By Staff Reports.
The dog days of summer are upon us. To help pass the time, the staff at The Clemson Insider is picking sides.
Along with publisher Robert MacRae, staff writers Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Hale McGranahan are drafting players from the Clemson roster to fill out their own teams.
Here’s how the first-round of the TCI Open Draft played out:
William Qualkinbush:
First Round (1st overall) — Deshaun Watson, QB (6-2, 205)
I just don’t think there’s any way to choose another player here. The quarterback is the franchise, and this guy is as “franchise” as it gets.
I don’t care about injuries. I don’t care about fragility. I don’t care about over-hyping. I want a leader my entire team will follow, and I know Watson has those kinds of qualities.
There are multiple ways to build a roster, and I think starting with the quarterback is the easiest way. I hate taking the easy road, but in this case, it’s the only road that makes sense if you have a choice in the matter.
Robert MacRae:
First Round (2nd overall) — Artavis Scott, WR (5-10, 190)
I’m not sure how in the world Qualk ended up with the first pick when this is my site. I guess some money was exchanged somewhere.
With Watson off the board this was an easy decision. The offense will be loaded with playmakers, but Scott is one that is likely to have as many touches as anyone. He is elevating his game at receiver to another level, which is scary considering the freshmen year he had. We can expect to see him get touches on sweeps on in schemes as well. Give Scott the ball in open space and we have seen he is dangerous.
Scott will also play a bigger role in special teams this year. We can expect to see him back for punts and kickoffs.
With the second pick I will take the best overall playmaker on offense for the Tigers.
Hale McGranahan
First Round (3rd overall) — Mackensie Alexander, CB (5-10, 190)
Heading into this thing, if I didn’t get the first-overall pick, I was going to make my first-round selection a player from the defensive side of the ball.
There were three obvious choices from that side of the ball, but I decided to build my defense around the guy who showed last year that he’s more than capable of shutting down one side of the field for four quarters.
Alexander is the best cornerback that we’ve seen at Clemson in quite some time. I remember Tajh Boyd telling a few reporters at Dabo’s house one night that Alexander would have a Sammy Watkins-like impact during his freshman year. That, of course, was before anyone knew how seriously he was injured.
What also makes Alexander such an intriguing player to me is his tireless work ethic. The man is all about his business and that’s who I want leading my defense.
But I guess my next pick will have to be little more willing to talk to the media.
Will Vandervort
First round (4th overall) — Shaq Lawson, DE (6-3, 275)
Like Hale, I too like the defensive side of the ball. In 1969 my Steelers began building the greatest dynasty in professional football when they took Mean Joe Greene with the first pick in the NFL Draft that year.
The Rooney Family’s model, build a championship team with defense first and then you set things up with the offense later. Shaq Lawson might not be a Mean Joe Greene just yet, but he is pretty salty and I think he has the potential to be the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.
Last year, Lawson led all Clemson defensive ends with 44 tackles as a reserve. He was also second on the squad behind All-American Vic Beasley for tackles for loss with 11.5 and had 3.5 sacks as well.
What makes Lawson so good is his ability to rush the quarterback like Beasley, but also have power and size that makes him an even better runner stopper. Lawson reminds me a lot of former Tiger Da’Quan Bowers, except Lawson, I believe, has more upside.