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When I wrote about the top 25 defensive lineman, it was easy to get excited about it. There were players who got you revved up when thinking about their explosiveness coming off the ball, dominating the offensive lineman and putting a hit on the quarterback.  

Writing about the next 25 conjures up very little of those feelings. Historically, this is the shallowest position for IDP leagues as once you get past the top 10-20 players, there is very little difference in the next 30-40. Last year in my home league (scoring was 0.5/tackle, 3/sack/FF/INT, so big play skewed), Joey Bosa finished as DL22 with 4.16 ppg.  Brian Burns was DL51 with 3.12 ppg. That’s only 1 ppg difference between those two players. Is it better to have Bosa, well of course, but over a season, it probably made little difference in your record on a week to week basis. Now this may change a bit with the change in position designation by some sites as many OLBs will be designated at Edge and moved into the defensive line category. This will expand the choices at defensive line and make this group of 25 more interesting. I’ll cover this topic as we get more clarity as to what most sites will do.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the second installment of Razzball’s 2016 NFL Draft Preview.

For those of you who read the first installment, picks 1-10, I talked a lot about the two biggest factors that each team will have to ask themselves in the next few weeks until the draft, and even on draft night. “Team needs or individual talent?”

The process is simple. Evaluate the team after the 2015 season, and then evaluate all of the prospects, on the team’s Big Board, to determine the strategy. Will teams select prospects to help the team as a whole at certain positions, or select prospects because they are raw, physical, superb athletes?

Note: This post was written before and during the Philadelphia-Cleveland Trade. Here’s the short and sweet version – Eagles acquire the #2 overall pick, Browns trade back, both teams will acquire picks this year in the later rounds, plus a slew of 2017 first round picks, and Robert Griffin III is a happy man. Sam Bradford is not. In terms of who the Eagles will take, it all depends on who the Rams take. If the Rams select Goff, Wentz will most likely go to Philly, and conversely. I won’t go in-depth, but here’s how I think the rest of the board shakes out, except for the teams who selections I think will stay the same.

Rams – Jared Goff

Eagles – Carson Wentz 

Browns – Ezekiel Elliot (If the Browns really do believe in RGII, which they proved/indicated by trading back, then they want opposing D’s to respect all aspects of their offense. D’s can easily put pressure on RGIII with Isaiah Crowell or Duke Johnson in the backfield. If Elliot is the HB for the Browns, it opens up the field for Griffin, but just a little bit.)

Let’s get to picks 11-20…

Please, blog, may I have some more?