program. Now a 5th-year senior, Johni Broome will have one more shot at a March Madness run before making his way to the NBA.
Chad Baker-Mazara, F, Senior
Chad Baker-Mazara was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He moved to the United States to live with his grandfather as a junior in high school, playing for Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey. As a senior in Jersey, Baker-Mazara averaged 18.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. His first college out of high school was at Duquesne, where he shot 42% from 3 during the ‘20-’21 COVID-shortened season. The lefty forward decided to transfer to San Diego State the following season and was named Mountain West Conference 6th Man of the Year. Chad Baker-Mazara then took a real chance, betting on himself by going to a JUCO school in Northwest Florida State College. He helped the Raiders win the JUCO National Championship by leading the team with 15.2 points per game. Last season, Chad Baker-Mazara transferred to Auburn and although he primarily came off the bench, the 6’7” wing was named SEC All-Tournament as he averaged 10.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal as a starter in the SEC Tournament. Chad Baker-Mazara can attack the paint and shoot from deep (42% from 3). He is the first Auburn basketball player to be born in the Dominican Republic.
Denver Jones, G, Senior
Denver Jones is from New Market, Alabama, but he finished his high school hoops at Memphis Day Academy. Initially out of high school, Denver Jones played for Garden City Community College where he averaged 19.1 points per game while shooting 40% from 3. The 6’4” guard was noticed by FIU, who added Jones to their starting lineup the following season. He became the first FIU Panther to ever be named 1st Team All-Conference as a sophomore, averaging 20.1 points per game in ‘23. Last season, Denver Jones transferred to Auburn, and although his role as a team-leading scorer was gone, his efficiency from beyond the arc improved to 42% from 3. Jones averaged 9.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game as a starting wing for the War Eagles.
JP Pegues, G, Senior
JP Pegues is from Nashville, Tennessee. In high school, Pegues was considered a 3-star prospect and he chose to play college hoops for Furman. As a freshman, Pegues had a tough time getting playing time as he averaged 3.3 points and 1 assist per game. In ‘22-’23, the Paladin point guard was inserted into the starting lineup and averaged 11.9 points with 3.9 assists per game. Pegues was named the ‘23 Most Outstanding Player of the Southern Conference Men’s Championship as he led Furman to their first league title since 1980. During March Madness in ‘23, Pegues had himself quite a moment when in closing seconds of Furman’s 1st Round matchup with Virginia, his double team helped cause a steal which led to him drilling the game-winning 3-pointer. The experience of playing on the highest stage in College Hoops only improved JP Pegues' game as last season he once again took another jump forward with career-highs of 18.4 points, 4.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. The senior PG transferred to Auburn this past spring and will now be the floor general of the War Eagles. Pegues will also serve as a mentor to incoming freshman PG of Jersey City, Tahaad Pettiford.
Miles Kelly, G, Senior
